Alina stared point-blank at the email glowing on her screen. The blue light felt like it was searing her retinas. She blinked rapidly, certain she was seeing things, but the words didn't change. This couldn't be true.
A hysterical urge to laugh bubbled up in the back of her throat, but it died there, replaced by a hollow ache.
How was this possible? What had she done wrong? She hadn't even spent a full month at Soléne Couture, and her job—the one thing that felt like a step toward a real future—was being terminated?
Her finger hovered over the name "Kelly" in her contacts. She wanted to call, to scream, to demand an explanation.
As if the heavens were reading her panicked thoughts, the screen shifted. Kelly was calling her.
Alina let the phone vibrate in her hand for several seconds, her heart hammering against her ribs. She already knew what this conversation would be, yet the "why" remained a jagged mystery.
