"Oi! Come here, I want a word with you."

Angela had been waiting for Caleb to arrive while hiding from her husband's subordinates. When she saw him enter alone, she swooped in and dragged him into a hallway to explain in private what was going on. As she'd suspected, Tristan had been the motivation behind his sudden interest in the company celebrations.

"And you're doing it here?" she asked, "Shouldn't it be somewhere with a little more meaning? Are you sure you've thought this through?"

"Everything we've done, there's been no ceremony to it" Caleb admitted, "Tristan wants people to see how loved he is, to congratulate him."

"I'm sure he just meant his family and friends, and not a room full of strangers" Angela warned, "Grand public gestures are great and all if that's what you want, but Tristan doesn't strike me as an exhibitionist. And neither are you. So why would you propose in front of all these people you don't give a shit about? Just to hear their fake congratulations?"

"I don't know that many people..." Caleb lamented, "I just want him to feel seen."

"Surely there's a happy medium you could have found! Do you really want the board of Caffray present for such an intimate moment? For someone like Adam Porter to be there? To have him insist on shaking yours and Tristan's hands and sharing a toast to your union?" 

Angela feigned wretching at the thought. 

"At the very least you need to curate the guestlist. Think about it. How many of the guests here even know Tristan?"

There were more than they'd realized.

Tristan didn't want to turn around. He didn't want to believe his ears. He'd checked time and again with Caleb that no one he knew from Cabi would be invited to the Caffray party. His husband wouldn't have lied to him... someone else was responsible for the tightening of his chest and the chokehold that had suddenly gripped his vocal chords.

"Did you really not leave?" laughed Sarah, "Don't tell me that supermarket offered to sponsor your visa? You know it's only skilled laborers that can stay here to work. I think someone might have given you some wrong information. Unless... are you here to try and get your old job back?! Tris, that's too much, even for you."

"I don't know if I made it worse" said Tibur as he exited the bathroom still touching his hair.

Tristan took hold of his hand for comfort.

"Oh... Oh no, Tristan. Don't tell me you jumped into bed with another Caffray employee just to stay in the country..? What were you thinking?"

She wasn't quiet. Her words were attracting the attention of the arriving guests, and Tristan could sense the judgement in their eyes. What would Caleb say..? How could he hold his head up and stand by his side?

"Tristan? Who is this woman?" asked Tibur, sizing her up as the hideous witch she was.

"This woman?" asked Sarah, "Whatever he's said about me should be taken with a grain of salt. He brought his break up on himself to be honest. And from the looks of things, it didn't take him long to move onto the next..."

To say Tibur was confused was an understatement.

"Can we go find Caleb?" Tristan asked him.

"What about Millie?"

"Please" said Tristan, the grip on Tibur's hand tightening, "I want to find Caleb."

"Sure, of course" Tibur assured him, glancing to the ladies' room and seeing no sign of their friend being ready to join them. At least they could message her once they got inside.

Sarah was unwilling to accept that Tristan was going to walk away and paint her as the villain. Whoever this foreign boyfriend of his was, he shouldn't leave with the wrong idea about who was really to blame for the whole situation with Jed. She had a duty to set things straight before rumors about her had a chance to circulate.

Tristan and Tibur entered the ballroom, hand in hand, and with the shadow of Tristan's former life hanging over them.

"There you are!" said Fraser, "What do you think? Isn't it beautiful in here?"

The grand, art deco ballroom festooned with greens and golds had barely caught Tristan's attention, he was too shaken up from their run-in with Sarah. Like a nightmare he couldn't escape from, it was impossible to wake up and see the comforting light of reality.

"I wouldn't let Caleb catch you holding hands though..." Fraser cautioned, aware that his brother was in a delicate mood.

Sarah's shrill and derisory laugh cut through the ambient music.

"Don't tell me there's another one!"

"Excuse me" said Fraser, "Are you talking to us?"

"I'm sorry" said Sarah, "I just can't stand by and watch employees of my husband's company be taken advantage of by a man they let go for his incompetence. Just how many men are you seeing at Caffray, Tristan? Did it start when you were still with Jed? I'm struggling to remember what he saw in you."

Too many people were watching them.

"Would you mind explaining who your husband is?" asked Fraser, trying to get the measure of the woman claiming his and his brother's firm belonged to her spouse.

"I'm Sarah Stratton" she announced, "Perhaps you know my husband Carl? He manages the Cabi branch."

"No he doesn't" Fraser countered.

"I beg your pardon? You may be a little behind with the news in Modesh - which isn't all that surprising - but I can assure you, Bruce appointed him to the position himself."

Fraser laughed.

"I remember you now" he said, "What is it you wanted with Tristan?"

"I don't want anything at all with him" she said, "I just can't stand by and watch him sleep his way through the company just to keep from getting kicked out of the country!"

"And why not?" asked Fraser, somewhat bemused by Tristan's insane acquaintance, "It sounds like fun. More importantly, what does it have to do with you?"

It was fortunate that whatever vitriol she was spewing was directed at the Executive Vice President. Not a soul in the room was willing to take her seriously.

"What does it have to do with me? Clearly you're not all that interested in this company's reputation, but some of us actually give a shit about how Caffray's being made to look."

"And how is it looking?" Fraser goaded.

"Well..! Like it's an easy mark for opportunist nobodies! Do you know he lost his job here? And that he works in a supermarket?"

"I also work in a supermarket..." Tibur pointed out.

"And my husband delivers drinks there" added Fraser, "Are you sure you've come to the right party? In fact, Tristan never 'lost his job' at Caffray, if memory serves me correctly, he resigned in Cabi. But you, on the other hand..."

"I worked for this company for four years before I quit to get married and support my husband!" Sarah boasted.

"No you didn't" corrected Fraser, "The old sales team, right? Under Pete? You were asked to leave. Too many complaints about 'a hostile work environment'."

Sarah's face turned a strange hue.

"I'm not sure where you think you've got your information from" she challenged, "But you should be careful not to end up sued for libel!"

"Slander" clarified Tristan without thinking, "For libel it needs to be published."

"Oh, then should I write a company-wide email to explain what she did?" Fraser asked his brother-in-law.

 "I should have known, these would be the kind of people you'd be hanging out with, Tristan" said Sarah, sneering at Fraser with little understanding as to who she was offending, "It was a waste of my time trying to warn any of you. You're all just bunch of fucking losers that deserve one another."

"Sarah!" hissed Carl, hurrying through the crowd to her side.

"Carl!" she pouted in return, "Do you have any idea what these people just said to me?! I think it's worth reviewing the hiring policy at Caffray, the standards are starting to slip!"

"Shut the fuck up" he told her, "You're embarrassing me! Ray, I'd like to apologize on my wife's behalf. I think she popped one too many pills on the flight over here."

"Carl! Have you forgotten I'm your wife? You're supposed to take my side!"

"You're making a fool of yourself" he said, trying to drag her away from the scene she'd caused.

"What's with you?" she demanded, "Jed! Jed, everyone's lost their mind!"

Hiding behind a couple of curious guests was a man doing his best to blend in with the crowd. His go-to 'wedding suit' was struggling to contain the extra pounds he'd packed on since Tristan had last seen him. He looked over-heated in his three-piece ensemble, his face pink, and his hair springing up awkwardly from a fresh cut.

Tristan wanted to laugh.

This was the man he'd followed half way across the world? He wasn't even worth following as far as the buffet table. He chided himself for having been tricked so easily; for ever having thought these people were above him. I'm sorry Dad... I thought too little of myself.

"Sarah..." said Jed, avoiding casting his eyes in Tristan's direction, "If Carl says it's time to go then maybe you should..."

Never before so insulted, Sarah turned to storm out and ran into Millie.

"Watch where you're fucking going!" she cried after their near head-on collision.

As a guest of the CEO, Millie held her tongue and said nothing in retaliation to the rudeness she'd endured. Her heavy motorcyle boot was less restrained however, and accidentally got in Sarah's way as she was trying to flee the ballroom. Stumbling forward and landing on her knees, Sarah tried crying to her husband. When she realized he wasn't coming to help her, she ran away alone.

"I'm so incredibly sorry for the disturbance" Carl groveled, "I hope you won't hold her actions against me."

"Shouldn't you go and check on her..?" asked Fraser, "I would imagine she'd need somebody to see her home."

"That's what taxis are for, right?" Carl attemped to joke.

The Executive Vice President glared back at him. It was clear the 'biggest night' of Carl's career was over before it could begin.

"I'll do that then" he relented, "Congratulations on the anniversary, I'm only sorry I can't stay to help you celebrate."

He looked to the crowd, expecting Jed would leave with him, just as they'd arrived, but was surprised to find him purposely avoiding his gaze. Well fuck you then, he thought, I'm the only reason you still had a job.

"You could have waited" said Millie, "Look what happens when I'm not around! I'm sure the two of you are cursed every time you abandon me."

"Are you okay, Tristan?" asked Tibur, still holding his hand.

Jed had disappeared into the mass of partygoers, and the joyful sounds of music and revelers seemed to bring him back to his senses.

"That wasn't a dream, right?" he asked.

"A fucking nightmare more like" said Fraser, "what in the hell were they doing here?"

Farang shared his opinion of the unexpected guest in his native Modeshi.

"A complete and total one" Tibur agreed.

"Tibur, I'm leaving my Knight with you while I go and find my brother" said Fraser, "Don't let anyone try and steal him away... he looks far too attractive in that suit."

Fraser slipped into the crowd with a reluctant bite of his lip towards Farang.

"What did he say?" Farang asked in Modeshi.

"He's going to find his brother" Tibur explained, disappointingly leaving out the compliment that Farang was hoping for.

"I think I need to get some air" said Tristan, taking back his hand from Tibur's comforting grasp.

"Do you want us to go with you?" asked Millie, "We can go throw some coins in the fountain. Or even better, maybe we can find some?"

"Go enjoy the free bar" said Tristan, "I think I just need a reset. I'll be back before Caleb does his speech. I think it's due to start soon anyway."

Tibur checked the time on his watch. "It's almost eight fifteen" he told him, "You should be fine.

His friends failed to recognize the value of the timepiece that Michael had given him, but it happened to catch the eye of a man across the room.

"Someone get me a wine while I'm gone" said Tristan.

"He did say 'free bar' right?" Millie double checked, before leaving Tibur and Farang to go and see what was on offer.

"You want a drink?" asked Tibur.

"I'd prefer a cigarette" Farang confessed, "This place makes me uncomfortable... not to mention these clothes. I feel like a kid playing dress-up. I have to say though, it kind of suits you."

Tibur was starting to relax into his formal persona. He only wished that Michael could have seen him looking his best. As it was, they were approached instead by a man with a neatly trimmed beard.

"You have a habit of attracting handsome young men of taste" said the flashy stranger, "I thought Mr Black would bring you along, but I'd failed to anticipate you'd bring a friend for me. I don't think I introduced myself properly the last time we met, I'm Taran Malk, and this is my hotel."