Several women exhaled audibly. Midnight Blue let out a soft, disbelieving laugh and pressed a hand to her chest. “That was… something,” she said.
“I’m so sorry,” Rose Gold murmured to Eve. “We didn’t mean to pull you into drama.”
“You didn’t,” Eve replied. Her hands were still steady. “She brought it herself.”
“You handled that beautifully,” Black Dress said. “Truly.”
Eve smiled, but the adrenaline was still rushing through her veins. “Thank you.”
They spoke for a few minutes more, lighter now, the tension slowly replaced by relief. Then the group began to dissolve back into the crowd, conversations shifting to neutral topics again.
Only when Eve was briefly, completely alone did she realise her hands were trembling.
She set her glass down on the nearest table, exhaled slowly, and p
