WHERE THE LINES FADE - JANNIK SINNER

Prologue

Amara carefully studies herself in the mirror. She examines every point of her face. Everything has to be flawless. With measured eyes, she searches for even the slightest imperfection. She always notices the tiniest faults in others. This never means she holds impossibly high expectations of people. She simply believes that within every flaw, a unique trait of a person can be discovered. And because she sees so much of people in their imperfections, she never wants anyone to perceive the same in her.

The truth is, today is a difficult day for her, and yet, deep within her heart, there is a kind of excitement she cannot explain. Perhaps she longs for the times when she was not so cautious, so measured, so carefully deliberate — though she does not dare admit it, not even to herself.

This is her first Wimbledon. Honestly, she has never thought she would ever be here. Her best friend Erin's father has always been a hard-working man. And now, for the first time, he is a sponsor at Wimbledon.

She tries to resist Erin's plea when she asks her to accompany her to the tournament to promote her father's company, to stand before the great and the powerful, to be seen. But Amara has never been able to say no to Erin. Not in childhood, when the two of them stumble nervously onto elementary school stages, and not in the years that follow. She is always at her side, a constant shadow, a silent ally.

"Amara, you look beautiful." Erin looks her friend over as she stands in the doorway.
Amara's body is wrapped in a floor-length white dress that fits perfectly to every inch of her figure. For a moment, Erin just smiles, shaking her head slightly.

"You're going to outshine everyone there," she says half-jokingly, though she means every word.
Amara lets out a quiet laugh, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"That's the last thing I want," she replies softly.

"I know this isn't exactly what you want right now," Erin says gently, her eyes warm and steady, "but trust me, you're going to enjoy it. We'll be there to help Dad with a few events, if he needs us. I just want you to step out a little, to take a breath away from always focusing on work. You deserve it."

Amara listens, a faint smile brushing her lips. She wants to resist, as she always does, yet there is something in Erin's voice — gentle, insistent, full of quiet certainty — that makes her pause. For a fleeting moment, she lets herself imagine it: laughter floating over clinking glasses, the soft murmur of conversations, the thrill of stepping into a world that has always seemed just beyond reach.

What if she allows herself to lower the walls around her?

Authors note:

Hi!!

Sooo, I just started a book that I have been thinking about for a while now. The last time I published anything was in 2017, and I've missed this so much.

I wanted the prologue to be a slow burn, to show why she ends up there in the first place.

I want this story to be a long one, to get to know their characters and their backgrounds (especially Amara).

Hope you'll like this one! :)