Chapter 69

Maya’s POV

I was already on my fourth outfit. The first three hadn’t clicked with Elias—he complained they would turn too many heads, either because they were too gorgeous or too revealing. He insisted we wear complementary styles so we’d look like a young couple, and because our previous selections were far too formal. In his words, we were “a walking jackpot” for street thieves.

Just then, the attendant knocked on the fitting-room door. “Ah, is that you, Elias?” she called.

Elias’s face lit up like a teenager entering a gaming arena. I slid aside and beckoned him in. He stood there in a street-style, earth-toned outfit—loose, comfortable pants and a hoodie that made him look like a runway model.

“Try these on,” he said, handing me a neat pile of folded clothes in the same muted palette.