It took a little while and a few glasses. But then the angular stone inside her slowly but indeed sank into the cozy warmth that the alcohol planted in her system. Eve knew why Riona was so successful as a bartender. She knew how to get someone to reach for their next glass, make them laugh, and break down their hesitant reticence bit by bit.

No doubt the shots liked to get her participation. Still, it was just a nice evening at some point, even though Riona dragged her onto the dance floor, and they laughed together about her inability to dance. Still, it felt easy with her. So easy, in fact, that Eve eventually stopped staring at her cell phone to make sure there were no messages from Ray on her voicemail.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun. At least at the beginning. At some point, the inevitable happened: Riona was a beautiful woman, and it wasn't long before the first guys turned up.

Only someone who had been insecure before could understand what it felt like to stand next to them as they vied for Ri's attention, more or less suitably under her nose. And although Ri was a good friend and politely sent them away, something inside Eve shifted slightly. Perhaps also because the next guy wasn't long in coming, who wanted to claim Riona's attention on the dance floor - and Eve felt increasingly disturbed.

She seemed to like the guy with the black hair and square jaw who was currently standing at Ri's table with his friend. Jason? Jackson? Something along those lines remained whether Eve would have to remember the name.

His buddy had probably given in quickly when he realized that Ri preferred his friend and had settled for the fallen fruit for the time being. But only until Eve had been foolish enough to brush her hair back out of stupid habit did he glimpse the scar underneath. Immediately, the slight hint of interest turned to pity and polite distance.

"I'll get the following drinks," she finally said, stepping away from the table momentarily and weaving her way through the crowd towards the bar. She had only taken a few steps when a hand gripped her wrist, and she looked up into Riona's worried face.

"Eve, are you okay?"

'No.'

"Sure," she squeezed out a somewhat weak laugh and nodded in Jason/Jakson's direction. "I just don't want to bother you guys all the time."

She could see the corner of Ri's mouth twitch.

"Bullshit," the blonde then said, wrinkling her nose. "I'm here with you. We wanted to have fun together, fuck those guys."

"No," she patted Riona's hand, and her gaze slid briefly to the two guys, but then settled on Ri again. "He seems nice. Come on. This won't be our last night," she winked at Ri. Just as her cousin wanted to be a good friend, she also wanted the other way around. "I'll be right back, okay?"

She could see that Ri was unsure but then nodded. She returned to the table, where she was immediately greeted with smiles and laughter.

She stood still for a moment, then Eve turned on her heel and almost ran into someone because she hadn't seen it in her damn blind field of vision.

"Sorry," she mumbled, finally sliding behind one of the wooden support beams to lean against and pluck her strands back to the front.

'What did you expect? That you'd put something else on, and everything would change immediately?'

Even though she should be used to it by now and was here today to jump over her shadow... it still hurt. And she hated herself for hurting. She wanted to be stronger. She wanted a new life. She didn't want to complain anymore. She wanted this new beginning!

"Shit," Eve muttered, running a hand over her face. She was so sick of it. She was sick of herself. She was tired of being hurt. And she was tired of these superficial people and their looks. And most of all, she was tired of always feeling 'not good enough.'

'Fuck that. I don't need any of them,' Eve thought and pressed her lips tighter. The look on Ray's face came to her mind. The way he had looked at her, his touch, the kiss... It didn't matter that things between them had been... strange since then. But Ray didn't find her so ugly that he had to turn away to suppress the urge to vomit. And he didn't look at her with pity either.

Riona was right about what she had said. Eve knew that, and even though her chest was still tight, she had to take these next steps to finally break out of the cage she'd been holed up in for too long. She didn't need a man in her life. Just a little more... Happiness. And she had to stop thinking that this necessarily involved a man.

With a deep breath, Eve pushed herself off the bar until she reached it. She was raising her hand to attract the barman's attention when a familiar voice suddenly reached her ear.

"Who have we here?"

The bright voice poured over her head like cold water.

'Oh no. Please don't.'

Eve turned her head and looked straight into Sally's disgusting, white toothpaste smile. Immediately, her heartbeat quickened, like a mouse frozen before a snake.

Sall's lipstick smile stretched even wider. She wore a tight-fitting dress that accentuated her every curve and reached just enough over her thighs to cover her bottom and the bare necessities. She looked stunning. As always. Behind her stood a blonde-haired guy who looked over Sally's shoulder with interest but seemed more like a cross between Barbie's Ken and a loyal golden retriever.

"A friend of yours?" asked 'Ken,' eliciting an incredulous laugh from Sally.

"No, definitely not," the blonde replied, snorting and throwing him her siren smile. "Are you going to get us our drinks now?"

'Ken' gave Eve a quick wink, and then the pup nodded and leaned over the bar.

"So," Sally, meanwhile, leaned against the bar and tossed one of her blonde curls, coiffed into waves today, over her shoulder. "Who let you out of your cage, Frankenstein?"

"Oh, shut up," Eve groaned, resisting the urge to turn around and leave. She wasn't sure if she just wanted to avoid trouble or make a run for it. Eve stubbornly turned towards the bar and waved to the barman again. But he already seemed to be busy with a group of women - a hen party.

"Are you here to drown your defeat over the store in alcohol?" Sally asked next to her, her eyes sweeping condescendingly over Eve.

'Ignore her. Just ignore her,' Eve hissed, pressing her lips together in a thin line.

"What, you're just ignoring me now? How rude," the blonde next to her grinned nastily, leaning on her elbow. Apparently, she was enjoying herself and had no intention of leaving Eve alone.

"Nice try at dressing you up," Sally remarked, her voice sounding so sugary sweet that Eve felt nauseous. No matter how much sugar you mixed into the cod liver oil, it remained disgusting. The blonde reached out and demonstratively plucked one of the red strands. "You got a new hair color and style?" Sally's smile was as fake as the whole woman from head to toe. Instead, a mischievous twinkle in it instantly tensed Eve's muscles. "Miss Piggy, do realize this isn't going to help either, right? No one wants a fruit that has ugly bruises ..."

Eve closed her eyes. She gritted her teeth so hard that it almost hurt.

"Just go away, Sally," she gritted, giving the young woman beside her a cold look. She just didn't have the nerve for ... that bitch today. Anger and frustration were rumbling in her stomach, making the lid on the pot of her self-control rattle dangerously under the growing pressure.

But Sally either didn't seem to notice the warning signs - or she didn't care. Why should she stop when she had always found Eve such an easy target? The blonde wrapped one of the curls around her manicured fingers and pulled her face into a mock pitying grimace. "I just want to help you," she lied as obviously as if she were trying to sell a frog as a prince. But then her expression became more severe, and the snake she had always been flashed.

"It's time you finally realized it, Eveylein: even if you put a fat manatee in a pretty dress, she's still a manatee. Nobody wants anything like you, even if you dye your hair and convince yourself that someone might like those swimming rings. All you'll get is pity." Sally jutted her chin, and her eyes flashed ice cold. "So do us all a favor and get back to where you came from."