by Jerilee Kaye
“Leave your old self behind, Yen,” Jill said. “Your stepmother and Kimberly can no longer hurt you. Change your image, free yourself and embrace who you really are!”
As much as she wanted to argue with them, Adrienne realized that they did have a point. She can’t be the plain, simple Adrienne anymore. Because she’s no longer ordinary. She’s Andrea Blanc. And she will not let others criticize her for the sake of hurting her mother, her brother, or her stepfather. She would not embarrass them. If they introduced her to their world, she had to make sure that she will make them proud.
So, they raided several luxury shops. Chanel. Balenciaga. Gucci. Armani. Prada.
Her mother sat in a corner and worked on her mini laptop while the three of them shopped.
“Buy anything and everything you want, my child,” she told Adrienne. “You guys dress her up and don’t worry about the bill. I’m sorry I just need to finish this intense scene I was working on. I just can’t concentrate on anything else.”
When they finally got home that evening Adrienne probably carried more than fifty paper bags from luxury designers.
Jin shook his head when he met them at the front door. “So who’s responsible for turning you into a shopaholic so soon?” He grinned.
“Mom. And these two.” Adrienne pointed at Jill and Yuan.
“Come on!” Jill urged. “We just thought that now she’s one of you, she has to dress the part.”
“Well, you’re right,” Jin said. “Mom will soon introduce Adrienne to her circle of friends and sons and daughters of her friends. They would be very excited to meet you. Not because they think you’re an interesting person. But because they want to know what’s wrong with you and how you could stain our mother’s spotless reputation.”
Adrienne blinked back at her brother. “So…are these your friends, too?”
“Hell no!” Jin said. “I couldn’t stand them. If they’re not good for business, I don’t bother to know them at all. I honestly don’t know and care about ninety percent of Mom and Dad’s friends. I haven’t even met them. But there can only be one black sheep in the family. And unfortunately for you, I’ve already called dibs on the title!” He grinned. “So they don’t expect anything good to come out of me. I’ve gotten to the point that nothing bad I do even makes it to social gossips anymore. They just don’t care. When you’re bad, and you do bad things, people just ignore it. But when you’re good… like you my dearest sister…and you do bad, you’ll be talk of the town…tabloid meat…for a whole week.”
What he said actually scared Adrienne. The look of shock ran across her face. Jin laughed and put an arm around her shoulder to give her a gentle squeeze.
“Relax, Adrienne,” Jin said. “Mama and Papa never really cared about what others around us thought. So you’ll be all right. And I’m sure you’ll be a hit among the sons of our parents’ friends.”
“I’m not interested,” she said.
Jin smiled at her. “Hmmm…speaking of that, where’s the hotshot boyfriend?”
Adrienne sighed. Yuan and Jill gave Jin a slight shake of head, as if warning him not to open a whole can of worms.
“Oooppps!” Jin whispered. “Tell you what, let’s go out tonight. Take your mind off things.”
After a few hours, they were at a club called Rendezvous. When they arrived, the line seemed long but, Jin led them to the beginning of the line. With only a slight nod, the bouncer let them in. Others waiting in line just groaned.
“That’s not fair,” Adrienne said. “I hate it when people with money and influence could just do that.”
Jin grinned. “It’s not money and influence that got us in. It’s just plain face value.” And he winked at her.
“Oh God, my brother is a first class jerk.”
Jin laughed. “And I’m just getting started!”
Jin introduced her to some of his friends. There was a girl named Tara and her boyfriend Mac. There were brothers Van and Victor, who were half-French and half-Brazilian. Then there was the French guy named Jean, who looked familiar, like she’s seen him in a print ad before.
“Yes, he is actually,” Jin said to her.
She stared up at him. “What?”
“If you’re wondering if you’ve seen him before and if he’s a model, he is. He modeled for several perfume campaigns.”
“Oh, that’s why he looked familiar,” Adrienne said.
Jin leaned forward to whisper against her ear. “He’s a Yuan.”
Adrienne stared back at her brother. It took her five seconds to figure out what he meant. And then she smiled. Already, Jean had started stealing glances at Yuan.
Hey, Yuan is a very good looking guy, too.
“You guys look too much like each other to be hooking up,” Mac said to Jin, referring to Adrienne. “It’s strange.”
“Nope, not hooking up. But that doesn’t mean any of you guys should get any ideas, okay?” Jin had pointed a warning finger at Victor and Van.
The two guys groaned. “Seriously, dude?”
“Seriously!” Jin said crossly. Then he pointed at Adrienne. “Sister.”
“Oh!” the two said in unison. “Sorry.”
“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Tara said.
“Now you do,” Jin said curtly, not really wanting to explain the whole history behind it.
“Seriously, Dude,” Van began to tease Jin. “Guard her with your life.”
“That’s what I’m doing,” Jin said.
“So, where have you been all this time, Adrienne?” Mac asked.
“In New York. Writing for a magazine called Blush.”
“Oh, she writes like your Mom.” Tara smiled. “I love Blush. I have my copies delivered every month. Seriously, you work there?”
“Yes,” Adrienne replied. “Me and Jill.”
Tara, a journalism major, asked for pointers from Jill and Adrienne. Both women were happy to help her start a career, should she want it. Her family owned Rendezvous, and she didn’t really have to work. Yet she didn’t want to be branded a good for nothing rich brat. She wanted to make a name for herself, too.
They got home around one in the morning. Jill and Van exchanged numbers after dancing saucily together. Yuan and Jean actually couldn’t take their eyes off each other. And Adrienne successfully made some more new friends.
Before she went to bed that night, she checked her phone to see her messages.
Kim: I hope you’re happy! You successfully ruined my life! Troy won’t talk to me. Mom and Dad are divorcing. And Troy’s family thinks so low of me now. Congratulations, Adrienne! You won again! I hope you die! Really!
She read the messages a couple more times, and then she just hit delete.
She read Justin’s last message to her again. Over and over. She tried her best not to call him. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She attempted to make it through one day at a time. Still, she felt so happy with her new family. She’s happy that Jill and Yuan were both with her in Paris.
But heiress or no heiress, she still felt heartbroken that she couldn’t be with Justin.
31. Josnic
Romanian for Despicable.
Two days later, Yuan and Jill had to say goodbye to Adrienne. As much as they loved their week in Paris, they had to go back to reality. They still had jobs that required them to go back to New York.
Adrienne decided to do what’s right. She sent Jada her resignation letter. She figured, she’d spent years working her ass off because she didn’t want to be a failure in her mother’s eyes. But she was never really her mother. She’s her stepmother. And her real mother would prefer she stayed in Paris, if not for good, then for a while longer.
Although he partied like a kid at night time, Jin actually wore the Starck heir coat pretty well. He made a lot of progress managing their business. Little by little, her stepfather trusted him to take the reins of their empire.
A week after Yuan and Jill left, Adrienne’s mother told her she would meet her at a
coffee shop in one of their hotels and she will introduce her to some of her friends and their kids, so she could make new friends. The family driver took her there.
Adrienne must have been in the coffee shop for an hour yet her mother didn’t make an appearance. She received a call from her.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry I can’t make it. But Christine just might come at any minute. If she reaches there, tell her I had to rush to meet my editor. But if you could please… have coffee with her. She’s just in town for a visit. She could use some company.”
“Okay, Mom.”
She appreciates it that her mother is slowly introducing her to her circle of friends as part of her family. She needed to meet new acquaintances to keep herself from thinking too much about Justin and to keep from getting bored.
She checked the calendar. Thirty days left. And still no word from Justin. She resisted the urge to text or call him. She couldn’t. If he’s doing what he could to get to know his fiancée, she didn’t want to ruin it.
She badly wanted to tell him about the recent turn of events in her life. She did not want disturb his focus. She wanted him to do this on his own, with no influence coming from her. That wouldn’t be fair.
She must have stayed in the coffee shop, browsing the internet through her phone, for about three hours. No one came. Her mother’s friend didn’t make an appearance.
She called her mother.
“So, how was it?” she asked, sounding ecstatic.
“Mama, your friend didn’t show up.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Then her mother said, “Oh. Okay. She must have been caught up in something. I’ll give her a call now. Meanwhile, you can call the driver to take you home.”
“Mama, is your friend all right?”
Her mother sighed on the other line. “I hope so. Don’t worry about it. I’ll sort it out. I’ll see you at dinner.”
Adrienne went home. When she got to her room, she saw a box sitting on her coffee table. It was wrapped in silver wrapper with a metallic purple ribbon.
She read the card.
Boredom kills.
So maybe it’s time you start writing your next bestseller.
Love,
Jin
She smiled. Her brother was so thoughtful. He was everything that Kimberly wasn’t. And her heart swelled with the love that her new family offered her.
She opened the box and found a brand new Macbook Air. She couldn’t stop smiling. Jin was absolutely right. Writing would be the best thing for her to do whilst she stayed in Paris. She remembered the novel she started writing. Then she remembered, she can’t work on that again. She would make herself too heartbroken if she continued that story. Justin inspired that love story. But now, her love story with him faced an uncertain ending.
Her mother entered her room.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry you had to wait in the coffee shop for nothing,” she said. Adrienne could see the disappointment all over her face. “My friend’s son’s flight was delayed.”
“Your friend’s son?” Adrienne repeated. “I thought I was meeting your friend.”
Her mother stared at her for a while and then she said, “Oh, yes, yes. Er… Christine was… wasn’t able to make it to Paris. But her son came to town. And he wanted to see the sights.”
“Mom, I cannot be a tour guide.” Adrienne said. “I’ve been here less than two weeks.”
“Yes. But he frequents Paris. He doesn’t need to be shown around. He just… needed company.”
Adrienne narrowed her eyes at her mother. “Why me?”
“He’s from the States, too. And I wanted you to meet my friends’ family. Whenever Christine’s son is here, he usually didn’t… have any company or friends to tour around the City.”
“He’s a guy. Maybe Jin would be able to show him a better time than I would.”
“He’s not Jin’s age. And Jin…hates my circle of friends and their children. Do you know, he’s met none of my friends’ children? And he hasn’t gone to any one of my gatherings or meetings with my friends.”
“Really?”
“If it’s not business-related, he’s not interested.”
“Maybe he can start with meeting Christine’s son. He’d be a better company than me.”
“Well, Pierre just sent him to Dubai to facilitate the construction of our hotel there.” Her mother smiled at her. “Would you be a star and help me out then? I sort of promised Christine I’d introduce you to her son.”
Adrienne raised a brow. “Mom…just a question. You’re not setting me up with your friend’s son, are you?”
Her mother stared back at her blankly. And then she shrugged. “Well…my friends have very good-looking kids. They’re smart, too, and come from very good families. And I specifically remember that you were trying to get over some guy whose parents couldn’t accept you.”
Adrienne laughed. “Oh my God, Mama!” she said. “Please stop. I am not looking to jump into a rebound relationship. I just broke up with my boyfriend ten days ago. And besides, I sort of promised him I would wait.”
“Wait?” her mother echoed. “Don’t be absurd, Adrienne. You should not be the one doing the waiting. He should be chasing after you. His parents should be begging him to come back to you. You’re my daughter and you’re beautiful, smart and kind-hearted. Any guy would die to be in your boyfriend’s shoes right now.”
Adrienne felt happy to hear that for a change, she has a mother who is truly proud of what she is.
“Mom, don’t worry about me,” she asserted. “I’ll be okay.”
Her mother sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulder. “Can you at least promise me you will let me introduce you to my circle? Okay, you don’t have to start dating right away. Just…meet new people. I don’t want to see you wasting your time waiting for somebody who may not come back to you.”
Adrienne sighed. She didn’t want to do it. But she also wanted to make her mother feel that she’s trying to fit into her world. And this is the first time that she felt that her mother actually cared about her.
“I’ll meet new friends,” she said firmly. “But I will not date anybody romantically, Mom. I promise I’ll try my best to become friends with your friends’ kids. And they have to be both boys and girls. Not exclusively boys. I’m all for making new friends. But I won’t have a boyfriend. Until…” She sighed. “Until I’m ready.”
Her mother smiled. “Okay. That’s fair enough. By the way, I’m going to throw a party in two weeks. It’s the best way to introduce you to the society. Everybody should know who you are and that you belong to this family.” She kissed her forehead.
“What?” Adrienne began to protest. She thought this heiress thing was going to be easy. “Mama, no. It’s not necessary.”
“Of course it is!” her mother claimed. “To not make you feel awkward, I’d do it on the same night as my victory party. My book ‘Clever Tales’ is number one on the New York Times Bestsellers’ List for six weeks now. I’ve sold about two million copies. It’s time to celebrate. I do it all the time with my other books that hit a milestone. And on that night, we will formally introduce you to everybody.”
Adrienne almost panicked.
Her mother laughed. “You will do great, Adrienne. You’re my daughter. Just breathe and be yourself. Everybody will love you. And if they don’t, they can just go to hell. I don’t care. I’m proud of you.”
Her mother stood up and headed for the door. Then she turned back to her. “I’ve been a romance novelist for decades, sweetheart. And I know…you meet the guy for you at the most unlikely places and situations. You never know. You just might meet someone who’s really worth forgetting your ex-boyfriend for.”
Adrienne just smiled at her mother. But in her mind she thought, I sincerely doubt that, Mom. Nobody is worth forgetting Justin for.
***
The next day, her mother told her to meet her friend, Christine’s son again. She sat at the
same coffee shop for more than an hour, but this friend’s son was again a no-show. Honestly, she was getting infuriated. If she didn’t want to please her mother, she would have left fifteen minutes ago. Obviously, this guy also didn’t want to meet her. And besides, how ungentlemanly was it to stand up a girl two days in a row?
She didn’t plan on dating him. Adrienne saw this as a meet and greet type of thing. She promised her mother she would try to befriend those in her circle. But she wondered if rich kids usually act like this? Do they assume that only their time matters and to hell with anyone else?
After another ten minutes, she gathered her stuff, about to leave.
Just then a guy approached her.
“Are you Andrea Blanc? Ariana Starck’s daughter?” he asked in a cocky voice.
Adrienne stared up at the dark-haired guy standing in front of her. He wore a pair of shimmery black pants, long-sleeved black shirt with white tie and white suspenders. His hair was dark brown and he’s wearing a pair of silver shades. His plucked brow was raised, and he looked like he was impatiently waiting for her to answer.
Adrienne nodded.
He immediately pulled the chair opposite from her and sat down. He pulled his shades up his head and revealed a pair of electric blue eyes. She was sure he’s wearing contact lenses to make his eyes appear more striking.
“I’m sorry, I’m late,” he said. Then he paused for a while and laughed. “Actually, I’m not. I was…with this model and she was hot!” Then he winked at her.
He then scrolled through the menu and raised his hand and waived to the waiter. “Hey, waiter guy!” he called in a very loud voice, the coffee shop actually went quiet. Adrienne sank lower in her seat and actually used the menu in front of her to cover her face in embarrassment.
It took a while before the waiter came to their table. The guy raised a brow at him. “What? You’re going to make me wait for Christmas?” he asked him. He didn’t wait for the waiter to reply. “Get me a machito.”