by Emily Hayes
Her eyes widened, and her breathing quickened as she read the exchange between Paul and Ashley.
“Hey V, how about we go that amusement park in the–..” Ashley came out, fully dressed, her eyes snapping to the cellphone in Vienna’s trembling hands and then to her face.
What she saw broke Ashley’s heart as Vienna’s face was contorted into the most painful of expressions, her eyes full of tears.
“V..” Ashley started, cautiously making her way to Vienna’s side. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Vienna had read the messages.
Vienna moved away from Ashley.
“What is this, Ashley?” she found her voice, locking her gaze with Ashley.
“I.. I was going to tell you. I just.. didn’t find the right time to.” Ashley said to her with a sigh and looked at the floor, unable to meet Vienna’s eyes.
“Were you now? Okay. When exactly then? When were you planning to tell me that you had chosen your ‘reputation’..” Vienna exclaimed, her fingers making a gesture,
“.. over our relationship! Over me!” She finished, throwing Ashley’s phone on the bed.
“Vienna, please. There’s an explanation for this. It’s not what you’re thinking.”
She tried to grab Vienna’s arms only for Vienna to slap them away.
“Please let me explain Vienna” Ashley begged.
“Okay then. What’s the explanation? Go ahead. I want to hear it.” She urged Ashley with her hand, crossing her arms at her chest.
Ashley opened and closed her mouth several times before running a hand through her hair and looking away.
“I just didn’t want to lose you or upset you. You’re the best thing that has happened to me. I’m so happy when I am with you. I was just being protective.” Ashley explained, her fists clenching at her sides.
Paul is going to pay for this.
“So you’re saying, I am just for the fun and games, and you don’t trust me with important things. I thought things were different with you. I really did.” Vienna’s voice broke in between as she choked.
“No, that’s not true, you’re the most precious thing I have.” Ashley pleaded.
“Do you even feel anything for me, Ash? Or am I just a showpiece for your parties? And a hot body to fuck when you get home. Getting you more clients, because apparently, at the end of the day, this is the only thing that matters to you.” Vienna was heartbroken. She knew their relationship had started off rocky, given their arrangement, but things had changed now. They actually wanted to be together.
Right?
“That’s what it is. Your name, your brand, was more important than us. Than me. You couldn’t come out and face the world about our relationship, so you chose the easy way out. How much did you think it would have damaged your reputation, Ashley? A relationship with a common whore? Definitely not as much as you’d like to think. The guy could have been in jail by now, and we could have openly declared our relationship. But no, you would much rather keep me as your dirty little secret.” she said to Ashley, her voice rising with each word.
Ashley looked at her, distraught
“Vienna, I am so sorry. I just, I got terrified and–..” she began only to be interrupted by Vienna as she raised her hand to silence Ashley.
“Vienna, listen to me. I can fix this. I know I made a mistake, I–..” Ashley tried desperately as Vienna started to move out of the room.
“You know what was a mistake? This. I should have kept my heart out of this and just let work be work. But for once I thought, someone actually wanted to be with me with all their heart. That you were in love with actual me, not some false ideal of me. I thought maybe there was at least one person in this world to whom I was more than some sex object. But I was wrong. So foolish of me!” Vienna kept going, unable to contain her anger and disappointment.
She walked down the stairs towards the door, Ashley trailing behind her.
“Please. Vienna, please don’t do this. Just wait. We can fix this.” Ashley tried one last time as Vienna turned to face her.
“And to think I fell in love with you. A coward.” Vienna spat her confession and held the door open for Ashley.
“You can leave now.” She told Ashley with a cold voice.
Ashley looked at Vienna, her eyes pleading, but when Vienna refused to even look at her, Ashley walked out of Vienna’s house, her head hung low.
Vienna walked towards the desk, greeted by a polite voice. Grabbing her ticket, she sat in the waiting lounge, her eyes on the massive ‘arrival & departure’ screens.
She ended her contract with Ashley and picked up another client, all the way in Paris. All she wanted was to get away as far as she could from anything that reminded her of her past.
“Flight 253 to Paris is now boarding. All passengers are requested to please proceed to the check-in counter and receive your boarding passes.”
A voice informed the people in the waiting lounge as people got up to board the plane.
Vienna grabbed her suitcases and walked towards the check-in counter. Getting her boarding pass, she went to the gate, and the attendant welcomed her to the plane, after giving her boarding pass a check.
Vienna sat down on her seat in first class and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. A few tears escaped her eyes as the plane took off, and she looked out the window at the beautiful city.
Good bye, Ashley.
Vienna told herself as if she was repeating it again and again for her mind and heart to believe.
I just wanted to love you.
11
“Nous atterrissons bientôt à Paris. Merci d'avoir volé avec nous. Nous espérons que le voyage a été idéal.”
Vienna was awoken by the sound of the pilot’s voice, informing the passengers that they would be landing soon.
She groggily got up in a sitting position, straightening her seat and wiped the tears that had escaped her eyes while dreaming about Ashley and her fight.
She still couldn’t wrap her head around what had happened. A disgruntled laugh escaped her as she recalled, finally opening her heart to someone, only for them to stomp on it.
Shaking her head, she prepared herself for the landing and looked out her window at the beautiful city coming into view.
I’m escaping from a screwed up relationship to the city of love—the irony.
Vienna thought to herself bitterly. But it was also a new beginning for her, now.
The plane landed, and Vienna went through the airport procedure and finally spotted her designated driver for the time she would be staying in Paris.
She greeted the driver with a nod, and he held the car door open for her as she sat down. Putting her luggage in the trunk, the driver started their journey towards the hotel.
Vienna stepped out of the car, and her driver followed her inside the building with her luggage.
“Bienvenue á Rio de Sicile – Rivoli, mademoiselle.” A petite woman greeted Vienna at the check-in desk.
“Merci,” Vienna replied politely. She dismissed her driver, and a bellboy came to carry her luggage for her to her room.
The hotel she was staying at for her time in Paris was exquisite with its beautiful designs and incredibly lavish styles.
Vienna went inside her room and gave a tip to the bellboy before closing her room door and admiring it.
Vienna walked out to the balcony and closed her eyes, breathing in. It reminded her of the roof terrace at Ashley’s. She felt dizzy with the pain that swept over her.
Ashley. Ashley. Ashley
“Coming!” Chloe yelled, running to the door.
“Who is.. oh! Vienna! Hey! What... When did you come here?” Chloe fumbled with her words as Vienna invited herself into her apartment.
Her apartment was old Parisian style, with its old herringbone parquet floor, double windows that let in lots of light.
“I have been here for a couple of days. It was just another work contract, nothing special. The client was straightforward.�
�� Vienna didn’t match her best friend’s excitement.
“What? A freaking couple of days, and you didn’t tell me?! I could have come to pick you up.” Chloe gave her a stern look, filled with annoyance and disappointment.
“You look pretty tired. Come on, let’s sit in the living room.” She continued, walking towards the room.
“Uh, well, it’s been a rather rough few days.” Vienna crashed on the couch.
“Hey, you can go freshen up. I’ll make you some coffee.”
The sentence reminded Vienna of Ashley, but it was not her. She closed her eyes, wanting to drift away from her thoughts.
“So, how’s everything back home? How are the art classes going?” Chloe asked a fresh and more relaxed looking Vienna. She knew something was up with Vienna but chose not to bombard her with questions and took a rather subtle approach.
“Well, the few last assignments, and I am done actually. Finally, I’ll have my master’s degree,” she informed Chloe, Vienna’s own voice sounding less happy than even she expected it to.
“Oh, that’s great! And how’s Ashley? Isn’t she your only client at the moment? I thought you were dating too? What happened?” came a pretty obvious question from Chloe, and Vienna told her what had happened.
Chloe calmly listened to the whole story before she pulled Vienna in for a firm hug, knowing her friend needed it.
“Oh, come here, sweetheart.”
“We can talk when you want to talk about it. I know you are hurt, this could have been handled better.” Chloe’s voice was pleasant and supportive.
“I guess love and relationships just aren’t for me. When it comes down to it, I’m still just a whore. I’m always going to be a dirty little secret for someone like Ashley.” Vienna started as she buried her face in Chloe’s shoulder, tears escaping her eyes.
“From that difficult childhood up until now, I have made everything better, achieved things, earned so much money. I have a degree now, I travel places, but one thing that I’ve never had is a genuine relationship. A chance at love, you know. I thought, okay, this was it, my life is sorted, but I guess you can never have everything.” Vienna went on, letting out all that she had been keeping inside.
“Maybe this is the rule this universe works on, no matter how much you try, one puzzle piece will always be missing. I have so much else in life. Maybe love is the one thing I am destined not to have.” she ended with a sob.
“Look, what we feel is natural. It’s just human, whenever someone leaves us, or things do not go to plan, we look at it and trace it back to our deepest insecurities. But relax, you have made your life on your own. And you’ll get love too, you are amazing. And I have never met Ashley yet, I am sure she loves you as much as you love her. She may have messed up, but we all make mistakes, V. She won’t have wanted to lose someone as incredible as you.” Chloe told her, maturity and softness lacing her tone.
“Thank you. I am sorry, I should have come here earlier.” Vienna’s smiled at her and wiped her tears.
“Yeah, come on, if I say one more wise thing I’ll turn into an owl.” Chloe said as the two finally laughed.
“You stay here, and I’ll get some bagels while we discuss more of our questionable life choices.” Chloe remarked while going into the kitchen.
“You are an impossible asshole.” Vienna exclaimed with a chuckle. She had missed this—her best friend.
“Or better known as your best friend in the whole world!” Chloe yelled back from the kitchen as Vienna smiled genuinely for the first time in days.
“Yes, Mr. Mathews, it’s all finished. The country club is ready to host your charity event. I’ve personally seen to all the preparations, and I assure you everything is in order.” Ashley said over the phone as she checked the country club preparations once again.
It had been 4 days since she saw Vienna. She had tried to call her, only to be met by an electronic voice, telling her that the number was no longer in use.
She had gone over to Vienna’s house and found it locked up and shut down. Even calling the escort company had been in vain as Vienna had canceled their contract, and the company refused to give out any personal information.
Ashley let out a sigh as she focused on the task at hand. Elijah Matthews’ charity event was scheduled for today at noon, and she had to make sure everything was perfect.
After she was satisfied with how everything had been done, she drove to her penthouse and got ready for the event with Trisha accompanying her.
The party was held at the Paramount Country Club. It was a beautiful place with acres of lush green land. A golf course was situated a few kilometers near the main building, and there was a small lake with gorgeous swans next to the building.
The building itself was magnificent with it’s grandeur style and rich history.
“Thank you for coming with me, Trish. I know you’ve had a lot on with the wedding in three days, but I just didn’t feel like being here alone.” Ashley said.
“Oh I should thank you. This is better than being with Kevin’s parents again, as they boast about their Welsh ancestry for three hours, while I sit there, pretending to listen. Trust me, I love them, but it just gets a little too much sometimes. And well, yeah, I would have preferred a happy you and Vienna on my wedding day than any of the fancy and but perhaps that’s how it is meant to be.” Trisha replied with a sad smile.
“You do look stunning, Trish.” Ashley told her for the umpteenth time as Trisha laughed.
She was dressed in a hunter green floor-length dress with a plunging neckline. Her black hair was straightened to within an inch of its life, and it shone in the light.
“Hey did you try reaching out to Vienna? Any luck?”
“No. I called and looked everywhere I could. I called Black Label too; they said she is not in the US and is busy with a client, but they refused to give any more information. She was pretty angry when she left, I don’t think she wants to talk to me again.” Ashley explained her attempts and getting to Vienna.
“Yeah I tried too; her number is disconnected..” Trisha trailed off as another person joined their conversation.
“Hello, Ms. Davidson. Ms. Peyton, how are you, ladies?”
Elijah came to stand with the two women and took turns kissing their hands. The duo greeted him back as Elijah faced Ashley and started off,
“I am not happy with you, Ashley. You usually do such a great job, but you let me down this time.” Elijah said solemnly.
“Oh I am sorry Elijah, is there anything wrong? You can me tell me, I’ll get it fixed in a flash.” Ashley babbled.
“No, no. Everything at the party is great. The guests are so happy. Well, both with the arrangements and the fact that they saw the sun after three months.” Elijah chuckled at his own joke, the two responded with just polite smiles.
“But you broke a promise. You didn’t bring the exquisite Vienna here.” Elijah got to his actual complaint.
“Oh, I apologize, Elijah. She really wanted to be here, but she had to fly out for some art project. She did send her greetings.”
“Oh what a lovely lady.” Elijah responded,
“Enjoy your evening. I’ll see you ladies around.” He walked away from them.
Ashley was a shell of herself, desolate and distraught, and nothing Trisha said would help her.
Not being able to see her friend in pain like this, Trisha had an idea to learn about Vienna’s whereabouts.
“Hi. This is Trisha Peyton from CNN.” Trisha spoke on the phone as Ashley looked at her.
“Yes Miss Peyton. Good to talk to you again. How can I help you?” The women on the line spoke.
“Yes, I wanted to do a story about your employee Vienna Rhodes, regarding her paintings and art. Can you connect me to her?” Trisha spoke confidently as Ashley gave her a hopeful look.
“Oh, Ms. Peyton, I am afraid Vienna is in Paris for a job, and she intends to stay there for a while for personal reasons. I’ll be sure to arrange a meet
ing whenever she is back here.” The woman replied politely.
“Okay Thank you, I’ll get back to you.” Trisha said, hanging up, and turned to Ashley.
“So my spy told me, Vienna is in Paris.” Trisha repeated the information to Ashley with a grin, as Ashley jumped to hug her.
“If she is staying in Paris, she must be with Chloe Martinez, her best friend.” Ashley pulled back and frowned.
“Great. Do you have her number?” Trisha sounded like a detective with a newly found lead.
“No, but she does own Chloeque Fashion House.” Ashley said.
“That will do!” Trisha exclaimed.
“Thank you, Madam. I will see you in Paris. Au revoir.” Trisha hung up the phone, noting down an address- Apartment 12, 52a Boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris.
“This may not be the best time to brag, but after another imaginary interview booking, Trisha saves the day, here is your address.” Trisha was chirpier than a kid.
“You have to fly to Paris tomorrow, go get your girl. And bring her back for my wedding.” she all but ordered to a curious looking Ashley.
“But Trish, what if I don’t find her? What if she refuses to see me? She doesn’t even want to see my face.” Ashley argued.
“But what if you do Ash? I know you love this woman and she loves you. As they say, ‘Better to try and fail, than never to try at all.’ Or some such shit. Anyway, you cannot ruin my wedding.” Trisha would have been even louder if they weren’t at the party.
“Okay, okay. I will go. I need to see her. I need to try.”
“Nous allons bientôt atterrir à Paris. Veuillez boucler vos ceintures. Merci de voler avec nous.”
The pilot’s voice sounded as the plane landed in Paris.
Ashley couldn’t contain her excitement on seeing Vienna again, as well as the fear that she would reject her. But she had to take a chance.
Ashley was met by her driver for her stay in Paris, who took her straight to the address she had given him. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow or even later in the day. She to see Vienna now.
