ARIA POV
For a long moment, I only looked at myself in the mirror.
Not because I was vain.
Maybe a little because I was terrified.
The woman staring back at me looked like someone I was still learning how to recognize. The green dress hugged my body softly, falling over my hips and thighs in a way that made the color of my hair look even brighter, even wilder. The red had deepened in the last weeks, or maybe I was only noticing it more now because the curls had become impossible. They framed my face, spilled over my shoulders, and refused every attempt at discipline as if my own hair had decided to become a living metaphor.
Hormones, apparently.
I turned to the side and placed one hand over my lower belly.
Nothing.
No visible curve.
No small, precious secret pressing against the f
