Chapter 52
"I think I'm quite dressed for the occasion," I told Sienna as I inspected myself in the mirror.
"You are. You look stunning babe," she kissed my cheek. I was dressed in a body-hugging silver satin dress that shimmered under the saturated hues of light, and it had thin clear straps and a deep V-neck. It had a slit that revealed my leg then the shimmering material pooled at my feet.
My straightened hair was up in a tight bun with silver accessories. My jewellery was themed silver and I had finished the outfit off with the costly diamond necklace that Yves had gotten me for my birthday.
We were currently in the ritzy bathrooms of the venue we were at. Yves, Aiden, Ryan, Charles Martinez and many other people we were close to were nominees for an awards ceremony and it was a party that was uniting all successful people around the world.
Sienna, Katerina and I had been taking endless selfies and videos of ourselves. Loud, modern music had been echoing in every part of the building, and we were taking a refresher in the bathroom. We were reapplying our makeup and perfumes, even though they were already so overbearing.
"I'll be posting this on my Instagram," I grinned after taking a mirror selfie with Sienna. Katerina was with Aiden because they were both Nicholson employees so they had to be close to Yves.
"You literally went from one hundred followers to ten million followers in a span of one month." She laughed heartily. It was true. Now that I was openly known as Yves' wife, I was famous again. Way more famous than I previously had been.
"I know. It's funny how I never knew him despite his level of fame." I shook my head slowly.
"Hahah, let's take a few more pictures then go back. I'm sure Yves is about to make a speech."
After we were done, we walked back to the massive, luxuriously set up hall with golden chairs and glass, crystalline tables. The podium was draped in rich black velvet and there was a hushed murmur from each of the attendees.
"Amazing! We have a few nominees for the most empowering, powerful woman of the year. May we have silence as we announce the candidates." The murmuring died down and I glanced at Sienna, who was holding my hand tightly.
"We have Zara Ardsley. Kate Winters. Lara Monet. And lastly, Tasha Ericsson."
"The voters' ballots have been counted and the winner has been determined. So this year's award for the most empowering, powerful woman of the year goes to... Lara Monét! For the fifth time in a row!" The whole room erupted into an applause.
"Unfortunately, she could not make it to the event, therefore, the award will be given to her manager, Olivia Thompson." I saw a beautiful woman emerge from the crowd and walked up to the podium to receive the award. The guy standing next to her already had so many of them in his arms. Lara was definitely a Queen. I truly admired everything about her.
"I just want to say thank you on behalf of Lara and the Monét Team. We appreciate your endless support and Lara will be more than thrilled to hear about this. She makes us so proud. Thank you again, for everyone's contributions to our growth." She spoke and everyone cheered once again.
"Lara Monét is a goddess for sure. We, as Verity International Awards would like to congratulate her for the achievement. Next up, we have our last and final award nomination."
"This is a brand new nomination. This year, we have failed to categorise this particular individual for their massive, life-changing positive impact, globally. This individual has developed the business sector, especially the architecture aspect. All over the world, this individual possesses over nine hundred thousand infrastructures conducted by their company, and renovations for places like hospitals and schools at their own expense. So many people have acknowledged this individual and have voted for them only, so let's give a round of applause as we welcome the one and only Yves Nicholson to the stage!" I began cheering along with Sienna as I watched my husband calmly walk to the stage, composed and radiating an intense wave of power and dominance that I could feel from my sudden goosebumps.
Yves smiled slightly, thanking the host who handed him a massive vitreous golden award that effortlessly reflected the luminous lights. It was so beautiful, I couldn't wait to see it up close.
"Thank you everyone for giving me this opportunity. The opportunity to be publicly recognised and awarded such an important nomination. This means a lot, and it makes me even happier to know that I'm doing good for the world. Everyone has played an important role in bringing me where I am, and I'd personally like to acknowledge my strongest support system. My wife, Isla Nicholson, I love you and I am thanking you for standing by me through all the hardships and the achievements, and keeping me sane whenever things got crazy." My heart pulsated as everyone turned to face me, the spotlight suddenly directed towards me as I choked from a small sob of happiness. People cheered loudly as I blew Yves a kiss.
"I'd also like to thank my brother Aiden for all the sacrifices that he has made to bring everything together, for helping me build this empire from nothing but dust. I'm also thankful for the entire Nicholson Team that plays an important role in the company's growth and development, you're all amazing. I don't have much to say tonight, but I'm very grateful to be surrounded by such a supportive group of people, and I greatly appreciate all the love. I'm very honoured to accept this title and humbled by everyone's contributions. Thank you, I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their evening." Yet another deafening applause erupted, and I thought he was the most perfect man I'd ever encountered.
I felt even happier that he had publicly mentioned me before more than a thousand people, and probably more than since some people were watching online.
I didn't manage to see Yves for the rest of the ceremony, but Sienna, Katerina and I were driven to the party reception. Aiden and Yves had communicated that they would arrive later into the night.
"Do you want to have some cocktails?" Sienna and I nodded at Katerina's question.
The three of us settled on the plush stools as the loud music vibrated throughout the surrounding area. A lot of people were present, and it was such a happy occasion.
Katerina, Sienna and I didn't hesitate to knock ourselves out with lots of drinks, and we danced together while simultaneously laughing at each other's humorous remarks.
The night proved to be going smoothly, until an unexpected turn came up. A turn that even I hadn't been looking forward to. A turn that proved to be more detrimental than I had anticipated.
"Oh, well if it isn't Isla Kingston here, what a pleasure to meet you in person." A woman walked up to me with a few friends, and I thought her to be beautiful, although her outfit choice proved to be very promiscuous.
"Um, hie-" Sienna nudged me lightly before I could continue, and I gave her an inquisitive look. She shook her head vehemently and before I could respond, the woman had begun talking.
"Ah Sienna, remember me? Of course you do, I was literally the first and last perfect woman that Yves ever had in his life," she shamelessly spoke, and it slowly dawned on me that she was none other than Yves' ex.
"Stop being delusional Camila. You are one of the worst women I've ever had to tolerate in my entire life." Sienna shot back, her voice dripping with venom.
"Ahah, really? Anyways, I see there's been a... downgrade since I left." She slowly inspected me and I scoffed in utter shock. Her friends were laughing in the background.
"I think you need to leave," Katerina gestured to the door as Camila flicked her dark, raven hair. Her bright green eyes focused on me, and she was quite tall on her stilettos.
"Why did he fall in love with her? She has nothing-"
"You are nothing, and you never had a purpose in Yves' life. You have no meaning whatsoever, you're only a broke gold digger!" Sienna didn't demur to clap back at Camila, who was starting to look very upset.
"Oh because your life is fucking perfect, Barbie? Listen, it's not all roses and vanilla out there, you should be ashamed of yourself. Yves is too good for you Isla, you're no different. You're also an opportunist, an orphan-" she didn't finish when I had tossed my ice-cold drink into her face.
"How dare you say that?! I don't believe this, are you aware that I am capable of ripping you apart? Do you know that?" I breathed heavily, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I stared at her.
"Yes, because you're a wild, uncivilised animal. I feel sorry for Yves, he's permanently tied to you now because of your bastard of a baby-" she didn't finish when I had already pounced on her.
"Fuck you!" I slapped her hard across the face.
She hit me with her glass full of wine, and it shattered against my dress as I tugged her hair violently. She hit me back, but I fiercely gripped her neck and took the opportunity to punch her square in the face so hard that she immediately began to nosebleed.
We both fell to the floor but didn't stop me from fighting her. Everyone was now witnessing the havoc, and the security guards and my friends were attempting to pull me away as I continued to attack Camila.
I was certain that I had beat her up real good with the way she was crying. Her face was covered in blood as more security took her away before she caused more trouble.
There were hushed murmurs of disapproval from all the accomplished people and I suddenly wished that the ground would swallow me whole.
"Isla, are you okay?" Katerina and Sienna hugged me as I choked on a sob.
"This is such an embarrassment-"
"No no, don't say that. It was natural for you to react that way," Sienna said in a comforting manner, and I buried my face in her chest.
"I want to go home, now." I whispered, and much to my relief, they led me out.
Just when I thought my night couldn't get any worse, I encountered a very incensed Yves. He walked towards me in the parking lot, giving me a glance of pure disappointment.
"How could you do this Isla? How could you cause such an unnecessary scene on such an important night?" His voice thundered with rage as I sniffled.
"Don't you dare shout at her Yves! Your stupid ex started this," Sienna defended while Yves gave me a hard, stony look.
"You know how important this occasion was to me. What do you think everyone is saying about the incident, after I publicly praised you before the world. Do you know what this could possibly do to my reputation, do you?!" I flinched at how raw his voice was.
"She didn't mean to Yves, Camila said so many horrible things to her." Katerina tried to convince him but he shook his head.
"Can we have a moment alone, you two? I want to speak to her privately," I hesitantly looked up at him with my teary eyes. The both of them hugged me very tightly and told me that they'd wait for me in the car before leaving.
"I'm so sorry, I couldn't just stand there and allow her to insult me, or insult our son-"
"There was no need to cause a scene about it Isla-"
"She called Ocean a bastard! How was I supposed to react Yves?" I choked.
"Yes, that was vile of Camila, and I honestly think she deserves to be as injured and damaged as she is right now, but what about the outcome? Did you think about that? Did you think about how much you put at risk by portraying such violence before all my acquaintances? If I could explain how much we're about to lose right now, you'd collapse." Yves' voice was dangerous as he spoke to me.
"B-But I did-"
"I don't want to hear it tonight. I'm hurt, ashamed and extremely angry with what you've done. This is not what I expected from you as my wife, this is very upsetting Isla." He shook his head in a disappointed manner, causing me to cry even harder at his statement.
His words had been chilling and heartbreaking, I couldn't even start to fathom what was going to happen next. Was I wrong to defend myself?
"I'm sorry-"
"No. I don't want to talk about it tonight. Just go, the party is over." Tears flowed down my cheeks as I heard his raw words, wondering how it had come to this so soon.
The marriage seemed to be falling apart overnight, and I suddenly wondered if we had been meant to be married in the first place.
This had been what I'd feared all along; the fights, the disagreements, the divorces. It felt like my whole world had come crashing down that night, in the parking lot.
And maybe it had.