Kayleigh lifted the glass of tonic water to her lips. She allowed the fizz on her tongue to refresh her palate before she swallowed, shuddering as it sloshed into her stomach. She felt awful. Her ears were pricked over the loud music, hoping someone would announce they were heading back to the hotel, giving her the opportunity to leave too without looking like an ungrateful cow. But one look around the exclusive club assured her that that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.

From the looks of things, Greta and Ms Weston had finally put their argument to rest. They were laughing a few metres away from her, clearly in their element and having a great time. Victoria even had a drink in her hand. She was bopping her head to the beat and looked more relaxed than Kayleigh had ever seen her. So, she guessed Greta had finally convinced her to let loose just a little.

Jean Luc was just behind her, chatting very loudly and very rapidly in French with a group of people Kayleigh could only assume were part of the show crew enjoying their success. They were glamourous in that ultra cool kind of way, in black, tight clothing and large colourful scarves or vests. But it was their hair and makeup that gave it away. They looked, natural, effortlessly and yet so beautiful they were almost otherworldly.

Meanwhile, Abi and her girls were on Kay's right, closer to the impressive seafood bar. Chloe and Chelsea were taking selfies with the bold, branded backdrop, a black, white and gold collage of A-listers wearing striking haute couture pieces, while Abi eyed the shellfish wistfully.

Maxine Azera however, was nowhere to be seen, and Kayleigh wondered if maybe she left without telling anyone. She wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if she did. She had thought Maxine might possible be the one person she could click with on this trip, apart from Jean Luc, of course. But she lost all hopes of that when she gave Abigail the main bachelorette gift ahead of time without informing the girls.

The fact that she did it to fix the lady of the honour's tragic wardrobe malfunction seemed to be irrelevant. Then again, the girls didn't know about the apparel mishap. God forbid they'd think Abigail Kilton could gain a scrap of weight.

Kayleigh took another refreshing swig of tonic water and opened her Valentino purse with the intention of searching for a taxi app. But as her fingers wrapped around her phone, it started to vibrate. Kay smiled seeing Jack's smiling face making an appearance on her screen. She moved quickly out into the lounge area where the music was much lower.

"You're not wearing the necklace," he complained gently as soon as she picked up.

Kay's hand instinctively went up to her throat and she gasped when she found it bare.

"I left it on the bedside table. I'm so sorry, Jack. I really meant to wear it."

"That's alright," he chuckled. "Just as long as you didn't take it off because of some pretentious millionaire."

Kay smiled into her phone as his easy tone reached her ears. Suddenly, she wished he was there.

"Don't worry. One pretentious millionaire is enough for me," she teased.

He laughed again. "Very funny, Ms Moore."

"Wait a second," Kayleigh interjected. "How do you know I'm not wearing the necklace?" Her eyes scanned the room hopefully. "Are you here?"

"No," he answered quickly. "But only because I have an eight o'clock meeting tomorrow. I was this close to driving down there as soon as I saw your photos. Vanity Fair have a couple of good snaps of you and Abigail. They're not the only ones, of course, but they actually made the effort to tag me as well. They're worried I don't know where you are and that I'm all alone in my penthouse missing you. They got the last bit right, though, the nasty buggers."

Keywords from his conversation made their way to Kayleigh's brain one by one.

Photos. Vanity Fair. Tag. Alone.

"What photos?" she asked slowly.

"Don't worry, baby. They're  all positive features this time," Jack assured her. "Didn't you see them? Your Insta is probably blowing up."

Kayleigh moved her phone away from her ear and checked her notifications.

"Holy cow!" she gasped. "I'm up to nine million followers!"

Jack Monroe's laugh came through the phone again and Kay pressed the device back to her ear.

"Yep. Who figured Abigail Kilton would be a bigger catalyst to your quick rise to fame than me?"

Who figured anyone would be a catalyst at all?

But fame didn't exactly sit well with Kayleigh. So far, the little experience she had with the fickle friend was nothing short of abysmal.

"Your followers want me dead, remember?" she muttered bitterly.

"So do Abi's! They're convinced you stole her man."

The humour disappeared from his voice soon as the words were out. Kayleigh was certain he didn't mean to be unkind, but his reminder felt like a blow to the stomach anyway.

"Crap. Baby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," he went on sounding genuine. Too genuine. She didn't deserve his apology. She was the one who wronged him. He was the one who forgave her.

"It's okay," Kayleigh lied. "You don't have to apologise."

"I didn't mean it like that. For a moment I-"

"Forgot that I almost did steal her man," she finished the sentence for him morosely.

"Who's man did you almost steal?"

Kayleigh almost dropped both her phone and her drink as Abigail came up behind her, with Chelsea and Chloe flanking her like the faithful sidekicks they were.

"Er... Jack's ex-girlfriend!" Kayleigh lied, blurting out the first thing that came to her mind. "Did you know he had just broken up with her the day we met?"

Jack swore on the other end of the line, causing Kayleigh to shift her attention back to him.

"You're getting good at this! And you were worried you wouldn't fit in!"

Kayleigh pursed her lips together. He sounded impressed but she wasn't so sure she appreciated the compliment.

"Jack, I have to go!" she told him, making a mental note to call him later.

"Bye, Jack," Abi sang into Kay's phone. She puckered her bold, red lips and made smooching sounds into the little microphone. "Don't worry about your girl. She's safe with me! She won't be stealing anyone's man tonight."

Jack laughed. His easy-going, smooth-as-hell tone was back and it eased Kay's anxiety just a little. Maybe he wasn't that upset with her after all.

"Alright," he replied. "Kayleigh, don't let Abi drink anymore. You have eyes on you. Bye and behave."

Kayleigh hung up before anyone could say anything else that made her feel like crap.

"That Jack Monroe is really wrapped around your finger, isn't he?" Chelsea asked. She was smiling sweetly but her tone was drenched in something that felt resentful.

Kayleigh was ready to tell her exactly what she could wrap around her finger when Chloe decided to throw in her two cents.

"You have no idea, Chels. Everybody is. Kayleigh almost started a war when we went to WYLD. Even Mark got all flustered because some guys were groping her the wrong way."

"Ease up, Chloe. We all know how protective my Mark is. He'd have done the same for you."

Kay's fingers closed tighter around her glass while Abi spoke.

Her Mark. She didn't even know Mark's name. How the heck was she marrying him? How was she pregnant with his baby?

Kayleigh's mood took a dark turn and she knocked back what was left of her tonic, suddenly wishing it was poisoned with something stronger.

"No, I don't think so," Chloe went on as if Kayleigh wasn't right there in front of them. "I think it's her. She's got you too, Abi. You've done nothing but rave about her these past weeks. Remind me where you're from, Kayleigh, darling."

"Southwold," Kay answered through clenched teeth.

"That's how Mark knows her," Abi filled in, thinking for some stupid reason it would help Kayleigh's case. "He's best friends with her brother. Kayleigh is like a little sister to him. Of course, he'd help her out in a situation."

But Chloe's smile only grew more malicious and undoubtedly fake.

"Still... Pretty impressive for a village girl to bag a millionaire boyfriend, the most successful girl boss as her mentor, and get featured in some of the top magazines after what? A month of living in London? You must be very likeable, Kayleigh Moore. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Kayleigh muttered through the tight smile that had formed on her face around the same time Chloe used the words 'bag a millionaire.' "If only you owned a successful fashion house or made the Forbes list, I might have spared a pinkie for you too."

Fuming, Kayleigh moved away before the mean stepsister could say something that would really make her lose it. And Jack was right. Eyes were on them.

She couldn't believe she was thinking this, but she actually needed a drink.

She spotted Jean Luc by the bar and practically ran towards him. Her eyes narrowed at the man when she saw him downing two lit up Sambuca shots in the space of four seconds.

"Okay, you are not yourself tonight. Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Kayleigh demanded.

The French man shrugged his shoulders and gave her his signature snooty look as he said, "I don't know what you're talking about." But even that seemed rather forced.

Then, his eyes drifted over Kay's head and settled somewhere behind her.

Kayleigh followed his line of vision and her eyes found Maxine Azera in her beautiful red and gold mermaid dress, talking animatedly to a handsome man who looked like the walking epitome of what Paris Fashion Week was all about.

If Kayleigh had to guess, she would have estimated that the man was in his early thirties. He was wearing a pin-striped white suit made of a shiny, silk material, with a pink shirt and matching pink tie underneath. His angular face was mostly covered by a pair of large, heart-shaped, pink glasses and his long, wavy hair was slicked back.

Kay turned back and found Jean Luc still glaring at them with a a dark look in his eyes. A look she knew wasn't directed at Maxine.

"Who's that?" Kay asked, and Jean Luc grimaced as though he was sucking on something sour in response.

At that moment, Maxine touched the man's elbow lightly and whispered something in his ear. They turned in their direction and the man nodded. He slid his glasses down the bridge of his nose and his pink lips twisted into a sardonic smile as he looked directly at her and Jean Luc. He balanced an unlit cigarette between his lips and gave Max his arm just before they started walking towards them.

For some reason, Kayleigh felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge, and her heart pounded harder, as though to warn her that a kind of danger was approaching her.

"Who is that man Jean Luc?" she asked again as her eyes connected with his through his glasses.

Jean Luc cleared his throat and stood up to his full height. Just before the ominous man with the mysterious smile and beautiful model reached them, he gave her an answer.

"That's Pierre Aubert. He's the head designer of tonight's show. He also happens to be my ex-boyfriend."

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