Pulling abruptly apart, like linked chains snapping, Louise’s face painted a picture of sheer shock while Mark’s expression looked like a complete replica. Leaving the silence to awe them as the unexpected stole their words, Louise’s insides caved in, as suddenly everything around her cracked, and started to fall down, yet as Mark’s hand still entwined with hers, a layering of glue tried its best to keep everything together.

"Well? The question is not exactly hard to answer. Why are you kissing my fiancée?" Anton asked, his patience wearing thin.

Standing up, the confident approach still did nothing for his words, but as Louise stood beside him, and squeezed his hand, he knew what she wanted there and then.

"Anton…"

"Mr Aphex Campbell to you." Anton begrudged.

"Mr Aphex Campbell I…" Mark began again.

"No." Louise said. "Anton, I like Mark, I like Mark a lot. What happened here shouldn’t of but I can’t help the way I feel."

"Louise, you are my fiancée! You can not just fondle with who you choose!" Anton told.

"But…"

"No. I will hear no more of this until later." He ordered. "Mr Read – leave." Anton spat.

Glancing towards Louise, her clutch grew tighter on his hand as she begged him not to go. Everything was in the open now, everything had been bared but it’s that what brought the guilty spell over him. What if Louise didn’t want to leave Anton? What if Louise didn’t want to be with him?

"I will not tell you again. Leave."

Slowly loosening his grip away from Louise’s hand, her face frowned in fear at what she was going to lose. Now the world around her cracked, as the falseness she thought she could finally get rid of, she had done, leaving nothing but holes in its place that Anton was never supposed to see.

"Remember when I said everything happens for a reason? This is one of those reasons." Mark whispered as he turned and faced her. "I’m not leaving you, but you have to sort this out. It’s all up to you what you want, and I’ll be waiting outside the gates for you until midnight. It’s you choice." He smiled, stroking her face one last time before walking bravely past Anton and through the ballroom.

"Mark, wait!" Louise called, jumping forward until she was stopped firmly in Anton’s gripped.

"He does not want you Louise, otherwise he would have stayed." Anton said spitefully. "Now let’s get back into the ball and attend to our guests. They shall be wondering where we are." He smiled.

"Anton, I don’t want to go back in there. I don’t want to be with you anymore." Louise told truthfully, moving forward in chase of Mark.

"You will do as you are told." He instructed, clutching her wrists tighter. "We shall talk about this later."

Finding nowhere to turn, Louise quickly swiped her wrists away from his grasp, and watched the floor carefully as thoughts wallowed in. Making a scene would displease Anton even more, creating more problems then its worth to get to Mark, yet this wouldn’t stop her. If she just did as she was told, sneaking out would be the far superior plan that would form, as she had done it once, so why not again?

Linking his arm brutally through hers, he smirked incredibly as he stepped back through the doors and into the ballroom that held his life, his power, his society. Disgusted at the way she knew he felt, she tried pulling her arm away slowly, yet he hauled back before stroking her hand as Abigail headed over.

"Ahh, Anton, Louise. Is everything ok?" She asked, smiling broadly.

"Why yes mother, everything is fine. Why would it not?" Anton grinned, allowing his threatening eyes to bring back Louise’s immortal, fake smile.

"Oh, no reason. It is just, Louise dear, you look a little… upset?"

"No, Louise is fine mother. She just needed to take a step outside after her erm… debut at the piano. It was a lot of attention to take on all at once, was it not Louise?" Anton answered.

"Yes, yes it was." Louise lied as all she could see was her own cracks delving into their world.

She had created something big here, and if only she had gone with it, the placid world they lived in would have been in uproar. Anton was seething inside at the revelation he had discovered, yet acting like glue wasn’t going to work for long as these parts had now been broken to that extent; the extent that couldn’t be repaired.

"Well come along then mother. We cannot stand here all day making small talk. We have guests to attend to, people to meet." Anton grinned.

"Ahh yes Anton dear…" Abigail chuckled, while Louise allowed herself to be dragged along. Their world was nothing to her, just like it was in the beginning, however that didn’t mean she could stop living in it. Would she ever?

As the final guests of the grand ball left, Louise picked up one of the left over glasses of wine and drank it slowly, preparing herself for what was going to come next. Anton wasn’t going to let her off lightly.

"Louise, put that down!" He bellowed as the anger finally permitted itself to be seen.

Placing the empty glass carefully back onto the table, pouring out some of the nerves that needed to flee, she gradually faced him as he hovered over her. Looking down, refusing to see what she knew was coming, that was instantly taken away as his hand gripped her chin and forced her to face him.

"Look at me when I wish to talk to you." He snapped, holding her face tightly.

Finding fear swamp her body as the rage she had never seen before scared her, her eyes fell once again to the floor, until she was immediately put back in her place.

"How many times am I going to have to tell you? Look at me when I am talking to you!"

"Anton, let go of me!" Louise told, flinching away from him and stepping back a little.

"How dare you address me like that after everything you have done tonight! Do you not know what position you could have put me in?"

"What position?" Louise said sarcastically.

"You know fully well what! Do not use that tone with me either, Louise! I will not stand for it!" Anton shouted, seizing her by the wrists once again.

"Get off of me!" Louise screamed, hauling her body away from him.

"Sir, Louise, is everything ok in here?" Christie’s timid voice came from the doorway, causing Louise to look up in help.

"Christie, leave us alone! You can clear this away in the morning." Anton ordered, in which she scuttled away unwillingly, obeying his demands.

"Ok, I shall talk to you calmly about this, this inappropriate behaviour!" Anton exasperated, running his hand through his hair. "Why did you do it? Is it because you are unhappy where you are, or did you just want to embarrass me in front of my associates?"

"Anton, I never wanted to hurt you…" Louise tried explaining. "I just… I…"

"Oh, spare me the details!" Anton laughed. "You just wanted some fancy common folk to play ruff and tumble with, didn’t you? So you thought, hmm… why not do it at the associates ball where I can ruin everything he has worked hard for as well."

"No! It’s not like that!" Louise cried.

"It’s Louise? It’s? It’s would make it now darling, but it’s what it is not as in case you haven’t forgotten, Mr Read walked out! Left you!" He chuckled. "Now what are you going to do? It’s definitely like that now is it, is it?" Anton raged, slamming his fists on the table.

"Mark sa…"

"Oh, Mark now is it? Mark?" He repeated, coming extremely close to her. "Well there is no you and Mark anymore, have you got that! I am not an easy forgiving man Louise, but I will not lose you to such riff-raff! Never!"

Exasperating Louise, she heaved in all her emotion and stormed off up to her room, passing Abigail frightfully on the way.

"Anton dear, is everything ok with you Louise?" She asked, edging closer to him.

"Yes, yes mother." Anton smiled, running his hand over his face before facing her. "Everything is fine…"

Midnight’s hands wandered past their hour and as Louise paced up and down in her room, the anger that stomped inside her just couldn’t vanish. So much had happened and so much was known that she needed that glue to stick her back together; she needed Mark.

Opening her door impulsively, she drew in a deep breath before making her way cunningly out of her bedroom and to the stairs. Quickly scurrying down the pure marble, she darted past the ballroom and reached for the door.

"Louise, Louise, where are you going?" Christie whispered, running up to her.

"I have to go. I can’t stay here anymore, I just can’t!" Louise said, water filling her eyes.

"What? You can’t! Anton… he’ll… he’ll know!"

"I don’t care! I need to get out, leave, go!" Louise told firmly.

"But where will you go?" Christie asked, worried. "You can’t!"

"Take care Christie." Louise whispered tearfully, pulling her into a brief hug before slipping out into night’s now rainy air.