‘Thank you,’ I said as I took my phone back. She nodded and carried on walking with the men as if nothing had happened. I swiped through the photos, impressed with how they had come out. I locked my phone, put it in my small waist bag, and walked towards the VIP area. Gaurav was already there, his arm draped over a groupie, smiling for a photo. My stomach turned. I opened my water bottle and downed the contents. My body shivered. I walked into the VIP area confidently. Thankfully, Kavya joined shortly after, with the other influencers in tow. She handed me a cooler.

‘You all right?’ she asked, eying me.

‘Fine,’ I replied, faking the biggest smile I could. ‘Look at these.’ I eagerly showed her the pictures that the woman had taken of me a few minutes ago.

‘Those are amazing, Jhanvi!’ she shouted over the announcement; speakers boomed as the first A-lister hit the stage.

The set lasted an hour. My head was spinning, I needed to find somewhere I could freshen up or get water to drink. I leaned into Kavya and shouted in her ear that I was going to look for a bathroom. She nodded and made as if she was going to follow, but I put my hand out, stopping her. I walked back to the VIP marquee tent. Flashing my armband at the bouncer, I was let in. I walked up to the bar to order water, but before I could speak, a voice called me from the back of the tent. I didn’t need to turn to see who it was.

‘Make it a double vodka,’ I said. I would need it if I was going to have to deal with Gaurav’s girlfriend. Turning around, I saw her gesturing wildly for me to come over. She was draped across a leather couch, a group of men around her, all anxiously vying for her attention. I took a deep breath and walked over to her.

‘Jhanvi!’ she shrieked. ‘Come. Sit!’ Reluctantly I sat next to her. ‘Meet my friends,’ she waved her hands around before leaning in close to me. ‘I don’t know their names,’ she said and giggled. I smiled back, weakly. ‘Listen,’ she said, clearly intoxicated. ‘I just need to apologise for what went on in the plane yesterday,’ she said sincerely. ‘I am not as stupid and naive as people think I am, Jhanvi. I know he is not faithful; but I’m not ready to give up all of this just yet.’ Thinking back to how I played down Gaurav’s indiscretions, I felt sorry for her. ‘Anyway. My name is Latika,’ she said.

A waiter came up and placed a tray of shots on the round table in front of us. Latika grinned.

‘Well, Latika, if we are now friends, then I guess it’s time to start a party then.’ I grinned back and handed her a shot. We clinked our glasses and downed the syrupy liquid. I told the waiter to keep them coming and dug into my bag to pull out my phone.