Spiraled ⚪⭐⚪⭐ (A Brollins Novel)✔

EPISODE TWENTY ONE

Quinn's Mansion. Los Angeles, California.

Mercedes loves everything glamorous and exotic; who doesn't? Rebecca's birthday party, although lively, is in anything but a buzzing, eccentric mood. The music might have changed to more electrifying tunes but it still can't compare to the rushing excitement and powerful adrenaline which races through her body and changes the very air when she's at a club, even such as the mediocre one situated in the miserable neighbourhood she lives in, dancing and going back for re-fill of drinks every five minutes. The simplicity of the party, compared to their numerous events and parties in the past, is totally beneath Annette Quinn and Ashley Fleir's preferred high standards. It's palpable the party's only goal was to make Rebecca the ultimate star of the party, send a clear message to her mockers and leave the paparazzi and everyone anticipating more at the next event. But it’s still in a sufficient amount of exquisite taste to make her feel she's part of the upper-class society just for a night.

It’s this perfect execution as she takes in the little details of the decor which were neither underwhelming nor overwhelming, precisely in the right amount and balance. It's this perfect timing and well thought out plans that Annette Quinn is able to calculate and weave together so well to form a transparent and classy scenario that Mercedes has always admired about the woman. She has been her role model since she was fifteen years old, ever since she saw an interview of her on television. Since then, she hasn't missed a single interview, event or news which has Annette Quinn in it. She has followed that woman on every social media platform she has, in the business and fashion world, like a hawk will follow its prey. Her one dream was to be able to meet her in person, to tell her how much she has inspired her and just when she'd the opportunity, the perfect chance to make a great impression to not only fulfil her dream but to also further her plans with Fergal, everything backfires.

While things haven't quite gone as she'd hoped it will, using the word everything is too strong in this situation. Not everything is lost yet. It's just a setback, a momentarily pause for her to reconsider and think through her plans yet again. As much as whatever had happened earlier with Annette Quinn had cut her to the core, she's thankful it had happened before she'd even had the chance to reconsider giving Rebecca her gift tonight. Now that she thinks of what she was about to do, all the cards she was planning to lay on the table tonight, she realizes she had been stupid and irrational.

As much she loves Colby to death, he isn't worth her throwing everything in the trash bin for, just because of what she'd seen at the Sports Club, just because she loves him, just because he's drifting away. She shouldn't rush. She shouldn't let her emotions carry her away to accomplish something irredeemable. All isn't lost with Colby ye. She's still ahead in her plans with no one having the slightest suspicions and she's planning on keeping it that way. She's planning on keeping Colby and Fergal by her side. She's going succeed. It just has to work. She hopes she won't be forced to choose between neither in the future but at the same time, she can't help but feel she’s overestimating herself.

It was an idiotic risk to bring Pamela here tonight. She'd completely forgotten about her friend after the incident with Annette Quinn, Rebecca delivering her speech and Fergal introducing her to some of his business partners as his girlfriend. She has tried avoiding the cameras as best as she can, as if it’s some sort of plague but she knows the inevitable will happen no matter her best efforts. There will definitely be a few glimpses of her here and there somewhere in the newspapers tomorrow morning since she'd been standing close to the podium, beside Fergal with the cameras frequently on her whenever they'll circle to get a better shot of Rebecca. Colby might see it; Joe is more of a likely possibility since Colby rarely reads the newspapers or watches television. But as long as she isn't the main focus and taking into account that Fergal hadn't flat out announced to the cameras that she is his girlfriend, she's going to exclude one more likely hurdle off her list of problems.