The music at Delamonte pulsed like a living thing—too loud, too fast, too much—but Stella Alonso sat stiffly in the corner, pretending she belonged there. Her phone was clutched like a lifeline, fingers scrolling aimlessly through a feed she could barely bring herself to look at. Each swipe brought a fresh reminder of her crumbling image, of how fast everything she built was falling apart.

And Raya? Of course Raya was thriving.

Raya, who once begged Stella for tips on Instagram. Raya, who used to text her, wide-eyed, about her first hundred followers. Raya, who now walked into events like this with PR-crafted poise and a boyfriend like Adam hanging off her arm.

It was laughable.

Stella swallowed hard, forcing her gaze away from them as she tried to pretend the anxiety wasn’t creeping up her spine. She could feel their eyes on her—Raya’s eyes, calculating and cold. And Adam’s, amused. They were whispering. Glancing. Laughing.

It was like school all over again. Tall. Skinny. Weird. She’d learned to carry herself with confidence since then, learned to fake it until it became something real. But under the shallow glow of influencer culture, it didn’t take much for that mask to crack.

She reached for her drink with trembling fingers, trying not to choke on the lump in her throat.

Then—

Calm, cool, collected.

The voice was calm, but the cut was razor-sharp.

Silence fell like a guillotine.

Stella blinked, confused for a moment—until she looked up.

You stood there, in that perfectly pressed black blazer you always wore like armor, your gaze fixed squarely on Raya and Adam. You weren’t loud, you didn’t raise your voice, but your presence alone seemed to hush the room. A few heads turned. Adam shifted uncomfortably. Raya scoffed, offering a fake little smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

"We weren’t—"

You didn’t blink.

Stella’s chest tightened. She didn’t even know you noticed.

Raya opened her mouth again, but your stare silenced her faster than your voice had. She turned with a huff and pulled Adam away, muttering something about "jealous nobodies" under her breath.

The buzz of the room resumed, but for Stella, everything had shifted.

You sat beside her, calm and cool as ever.

Stella’s heart tripped. She looked away, fiddling with the rim of her glass. "She’s always one step ahead. Raya. I feel like I’m constantly chasing shadows she left behind."

She paused. "Why… did you defend me?"