"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances. If there is any reaction, both are transformed."
-Carl Jung-
***
"I have been expecting you" Renee stood before Clara who had just arrived in front of her mansion with a bright smile plastered on her face. That day she was seen wearing a soft white gown with a large bow on the back of her waist, even when she was inside the house, Renee always ensured that she was well dressed. Clara certainly could learn a thing or two from her. It was only a few hours earlier that Renee had called Clara to invite her to her place. Since it was weekend, none of them had any other plans and she thought it would be nice to have a company beside her brother.
Clara seemed like a contrast to her, she was wearing a deep green sleeveless dress with a round beige sun hat. It was a rather sunny day, so she was also wearing a large shade. Once she saw Renee, she removed
"Time and memory are true artists, they remould reality neare to the heart's desire." -John Dewey- *** Time had passed by so fast, each year just seemed to go by faster and faster than the previous ones. For once there was peace in Clara's life. She felt like ever since she moved to Paris, things were a bit more complicated than they used to be, with Raphael and the lifestyle he had driven her into, quiet moments of solitude when she could just stay in her room while drinking a cup of warm chamomile tea felt like a blessing. Such serenity she had not felt in a long time, it almost made her lost track of reality. It was early December, the city had been painted with white hue of the snow. Some little children were seen playing outside and the shopping streets were filled with fashionista who needed to change up their looks. Winter had arrived in Paris and Christmas was making its way, the shops had been decorated with Christma
"Humans have both the urge to create and destroy." -Hayao Miyazaki- *** One could see somethingwas different for Corentin that day. He had woken up much earlier that morning. He usually woke up at 8 A.M on weekend but that morning he woke up at 6. Half naked, he brushed his teeth and worked out, working his muscles which had gotten slightly stiff thanks to work. He did not know what it was but he was feeling extremely nervous. That he had to release everything through sweat. Clara was going to visit him that day, per his invitation. It was not exactly the first time she came to visit. She had done it once or twice before as well. However, the understanding that it would be her last time there quenched his heart. He hated the feeling but he could not let it ruin their day. When she arrived, he had to appear fine, otherwise the mood might be ruined before it started. Clara arrived at around 10, she was dressed rat
"Each betrayal begins with trust." -Martin Luther- *** Raphael was laying on his bed typing something on his laptop when suddenly his phone buzzed. He usually had his phone on silent mode but it seemed her had forgotten to do so, he picked up his phone on the bedside counter and looked who it was. It came from an unknown number, he usually ignored unknown numbers but he had no idea why he was so tempted to open it up and he did. What he saw really tore him, it was a picture of Clara and Corentin kissing, he zoomed in the picture just to be sure and no matter how many times he saw it, it was still both of them. Any rational man would double check the picture, in case it was a Photoshop, but Raphael had his pride hurt before anything else. He threw his phone on the ground and it smashed, cracking it's screen. He tried to take several deep breaths, but his fury could not be contained. His emotion got the best of him. His
"Care shouldn't start in the emergency room." -James Douglas- *** Clara was walking on her own around the city of Paris with her luggage in hand, she cried and cried but since it was dark, no one could see her tears. Despite the strong wash of emotions, she was experiencing she knew she needed to find a place to settle for the night. She had no idea where she would go. She was lost. She could stay in a hotel, but it was only a temporary solution. She could not possibly walkaround any longer, cold started creeping through her garments and shecould feel it inside. But perhaps the cold did not come from outside, itcame from the inside. She decidedto check into a hotel and reserved a room. Dropping her luggage on the floor and sat still. She tried to contemplate her life. What should I do now? Claramissed home, she really did. All she could think about at that moment is her father. Sh
"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools." -Ernest Hemingway- *** Raphael had drunk his pain away that night, he went to the nearest bar and indulged himself in alcoholic beverages, shots after shots went by quicker than the bartender could make them, usually he was not someone who would resort to alcohol to ease his pain. Yet the pain he was feeling was beyond anything he had been through before. He just could not take it anymore. Something inside of him knew he should not be doing it and it would solve nothing, but you cannot make reason with miserable people. He was half drunk when he realized he could not go home alone, with all consciousness he had left, he called Gilbert and asked him to pick him up as soon as possible, knowing fully that the last shots he made would make him completely drunk. Still, he ordered them anyway. The bartender seemed to be concerned but he had known Rap
"Take things as they are, punch when you have to punch, kick when you have to kick." -Bruce Lee- *** The next morning Raphael woke up with a heavy head and a petty hangover, he massaged his temple which was pounding like crazy. He could not remember how long it had been since the last time he got wasted, probably during his first year in college. He headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, his hand was shaking even as he did so. Gulping it down, he found it was not enough and added another. As his consciousness started to re-enter his mind, he realized it was not the weekend. He had to go to work in a few hours, spending thirty minutes to sober up was difficult for him. He should have read on how to get sober quickly before he decided to get drunk. At the moment he really hoped he could just stay home that day, but he could not. There were a lot of things he needed to settle at work. With his state though, he w
"No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of worrying can change the future." -Umar ibn Al-Khattab- *** Dennis Bellavance stared at his dying daughter with tears in his eyes. As a man he had tried to keep his emotions away from the public eye since he had always wanted to appear strong for his family. Yet how could he remain strong when the only family member he had left was battling her life while he could do absolutely nothing about it. He picked up a glass of water from the side and drank it. From afar he could see the leftover dinner he did not finish since he could not digest it properly. He felt way too sick to eat anything. The hospital room was awfully quiet, it was only him and her in the room. The nurse had previously attended to her. They said as long as she was breathing she still had a chance of waking up. As the doctors tried to figure out what was exactly wrong with her. They were making attempts to
"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." -Charles M. Schulz- *** Laurent handed over a mug of hot chocolate to Jovanna with a warm smile on his face. She thanked him as she took it from his hand, she had only removed her gloves and settled herself on the couch as her other hand scrolled down the tab trying to find something to watch.. It was snowing heavily outside, meaning there was nothing more perfect than a warm cup of hot chocolate to accompany a good movie, especially when you are surrounded by your loved ones, which was the case with Jovanna. They were spending some time alone on a rented cabin in The French Alps. It was also a celebration of their three months dating anniversary, which was something Jovanna never thought she would have with Laurent, who
"I don't care how hard being together is, nothing is worse than being apart." -Josephine Angelini- *** "Good morning, Mon Amour. I made breakfast for you" Clara was still sleepy when Raphael came over with a tray of food and drinks. She felt a bit dizzy when she tried to sit and straightened her bed. With her eyes still closed, Raphael kissed her which woke her up in an instant, mixed with the scent of a freshly brewed cup of coffee which managed to restore her vigor. She took the glass of water and gulped it down in one shot, then she picked up a cup filled with honey and herbal tea which supposedly could help her heal faster. Once she was done, she lifted up her face to meet his. Raphael had appeared exceptionally dashing that morning, he was nearly half naked if it was not for the robe that covered part of his abs but his muscular chest was exposed for her to enjoy. Clara had to admit, she would not mind waking up every da
"Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life." -Lisa Weed- *** Everybody was gathered at Desroches main manor, the place was crowded with family members of the Desroches, along with Clara and Dennis. It was new year already. Time had passed by so fast. Clara's recovery had been amazing. She was discharged from the hospital much faster than they had initially thought. The poison in her body had not completely gone yet and the doctor said they still needed to watch over her, in case she experienced any post medical issues. So far, she had been fine. Since they could not celebrate Christmas together, at least they could celebrate New Year together. Originally, they wanted to go outside together and celebrate New Year at a hotel, but they cancelled the plan for Clara, she was still unsteady to go outside at the moment, and it was also his family's
"Everything's a story. You are a story. I am a story." -Frances Hodgson Burnett- *** Dennis Bellavance had gone to Paris for the second time in a month, three days after she had woken up they had allowed her out from the hospital. Her body stabilized rather rapidly for someone who had gone unconscious for three weeks, and the rest of her system were functioning as normal, but they had given her a few prescriptions which had never been part of his plan, but as soon as he received the call from Raphael he had to come. He had prayed days and night for her to wake up, and it must have been a miracle for her to wake up right on Christmas day. Clara had lived inside Raphael's house again, he was a bit worried after he had heard what was going on between them, but judging from Clara's voice from over the phone she seemed to be doing just fine. He went through the whole process over and over again, but this time Raphael had spared so
"Quarrels are a natural part of relationships. Making up is always the best part." -Maureen Johnson- *** Clara slowly opened her eyes, her light green eyes had darkened slightly, perhaps due to the effect of the poison on her body, although her head was still pounding, she did not allow it to prevent her from coming back to reality. When she was unconscious, she could hear voices of people calling out for her. She did not know if she was dreaming or not, all she knew was she needed to wake up. It took her a couple of minutes to fully took a grasp of her surrounding, first when she opened her eyes completely, all she saw was a blank hospital ceiling mixed with white hazy fog which she assumed came from her eyes trying to adapt to light again after being closed for God knew how long. Then a few
"Nothing is in the middle of somewhere, surrounded by everything, where everyone is someplace and still lacking someone I need the most." -Anthony Liccione- *** Just like what Celine had told him, two hours before the party started somebody picked him up from the hospital, and Celine had arranged for a nurse to watch her for the night. He should have known his family was not going to give up on persuading him. His ties with them were quite strong after all although he was not feeling particularly excited about it. At first Raphael was still doubtful about his family's decision since his gut had told him that something just did not feel quite right, yet he did not wish to disappoint his family members. Thus he decided to go. It's just one night. He arrived at the Desroches family manor, the main house where his parents resided in. Once he stepped in he could already see the work of his sister that had decorated the pla
"Christmas is the one day of the year when it's most obvious someone's missing. It had to become less about the presents." -Jeff Brazier- *** "Tomorrow is Christmas's Eve, Raphael. You need to come, we could hire someone and pay them extra to look after Clara. Everyone in the family would be there, You don't want to miss our annual Christmas Eve's dinner party, please, just come." Celine was on the phone with Raphael. She was dressed in a casual black winter gown which she loved to wear during at home during the season. Meanwhile, Eduard was in the background trying his best to keep the children from interrupting their mother because he knew Celine hated to be distracted when she is talking to somebody. "I have told you I can't. I need to watch over Clara." He insisted. "No, you have to come. Someone will pick you up at the hospital two hours before the party start. We would be waiting for you. If you don't come, you
"Sacrifice, that's the thing we do for the people we love." -Gayle Forman- *** Raphael and Corentin had been waiting in a building on the rural area of Paris. For the first time they were seated beside each other eagerly waiting with the same goal. The building itself belonged to Corentin's family and it was used for emergency meetings. Because the location was far from the public's eyes. No one else would have cared to know more about it. It was a rare occasion for them, who have enjoyed a position of comfort their entire life to bother with the street work. But just this once, they were willing to get their hands dirty. Keep in mind, these two men were sophisticated members of society, who had an immaculate reputation, but each man have their own dark side, including them. When combined, it became even more deadly. The door slammed open and the men they have sent came inside the room with Renee with them. They pulle
"Monsters are real, ghosts are real too. They live inside us and sometimes, they win." -Stephen King- *** "Where did you go last night?" Renee was sitting down on the porch of her house with Rainier beside her. It was a cloudy day in Paris, perhaps it would rain soon. Though they were outside, the whole atmosphere was dark and gloomy. She took a sip of her honey tea and turned to him. Her eyes were cold, empty, and interrogating. Renee always had a habit of waking up in the middle of the night, it was her body's biological programming. Each time, she would come and check on her brother to see if he was truly asleep. She had the housekeeper that was assigned to him to give him a sleeping pill each night, that way she would always have him under control, for during the day, she always had someon
"Truth is rarely pure and never simple." -Oscar Wilde- *** Rainier stood in front of the hospital room. He squirmed his hands together, admittedly, he was nervous, anxiety filled every fiber of his being. He wondered if he made the right decision, but he had gone so far and he had no choice but to take a step forward. It was difficult heading out from his window without her sister knowing, he thought he was going to die, but there was a certainty in his mind, he needed to do it. He knocked on the door and after a moment, Raphael opened the door. He had known about Raphael, he was pretty famous after all, and his sister had shown him a picture of Clara with Raphael. But of course he was welcomed with a confused look from him. Behind them, on the couch, Corentin had also woken up from the noise, he had high sensitivity toward noises. Both men were now fully alert, Rainier knew they would be suspicious of him, first thing he did