CHAPTER NINETEEN – TOO MUCH SPOTLIGHT

So that was that, then. Charlotte steadied her wobbling chin against the solid reality of her mother's embrace. The gala was happening, no matter how much her instincts recoiled from the notion of willingly locking herself back into that eternally ravenous media shitshow. The mere thought of the flashbulbs and shouted insults and sneering gazes made her want to curl up into a protective ball and never reemerge from its safety. But if powering through that fresh hell by her parents' side, head held high, was the only path to start reclaiming some wisp of her dignity...well, her choices seemed pretty bloody limited then, didn't they? The evening itself was, in a word...carnage. A full-scale bloodbath on par with the European theater after the landing at Normandy. From the moment their glossy black Rolls weaved through that first gauntlet of paparazzi outside the venue's towering facade, it became swiftly apparent just how heavily the entire world was salivating over a fresh piece of