The encounter soon faded into the background as they moved from store to store. Ashley picked out a few essentials for daily use, simple sets of undergarments, along with small personal items that felt more like her.

A soft Peppa Pig towel caught her eye, followed by a pink hair dryer, both adding a playful contrast to the otherwise muted aesthetic she had been told about.

The palace, as Aunt Lavinia described, leaned heavily toward whites, creams, and golds that looked elegant, refined, but perhaps too restrained for Ashley’s liking.

Though she had yet to see her room, she already imagined it. So she began choosing items in gentler, livelier hues like mint green, soft pink, touches of sky blue, colors that would soften the pristine space and make it feel more personal, more comforting, as she wanted her room to look more cozy and warm.

Even the idea of adding indoor plants appealed to her, a touch of life to break the stillness.

As if by coincidence, they soon arrived at the fifth floor, where a glass-domed garden spread out before them, filled with rare and exquisite indoor plants, lush, vibrant, and quietly inviting, just waiting to be chosen.

"Young miss, now that I know your preferences, I can always come back later and purchase these for you. Aren’t you tired? We still need to look at clothes as well..." Aunt Lavinia asked, her tone laced with gentle concern as she watched Ashley lean forward in her wheelchair, studying the plants with quiet fascination.

"It’s alright, Aunt Lavinia," Ashley replied softly, her gaze lingering on the delicate leaves as she selected a few more potted plants. "I like having greenery around... it makes the room feel more alive."

There was a deeper reason she didn’t voice. Even though the palace was nestled within the mountains and surrounded by forest, it was still different, as the new place still felt distant and unfamiliar.

She had grown used to a life much closer to nature, where the presence of trees and earth felt constant and grounding. Now, in the quiet shift of her surroundings, she found herself seeking that same comfort in smaller ways.

Filling her room with plants was more than a preference; it was a quiet attempt to recreate something she had lost, something that might help her rest a little easier in a place that still didn’t quite feel like home.

Seeing Ashley’s quiet insistence, Aunt Lavinia said no more, allowing her to take her time. Once they were done, they moved on to the seventh floor, where the luxury boutiques lined the corridor in polished elegance.

Their first stop was Hermès, and from the moment they entered, Aunt Lavinia took complete control. Without asking Ashley to choose, she calmly instructed the sales associates to pack every bag available in their current inventory, along with matching accessories, all to be delivered directly to the estate.

The staff, already familiar with the address from Miss Ophelia’s previous visits, complied without hesitation, but their curiosity was unmistakable. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Their attention drifted toward the young girl in the wheelchair, quickly realizing that this purchase was not for their usual client. Their demeanor shifted, becoming even more attentive, more respectful, as they regarded Ashley with newfound interest.

Meanwhile, Ashley could only sit there, stunned into silence. She hadn’t even been given the chance to pick a single item; it felt less like shopping and more like the entire store had been swept up in one decisive motion.

By the time they reached the counter, the total had already climbed to an astronomical sum, a figure so large it left her momentarily breathless.

"Aunt Lavinia... this is too much..." she managed to say, her voice choking as she struggled to process it all.

"It’s alright, young miss. If there’s anything you don’t like, you can simply gift it to someone. There’s no need to feel overwhelmed," Aunt Lavinia said with effortless composure, as though the staggering sum they had just spent was of no consequence at all.

Ashley could only stare, momentarily at a loss. She had thought herself no longer easily shocked, but once again, the depth of the Gildenvale family’s wealth proved otherwise.

It was overwhelming in a way she couldn’t quite grasp, as though she had spent her life looking at the world from the bottom of a well, only now realizing how vast it truly was.

She had believed she understood what wealth meant, having lived with the Yorks and been around Nathan’s families that were already considered powerful and affluent. But compared to the Gildenvales, that understanding felt almost naive.

And Aunt Lavinia wasn’t done.

They moved from one boutique to another, each more exclusive than the last: Prada, Balenciaga, Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Saint Laurent, and more. Without hesitation, she selected pieces from the latest haute couture collections, dresses, shoes, accessories, everything curated with precision and taste.

To her, these were merely temporary arrangements, a stopgap until Ashley’s bespoke wardrobe could be commissioned.

This, apparently, was what she meant by "making do."

Ashley’s mind struggled to keep up, the scale of it all leaving her quietly stunned.

"Aunt Lavinia... I need to go to the ladies’ room for a bit," Ashley managed to say, her voice catching as she forced the words past the tight knot lodged in her throat. The endless stream of receipts, each one longer than the last, had left her reeling, the weight of it all pressing down until even breathing felt difficult.

She needed a moment, just a moment, to steady herself.

Without question, Aunt Lavinia guided her toward the ladies’ room, pushing the wheelchair inside with practiced ease. But just as she was about to help Ashley into one of the cubicles, a sharp ring cut through the quiet.

Her phone.

"Young miss, please excuse me. I have to take this call," Aunt Lavinia said, her tone apologetic as she stepped aside.

"It’s alright," Ashley replied softly, managing a small nod. "You already prepared a cane for me; I can handle this."

With that, she reached behind the wheelchair using her uninjured arm, fingers finding the cane with careful familiarity. Slowly, she pushed herself up, her movements measured and deliberate as she steadied her weight, relying on the support to stand on her own.

Seeing that Ashley could manage on her own, Aunt Lavinia gave a final, reassuring glance before stepping out of the ladies’ room to take the call. Left alone, Ashley steadied herself and began making her way toward one of the cubicles, her steps slow and careful, the cane supporting most of her weight.

She had barely taken a few steps when the door suddenly burst open.

Before she could even react, a force caught her off guard, strong arms sweeping her off her feet as if she weighed nothing at all. The world tilted, and in the next instant, she found herself seated on the edge of the sink. Her breath hitched in shock, but before she could gather herself, everything else fell away.

Lips crashed against hers.

The familiar scent struck her first, rich coffee laced with the sharp burn of rum, flooding her senses and leaving her momentarily disoriented. Her lashes fluttered, her mind going blank as instinct took over, pulling her into the moment before she could resist it.