Lost in the Haze

The ice in Blair's glass clinked ominously as she watched Victor across the room, his laughter echoing in her ears like a mocking taunt. Meilin, radiant in a crimson cheongsam that clung to her curves like a second skin, stood beside him, her hand resting possessively on his arm. The scent of sandalwood and something subtly intoxicating, like a forbidden flower blooming in the dead of night, hung in the air around them.

An unfamiliar knot of anxiety tightened in Blair's chest, a sensation so foreign it took her a moment to recognize it as jealousy. It was a sensation as unwelcome as it was potent, a toxic brew that threatened to unravel the carefully constructed walls she'd built around her heart.

"Girl, you look like you're about to assassinate someone with a cocktail stirrer," Claudia's voice, a welcome distraction, cut through the haze of Blair's mounting unease. "Want to tell me what's got your knickers in a twist?"