Ava was engrossed in Beatrice's gaze and focus as they continued to dance in the center of the dance floor. She was losing herself in their own universe because she was only paying attention to the older female. They move to the music as it sings about emotions they are unable to even put into words.

Ava occasionally felt Beatrice's arm supporting her since the elder girl could feel that Beatrice was keeping her from falling after nearly tripping twice. All Ava could feel was herself melting in Beatrice's arms; she had no idea what she was experiencing, but the way Beatrice was looking at her at the moment made her move closer, and the two of them sealed the deal with a kiss.

Ava closed her eyes and laid her head on Beatrice's left shoulder as they gently moved around the dance floor. Ava had been planning to kiss Beatrice when she was caught off guard. Before announcing the food they had prepared for the remainder, more announcements waited until the music stopped and everyone began clapping.

Beatrice was proud and anxious at the same time because even though they were so close, she still felt like she was on cloud nine and was attempting to come down. Ava and Beatrice were holding hands and couldn't think of a reason to let go. After the dance is through, they grab a drink, and Beatrice was surprised to see Ava start talking to different people in the group. She knew the alcohol was starting to take effect, which was why Ava was acting differently.

Ava then started laughing with another group of individuals and was speaking to a man who was a little older than her. Beatrice then needed to interact with some potential partners for her parents' business and soon to work with her for a few years. Beatrice noted that the man was becoming more affectionate and flirtatious with Ava. Her mood abruptly altered as she felt the man's soiled hands brush Ava's lower back. She cut up her conversation and went over to where Ava was sitting at the table.

"Mr. Yale. I prefer you not touching something that doesn't belong to you." Beatrice spoke, making everyone at the table stop talking. The male suddenly stopped and looked down at the floor, did not even try to look up but mumbled an apology

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know..." He tried to reason out only for Beatrice to bring him down again.

"You shouldn't approach and flirt with women like that, you are touching them without their consent. That's not very nice." Beatrice spoke again.

"Bea..." Ava called her name to distract her from humiliating the person.

"Let's head back to the VIP." Beatrice said. She led Ava upstairs back to their VIP room where the two didn't say a word right away, Ava was silent. Beatrice was a little furious because she didn't like how Yale did that to Ava.

"Here, stick with the sodas for now. You were drinking too much earlier." Beatrice said, offering Ava the soda can. Ava pouted at her but took the soda from Beatrice's hand and started drinking the soda.

"Just stay here for a bit, I have to deal with more people because my mother told me so." Beatrice added.

"You better not leave me alone for too long, I don't like being far away from you." Ava whined.

"You're such a kid." Beatrice said with a soft smile and left a kiss on Ava's head before leaving her alone in the room.

Beatrice reconnected with a few attendees she had previously encountered at occasions she had attended with her parents. She had generally retained their names and had noted which attendees she would most like to collaborate with in the future and which she would prefer to avoid doing so. After 10 glasses of wine, she began to feel a little lightheaded. She set the glass down and checked her phone for any developments. She found texts from colleges and from Luna, who was still complaining about the previous jobs she had taken.

She received texts from her parents expressing their excitement for everything to go well and wonderfully at the fantastic event this Friday. Her mother, in particular, usually looks forward to hosting this occasion since she invites high-ranking acquaintances who are also billionaires and businesspeople from other nations.

When she turned off her phone, her father did the same thing because she was unable to screw anything up and was expected to perform what she does best. She turned around when she heard a recognizable voice calling her name and recognized the caller from when she was still dating Quinton and leading a wretched existence. She was not surprised to find the caller now successful in life and on her feet like her.

"Beatrice. Wow! I-It's good to see you again." She spoke.

"Presilla, hello. Likewise. It seems you have everything in line." Beatrice replied and a slight nod.

"Well, life has been good to be. Despite all the bullshit things I have done in the past." Presilla spoke, taking a sip from her champagne glass.

"We were young back then. We do stupid things for people to accept us and so now we are facing more of the reality, we learned things now the hard way and finally getting the things we deserve somehow." Beatrice replied.

"Have you got what you deserve? Or still, looking or waiting for it?" She asked, Beatrice, glanced at Presilla who was taking a sip from her glass. She then looked away and remained silent.

"You still haven't told her about what you feel?" Presilla murmured and took another sip from her drink.

"It's not easy to tell something that you've been keeping for so many years, Pres." Beatrice replied.

"You are getting pretty darn good at keeping it for so long, the only question is how long can you still keep it?" Presilla asked. Beatrice was confused about the question.

"What do you mean?" Beatrice asked straightforwardly.

"Bea, you don't even seem to realize how your face lights up whenever you are with her or how you two seem to have such strong chemistry. Regarding you and her, rumors are being spread by people. You display feelings that you've never expressed to anyone. You and that girl, though. Yeah." Presilla replied.

"Sooner or later, what you really feel for her will show more and you can't stop it." Presilla added. The two stayed silent when they heard the glasses breaking. Beatrice and Presilla looked at each other before approaching the situation.

"Oh stop being so selfish. I was already giving you hints that I am into you. So, come on and stop being a brat." As Beatrice walked toward the crowd, a recognizable voice echoed in her ears. The voice of the love of her life then spoke to her, trembling with rage. As soon as she caught a peek of Ava, Beatrice motioned for everyone to move aside and her eyes jumped to Jackson's hold on Ava's wrist.

"You let me go right now or I will call security to drag you out!" Ava shouted as she tried to pull her wrist from him. The bastard only laughed at Ava's statement as he tried to pull her again but this time Presilla stepped in and stopped Jackson.

"Well, well. Look at this manwhore touching someone else's girlfriend. I would let her go if I were you." Presilla spoke to Jackson who seemed annoyed at what she said.

"Oh, you mean that Beatrice brat Hansen? She is only carrying her family's name, she has nothing much to prove to us. She was only in for this business for three years." Jackson replied, being cocky and prideful.

"It's shocking that she still won those awards and left nothing to you. You're right, three years, still a rookie but you've actually forgotten that we were rookies and I beat your ass before Beatrice finally got her shit together." Presilla spoke with a sly grin on her face.

"You shut up, bitch! You don't know anything." Jackson replied with annoyance in his tone.

"What? You find it difficult to accept the truth that you were already beaten by two women according to your scorecard. Jackson, Beatrice is currently highly regarded in many industries; they would rank her first on their list for the future, while you are among the final choices. Beatrice is the new face at the moment, so if you believe you are superior to her, think again. She is fantastic in bed, I mean. When we were young and crazy, the majority of us concurred." Presilla spoke. This time, Ava was shocked to hear all of it and showed an upset reaction that Beatrice could read.

"You better shut up or–" Jackson was cut off by Beatrice.

"Or what, Jackson? You are harassing her, you do not put a hand on anybody that belongs to me. What is mine? Is mine." Beatrice spoke this time, walking slowly towards Jackson and grabbing Ava's wrist gently.

"You wouldn't like mommy and daddy to get upset because their son fucked it up again." Beatrice added. Beatrice leaned in and whispered her last words before pulling Ava away from the crowd.

"Remember. I can get you homeless in just a snap, Jackson. Try me." Beatrice said and pulled away as they left the crowd, leaving everyone behind. Presilla called security to take Jackson out of the venue and banned him from entering.

They went out of the venue and called out the driver to take them back to their hotel, Ava was silent and Beatrice took off her coat to put it around Ava. Ava then glances up to look at Beatrice, their eyes met, and Beatrice's mood shifts from being annoyed and rageful to soft and concerned.

"What's wrong?" Beatrice asked. Ava pouted at Beatrice and rest her head on Beatrice's chest as she felt her warmth. Beatrice was taken back but slowly hugged the younger girl.

"I was scared." Ava whispered...

"Hush... Hush... It's okay, you're okay. I'm here..." Beatrice whispered back and was hugging Ava tight until their limousine came to bring them back to the hotel.

Ava chose to remain in the VIP room and begin sipping on drinks rather than continue to consume the potent alcohol that Beatrice had ordered because the celebration was still going on and Beatrice needed to network with the other attendees to find new business partners. She continued to sip the cocktail gently since she didn't want to pass out. As she waited for Beatrice, she heard a tap at the door. Jackson, the person she had earlier disliked, was there when she opened the door. He was cocky and appeared to be intoxicated as he stood in front of the door.

Ava started to panic inside because Beatrice was not around and this guy somehow knew where she was while Beatrice is busy, Ava stood on her ground and swallowed her pride and fear and confront the guy who just knocked on the door and was smirking up and down on her. She felt disgusted with how he acted, it reminded her of how JC was when he was messed up but this one in front of her was more of a perverted ass bastard.

"I think you are in the wrong room." Ava said.

"Oh, I think I AM in the right room." He replied with a cocky smirk on his face as he walked toward Ava, approaching the scared younger girl, she was hoping Beatrice would come back as soon as possible.

"You are obviously not in the wrong room and you are drunk, please get out or I will call security." Ava threatened. As she tried to move past him only to be pulled back by Jackson who grabbed her wrist.

"Oh, come one! Don't play hard to get, Gloria. I just want to play a little." Jackson insisted, pulling Ava by her wrist and started leaning into Ava who violently started pushing him off. But Jackson was persistent in getting on with Ava and tried to kiss her. Ava managed to push him off again but this time with a stronger force, she started making her way downstairs and before she could manage to go through the crowd, Jackson grabbed her wrist again.

"Oh stop being so selfish. I was already giving you hints that I am into you. So, come on and stop being a brat!" Jackson insisted, trying to pull Ava again but Ava was not giving in.

"You let me go right now or I will call security to drag you out!" Ava shouted as she tried to pull her wrist from him. The bastard only laughed at Ava's statement as he tried to pull her again.

"Well, well. Look at this manwhore touching someone else's girlfriend. I would let her go if I were you." A woman spoke to Jackson, Ava glanced at the woman who came into their view.

"Oh, you mean that Beatrice brat Hansen? She is only carrying her family's name, she has nothing much to prove to us. She was only in this business for three years." Jackson replied, being cocky and prideful. Ava felt herself raging after hearing him say those things to her best friend. She wanted to slap him big time.

"It's shocking that she still won those awards and left nothing to you. You're right, three years, still a rookie but you've actually forgotten that we were rookies and I beat your ass before Beatrice finally got her shit together." The woman who is new in Ava's eyes spoke with a sly grin on her face. Ava noticed Beatrice coming in the middle.

"You shut up, bitch! You don't know anything." Jackson replied with annoyance in his tone.

"What? You find it difficult to accept the truth that you were already beaten by two women according to your scorecard. Jackson, Beatrice is currently highly regarded in many industries; they would rank her first on their list for the future, while you are among the final choices. Beatrice is the new face at the moment, so if you believe you are superior to her, think again. She is fantastic in bed, I mean. When we were young and crazy, the majority of us concurred." She spoke. This time, Ava was shocked to hear all of it and felt sad to even hear a woman like her had already been in bed with Beatrice and telling everyone how good she is.

The fact that this woman is constantly attempting to question Beatrice about those accomplishments in order to let her know how she wants Beatrice would eventually talk to her about them is what concerns Ava, not the fact that she knows more about Beatrice's accomplishments than she does as a best friend.

"You better shut up or–" Jackson was cut off by Beatrice.

"Or what, Jackson? You are harassing my woman, you do not put a hand on anybody that belongs to me. What is mine? Is mine." Beatrice spoke this time, walking slowly towards Jackson and grabbing Ava's wrist gently.

"You wouldn't like mommy and daddy to get upset because their son fucked it up again." Beatrice added. Beatrice leaned in and whispered her last words before pulling Ava away from the crowd.

"Remember. I can get you homeless in just a snap, Jackson. Try me." Beatrice said and pulled away as they left the crowd, leaving everyone behind. Presilla called security to take Jackson out of the venue and banned him from entering.

As they walked on until they reached the exit from the event, Beatrice picked up her phone and made a call. She then put the phone back inside her pouch while struggling to breathe deeply since she was furious inside. Although she wanted to harm him, she was unable to carry out her former behavior, particularly in front of others. Beatrice immediately focused on Ava, who had been staring at her the entire time. As soon as Beatrice's eyes encountered Ava's, she could see that her mood had changed.

"What's wrong?" Beatrice asked. Ava pouted at Beatrice and rested her head on Beatrice's chest as she felt her warmth. Beatrice was taken back but slowly hugged the younger girl.

"I was scared." Ava whispered...

"Hush... Hush... It's okay, you're okay. I'm here..." Beatrice whispered back and was hugging Ava tight until their limousine came to bring them back to the hotel.

///

When they arrived at the hotel, Beatrice informed Ava that she would take a brief shower before asking Ava what she would like to eat tonight. Just now, Ava stated she would peruse the menu while she waited for her to get out of the shower. Despite being drunk, Ava still wanted to get another drink; she doesn't understand why. She is unsure of where she got the bravery to go buy a drink.

Ava's thoughts are racing, she remembers what the woman said earlier, and there is only one thing she would want to do at this moment, but one thing is certain: she was troubled about something and she can't stop herself from being bothered unless she gets anything that could calm her mind.

"Hey, have you decided on the food you want to have? I mean despite the time, I know you get hungry." Speaking while holding a white towel to dry her hair, Beatrice left the room while donning dark gray sweatpants and a black sweater. Beatrice was perplexed the entire time Ava gave her a long enough look. Ava abruptly threw herself toward Beatrice, bringing her in for a kiss, as Beatrice moved gently closer to her.

Their lips were once again in contact, but none of them were moving, which startled Beatrice. Ava was preoccupied with her own thoughts, and Beatrice was afraid to move. Beatrice didn't realize Ava had gone out until she lost her balance and began to fall; she then quickly rescues Ava before the younger girl could touch the ground. Before bringing Ava into the room in a bridal style and stroking a few hairs over her ear, Beatrice giggles quietly.

Ava fell asleep on the bed as Beatrice slowly lowered her; she was still wearing her dress. Beatrice wished she could take it off and wear something cozier. Beatrice watches the younger girl drift off to a sound sleep and decides she will cook something for herself while letting the younger girl rest first. Ava's shoes were removed, and she made sure the blanket covered her. She left the room cautiously and returned to the living room, where she retrieved her phone and laptop and began working on school-related tasks.

Beatrice managed to start working on the reports and some school activities where she finished half of the lists in her journal, but she had to make sure that she finished them before the clock struck nine in the morning. She felt bad for leaving everything to Luna and not explaining what to do with the other information she had just learned.

It was already three thirty in the morning when Beatrice got up from the couch and fetched herself another cup of coffee. She was on her fourth cup. Beatrice got up and started looking for the piece of paper on which Ava had written down the locations she wanted to go to after she pulled out her phone and realized she wanted to make plans with her. The beach was the first site on the list she wanted to visit when she finally saw the paper and the list. The very beach they used to visit as kids but hardly remembered since they were too little to remember, Beatrice grinned and knew where she would take her.

She pulled out her phone from her pocket and texted her personal assistant to do a favor for her. Before they go to the beach later in the morning, she wanted to make something for herself and Ava. She did this so that Ava would be occupied while she had an hour to prepare some simple cuisine to eat at the beach after getting a little worked up and swimming. She sat back down on her couch after sending the text and took a sip from her coffee when she saw a figure standing nearby, which nearly had her heart leap out of her chest.

"Geez, Ava. Don't do that. You scared the hell out of me." Beatrice spoke as she approached the younger girl who was pouting while staring at her.