A Legacy of the Damned: Daughter of Astaroth

Chapter 20 - A Hot Mess

My eyes are narrowing on the starlet in front of me. My patience is running low and my smile can't be more forced.

This woman can't hold her liquor. She had two glasses of whiskey and she's already drunk...or maybe she's not drunk. Maybe she's just plain crazy. I don't know. But drunk or not, she has become a Chatty Natty. If you think that's cute, it's not.

Fifteen minutes ago, I found a bottle of Sacha's fine whiskey and poured myself and this woman a couple of fingers each, even after she declined.

I was contemplating putting ice in my drink when she suddenly shrieks, "Oh, my God...you and Sacha are engaged?" She had fallen onto a chair as if her legs couldn't support her any longer while her eyes were locked on the huge diamond ring on my finger that Nico had given me.

I thought she was having a seizure when she flailed around and made an awful wheezing sound in her throat. Then she downed the whiskey that I had set in front of her in a few big gulps. She sputtered, coughed, and hacked before she grabbed another glass that was still in my hand and proceeded to slug it back as well.

And now, she is a blubbering mess.

So, what have I learned after listening to her non-stop jabbering so far? I learned that Naomi Walsh is 21 and she still lives with her mother who travels with her wherever she goes.

She is also "irrevocably in love" with the "incredibly rich" and "insanely hot and mysterious" Sacha Gauthier.

"When he told me that he won't be seeing me anymore, I didn't think that he's seriously seeing someone or that he's engaged!" she wails. Tears and black mascara are running down her face and the snot that she had swiped with the back of her hand is now smeared across her cheek.

"I know...men are such pigs," I try to sound sympathetic as I slowly push a box of kleenex toward her.

"Right? He should have given me more chance before he asked you to marry him," she cries, ignoring the kleenex.

My mind is trying to figure out what's going on now but it's hard to think with her incessant wailing and whining. This woman is such a hot mess.

So, Sacha was trying to get rid of her? Maybe I shouldn't be trying to make her hate him like I originally planned. Maybe I should try to make her cling to him more...

"I mean, I'm super famous and you're...what? How could he pick a nobody over me?" she continues ranting.

"Riiight..." Time to raise the crazy meter up. I pour a generous amount of whiskey into the glass and hand it to her. "You're right. I think he might be into you," I announce. "He talked about you. A lot."

"Really?" The drink that almost made it to her mouth is now forgotten as she stares at me with wide hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, but with a man like Sacha, you have to be forceful," I advise her. "Have you ever told him that you're in love with him?"

"No..."

"Ah, now I know what the problem is. You have to tell him exactly how you feel and what you want. It might not seem like it, but he's shy. So very shy. So if you really want him, it's up to you to make the first move." I lean toward her as though I'm about to tell her a big secret and she eagerly leans forward as well. "And when he plays hard to get, don't give up!"

"Really?"

"Yup, you see, he's shy but he's a strong man. He wants an equally strong woman who is persistent and forceful. A woman who's brave enough to fight other women for him. Someone who's not afraid to demand to see him at work or wherever he goes to stake a claim on him. Someone who tells him straight up that she wants to marry him and have lots and lots of babies with him. Make sure you have all the babies' names lined up."