Abi took the glass with an effortful smile, the liquid sloshing as people pressed in to join the cheer. A queer chill ran through her. Simon was a man at a party that had started without him but now revolved entirely around him. While she could be the lost princess but no one will entertain him in his absence. She was a stranger to them. Someone who could only be an entertainment for them.
people crowded around her only to bask in her husband's attention. She looked down at her glass, at the bubbles popping and disappearing. She drowned the wicked thought in a long swig of champagne.
"I apologize I have nothing to offer. I only sat here to know more about you." she offered a smile that did not reach her eyes. But the girls did not need it. They needed nothing that Abi could offer them.
