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Great.
Just great.
Now I’m tipsy, irritated, and alone on a dance floor full of couples. I really didn’t think this through. Downing my glass of champagne, I deposit it on a nearby shaker table and join Tim and Fawn. They’re dancing but not intimately.
“I love your dress,” she yells over the music.
“Thank you.”
She moves around the table to stand beside me while Tim and Brandon goof around on the dance floor together.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so… animated,” I remark on Tim, and Fawn chuckles.
“Get a few drinks inside him and he’s quite the clown.”
“How do you do it?” The words tumble from my lips.
“Do what?” Fawn frowns. I glance over to where Bexley is still talking to Phillip and their associates. When I look back at her, sympathy glitters in her eyes.
“You know, I’ve loved Tim for as long as I can remember. But it’s not easy, living in their world.” Silence settles between us, and I think back on what Hadley told me, about Tim and the baby.
“It almost broke me,” Fawn says, as if she can hear my thoughts. “I’ve always been an anxious person. But when I found out about Hadley, it was like I lost myself. We weren’t officially together then, but everyone knew I’d be Tim’s prosapia.”
“I’m sorry.”
“We worked through it, but I always felt bad for her. She was forced out of her life, disowned by her family… no one should ever have to go through that. It ate Tim up inside. And then he found out about the baby, and he just lost it. I’ve seen things… heard things… but I’ve never seen Tim lose it like that. It almost ruined us.
“No one knows this, Mia, but I can’t have children. I can’t give Tim the one thing all Electi want more than anything. An heir.” Sadness washes over her, and it makes my heart ache. I assumed Tim was the villain in his and Hadley’s story, but sometimes there is no villain. There’s just pain and heartache and a series of unfortunate events.
“You asked me how I do it?” Fawn took my hand in hers. “I love him, Mia. I will never love another the way I love Tim. And he loves me, and although it’s hard and it hurts and sometimes I wonder if it’s worth the fight, I remember it’s enough. It has to be.”
“Thank you for telling me.” I squeeze her hand, something passing between us.
“What are you two talking about?” Tim joins us, looping his arm around Fawn’s waist and nuzzling her neck. It’s moments like these that I can see the love between them, almost taste it on my tongue.
“Dance with me.” She all but drags him back to the dance floor and I watch them, unable to fight the smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.
Maybe there is hope for me and Bexley after all. At least, I think that’s what she was trying to tell me.
Love is enough.
I watch them, letting the music wash over me. The beat is irresistible, and despite my bad mood, I begin to limber up, swaying my hips to the sultry beat. It’s safe here. I’m safe.
The words run on repeat in my head as I push away all the negative thoughts and energy and lose myself in the moment. It’s the first time in what feels like forever that I’m not dancing for somebody else, but for myself. My hands weave shapes in the air as I close my eyes. The alcohol in my bloodstream kicks in and everything grows fuzzy, but I like the sensation. When my eyes flicker open, it’s a sight to behold, the elite of Gravestone dressed in their finery, wearing their masks, and letting loose on the dance floor.
Sweat beads along the back of my neck as I dance to forget. When I look up, a flash of red catches my eye, a mask styled like the devil himself. Fear roots me to the spot, but when I blink, he’s gone.
“Dance with me.” Brandon pulls me into his arms, twirling me around. Laughter spills from my lips, my heart racing as the alcohol floods my system. I didn’t feel this drunk earlier, but the room keeps spinning as Brandon sways me gently. He doesn’t speak, and I appreciate that, finding comfort in the silence. But I can’t help but think that it isn’t Brandon I should be dancing with. It’s Bexley. The guy who claims to love me more than anything.
The guy who’s currently laughing and joking with Quinctus and their associates like they’re old friends.
My chest tightens as Brandon spins me again. A sudden flash startles me, and I jerk back at the sight of his ghastly mask. “B-Brandon?” Fear pumps through me as I blink rapidly.
I’m drunk. I’m just drunk, and my mind is playing tricks on me.
He throws his head back, cackling maniacally, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Wrenching out of his hold, I spin on my heel, but the sea of bodies, monstrous masks and devilish faces closes in around me.
“Mia, Mia, Mia,” they whisper, clawing and grabbing at me. I stumble back, falling through a small hole. Crawling on my hands and knees, I escape the crowd and glance back as I clamber to my feet. No one has noticed me, too busy dancing… but when I look again, they aren’t only dancing, they’re fucking. Gyrating and grinding on each other, naked flesh, hands touching and teasing.
