The sea of people blurred past me without faces or features. Silhouettes in a darkened room. The ringing in my ears was still present and ever-growing. With each step, I started to find it more and more difficult to make sense of where I was going.

Then finally, I saw it. The faintly lit silhouette of the bathroom just ahead in the distance. I took what felt like my first breath since leaving the table and hurried in its direction.

Until a hand suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me back forcefully. Somehow, I already knew who it was before I even looked.

Phil. The smile plastered on his face with a strength I never even knew he was capable of, and a grip on my arm to match. He leaned in close, speaking through gritted teeth. The pure rage screaming in his eyes.

"Hello there, Darling. Where do you think you're going?"

If his goal was to scare me, then he had horribly misjudged his position in this little fiasco. If anything, he was the one who should have been terrified. And I was more than happy to remind him of that fact.

I put on a smile of my own, speaking in a calm, gentle voice. "To the bathroom, Dearest. Exactly where I said I was going. However, if you insist on keeping me here, then I suppose we could always take a stroll to the nearest divorce attorney instead."

That put the fear of God into him. And put it in fast. His eyes widened and he immediately dropped my arm. He whipped his head around quickly to make sure no one had heard me speak the oh-so-forbidden word "divorce."

When he was sure nobody had heard he stepped closer to me. He tried to keep up the tough "I'm in charge" act, but his eyes betrayed him. He was scared right now. Very, very scared.

"Maggie, Dear, what do you think you're doing? You of all people should understand that that's simply not an option. Not in your position, at least. In case you've forgotten, I have legal documents assuring that all my assets would remain in my name should anything... unfortunate happen to our marriage.

"The house, the car, all the accounts I have open with various organizations. Like, the Wilson Facility, for example," he not-so-subtly hinted. "It's a real shame to think about what might happen if any of these things were to, oh, I don't know, suddenly disappear."

This was it. His big play. His ace in the hole. His barely veiled threat to cut off the cash and effectively end Eli's life by doing so. The only threat that he still knew was effective against me when anything big went wrong in our fucked-up, business arrangement of a marriage.

Unfortunately for him, there was one thing he had forgotten: Tonight, he had broken the rule.

Feet firmly planted, arms crossed in a sign of unwavering determination, I looked him dead in the eyes as I leaned in close and said, "Then do it."

If it were possible for a human to short-circuit, then I think Phil would have been the first. It was like something had fizzled inside his brain. The same smug smile was frozen on his lips, but his eyes were blank. Like the black screen you see on a computer right before it reboots itself.

Finally, he blinked very slowly, his brain still clearly lagging from the sudden reboot. "What?"

"Do it," I repeated, shrugging. "You'll cut off the accounts and take back your assets? Fine. Do it."

Now the panic was sinking in. I could see him fumbling around internally, searching for some kind of rhyme or reason to the words I'd just spoken to him.

"B-but... What about Eli?!" He asked, dumbfounded. "What about his treatments?! Remember?"

"Oh, I remember alright," I assured him. "And I also remember explicitly telling you were never to use my brother as some kind of bragging right."

He flinched a bit at the undiluted poison in my voice. However, it would take a lot more than pointing out his complete lack of moral integrity to bring Phil down. No, he stood his ground just as firmly as I did. After all, why should he ever admit that he had done something wrong?

"Oh, come on. It's not like that and you know it," he huffed, "The doctor asked if I had a relative with cancer. I answered him honestly. What? Did you want me to lie?"

Classic Phil. Always trying to flip things in a way that made me sound like the bad guy. Unfortunately for him, I was having none of it today.

"Not at all. You can tell him your brother-in-law has cancer. After all, he asked.

"What he didn't ask, however, was if you were oh-so-generously putting him up in one of the most expensive facilities in the state. Oh, no. That was a nice little tidbit you just had to throw in to show them exactly how much you 'care.' Good job, actually. Very smooth," I commented, looking down at my nails boredly. "A good humblebrag like that is hard to pull off. Always amazes me how you manage to do that really."

He clenched his jaw, his face burning with shame and anger. "Well, why shouldn't I? It's all true, isn't it? I am putting him up in that facility. So why shouldn't I tell people about it, huh?"

"Because my brother is not some tool to be used for your personal fucking profit!" I snapped at him.

He shushed me quickly, looking around to make sure nobody could hear us. However, he had pushed just one too many of my buttons tonight, and I wasn't going to let him off easy.

"What? Some kind of problem, Dear?" I asked, raising my voice slightly. "Why's that? You seemed oh-so-concerned about making sure everybody here knew 'the truth' a second ago. So, why don't I tell them? Why don't I tell them exactly why you're so generous to your poor, sick brother-in-law? I wonder how that 'truth' will go over with your investors."

"What the fuck do you want?!" He hissed as low as he could manage. "I already said it. It's done. There's nothing I can do about it now. I'm sorry! Is that what you want to fucking hear?"

"No. I don't want to hear anything. In fact, I want you to hear something: Me. So, for once in your goddamn life, shut up and listen carefully, because I will not be telling you this again," I warned, taking a step towards him.

"My brother is not a trophy for you to show off. He is not a tool to be used to gain sympathy or favor. He is not a stepping stone to help boost you towards whatever pretentious, self-serving goals you have for your miserable little life. He is my brother. My family. I love him. A thing I can't say about you.

"Without him, you wouldn't have me. Without him, you wouldn't have anything. So before you go acting like you are doing him some great favor by keeping him alive, it would do you good to remember that he is actually the one keeping you afloat.

"And if you ever, and I mean ever, even think about trying to use him like that again, then you can kiss him, me, and everything else in your fragile little glass kingdom goodbye. Because if all you're going to do is use him the way you use me, then he's better off dead anyway. Understand?"

I don't think I'd ever seen Phil so terrified before. Then again, I guess he'd never seen me this terrifying. Honestly, I don't think I had either.

Who was this bold, confident woman standing her ground and making threats like these without even a hint of bluffing in her voice? Hell, she even scared me a bit.

But there was no denying she was powerful. For the first time in maybe forever, I watched as Phil actually lowered his head in defeat and nodded in submission. A rush of endorphins swarmed my entire body. However, to say that I was "feeling better now" would still be a gross exaggeration.

I opened my clutch and pulled out my compact, checking myself in the mirror casually. "I am going to go to the bathroom as I said. You are going to go back to the table, apologize, and say that I wasn't feeling well. I will return shortly, apologize myself for rushing off, and then let everybody know I'm heading home while apologizing again.

That said, do not expect to find me there when you get back," I informed him, snapping the compact shut. "After all this talk about my dear, sweet brother, I think I'd like to spend the night with him instead. Feel free to tell anyone who asks the same. I'll come home sometime tomorrow. Don't ask when. I'll do it when I feel like it."

He didn't say anything. Not that I really gave him the opportunity either. I shoved my compact back in my purse and spun on my heels back towards the bathroom. As I walked off, I didn't hear any footsteps following me.

Good. Seems like he finally got the message for once.

That confidence and power followed me all the way to the bathroom. At least, until I got inside the stall. However, the second the latch locked behind me, good ol' Maggie decided to pop back in from wherever she'd been hiding. With a full-blown panic attack in tow.

My heart pounded loudly in my ears. My entire body was shaking and trembling. I actually had to sit on the toilet just to avoid the very real possibility that I might collapse onto the floor. Like a drunk guy in a street race, the thoughts sped through my mind quickly and dangerously with no sign of slowing down. And I was really not looking forward to what would happen when they inevitably crashed.

What did I do? What the fuck did I just do?!

Oh my God. What was I thinking?! Did I really just say all of that stuff to Phil? I mean, it's not like I didn't mean it, but did I really actually say it? What was I thinking? What if he actually came to his senses and called me on all that? What if he really did cut Eli off? What if-

In my panic and frustration, I reached up to tangle my fingers in my hair.

And then, I felt it. Cool, smooth, and unyielding. Like an unmoving stone in the stormy sea. A thing that instantly brought me comfort and clarity as my fingers brushed against it. The hairclip.

All at once, my mind cleared and my body calmed. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the last of my anxiety flowing out with it.

No... It was fine. Everything was fine. Honestly, I was glad I said all of that to Phil. Because I did mean it. Every word of it.

Again I reached up to touch the clip in my hair. My fingers traced the petals slowly. Mason... I wonder if he'd seen the picture I'd sent him yet. I pulled out my phone and opened up my messages. A smile formed on my lips as I did.

Wow, you look beautiful. Not that I'm surprised. Lucky bastard. Wish I could see you like that.

If there was any fear or anxiety left in me a moment ago, then it disappeared with those words. A sort of serenity spread through my body as I read them. And with those feelings came inspiration. Or maybe just rebellious stupidity. Whatever it was, it was an idea. And I was excited to put it into action.

How about tonight?

I wasn't sure if he'd respond or not. After all, I'd already told him I had plans for the day and it was getting a little late now. He might've made his own plans for tonight. And even if he didn't, he might not-

These negative thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the high-pitched pinging of my notifications.

Really? I mean, I'm all for it, but I thought you were "busy" tonight.

He was right. I was supposed to be "busy." If not with Phil, then at least with Eli. Then again, I don't think Eli would ever forgive me if he knew I'd had a chance to hook up with Mason and skipped it.

That thought made me snicker. And helped to restore a little bit of that confidence I'd had earlier.

Plans changed. Don't ask. Your place is too risky, but tell you what, pick someplace out of town and I'm yours for the whole night. And maybe most of tomorrow even ;)

I'm not sure what exactly I expected his response to be. But it certainly wasn't "quick." No sooner had I closed the app than I heard that distinctive chime, yet again. And the message that followed it was surprising.

Heading to the car now. Just tell me where to pick you up.

I was shocked. That fast? Really? I mean, I guess I couldn't exactly say I was disappointed, but...

I shook my head. No. No "but." I wasn't disappointed. I was happy. Happy to get away from Phil for the night. Happy to have some actual fun. Happy to know I would spend the rest of the night with a man who actually wanted to be with me tonight. Happy to be with Mason.

I'm in the city. I'll be at the bus stop on Lincoln Rd. Next to the supermarket. Don't keep me waiting~

It was almost funny. I came into this stall with my heart pounding, and now, I was leaving with it fluttering. I smiled as I unlatched the door and walked over to the mirror.

There she was. The bright-eyed girl I'd caught a glimpse of in the mirror earlier this evening. She primped and played with her hair in front of me, making sure there wasn't a strand out of place. She didn't just touch up her makeup, she made it bolder, preparing for her real night out. Like a fading ghost, I watched as Mrs. Henderson vanished from my sight and the girl slowly took her place.

This was her. This was me. This was the real Maggie.

Once again, my head started to spin and my heart started to race. Only this time, it was from excitement. Because tonight, I was finally going to do something I had only dared to dream of before. Tonight, I was finally going to spend the night with Mason.