Young and Beautiful

Twenty One.

It was an irrational decision and Demi would probably regret it later when all of the work that she had pushed aside caught up to her, but she had told Marissa to clear her entire schedule for a day just so that she could invite Wilmer over to the view the final edit of her documentary. Yes, she was excited to see how it all came together but she just wanted another chance to talk to him, to make things right. Obviously things between them wouldn't be perfect but she just wanted to try. She wanted to show him that she could give him what he deserved and that they could be in a healthy and happy relationship together.

But how could she do that? The only real relationship that she had ever been in was with Nick and they moved incredibly fast. Right after college, they were married and then they were having kids and it all just moved so fast that Demi was hardly able to catch her breath at times. She didn't want it to be like that Wilmer. No matter how much she wanted them to just be together she knew that they needed to take their time and build up their strong friendship again and then let things move forward. It was the only way that she could see things between them working out, especially after what had happened.

One thing that Demi was actually good at was cooking. She could really cook well if she put her mind to it but most of the time she didn't have the patience or the time to sit and cook a nice meal. It was one of the reasons why she kept Dorinda around, but she was trying to do it more. The twins' liked when she cooked because she let them help her and she actually did like seeing everyone enjoy the fruit of her labor. So she was cooking Wilmer a nice meal. He did it for her, so she thought she could return the favor. It was a small gesture but it was a start.

After nearly three months of living in the Plaza hotel, Demi had decided to just make the move into one of their condos. It was four bedrooms and five bathrooms, the only triplex in the entire hotel. It still offered all of the luxuries of the hotel but it was just her home now, and she really liked it. Sure she missed her own house because it had been personally bought and decorated for her by the man she used to call her husband but this one could become her own too. The transition with the twins had been difficult but this was their home now and they all had to accept it whether they wanted to or not.

It was two weeks after the dinner at Wilmer house and Demi was in the gourmet kitchen cooking what she hoped to be an amazing meal. She had followed the recipe to the very last line and hopefully nothing would go wrong. Wilmer would be over in half an hour and she hoped it was just him since everyone else at HBO had already seen it. She really needed them to have some time alone so that they could really talk and he could really start to forgive her. Right now that was all she wanted: his forgiveness.

The doorbell rang, startling Demi out of her thoughts. She rubbed her sweaty palms on the fabric of her apron as she exited the kitchen and walked down the hallway to the two main French doors. She pulled one of the doors open by its golden handle and furrowed her eyebrows as she saw her ex husband standing there. The divorce had been finalized last week.

"Hi?" Demi greeted. She remembered texting him the address of her new place just in case he wanted to see the twins but he had never replied. At that point, she was finished with Nick. It wasn't like she had been hoping that they would get back together but she had at least hoped he would keep up the relationship with her kids, since he was the only father that they had known their entire lives. But he'd completely ignored their requests to see him and Demi wasn't tolerating that. She knew she was in the wrong for a lot of things but the way that he was treating her kids was terrible and she wasn't standing for it.

"Hello." He stuffed his hands into his pockets as his eyes focused on the way his reflection bounced off of the black and white marble floors. This was definitely an upgrade from their old place and he was slightly jealous that she had managed to get it all on her own. She hadn't grown up in a luxurious lifestyle but she had definitely grown accustomed to it and her new house showcased that.