The banquet was still roaring with laughter.  

Evan held his glass, forcing a polite smile,  

but his mind was elsewhere—  

fixed on the other side of the table.  

Mr. Chen’s laughter boomed through the room,  

and beside him, Sienna’s cheeks were flushed.  

It was the first time Evan had seen her drunk.  

Her eyes had lost their usual calm;  

her movements were clumsy,  

but even in that disarray, she tried to hold her composure,  

to smile as if nothing mattered.  

That smile hurt more than anything else.  

He gripped his glass tighter,  

a helpless fury clawing through his chest.  

He wanted to do something—anything—  

but he couldn’t.  

This wasn’t his place.  

He was just another employee,  

a name at the bottom of an expense sheet.  

“Evan! Come on, drink with me!”  

A voice jolted him back.  

It was **Celine**, the colleague seated next to him,  

raising her glass with a teasing grin.  

Seeing his dazed expression,  

she laughed and bumped her glass against his.  

“Don’t space out. You’ll make the boss think we’re boring.”  

Evan gave a hollow smile and raised his drink.  

One shot.  

Then another.  

If he couldn’t say what he felt,  

he could at least drown it.  

Soon, Lynne joined them,  

her laughter bright, her perfume cutting through the haze of smoke.  

“Oh? Drinking without me?” she teased.  

“Unfair!”  

The three clinked glasses again and again.  

To everyone else, it was a cheerful scene—  

but Evan was only trying to drink away the sound of her laughter  

from the other side of the table.  

Then came the booming voice again.  

“Hahaha! This lady knows how to treat a guest right!”  

Mr. Chen’s face was red, his grin wild.  

He slapped the table and declared,  

“I’ll buy the rest of the night!”  

“Drinks, supper, karaoke—my treat!”  

Laughter exploded.  

The chairman echoed his cheer.  

“Mr. Chen’s happy, we’re happy! Everyone, let’s go all the way tonight!”  

Evan froze.  

He knew what that meant.  

Sienna and Celine weren’t just leaving with them.  

They were being *bought* for the rest of the night—  

their time, their smiles, their company.  

And him?  

He had no place in that world.  

No right to stay.  

When the party ended,  

the important men walked out first,  

arms around their companions.  

Sienna’s steps wavered slightly, her face still composed.  

Her faint smile was the only armor she had left.  

Evan watched from the corner,  

his chest tightening until he couldn’t breathe.  

Then, without a word,  

he turned and walked out into the night.  

The wind outside was cold, sharp.  

He didn’t call a cab.  

Didn’t head home.  

He just walked.  

His thoughts tangled and burned,  

the alcohol dulling nothing.  

Streetlights blurred into gold and white streaks.  

His footsteps echoed against empty pavement.  

“Evan?”  

The voice came from behind him.  

He turned.  

Lynne stood there,  

the mask of her work smile gone,  

a curious half-smirk replacing it.  

“What’s the rush? You that drunk?”  

Evan froze.  

His throat tightened.  

The images from the banquet still clung to his mind,  

but all he could do was stand there, pretending calm.  

The wind brushed past them,  

and in the quiet hum of the street,  

he somehow knew—  

this night wasn’t over yet.