“Weren’t you the one who wanted to let me free to live my life? The one who had given up our love for my sake without even asking me?”, Chris burst out painfully.
“I was wrong. I swear I thought it was the right choice, but I can’t do it. I can’t keep my feelings for you silent anymore and go on telling myself I have to wait for you. I want you. I want to be with you. I want to share my life with you, but above all I want you to be happy and, from what I can see, I don’t think you’re happy here”.
“Leny, tell me. I want you to tell me: do you want me to leave everything and come to Pieville with you?”.
“Yes”, she whispered very low, hiding her fear for a possible refusal on his part. “I know I’m asking you a lot, but…Chris, I can’t go on anymore”.
He didn’t answer and she felt the world tumbling down on her.
“If you are asking me just because you saw that bottle or because Emily told you anything, you can go away”, he told her after a very long time, overwhelmed by insecurity.
“No! I’ve told you just because I love you, Chris. Please, come with me…home”.
He didn’t answer again and Leny had to try hard to avoid crying in frustration and desperation as she had arrived too late. She silently prayed Arthur to help her.
“Ok, but if I come back to Pieville, I’ll do it just on a single condition”, Chris agreed staring resolutely at her, wiping away his weakness coming from fever.
Leny nodded holding her breath.
“Leny, will you marry me?”.
Hearing those words, the girl was left dumbfounded.
Her silence made Chris’s immune defenses fall down, so he suddenly felt he was going to faint with pain since he hadn’t got the reaction he longed for.
“I will…I will!”, Leny whispered shy at first, then exulting in happiness.
She ran to hug him and she made him sat on a chair, seeing he was unsteady again.
“Really?”, Chris asked hesitating.
“Yes, even if I hope it wasn’t fever that made you talk like that”, Leny pretended to be worried before she put her lips on his.
“I’m serious, Leny. I want to live with you as your husband. I don’t want to risk to part from you anymore. I couldn’t stand it”, Chris muttered almost shuttered, on her hot and soft mouth which was going to put an end to his uncertainties with another kiss.
“I love you, Chris. And I wish to become your wife with all my heart”.
Epilogue
Seven years later
“Where’s Chris?”, Emily asked getting into Arthur’s old house, where a dozen workers were going to finish the last enlargement of the house.
“He’s finishing the shootings for “Crash”, tomorrow”, Leny informed her, feeling excited for his return.
“Crash”? But with all the work offers he had, should he chose “Crash”, to act in?”
“You know, Emily. Chris only accepts parts in films which don’t take him far from me and Marc for a long time”.
“Of course, but it’s a pity he hasn’t acted in more than three films in the last seven years”.
“You know he wants to be near his family. Far from flood-lights.
“It’s a real pity”.
“Emily, he is happy now”.
“I know, I know. You are the most beautiful couple in the world”, Emily admitted, as she had never thought about how much Chris cared about being a perfect husband and father, but she had been forced to change her mind in the last years.
Marrying her cousin, had made Chris the happiest man in the world, so much that chains had been needed to drag him far from his wife and act in a movie, after a three years’ absence from flood-lights.
He had accepted only a job per year since then and only under precise terms.
“I need you for this reason”, Emily went on “To convince Chris to act in my new film”.
“But didn’t you say you would never try film direction again?”, Leny reminded her, thinking back to the criticism she got for her first movie as director.
“Emily Keys: an excellent actress but a very bad director”, newspapers had written.
“I must show Steven how worth I am”, Emily got excited.
“But Steven loves you and already holds you in great esteem. You don’t you get married instead?”.
“He doesn’t want to. He says our life in common is just as perfect as it is and our love doesn’t need a written certification to show it”, she told her in an acid voice, thinking about the never-ending quarrel they had had.
Luckily to calm down souls, a light-brown little head came out from behind the door.
“Auntie!”, shouted at her a little boy, whose big green eyes had bright golden straws like the ones of her mother’s amber eyes.
“Marc, dear!”, Emily greeted him, holding him in her arms happily.
“Auntie, do you know I’m learning to play the violin?”, he informed her seriously waving a small colored plastic violin.
“You should start learning to act to help your aunt”, she corrected him.
“I’m praying you, Emily”, Leny intruded distressed. “If Chris hears you say these things, he flies on all furies. He doesn’t want absolutely that our son gets in touch with the movie world”.
“What a boring man! To think that Marc is such a good-looking boy. Eyes like that would have a great screen presence! He would be a great actor! He would have crowds of girls at his feet!”, Emily snorted, even if she actually knew a father’s fears very well.
“Emily, when are you coming back to Los Angeles?”, Leny asked anxiously, trying to change the subject.
“As soon as I convince Chris to act for me”.
“When?”
“In a month’s time”
“So I have to tell you already you’ll have to give up”.
“But Leny, please, help me. I’m sure that he’ll surely accept, if you talk to him”.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you this time”.
“Why?”, Emily pretended to sob, to make her cousin feel pity for her.
“Because I’m pregnant”.
“Again? Really?”
“Yes, I found out last week, after the beginning of the shootings for “Crash””.
“But does Chris know?”.
“No, or he would give everything up to run home. Don’t you remember what he did when I was expecting Marc?”.
“You couldn’t take him off you for nine months and, when Marc was born, he didn’t even let me touch him”, Emily remembered laughing.
“I’m almost afraid to tell him”, Leny exclaimed amused, even if she was really looking forward to giving him the good news.
A STAR IN MY LIFE
Victory Storm
#comingsoon
Just behind him there was one of the posters stuck up by fans of the actors starring in The Supremacy, the movie that was being shot in those days.
It just took a few seconds for her to match perfectly the image of the actor Marc Hailen with that one of the man being in front of her.
She opened her mouth to speak, but she was barely able to make sounds .
“ Well, what now?”, he went on, more and more irritated, making Berenice’s brain go haywire. This last one was reviewing all the articles and videos that she had seen about him.
“You insured your body for ten million dollars,”, was the one thing she could say with a feeble voice.
“ That’s right. And now, unless you want to spend the rest of your life paying for your mistakes, I would advise you to give me some ice and a coffee. At once.”
What’s gonna happen when you’ve just run the risk of breaking Marc Hailen’s nose, the actor known to have just insured his body for ten million dollars?
Berenice didn’t think she has ever felt the need to answer a question like that, but the adverse fate, together with the hostile quadrature and constellations, has led her to encounter one of the most handsome, famous and well-to-do men at the
time!
Will Berenice be able to find a solution to hold off the pompous and arrogant nature of the star Marc Hailen, without falling in love with him?
In Love with a Star Page 14
