The gala lights glittered across the city skyline, the kind of night meant for grace, charm, and polished smiles. Nara had planned to attend, her dress was pressed, heels lined by the door, but as the hour drew closer, a weight settled over her chest.
She'd been holding it all in lately, the pressure at work, the constant balance between composure and chaos. Tonight, it all felt too much.
"Mrs. Hellen and Lina can represent us," she finally told herself, staring at her reflection in the mirror. "They'll do just fine."
She sent a polite message to Mrs. Hellen explaining she wasn't feeling well and would sit this one out. Within minutes, her phone buzzed with Zuri's name.
> Zuri: "Still alive or buried under paperwork?"
Nara: "Neither. I bailed on the gala."
Zuri: "Finally! You're human. Come out with me tonight. We're going somewhere that doesn't require polite laughter or heels that kill."
Nara hesitated. It wasn't her usual thing anymore. But something inside her, the part that missed feeling alive, spontaneous, light..... said yes.
Later that evening, she met Zuri at a dimly lit lounge pulsing with slow jazz and laughter. The crowd was easy, the energy warm. For the first time in weeks, Nara let herself breathe.
Keigh had attended enough galas to know how to play his part, shake hands, smile at the cameras, make small talk that led to big deals. But tonight felt different.
The moment he walked in, something in him knew Nara wasn't there. He scanned the room out of habit, her calm composure, her warm yet controlled smile, but there was nothing. Just glittering lights and half-hearted laughter.
"Keigh!" Mrs. Hellen's familiar voice called, breaking through the chatter. She and Lina approached him, both elegantly dressed, the company's representatives for the evening.
"Good to see you, Mrs. Hellen. You're looking radiant as always," Keigh said, slipping effortlessly into charm.
Mrs. Hellen smiled warmly, then sighed softly. "Thank you, dear. Nara couldn't make it tonight. She's been under quite a bit of pressure lately. I told her it was fine to take the night and a few days off. Sometimes, even the best of us need to breathe."
Keigh nodded, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "I see," he said simply, though the words carried a quiet weight.
Mrs. Hellen tilted her head, studying him. "She works hard, you know. Sometimes too hard. I think the poor girl forgets she's allowed to rest."
He smiled faintly. "Yeah," he murmured, gaze distant for a moment. "She does have a way of forgetting that."
Throughout the night, he did what was expected of him, mingled, shook hands, exchanged polite laughter, but a quiet restlessness lingered beneath his calm exterior. Every toast, every speech, every fleeting smile reminded him that someone was missing.
When the event finally wound down, Keigh stepped outside into the cool night air, loosening his tie. He checked his phone once, hesitated, then slipped it back into his pocket.
He didn't want to intrude. But curiosity, or maybe something deeper, nudged him to reach out anyway.
> Keigh: "Heard you couldn't make it tonight. Hope you're taking care of yourself."
He stared at the message before hitting send. Simple, respectful, but layered with meaning.
Minutes later, as Nara sat on a rooftop terrace with Zuri, laughter still lingering in the air, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen, and her laughter faltered just slightly.
She read the message twice, a soft warmth blooming in her chest. She wanted to text but she decided, better not.
Keigh waited for a response but nothing came up. He slipped his phone away and looked out over the city skyline, the faint hum of traffic below.
He didn't know exactly what this meant, but one thing was certain, her absence had made the night feel incomplete.
And for a man who thrived on control, that realization was quietly unsettling.