Chapter Text
A leaf settles on the surface of the pond, the ripples fading faster than should be possible in a pond of that size. The pond is a mirage instead of an oasis with the water shallower than it seems and something large hidden underneath.
She escaped the gala to find peace, and it seems that instead, she found a mystery. Stella was so tired of mysteries. Her entire life was a mystery, her job, her parents, this city was a mystery, and just one godforsaken time she would like to wander outside a billionaire’s house without finding some dumb-fucking, hidden (but not very well) secret.
Stella turned back to go inside. Who cares if she is going back to get groped by the same old man who used to whisper about her gold-digging “sexy” mother when she was a kid? What does it matter if the music and alcohol and crush of bodies soaked in perfume her duty makes her nauseous? No one and nothing. Stella is going to walk right back into that mansion, smile and act as an heiress of Gotham and never, ever think about that too shallow pond or what Bruce Wayne could be hiding in it.