Chapter 20 - THE FIRST TIME LILY WENT BACK

Lily returned to the ballroom two years later.
The room had been renovated.
The broken glass was gone.
The engagement decorations were gone.
The marble floor had been polished.
But Lily remembered.
She stopped at the center.
Grace stood several feet away.
“You don't have to stay.”
“I know.”
Lily looked around.
“I want to.”
She walked toward the staircase.
Then stopped.
“This is where I talked.”
Grace nodded.
“Yes.”
“I was scared.”
“I know.”
Lily looked at her.
“But I talked anyway.”
Grace smiled.
“You did.”
Lily stood silently for several seconds.
Then she walked back toward Grace.
“I'm not scared anymore.”
Grace crouched beside her.
“You don't have to prove that.”
“I know.”
Lily smiled.
“I just wanted you to know.”
Grace hugged her.
May you like
For Grace, that moment meant more than any award she had ever received.
---