Authors: Vivienne Harris-Scott
“
I
’
ll do it, you
’
re right.
”
Vi said, suddenly alarmed, as she could
see herself lose both men if the situation perdured,
”
I
’
ll move in with Julian so Ethan can stay
and repair their friendship if that
’
s possible, and at least E and I will
remain friends I hope
…”
her voice
trailed.
“
Atta girl!
”
Melissa exclaimed, clapping her hands,
“
Now, can we go shopping and pick out a
dress for that engagement party? It
’
s only 6 days away and we
’
ll need at least two to get the perfect
outfit!
”
((~~!~~))
Charlie and Ethan
They were smoking in silence on the
terrace. A cigarette for Ethan, a cigar for Charlie.
“
I love her you know,
”
the blonde man said lowly.
“
I know you do,
”
said the psychiatrist.
“
I thought I could be her friend. I wanted
it so much
…”
he
continued, finally facing the man across him.
“
Ethan, you two can be friends if you want.
But the base of any real friendship is honesty. You still love her as a
husband, and even if you haven
’
t made any frontal attempt, we all know, the gifts,
your presence
…
this is all about telling her you haven
’
t given up on what you two had. The key
word is
‘
had
’
here
…”
Charlie pressed on.
Ethan shoulders slumped, when he slowly
said,
“
I truly thought I had let her go when she
came to Sydney, but seeing her only revived more what I already felt for her
…
I
’
m not sure I
’
ll ever be able to give that up
…”
“
Nobody is asking you to give up your past.
But, you must deal with the present. And the present is she is in love with
another man, pregnant with another man
’
s child, and even if she is currently
sharing a house with you, she will feel betrayed if your disguise your
attention under the banner of friendship until you can
’
t take no more, and it explodes to all
your faces, then you
’
ll lose her forever
…”
Charlie mustered with logic.
“
It
’
s becoming untenable,
”
Ethan admitted, turning his head away.
“
Then, you two should talk while you still
can. Maybe then, a real friendship can be entertained and not a charade waiting
like a time bomb.
”
The older man said.
“
I
’
ll talk to her,
”
Ethan said, meeting his interlocutor
’
s eyes.
“
Good. You
’
ll all be better off. It
’
s going to be hard but you
’
ll get through it, you are a strong man
who went through a lot. You can do this.
”
Charlie said encouragingly.
“
I
’
ll talk to her.
”
Ethan repeated, more resolute.
Vi and Julian, Melissa and Charlie and Ethan
Salle
Pleyel
, 75008, Paris.
France.
The party was in full swing.
Booking the concert hall for a private
party had been a stroke of genius. The music echoing through it was simply
divine.
Melissa had delivered on her promise. This
was an event that would be talked about by the ones in the know for years to
come, because while 165 of the main European power brokers had been carefully
selected and invited, all press organs had been banned. No picture was to be
released, and no information about the bride was to leave the walls of La Salle
Pleyel
.
It was an engagement party, but also a new
start for Julian, as he made the public announcement that his movie career was
over as of that evening and that from then on, he would concentrate on his
future family, and the business carrying his name.
He would run his affairs from Paris, his
now permanent home.
A declaration that was very well received
by the business moguls of all corners of the world in attendance, who while
admiring The McCarty conglomerate, had only little respect for a man they
mostly considered as a dilettante, even if the most cunning of them knew, it
was a façade, and Julian was actually a sharp businessman
…
That is, when he decided to actually run
his affairs. After all, they all knew the stories of his business debuts, and
how he turned within 3 years a simple restaurant into a worldwide franchise,
all on his own with money he made from exclusive modelling contract no less.
His business acumen had to be commended.
Now that the man had decided to become
‘
respectable
’
, he was one of
‘
them
’
. New relationships could freely foster
without fear of stories, or business deals details ending in tabloids.
And from what they
’
d learned, his fiancée was an
international lawyer with a stellar reputation of her own
…
Yes, this party was to be remembered. It
was a beginning for them all.
((~~!~~))
He whistled. He was ecstatic. She had called him
saying she had a surprise for him, and to wait for her to go to their own
party, instead of meeting there, as they had previously agreed.
He had opened the door of the Penthouse,
and here she was, a trail of Vuitton suitcases surrounding her. She had simply
said,
“
If you still want me
…”
They had fallen into each other arms, as
he had lifted her in an embrace, and kissed her.
Now he was waiting for her to come out of
the bathroom, so they could leave for their party, as Melissa, Charlie, Deric
and Kevin were already there, as attested the numerous text messages he had
received in the past hour.
When she opened the door, he felt the air
get sucked out of his chest.
She was stunning, he could barely say,
“
The way you look
…”
She had given him a small smile and
responded, walking towards him,
“
Tonight is the beginning of the rest of
our life. I wanted to honor the evening
…”
“
Baby, I am the one who is
honored
. You look beautiful
…”
he had said in a voice filled with
emotion.
She had given a small reverence, and said,
“
Shall we?
”
offering him her arm.
He wouldn
’
t leave her side tonight.
((~~!~~))
“
Thank you so much!
”
she exclaimed as her future sister-in-
law brought her a glass of watermelon juice,
“
For this,
”
she showed the glass,
“
but mostly, for that.
”
she perused the room.
Melissa had done a superb job with the
décor, of the heritage concert hall, transformed for the night in a wonderland
sparking with white and silver lightening,
Only one official photographer was present
to take pictures of the room, and of any guest who wanted to immortalize the
evening.
Vi was glad for the attention, as she
wanted lots of pictures of that room since Lily and Marcus had both excused
themselves. They had just both returned to the US after her birthday just 10
days ago, and flying back to Paris for just the evening was something their
respective bodies wouldn
’
t cope well with when they both had busy
days the very next day, Lily with an experimental surgery that could not be
postponed, and Marcus with a board meeting at McCarty industries in LA.
She missed them both. She had really taken
into Marcus because he was making Lily so happy; and well, Lil was Lil, she
always missed her, she was her sister.
She had also noticed, Ethan while invited was
nowhere to be seen. She felt a slight pinch of sadness hit her heart, but she
knew she had made the right decision finally moving in with Julian.
She noticed Kevin and Charlie seemed to be
having an animated conversation, both men laughing out loud and she felt her
heart swell. Things had returned to normal with her best friend. After her
move, she had taken him to lunch three days later and they had talked it out,
and while he admitted he loved her, he knew Julian was then man for her, and he
would remain her best friend if she allowed him. She had cried in his arms,
when telling him, she simply could not picture her life without him in it, he
was her rock and this would never change, regardless of whom she was married
to.
Yes, everything in her life was perfect.
She smiled as she met Julian
’
s eyes resting on her while he was talking to a sandy
haired gentleman, and they shared a secret smile. She couldn
’
t wait to go home with him.
Suddenly, she felt some hot air behind her
left ear, and a voice she would recognize anywhere said,
“
Hello, beautiful!
”
She turned around to be face to face to
the grey-eyed man she had come to consider as one her intimate friends, and
said,
“
James! I can
’
t believe it! Didn
’
t you tell me you wouldn
’
t make it because you were stuck in Venice
doing recon?!
”
she was shaking her head.
“
Italy is only an hour flight away. I
wouldn
’
t have missed
‘
this
’
for the world
…”
he pointed the magnificence of the room,
“
Besides, I already missed your birthday,
so two for two wouldn
’
t have been too good! I can
’
t risk alienating a pregnant lady
…”
he laughed.
They embraced each other, and then he
said,
“
So, what have I been missing? It
’
s been ages, and there
’
s always something going on in your life!
”
she grinned, replying,
“
Oh James, if you only knew! That life of
mine is weirder than a soap-opera
…”
he chuckled, and retorted semi-serious,
“
Well, don
’
t tell my mom, but I
’
ve always had this thing for Nikki in The
Young and the Restless
…”
She just
burst into incontrollable laughter.
As she was calming herself from the
hysteric stitches James had her in, she perused the rest of the room in order
to locate her brother as she wanted to introduce them, but her grazing suddenly
halted when she noticed the blonde haired man watching her from a spot close to
the entrance. Excusing herself to James, she wondered for how long Ethan had
been standing there, and walked over to salute him.
Once they were a few feet apart, she said
softly,
“
You came
…”
He didn
’
t reply, just kept watching her silently
for a long time, until, he abruptly turned around, and left the room.
She was a bit disoriented by the gesture,
but then again, it was E
…
…
And this is the moment her fiancé came
behind her, circling her waist and kissing her ear, asking,
“
How about a dance, so we can show them how
it
’
s done?
”
she had given him a bright smile and
followed him to the dance floor.
There would be time to deal with Ethan.