Chapter 2 The Dancer

The night waits for her.

The velvet curtains part, and the room inhales as if in prayer.

They call her Velour.

No one knows where she came from, and that's the way she likes it.

The club glows like a secret , soft lights, slow jazz, eyes watching from behind their gold-rimmed glasses.

Every breath, every heartbeat, syncs with the pulse of the music.

She moves through it , fluid, controlled, untouchable.

Velour doesn't dance for them; she dances through them.

Every turn, every gesture, every glance , a promise and a warning.

She gives them what they crave most: the illusion that she sees only them.

Some men look at her with hunger, others with awe.

One or two, with fear.

But none of them really see her.

No one ever does.

When the song ends, she bows , a slow, deliberate dip that tastes like surrender but isn't.

Applause breaks the spell.

The lights dim.

She vanishes behind the curtain before anyone can ask her name.

Backstage, she peels away her gloves, her mask, her silence.

The mirror greets her with its usual lie , a woman perfectly composed, untouched by the world.

She touches her reflection, smearing a streak of red lipstick across its mouth.

Somewhere outside, Paris hums like a promise.

But down here, in the hush between two songs, she belongs to no one ,not even herself.