Jean turns around and stares at the young woman with his blood shot eyes, fighting back his tears,
“Yes, she is coming.” He closes his eyes, tilts his head against the headrest and wishes the brunette to go away. He hears the captain’s message over the speakers and begins to sweat. The doors are closing, the plane is about to take off and Yvette is nowhere in sight.
Covering his eyes with his right hand, he tilts his head sideward and knocks his head against the window a few times.
He is now irate for being the most pathetic idiot to have believed that she loves him.
The plane takes off and marks the separation between the lives of Jean Philip Pierre and Yvette Krugerman.
******** Finally sober, Yvette trips over the two empty bottles of vodka by her feet and staggers over to the kitchen to look for the bottle of Tylenol. Toggling between a huge hangover and a migraine, she swallows two tablets and searches for her phone.
Crying uncontrollably she chants “I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry.” Staggering back to the sofa and sinking into it, she begins laughing hysterically then breaks into an audible sob.
Jean should have arrived in Paris already and there is nothing more that she wants to do than to call him and to tell him to wait for her. Except he has new phone in Paris and has refused to give her his number or his address. He expects her to leave with him and she has failed him.
Her head is bent in sorrow and cradling it with both hands, she tries to massage the migraine away and is startled by the ring of the doorbell. With crying eyes she screams as loudly as she can, “Nobody is home. Get lost!”
She can hear him answering from behind the closed door, “It is Darren, your pool technician.”
Screaming even louder she raises a decorative object and throws it at the door, “I do not need any pool service, go away!”
Hearing his truck pull away from her driveway, she heads upstairs to her bedroom to lay down.
She notices a gift bag from Van Cleef and Arpels in the middle of her bed, pulls out a note and recognizes Russell’s handwriting:
“Yvette, I know everything and now that your ‘episode’ is over, I am rewarding you for being a good girl and not causing me any embarrassment. Smart choice.
Enjoy the new pool service. I will be moving to the other wing of the house and do not be surprised to see my new secretary visiting me from time to time.
PS: Silence is no longer platinum, it is now yellow.
Your dignity.” Yvette fumes over the note and flips open the jewelry box. Stunned to see a gigantic twenty carat yellow diamond ring, she laughs uncontrollably then cries hysterically. His note triggers her rage to explode, as if a time bomb detonates, she storms into the bathroom, picks up the reddest lipstick and scribbles on the note, ‘Screw you!’ while she mumbles out loud,
“Dignity? I will show you my dignity!”
Chapter Twenty Five. Sitting on his sofa and watching the NFL playoffs, Adam hears a loud bang coming from Alex’s bedroom and rushes over to check on his brother.
Alex has fallen onto the floor while trying to reach for his medication and is moaning in pain. Shivering, he climbs back into his bed and pulls the covers on top of him. His condition is rapidly deteriorating.
Looking at his rapidly fading brother, Adam prepares an assortment of medicine and hands it to Alex. Having a hard time swallowing the pills, Alex gags, gives up and pushes them away.
“You have to take all of them” Adam stresses to his brother, “You promised to take Karina to Bora Bora.”
Obediently Alex takes the medicine and swallows them one by one. He gags on each one of them and the horrific sight is simply distressful. Deep inside, Adam is prepared to lose his brother on any given day. He has watched Alex suffered for the past year and his condition is obviously deteriorating.
The painkillers are alleviating some of his pain and Alex manages to speak,
“Adam, I need a huge favor from you.” He whispers as loudly as he can and reaches for a little box inside the top drawer of his bedside table,
“I bought this ring over a year ago and wanted to propose to Karina, I never had the chance to do that then all hell broke lose.” Tears flood his eyes and he tries his impossible to continue,
“Please keep this ring for me” he pauses and covers his eyes with his hand, “if in case I do not make it, please sell it and find a way to give the money to Karina. I am sure she is living through her own set of nightmare and it is all because of me.” Alex begins to cry, “it is all because of me that she has suffered so much..” he uncovers his blood shot eyes and puts the box in Adam’s hand, “she might need it and this will help her.”
Fighting back his tears, Adam forces a warm smile, “I will keep this ring for you and be your best man at your wedding. That will be a more reasonable thing to ask of me.”
He pats Alex on his chest and hurries out of the room, closes the door behind him so Alex will not see him cry. He has to remain strong for both of them.
If a miracle does not happen then Alex is living the last few weeks of his life.
Adam stares at the box, flips it open and gazes into the beautiful engagement ring. “Poor Karina” he frowns, “shouldn’t she know about this?”
******** Temporarily disengaging her thoughts and worries over Alex’s battle for survival, Karina walks around the gallery and meticulously places long stem sunflowers and scented candles along the wall. Overwhelmed by the excitement of her opening, she tries to hide her anxiety.
Theodore senses her tension and reassures her warmly, “I remember my first opening many years ago; I was so nervous I felt nauseous the entire day, but at the end, it felt great because my art was appreciated.” He looks at her painting on the wall, “and I appreciate your art. If not I would not dare show you off.” He turns towards her and smiles again, placing a hand on hers, “I still think you and my son Tony would make an adorable couple.” He chuckles and walks away.
About sixty of Theodore’s friends showed up at the opening to review Karina’s work, and to judge whether his raving review on her work is nothing more than an overrated flatter for a beautiful face.
Their skepticism is quickly diminished and a few of his friends who also know the belated maestro Pucci Santoro, recognizes the essence of the master’s art within Karina’s work.
Amber arrives with a swollen ankle wrapped in a soft cast, “do not ask.” She smiles to Karina and congratulates her with the proudest look on her face, “you have come a long way and I am extremely proud of you!”
Seeing Taylor walking through the door, Karina waves excitedly and gestures her to join them. Taylor walks up to Karina with open arms and hugs her best friend with the proudest look on her face,
“Congratulations! I do not even know what to say except I am truly happy for you. Look at your work, they are amazing!” she kisses Karina on her cheek, “and you look stunning!”
Touched beyond words Karina expresses her gratitude, “Taylor and Amber, I would not have made it through without both of you. Without your friendship and support, who knows where I would be right now.”
She has so much to convey to her best friends and before she can continue, Theodore catches her attention and gestures her over to meet a key invitee of the event.
From the corner of her eye Taylor sees a familiar looking man entering the door, “Oh my God!” she mumbles to Karina, “Number 408 is here!” she chuckles and blushes, “I did not know he is friends with Karina!”
“Number 408?” Amber laughs, “is that your four hundred and eighth guy? Oh please do not tell me that.” Amber jokes.
Inevitably, Number 408 sees Taylor and walks over, flashing her pearly white teeth, he leans over and kisses her on the cheeks, “meow.” He says to her and walks away.
Amber stares at Taylor with an odd expression on her face; choking on laughter she raises her palm at Taylor, “Spare me the details.”
The gallery is nearly at full capacity and is filled with
some of the most fashionable and trendy art lovers in town. Conrad enters and looks for Amber; lost amidst the crowd he admires the paintings on the walls and finally sees her by the bar. Walking towards her his attention is immediately drawn to the soft cast on her ankle,
“Amber, I really do not think you should stay here for long, you need to rest your ankle. Everyone misses you at the rehearsals and thinks you are on vacation. You are supposed to be back in four days.”
The bartender hands her a glass of red wine and she turns towards Conrad, “Do not worry I will take Toradol if I have to. Everything will be fine, I promise.” She smiles and leans against him to alleviate some weight off her ankle.
Conrad notices her squint and realizes that she is in pain, “I think you should go home now.”
“I will” smiles Amber, “as soon as I pick out a painting. You should get one for your studio too. You know, that piece” she points towards the painting by the door, “would look beautiful on the empty wall by your piano.”
Conrad throws his head back and laughs, “Sure” he smiles, “I will get that for you if you want to see it on my wall. You know I will do anything to see your million dollar smile.” He expresses his feelings through a joke but what he really wants to say, is that he will do anything that pleases her because he loves her.
Having spent over ten years in a miserable marriage that ended on the sourest note, Amber no longer wants love, at least not for the present moment. Conrad is well aware of it and is willing to wait patiently until the end of time.
The Advil is wearing down and she really should not be drinking. Amber puts down her glass of wine and tries to smile through the pain. Realizing that Conrad is right and she has to leave soon, she chooses her favorite painting and asks Theodore to charge it to her platinum American Express. Theodore places a ‘sold’ sign on Amber’s painting and helps Conrad with his purchase. Supporting Karina’s opening and encouraging her efforts, Taylor chooses a smaller painting for her home and other buyers begin to follow suit.
As she pays for the painting, Taylor sees Ivan walking in and is utterly disappointed to see the same blonde girl by his side. She has invited him to attend Karina’s opening but has anticipated for him to come alone. She gathers that it would be quality time for her to get to know him better outside of the office.
Feeling disappointed she presses her lips together and feels a pinch in her heart. “Oh forget it” she mumbles to herself, pretends to not see them and tries to slip away only to be noticed,
“Taylor!” Ivan calls out to her, “here you are.” Taylor stops in her tracks then turns around, forges a smile and waits for them to approach.
Ivan introduces his intern to Taylor, “Taylor this is Samantha, a brilliant new age writer who is interning for the magazine.”
Cold and uninterested Taylor shakes her hand superficially and forges another obviously fake smile. As if he could read her mind he sends Samantha to the bar and places a hand on Taylor’s arm,
“Are you alright? You do not look very happy tonight.” He presses for her thoughts.
“I am fine!” Taylor answers callously. Taylor’s odd behavior projects the obvious signs of jealousy and detecting that, he realizes that it is up to him to make a move if he wants to pursue a personal relationship with her. The only thing is, he is unsure of whether he should or not. Still undecided he chooses inaction and pretends to be unaware.
Coincidentally, Adam is taking a walk for much needed fresh air and his thoughts are interrupted by the commotion of the gallery across the street. Drawn by the distraction, he crosses the street and walks up to the gallery to satiate his curiosity.
Shocked to see Karina posing in front of cameras, he reads the poster on the window that says, “Rising artist – Karina Sebastian Opening Night.” He scans the walls of the gallery and is mesmerized by the vibrancy of her paintings. Karina looks stunningly radiant, just as he has always known her.
At this moment Adam realizes within his heart that Alex is right all along; his suffering should not affect her life. Karina must continue doing what she is destined to do, with or without Alex by her side.
He has just learned the true meaning of unconditional love from his ailing brother.
Saying a silent prayer for Alex, he walks away from the gallery with his head bent in sorrow and tries to prepare himself for the most devastating moment of his life.
Chapter Twenty Six. Defiant yet vulnerable, Taylor becomes less communicative and chooses to shut down from the once opened connection that she has established with Ivan.
Frightened to cross the line and to ruin a perfectly built friendship, she avoids the mortification of probable rejections and secretly admires him from afar.
After all, he may not feel the same way she does and moreover, she might be better off with uncommitted and random thrills that have kept her going for as long as she could remember.
Misconceiving expectations, conversations and limits the frequency of their meetings.
her predicament as Ivan refrains from
As if an ice barrier erects between them, their unspoken words are beginning to affect their friendship and a huge amount of vagueness fills the air between them and pushes them apart.
Neither of them is disposed to taking any risks and chooses to remain contentedly nestled within their own obstinacy, but deep within his heart, if Taylor finds a way to accept the fact that she feels a certain fondness towards him, he will be willing to give it a try. However delicate, he finds it impossible to read between her vigilantly constructed lines.
Entering his office Taylor places her flash drive on his desk and without a word she exits. Ivan is now baffled by her sudden change of attitude, raises an eyebrow and watches her walk back to her office. He inserts the flash drive into his laptop and opens up the final version of “Broken”, speed reading and going through all the changes that they have discussed, he finally feels confident to have her book published.
Ivan walks across the corridor and opens the door of Taylor’s office, “I think you’re ready.” He smiles reassuringly.
Taylor blinks and pauses. As if a revelation descends upon her, she looks at him with a perplexed expression on her face,
“Wait.” She pauses and gazes at him intently while taking a deep breath, “it is not ready yet. Maybe she deserves a happy ending instead?”
Ivan laughs lightheartedly and without any insinuation, “she deserves whatever you decide for her. I am game either way, so surprise me with a new ending.” He smiles and closes the door behind him.
Unsure of what he really means, she watches him walk back to his office, narrows her eyes and mumbles in bewilderment,
“What did he say?”
******** Wearing boots to camouflage her swollen ankle, Amber appears at the rehearsal and sits next to Conrad in the center of the eighth row.
Avoiding a scare they choose to rehearse on break scenes without Amber’s part. The show is now flowing in cohesion and every single aspect of the production is well synchronized. It is the first time that Amber is watching her own show; touched beyond words she stands up and congratulates everyone on their hard work and expresses her pride in seeing how adequately everyone is portraying their roles.
Feeling a sharp pain in her ankle, she sits down and relieves the weight from her leg. She has another week to heal then one more week to realign. Confident that she will be able to catch up before the opening, she flashes a radiant smile and is determined not to let anyone down.
Neyo walks up to Amber after the rehearsal,
“Welcome back from vacation! I missed you.” He smiles flirtatiously.
Amber chuckles, “You have got to be kidding. Will you stop flirting and focus on “Turbulence”? By the way, excellent job and I am proud of you, young man.”
“Oh” Neyo laughs, “I may be young but I am very mature you know.” He looks at her with an eyebrow raised, gustily he comes on to her hard and strong, “I have stamina and I am not clingy” he
laughs, “the only time I will ever drive you crazy is when we are in bed.”
“Oh my God.” Amber cracks up in disbelief but finds him amusing, “you are ten years younger than me!” she continues laughing.
“I do not care.” Neyo winks at her discreetly, leans over and whispers into her ear in his deep sultry voice “just think about it okay.”
Amber could not help bursting into laugher and looks at Neyo with an amused expression on her face.
“Laugh now. You will be screaming later.” he smiles at her ambitiously and backs away with a flirtatious wink.
Conrad watches their playful interaction from afar and crosses his arms. “Trouble” he mumbles with a frown as he watches Neyo back away teasingly. Looking at the way that Amber is laughing and smiling back at Neyo, he mumbles a little louder, “Stay away from trouble, Amber, stay away from trouble.”
Concerned and jealous Conrad is not hesitant to convey his feelings and walks up to Amber, “Stay away from trouble.” he smiles casually.
Still amused Amber looks as Conrad and as if she can read his mind, “Seriously” Amber chooses her words carefully, “after all what I have gone through, I will be alright with or without a man in my life. At the end of the day, I know I have me by my side.”
“And you have me by your other side.” Conrad presses for a reaction. “Yes, as my best friend, confidant and producer.” Amber already knows and appreciates his feelings for her but it is not the time for her to talk about love, at least not for the time being.
******** Yvette flashes a radiant smile inside an elaborately decorated jewelry store. Taking the last glimpses of her platinum diamond necklace, her twenty carat yellow diamond ring and few other pieces of jewelry that Russell has given her in reward to her silence, she watches the handsomely dressed man approach her and hands her a check.
Reluctantly she accepts the check and pushes the jewelry boxes away from her, “Merci.” She smiles and leaves the store.
Has Cupid Gone Mad?: War Of Hearts Page 11