The Beautiful and Damned Book 1 Chapter 2 - Portrait of a Siren (Part 2)

In which we encounter that brightness itself, a presence at once childish and knowing, and follow Anthony as his cultivated detachment is tested by laughter, movement, and the intoxication of being fully alive. The scene widens into music, crowds, and glittering vulgarity, where desire and self-knowledge brush past each other without quite naming their intent