There was an undertone of condescension and mockery in the woman's tone or maybe it was all just in my head. Subconsciously, I touched my emerald necklace as I angled my visage to view the woman beside me who had made the statement.

A large golden fascinator hat with a netted veil sat proudly atop her head and as such, her face was sufficiently hidden from me except for a pouty pair of glossy red lips.

It was visible just inches from where the veil stopped. To me, her accessory was absolutely atrocious and a bit overdone though it perfectly complemented the black peacoat dress that adorned her lean form.

"Thank you," I enunciated while completely ignoring her question. "Your headdress is...one of a kind."

She seemed to bob her head and I saw her lips curl upwards momentarily. "Of course it is. In fact, I'll let you know that I first saw it in France and fell in love with it immediately. I bought an entire collection." She touched the golden veil with slender fingers.

Plastering a plastic smile onto my exterior, I commented, "I see."

Trevor was right; I was already fed up with these events. The fact that I had to sit through moments of gloating appalled me. If people like the elite woman beside me were those that I'd have to face each time I turned up at one of these jamborees then I simply wouldn't show up.

I absolutely despised the haughty manner with which she addressed me. It was almost like she knew something about me that I didn't, prompting me to feel a bit uncomfortable. However, I wouldn't dare to show it.

"Have you ever been there? Have you been to France before?" She inquired.

"No, I haven't." I was yet to understand what she was getting at. "But I'm sure it's a wonderful place to be."

"Indeed. I'll also take it that you haven't been anywhere outside this country, right? Because every single guest here has visited about a handful of countries."

At that point, I wanted to get out of my seat and go do something else. Who did she think she was to tell me that I didn't belong there?

"Is that so? Well, I may not have visited any other country but the fact that I'm sitting here in this chair, rubbing shoulders with you makes me just as important and equal to you and every other elite in this place."

Her glossy lips quickly formed a frown and I knew that I had said the right thing. Finally, I lifted my fork and cut into the cake before me. It had a delicious strawberry flavor that just melted in my mouth. It tasted even better with my recent triumph and I almost giggled.

"By the way, my name is Zoe Saunders." That arrogant tone still wasn't gone yet.

"Carina Osborne. Nice to meet you," I mentioned without looking her way.

A server was going around the table, placing bottles of water for everyone. Another server was refilling wine glasses and upon noticing that I had no wine glass before me, he placed one and filled it. The current performance happening at the centre of the room had just come to an end and throwing furtive glances around, I tried to find Rowen.

"It seems your attention is divided, Carina. Are you looking for someone? Your boyfriend, perhaps?" Her snarky tone came up again.

I grasped the bottle of water. "Your definition of 'divided attention' is different from mine."

Those red lips briefly curled up into a smile. A wry smile. By then, she could see how I was deliberately avoiding any talk concerning my fiancé and I would continue to do so until she had learnt to mind her business. There was something about that woman-I didn't want to make any assumptions but she definitely knew a lot more than she was letting on.

Opening the bottle, I drank from it. The water was refreshing and it was as though it gave me the remaining boost I needed to get through that charity ball. From my peripheral vision, I could see this Zoe woman perusing me.

She then raised her wine glass to take a sip from it. "I haven't seen you touch any beverage since you arrived at our table. You should try the wine-it's non-alcoholic if that's what you're being mindful of."

"I'm not interested." I clutched my bottle tight for a moment before loosening my grip and placing it back on our table.

Laughing airily, she piped up again: "Oh I know what this is. You must have an unpleasant memory about this-say a spiked punch from a party perhaps?"

Her words, as random as they were, struck home as recognition reverberated within me. The memories of that ill-fated party that I had attended with Kendall burst straight through to the fore of my mind. Though it had nothing to do with my decision to desist from beverages that evening, it still lodged a sour taste in my mouth.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and admitted: "I do have a memory of that but I assure you that it has nothing to do with anything."

Hearty chortles erupted from her mouth, eliciting a couple of glances in our direction. "Does it now? These things happen all the time..."

With this, she tipped her chin in the direction of a particular server who held a large tray in her hands before directing her gaze in the direction ahead of the young woman. Once I followed her line of vision, I saw a group of men sitting around another table just like ours.

The female server with the tray reached the gathering and proceeded to offer her drinks to them individually. I was about to look away from the table when I spotted Rowen amongst them. When he was offered a drink, he waved her away but I saw the others saying things to him.

My gaze grew even more scrutinizing as I saw my fiancé get coaxed into taking a glass. A feeling of dread ran down my spine for some reason yet I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away. One of the men stood up and I recognized him to be Daniel Richmonds. Raising his glass, he proposed a toast to which they all clinked their glasses.

My eyes never strayed from Ro while he downed the contents of the glass and proceeded to discuss with his elite friends. Finally, I veered my gaze to the stage where a little girl was performing before cutting into my cake once again. The seemingly loquacious woman by my side refrained from stirring up any more conversations with me or anyone else.

Instead, she sat there with a steady smile on her lips that made me feel uneasy. Upon throwing a glance at my fiancé's table again, my blood froze. Ro's chair was vacant and I didn't know what to make out of it.

A grim feeling settled in the depths of my stomach and the speed with which I sprung from my seat was unfamiliar to me. A bunch of eyes darted over to me due to my sudden movement.

"Is anything the problem, Carina?" Rose's voice floated over to me.

I feigned a smile. "Of course not. I just need to use the convenience."

"Okay then. It's right over-"

"-don't worry, I can find my way." I cut in before turning and briskly walking away.

My mind was on overdrive as I navigated the vast room in an attempt to locate my fiancé. The bad feeling I had before had returned and it was stronger than ever. I just needed to find him and know that he was okay.

(Italics)"God help me..."

I was still frantically looking around when I caught a glimpse of a familiar dark green jacket. Instantly, I rushed after him just as he stumbled past a doorway with a sign 'convenience' atop it. When I got in, I saw Ro leaning over one of the faucets on the marble countertop of the bathroom.

Everything and everyone around me faded away except him and as every stride of my feet carried me his way, the apprehension circulating in my bloodstream rose at an alarming rate. I caught a glimpse of his pale face in the mirror in front of him before it fell, water dripping from his chin.

"Ro," I whispered, placing my hand over his shaky one which was splayed on the marble surface, close to the crevice below the faucet.

Slowly, my fiancé raised his head and craned his neck to glance at me. The silver-gray eyes that I had grown to adore then glistened with what can only be described as...shame.

"Are you okay?"

With a sluggish shake of his head, he began to speak with great effort: "The ground... Shifting beneath me... Everything's confusing..."

My fears were now confirmed and instantly, I knew we needed to act fast. By then, Rowen's movements were beyond languid and I could tell that it took a lot out of him to even keep standing.

"My p-pho-phone..." He muttered, his words barely coherent.

Something clicked in my head and quickly, I checked the pockets of his pants and got hold of his phone. I placed one of his fingers on the fingerprint scanner and as soon as I got access to his phone, I promptly found and dialed Trevor's number since he was the best person who could help me with Ro's situation.

"Yo, Wendy, what's...poppin'? Have y-you left already?" His heavily accented voice came through on the first try.

"Hey, Trevor. It's me, Carina and Rowen's not fine. I need you to come to the convenience as quickly as you can. Please..."

"What?! I'm on my way."

He ended the call and I wondered where the bodyguards were as I waited for Trevor to come.

"It's going to be okay, Ro. Trevor's coming to help so, just hang on, okay?" I whispered to my fiancé, knowing how fuzzy it was in his head since I too had experienced it before.

I especially appreciated how all those who came in to use the convenience minded their business. No one stopped to make inquiries which made the situation less embarrassing than it was.

"Hey, I'm h-here," the familiar voice of Trevor reached my ears and I turned away from Ro to see him ambling towards us with quick yet somewhat clumsy steps.

I had already sighed in relief before realizing that Trevor was a bit tipsy as well. As if that night couldn't get any worse. My fiancé staggered and it looked like his legs would give out from under him at any moment. However, Trevor rushed to hold him and I was impressed by how my fiancé had been holding up all this time.

"We need to leave this place," I phrased flatly. "I'm not sure how exactly I can get hold of the bodyguards or if that's a good idea at all."

"Not a g-good idea at all. Wendy always lets the guards go and do their own thing whenever he's at events. T-they usually come around when everything is over but because of t-the nature of this situation, I reckon that we are very discreet."

"This is just wonderful," I deadpanned. Rowen's eyes were barely open as his best friend slung one of his(Rowen's) arms over his(Trevor's) shoulder.

"Well, aren't you the sarcastic one, ma chérie?" He smiled widely. "Luckily, my car's outside... We can use the back entrance."

It was settled and Trevor bearing most if not all of Rowen's weight led the way while I briskly followed. All of a sudden, I began to appreciate back entrances so much more than I did before and people we passed gave us stares that varied from weird to curious.

We reached the metallic grey Rolls Royce uneventfully and after depositing my fiancé and my clutch into the back seat, it was time to leave. Trevor noisily slammed the car door which we had used to place Ro into the car before he chuckled and rested against that particular car door.

"Wait a s-second, ma chérie. You have to tell me, how did this...happen?" He quizzed. "Wendy drinks very little in outings like these and I'm u-u-usually the one who gets crazy drunk and has to be taken home. Now, h-he's swapped places w-with me. How ridiculous..."

Remembering my exchange with Zoe Saunders, I shook my head. "I'm not completely sure since we weren't together when it happened, but I think his drink got spiked or something."

I watched the man before me with rich dreadlocks burst into laughter. "I'll believe you... Because Wendy hardly d-drinks , especially after everything that has happened."

Everything that had happened? Did his insanity before have anything to do with drinking? As much as I wanted to ask about this, there were more pressing issues at hand. I wasn't sure what exactly was going on but I hoped I would find out soon.

For now, the most essential thing to me was getting Rowen back to our hotel safely and figuring out if the drink he had taken was more harmful than we thought. I also prayed we wouldn't run into any paparazzi on the way because that would be the worst thing that could happen at that moment.

My fiancé's best pal pushed off from the car door, the action somehow causing his keys to slip from his hands. With a grunt of annoyance, I promptly stooped to pick them up before handing them back to him.

"L-let's go."

We got in and I realized my mistake after spending about two minutes watching Trevor poking areas around the keyhole in attempts to correctly insert the key and start the ignition. Unbuckling my seat belt, I got out of the passenger seat and hurriedly walked around the car to the driver's side. I pulled the car door open.

"Enough!" Obviously, Trevor wasn't fit to drive. "If you drive us, we may never make it to the hotel."

One look at how fed up I was and Trevor quietly handed the keys over to me and got out. Holding my dress up, I got in and secured the seat belt over my body. I waited for Trevor to get into the passenger seat before starting the vehicle.

I spotted my fiancé through the centre mirror, barely conscious and with beads of sweat visible on his attractive face. His current state pained me to no small degree and as much as I wanted to hold him in my arms right then, I had to man the steering wheel.

Having to drive two full-grown, pie-eyed men was definitely not part of how I imagined my first event as an elite would go and it was my earnest prayer that something like that would never happen again.

It may have seemed like extra work back then, but I was glad I got my driver's license and learnt how to drive. As I carefully navigated the vehicle into traffic, having since inputted our destination into the GPS, I thought about the different possible scenarios of what would have happened if I knew nothing about driving.

Perhaps, sometime in the future, we will all have a good laugh about that particular situation.

"You're driving us n-n-now but if an-anyone asks, I was the one that did the driving...okay?" Trevor uttered questioningly as he relaxed into his seat. "It's e-embarrassing to a-admit that I was too drunk to drive and had to let a woman t-take charge."

A smile curled my lips. "I'll think about it."

"The...only other r-reason I'm allowing you to handle my baby," he patted a random part of the vehicle, "is b-because...you're W-w-wendy's woman."

To this, I rolled my eyes.

"An-"

"-could you please keep quiet?" I interposed, shooting an angry glance at him.

Rowen's best friend was already getting on my nerves just like he did with Ro and it seemed that being drunk to an extent made Trevor extra annoying. I shook my head upon realizing this and I just knew that he wouldn't stay quiet for long. Well, this was going to be a long ride.