Catherine sighed and glanced around the room again. When she looked back at the throne, she was surprised to see Clara had joined the group. Though Clara's eyes were dry and clear, there was something slightly strained about her smile as she greeted Emma.

Catherine smiled politely as Sean introduced her to Emma. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Iris and Pearl whispering together. In the opposite direction, a group of starlets glared at her with poison in their eyes. She stifled a sigh and nodded along to the conversation.

​​

"Is something wrong?" Sean asked. "Are you hungry?"

She shook her head.

"Do you feel okay?" he asked.

"Of course," she said.

"Are you bored?" he asked. "Do you want to leave?"

"I'm fine," she lied.

The party was fantastic, but she couldn't enjoy it. No matter where she went, people stared at her as if she didn't belong. Sean's friends were nice to her, but she still felt like an outsider. They constantly made inside jokes she didn't understand or talked about people she didn't know.

Is this what my life with Sean will be like? She wondered miserably. Will I always feel like I don't belong? Will I ever fit into his world?

"Mr. Blair," a man said. "May I have a minute of your time?"

Catherine turned and saw three men standing together. The one who'd spoken wore a pair of round-rimmed glasses, but they all looked at Sean eagerly. Catherine vaguely recognized the one with glasses as a famous director, but she didn't know his name.

"What's this about?" Sean asked.

"I'm wondering if you'd be interested in investing in my next film," the director said. "It's a killer script, and we've already signed some big and exciting names. Guaranteed BAFTA, maybe even an Oscar."

"Hmm," Sean said.

The director took the comment as a sign to continue and launched into a long sales pitch. Catherine tried to listen to what he was saying, but she found it hard to focus. He rambled on and on and used a ton of terms she'd never heard before. After a few minutes, she caught herself stifling a yawn. She craned her neck and looked up at Sean's face. He looked unimpressed. The director began to panic and spoke even faster.

"You have one more minute to convince me," Sean said coolly. "Otherwise, find someone else."

The director's eyes widened with panic, and he launched into a very fast explanation about capital and payoff and estimated box office returns.

"Send the info to my assistant," Sean said.

The director thanked him, almost stammering over his words, and the three men backed away.

"Did that bore you?" Sean asked.

Catherine nodded, "Honestly, yes."

He smirked and pulled her closer. The evening wore on, and other men came to talk to Sean about business or investment plan. Catherine stood by his side, nodding politely without understanding their conversations.

"Sean," she eventually whispered. "I need to go to the restroom."

"Now?" he asked. "They're going to light fireworks over the pond any minute. We're supposed to go outside."

She looked around the room and noticed that it had emptied. Only a few small groups of people lingered, caught up in conversations.

"Well, I have to go now," she said.

"Okay," he replied. "I'll wait for you here."

She nodded, and he kissed her on the cheek before letting her go.

***

Catherine left the bathroom and hurried to the main room, but it was empty. Even the waiters with the silver trays had disappeared. She went back into the hallway, but it was empty too. Where was Sean?

She returned to the main room and found Iris sitting on the old throne. She leaned back in the chair and smiled like a cat toying with a mouse.

"Are you lost?" Iris asked.

"Where's Sean?" she asked.

"Dunno," Iris said. "Probably out at the pond."

"What did you do?" she asked. "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing," Iris said, smiling innocently. "Do you want to know how to get to the pond?"

"No thanks," Catherine snapped. "I'll get there myself."

"Suit yourself," Iris said. "But if you get lost, remember it's the path that goes to the right."

Catherine rushed out the door and into the garden without another word. She started down a gravel path, walking as quickly as her high heels allowed. The path was lit with small lights half-buried in the ground, but it was still growing dark. As she walked, she passed out of the garden and into a wooded area. Ancient trees blocked the sky overhead and cast gloomy shadows across the path.

Her heart raced, but she took a deep breath to calm herself. She hurried on, cursing herself for leaving her small purse with Sean when she went to the bathroom. It wasn't like him to break a promise, but maybe his friends had encouraged him to go with them. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to go even faster, wishing she could call him.

Suddenly, she stopped. The path forked into two directions. She looked in both directions—they were each lit with the same half-buried lights.

Iris told me to take the path to the right, she thought. But that's obviously some sort of trick.

With a deep breath, she turned left, following the path as quickly as possible. She rushed through the woods, relieved as the trees seemed to thin. She walked faster and found herself standing on a wooden dock. Confused, she looked across the pond—a crowd of people sat on the opposite shore on cushions and blankets laid out on the grass.

"What?" she whispered. "How?"

"Oh, hello, Catherine," Pearl said.

From the shadows, Pearl smiled calmly at her.

"I don't understand," Catherine said.

"Easy," Pearl said. "Iris told you the right way. She guessed you wouldn't believe her, though."

Catherine stared at Pearl. She wore a long, white, strapless dress, and her dark bob fell neatly above her shoulders. The dress clung to her curves, and the moon shone on her skin. She looked like a femme fatale from an old Hollywood film.

"So you've got me on this dock," Catherine said. "But what's the point? To keep me from Sean? I hate to break it to you, but you're not with him either."

"I just wanted to talk," Pearl said coolly. "Woman to woman."

"About what?" she snapped.

"About Sean," Pearl replied. "From the time Sean was eight, I knew that I'd marry him one day. We would start dating once I was finished with school, we'd get engaged after a year and then married a year after that. For a few years, we'd travel together, and then I'd get pregnant with our first child."