"Love, come on cheer up. You'll find something soon." Our friend Tamara yelled into my ear through the loud music while Mira went to get us something to drink. It's safe to say that this party wasn't enough to bring my mood up and the flashing lights were starting to give me a headache.
"What worries me the most is the fact Mira would end up on the street because of me and she still has a lot of student debt to pay off, we were barely making ends meet as is." I say back with a level of devastation that eats at me. I was definitely not the light of the party. "Not everything is lost, you can always strip," Leon says. Now we have known Leon for quite some time, and despite being almost twenty-eight he behaved like a hormonal eight-year-old boy. "Stop it," Tamara says as she pulls back her red wig. "Stop what?" Mira asks as she brings back the drinks. "Nothing, Leon just told Love she could strip for a living." To which Mira smacks him on the back of his head. "Idiot." She says as he rubs his head. "What, In fact, I'll pay your rent right now if you shake your ass at me." Leon never learned his lessons, his long tongue always brought him trouble, this time was no different when Mira splashed his face with her drink. "Mira!" I yell as Leon steps back letting the beer drip down his face. "Go cool off, Leon. And dont come back." He looks at her, yet he is not mad. He didn't take anything seriously and besides he was no stranger to having drinks dumped at his face so he simply walked away. "Dont listen to him, if one of us would do the striping it would be me." Mira says. Even tho we were the same age I often got the feeling she treated me like a younger sister. Mira had her feet on the ground, her vision of the world was very clear yet a part of her always insisted I stayed a dreamer. "And what are you?" An obviesly drunk girl in a bunny costume paused next to me. It was enough to say that my costume sucked for anyone to guess it so I pulled down the sunglasses from my head and put them on my eyes while I took the cane out of my back pocket and waved it in her face. "Lame." She says before she continues her way into the party. God a part of me wishes I would get that drunk but thanks to my Mother I inherited the hate for cheap booze and my Father's likes for a good whisky. "What is lame is this party," Tamara says. "I think it is safe to say that we are getting a bit old for this." "I know, I thought it would fix our mood but this looks like one of those lame frat parties we used to go. But it's cheaper than going to a club." Mira says as she looks around the place. "Do you guys wanna leave?" Tamara asks but I already knew what Mira's answers would be. "I'm already here so I at least want to make it worth the drive." "Well, I'm gonna go out and get some fresh air," I say as I take my bag. "I'll be out by the stairs." "Wait for me and don't go far," Mira says. "I won't," I say as I turn around from the table, the sunglasses were actually helping me with the annoying light while I passed through the crowd to get out of the apartment that sat on the first floor so the outside was close. The cold air felt refreshing against my skin even tho it stung a bit inside my chest. The sky was black, I was barely able to count a few stars. But then again surrounded by high buildings and street lights one had to be grateful to see even that. I dont know why but something pushed me to walk further down the sidewalk, perhaps it was the lights of the restaurant from across the street. It looks fancy, with a big sign over the door and windows big enough to let you see the smiles on people's faces. I almost wanted to be there... but as I stepped closer someone tugged at my bag with a force so strong that I lost my footing and dropped the cane when maybe I should have used it to kick the person fighting with me for a bag that wasn't even that important to me... I just didn't want to lose anything else today. So I didn't let go despite being on the floor. I tried to pull it back yet I wasn't strong enough it got yanked out of my hand. "Hey!! Let go of her!!" A deep voice yelled behind me as the thief ran away and the tall man started chasing after him. "Can this day get any worse?" I ask myself as I pull the sunglasses off my face and brush the hair behind my ears when I notice something that almost makes me scream. One of my earrings was missing... "This can't be happening to me," I say as I get on my knees and start taping my hands on the dirty ground hoping to find it. And just when I thought I would lose hope I saw it, in a small crack in the sidewalk almost as if was placed there for safekeeping. "Thank you, God." I murmur to myself as I grab it when I feel someone touch my hand out of nowhere and I flinch back in surprise when my eyes meet the most perfect man I have ever set my eyes on. He was the embodiment of sex, his broad shoulders screamed straight in the kind of way that makes you feel safe in his presence yet leaves your heart racing with anticipation. Even under the cold LED street light, his skin seemed sun-kissed bronze. His chiseled jawline is strong, eyes are dark with a golden honey trace. His hair, dark and effortlessly tousled, falls just slightly above his brow, giving him a rugged, yet polished look. Lips full, firm, and sculpted that imidiatly made me wonder how it would feel to be kissed by him. Mira was right, I was definitely a dreamer.Bridget smiled wider now, clearly enjoying the reveal. “Oh good, he still talks about me. How sweet.”Grace took a sharp step forward. “You don’t belong here, Bridget. You never did.”Bridget’s gaze didn’t flinch. “Funny. That’s not what your husband used to say.”Christian’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. “That’s enough.”"Grace is right," I say. "You have no business here." Showing her face here after all this time, after all the harm she did to Sebastian really showed she had no shame."You dont get a say in this." She directs herself at me. "Who are you to tell me what to do." Grace stepped closer again, now standing fully at my side. “She's is a Callahan, a part of our family something you will never be. So unless you want security to escort you out, I suggest you remember your place, Bridget.”“I am in my place,” Bridget said, her voice suddenly cooler, more calculating. “You all just forgot that this empire wasn’t built by Callahans alone. My father was one of the o
A white sheet of paper and an artist's pen were somehow all I needed to feel free in the world. A dream I once had of making something beautiful that others would want, admire, and desire, was finally happening. Even if Christian may think this is a punishment for me, it was the opposite. I was designing jewelry again, I was telling a story, and this time, the story was mine. Each line I drew on the paper shimmered in my mind like gold catching sunlight. I sketched the delicate curve of a pendant, the kind that rests right over the heart, something soft, but powerful. The design was bold and unapologetic. Perhaps because I was starting to feel like there wasn't much I needed to apologize for. Maybe it is the Mira part in me, the one that tells me that my lie wasn't all that bad, that my lie in fact did a lot of good to a person who was at one point lost.I looked back down at the pendant. It had wings now, faint outlines spreading from the heart of the design. I didn’t remember adding
"Are you nervous?" Bash asked me as he sat down next to me. "I'm excited," I say. It was the truth, I couldn't be more excited to take these damn bandages off my eyes and finally be free. Well, as free as Christian allows it. "How are you feeling, the surgery is tomorrow?" I ask.I could feel him shrug beside me, but the sound of his fingers tapping restlessly on his knee told me more than his words ever could."I'm good," he said finally, eyes fixed straight ahead. "I mean, it's weird, right? We've talked about this for so long, and now it's actually happening.""Yeah," I murmured, tilting my head toward him, even though I couldn’t see him yet. "It feels like we’ve been dreaming about this forever. And now it's real.""This condition made me lose so much of my future, my position, the woman who I at the time thought was the love of my life... it took a big piece of my soul, yet now I can't stop thinking about all the things I got. It gave me a new perspective of life and myself... it
He didn’t respond. Then, footsteps. Slow, deliberate. He moved closer, and my breath hitched in my throat even though I tried not to let it show. I turned my face slightly toward where I thought he was standing, listening for the soft rustle of his suit, the shift in the air. I didn't need my eyes to feel the gravity of him near me. "You wore a mask, every single day. Lied, to our faces... and you say it was for our own good. You are no better than the bastard I had for a father." His voice was closer now, a whisper laced with venom. "But I am not him." "Perhaps you are even worse. He at least didn't pretend to love us, at least not in the end." Christian says, anger blooming inside of him. "I love you, Christian. More than I ever thought was possible." I say trying to reach him but he pushes back at me, my back against the wall. "Shut up, you lie so well I might believe you for a second." “If I wanted to keep lying, I wouldn’t have told you the truth, I wouldn't still be here
Four weeks later...The last night in the dark...I am on the edge.I can't take this darkness anymore. I keep telling myself it's soon going to be over, that at least I will be able to act freely, even walk into the world alone free of pretenses. I want my parents to see that the lie is over, and I want Bash to get over everything soon, even if that means that whatever this is I have with Christian comes to an end.We have been living in this penthouse for three weeks now, and every second for me has been hell. His indifference at times is worse than his hate, at least hating me meant he still had me somewhere in his soul, in silence alongside this darkness that was eating at me.If it weren't for Mira I would be completely alone, she is the only good thing here. She told me to take off the bandages while Christian was at work but I just couldn't. He was far too unpredictable, popping in and out at different times as if trying to surprise me by doing something wrong and I didn't feel
Hearing the voices of people I love around me made me feel peace, so much so that I never wanted them to leave. In front of them, Christian was the man, the husband I always thought he would be. He was loving, kind, and caring. I never wanted it to end.But all that is good has its end, so did this.My friends were about to leave, at least Grace and Bash would be around. At least not until Christian makes us move again.Tamara and Bash were aside, talking. It is nice to hear that the friendship between them is blooming, hopefully into something bigger and better. Grace pulled Christian away to the office for a moment leaving me alone with Mira."Love, call me crazy but something here doesn't feel right. Are you sure you are as happy as you say you are?" I knew she would sense something, and despite promising Christian I would say anything I needed to let go with someone, and who better than Mira? I need someone on my side, someone to stand in my corner... make me feel less alone."Mira