"There's my girl!" Archie cheered, hugging me and kissing me firmly on my lips. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the award show but I'm proud of you nevertheless." I moved aside to let him into my apartment and he went straight for the glass plaque I had left earlier on the breakfast table."It looks great. Breakout Star, Claire Wagner." Yup! That's me. The newest eighteen year old who has been working her ass off for the past two years, juggling three careers as a model, actress and my all time favourite, a photographer.It hasn't been easy and I can't stress how many times my parents have told me to take a break and come home just to relax, but I've been stubborn like always. Working keeps my mind away from depressing stuff like worrying about Jason who I haven't seen in the last two years and he doesn't even have a social media account, I mean, who doesn't have a social media account?And even Antonio! That dumb jerk gave a stupid excuse and avoided attending my parents wedding, he'
"Hey single lady, come home." I kept staring at my phone. What the actual hell? That jerk has been ignoring me for the past two years and just a few minutes after my boyfriend broke up with me, he sends a text?!I was furious and sad and relieved... God! I just wanted to hug my cousin so badly!Judy's call came in before I could reply to Antonio's text; she had been my personal assistant since I moved to Paris. Emma couldn't come with me because she wanted to be a full time Mom to Shelby and she did say she was getting married in a month to a guy she met.I didn't try getting close to Judy though, she just wasn't as free with me like Emma used to be, she just wanted our relationship to be professional and I didn't mind at all.Of course she wouldn't be calling if she knew I was on a date with Archie, but I didn't tell her and she probably thinks I've disappeared.I picked up."Hey, Judy.""Hello. Where are you?" See that? She's so uptight."I was originally on a date with Archie but I
I was standing in the parking lot, away from the couple I was staring at. Jason... He was holding a brunette's hand... and that hand had a diamond ring on its ring finger.He was freaking engaged?!My heart pounded deeply in my chest. I was too late? But... he was my soulmate, right? Wrong. Probably the same time I stopped believing in soulmates was the same time he seized being mine.He was smiling so fondly at the brunette and I couldn't see her face but I knew she had a big smile as well. "You have no right to be sad... You have no right to be sad..." I kept muttering to myself, over and over again as I worked up the courage to leave there."I don't believe it! It's Claire Wagner!" I stilled when I heard a lady shriek. Other students stopped to stare at me and a few began making their way towards me.I diverted my eyes back to Jason, he and his brunette were staring at me, he looked confused.I turned around and bolted for my car, driving out of the campus. Some crazy fans ran af
ClairePausing in-between a line, I waited for the yelling and sobs to stop. They were at it again. Even though it's now a regular thing for them, I didn't like that they were interrupting James's bedtime story.I looked at him, he was calm and half asleep, or maybe he was already in his private world."You bastard! You can't just come back here whenever you want, drunk and covered in your own filth!" My Mom yelled at her husband and was rewarded a slap. I wonder why she even tries, she'll only get beaten up."Who do you think you are bitch? This is my house. You and your brats are invading my territory, you can't tell me what to do in my house." I heard another slap, quickly followed by punching noises. Well, she asked for it.He was right though, we were invading his house. I mean, I didn't even want to be there but I'm just fourteen and not old enough to move out yet. Also, I couldn't just leave my little brothe
MattSimultaneously as the last board member left the conference room, leaving me alone with Abigail, my cell phone rang. Normally, I would have ignored it, but I set a specific ringtone for Nicholas' number; I've been waiting a whole week for his call."What did you find?" I asked immediately I answered, skipping all the formalities."Bad." He replied in the same tone. I tensed up in my seat."How bad, Nicholas? Did someone die?" I secretly hoped that won't be the case. Leaving the country was bad enough, if someone died, I didn't know what I would do.I felt a soft hand on my shoulder and looked up into Abigail's concerned eyes. She knew how important this call was."Unfortunately yes." My heart dropped. "I'm sorry buddy, I have no good news for you today. I finally found her but I was too late, she'd be dead for over two hours; neighbors said h
Matt I walked into my vast house, sent all my staff home until further notice and locked the door. If I'm lucky enough, Abigail doesn't have a spare key. I needed to be left alone with my thoughts; have some time to figure things out. I didn't know how I was going to face Claire again after what happened. I needed no one to tell me how much she'd resent me. "All of this wouldn't have happened if Doris had agreed to follow me!" I thought aloud, tossing aside my jacket. I sat on the carpet and ran a miserable hand through my hair. But it wasn't Doris fault... If you'd go back to the very beginning, it was my fault; all of it. When I first met Doris, I'd just lost my Dad to a heart attack. Not only that I had lost my best friend; I had to take responsibility of all the companies, hotels and factories he owned. I had just turned twenty and it wasn't at all easy to process. I wanted to live one last time before I'm swept up with the
ClaireMy life was a blur.The week that followed after my uncle said those three shocking words to me was my worst! I couldn't make sense of what he said for six whole minutes. They were just having their usual fights that ends in cries and bruises, why would he kill her? Was it a mistake? Did she slip and break her neck?It was unbelievable!"You two can stay with my family now, it'll be okay." Uncle Mark said, shifting James's weight to his shoulder. James was already fast asleep. How do I explain to him that he won't see his mother anymore? He was so bent on not leaving her behind; maybe if I wasn't so impatient, she wouldn't be dead. Maybe if I had ignored them and completed the storybook, she wouldn't have had a reason to hit Frank with the vase."Claire..." I ignored him. My Mom was killed! She's gone; we won't ever see her again. I know we weren't so close but she was
Claire I didn't sleep at all that night. When I could dose off a little, I'll quickly be woken up by a nightmare. It was either Frank was trying to kill me, or my Mom was a zombie... I'd blame the horror movies I usually watch. The week passed slowly; I never left the room. Uncle Mark's family took turns checking up on me. Uncle Mark tried to get me to talk to him but I wasn't up for it. Barely looking at him, you'd know he was still hurting and hasn't coped with his pain yet, so how did he want to help me? Aunt Miriam avoided talking about my Mom entirely; she would rather talk about happy moments with her family. Could be her type of therapy. It worked a bit though; I didn't cry so much when she was around. I felt a different kind of calm with her close, but as quickly as she left, I'd go back to my depression. Tyler didn't visit until after my second day there. He was just as I remembered; bright blond ha