"I… I'm glad you liked them," she mumbled, fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve.
Isabella wasn't used to compliments especially not ones that felt this sincere.
Her whole life had been spent either trapped inside four walls or hidden behind a glowing computer screen. The only men she had really interacted with were Leonardo, who scared more than softened her and Jay, whose teasing felt more like an annoying brother than anything else. Everyone else? Just bodyguards, staff, and strangers who looked past her.
So when Elliot, with his kind voice and soft dimpled smile, complimented her work without any expectations or judgment…
She felt flustered.
And shy.
Her fingers instinctively tugged at the hem of her dress, and her eyes lowered, unable to meet his for too long. Her heart was doing that strange flutter again like she was standing in warm sunlight after years of cold shadows.
"I-I just… did my best," she muttered, voice small.
