~Jennie’s~

“Confidence smells better than apology, don’t you think?” Ava had said, pressing the bottle into my palm.

The perfume is light but complicated. It smells like fresh figs and soft smoke. Like cinnamon bark coated in something darker…something dangerously sweet. Ava swore it was called ‘Unforgettable Fire’. She said it was made for women who’ve been underestimated too long.

I wear it today not because I expect anything.

But because I want to feel like myself again.

The parlor is warmer than usual. The windows are slightly cracked, letting in some gold streaks of morning light. I’m flipping through a file for the next budget meeting…just flipping, not reading…when...