Patricia let out a shaky breath. “With what money? I send half my paycheck to my grandmother. I barely survive.”
Sofía’s gaze drifted to the delicate chain at Patricia’s neck.
“You still have your mother’s pendant, don’t you?”
Patricia’s fingers closed around the small gold heart instinctively. It was the last thing her mother had given her before she passed away. A piece of love she carried every day.
“I can’t sell it.”
“I didn’t say sell,” Sofía replied gently. “Pawn it. Temporarily. Buy the dress. Walk into that room like you belong. When life shifts—and it will—you get it back.”
The idea hurt more than Patricia expected. Like giving up a piece of herself. But beneath the pain, something else stirred. Resolve. Defiance. A quiet rebellion against always being small.
She looked at the envelope again.
For the first time, she didn’t see a threat.
She saw a door.
