Monica spotted Candy near the grand staircase and approached like nothing in the world was wrong, her chin lifted but her heart pounding. Candy with her back turned stood smug and polished, exactly how Monica envisioned her. During the approach Monica let a linen napkin drift from her fingers, casual, unrehearsed and landing just off the walkway, right where Ryan needed it to be.

She smiled politely at Candy, angling her body ever so slightly to block the view of the floor. “I wanted to apologize for the dress mix up tonight. I think it’s best I slip out and let you… enjoy things.
Candy’s returning smirk was all venom and victory.

And then, right on cue, he arrived.

“Monica?spoken sharp and disapproving. He stepped to Candy’s side like she was the one he’d come with. “You’re still here? What were you thinking showing up dressed like that anyways?
It stung. It always stung. But this time, something inside her stopped feeling it.

She turned to Candy, voice steady, empty of the old fear. “You win. He’s yours. Solely.
She lifted her wine glass, arm lifted as if about to drink, hiding that it was actually a signal.

Ryan moved quickly. One perfectly timed stumble over the dropped napkin, one expertly angled collision and chaos bloomed.

His shoulder hit Monica’s with perfect force, the kind that would sell it to every pair of eyes in the room. Her wine fanned across Candy with devastating precision, dark red spreading over designer black like a murder scene. And Ryan’s tray unleashed its own spectacular disaster: jewel colored cocktails, foaming beer, syrupy mixes all raining down over her ex-boyfriend in a technicolor humiliation.

Gasps. A choked shriek. Shattered glass.

For one suspended moment the entire gala froze, everyone caught between horror and confusion.

Monica didn’t wait for what happens next.

She turned and walked away with a calm she hadn’t felt in months. Behind her the noise grew, Candy’s outrage, her ex’s sputtering attempts at dignity, the crowd murmuring.

She reached the kitchen exit before she finally heard it:

“Monica. Monica… MONICA!!
NOTES:----------
I try to keep them short... I really do. But they seem to grow on their own.