We settle in Ethan's jet, almost an hour after we last talked. It's funny how hours pass by and we don't see that we haven't communicated in the least. It's not like Ethan is bothered by it.
I buckle my seatbelt and stare out of the window. The blazing hot weather of LA is dashing heat waves in the airport's runway. I take a deep breath and settle back, watch Ethan, who is sitting in front me, frowning down at his phone. God, is there a time the man gets off his phone and pay attention to his surroundings? But then again, if he was doing it, he would have probably noticed me.
"It's a nice jet. Your father gave it to you?" I ask once he puts his phone away, only because the jet is ready to take off.
"No, I earned it myself. I figured that using company's personal plane would be wasting resources. So, this one is only for my use," he explains,
I look at the black and white interior. It speaks volumes, unlike its owner,
"Is there anything I should be aware of when we interview this evening?" I reach for my flute, which is secured in a cup ring, "any particular thing that I should know as your fiancé?"
He turns his head toward me and gives me a long gaze. I wonder if he's thinking of what to reply or his thoughts are miles away from me. Is he thinking of her? Does he think of how much he wishes it was her not me? Perhaps, he's thinking about their intimacy. I almost grimace. No fiancé would want her betrothal to think about another woman.
"Not that I know. Just that we are soon going to be married. You're excited about my new movie and that you support me in whatever stupid thing they ask from you." he soon fishes out his laptop and fires it up. That's when I notice we have successfully taken off.
"Stupid thing?" I raise an eyebrow,
"They might ask you what I would do for this or that. What I think. What you think I would do. Answer all questions as if you know, but you don't want to share it," he busies himself by typing furiously as if he couldn't wait to make that excuse to stop talking to me. I find it highly offending.
"There's nothing about me that they might ask from you," I say, hoping to get his attention again. "Just so you know," to try to become civilized again. To communicate like normal human beings.
He looks up from his screen and his eye catch me. I feel my inner melting away at the sight of his gray eyes. However, before I can embarrass myself, he looks away and at his screen.
I nod. Well, screw this communication thing. If he doesn't want to act civil, why should I bother?
I stand up and make my way to the bedroom in the back of the jet, where my bag is. I start doing my makeup and hair since I didn't have enough time to do it before we got on board. When the two flight attendants start serving the meal, one of them, all thanks to her, decides that I should like to take my meal in the bedroom, since I haven't made an appearance since we took off. It would be wise to try to avoid him as much as possible.
Four hours and a half, eight thirty NYC local, we arrive at the red carpet. Ethan helps me out of the car and offers his arm to me. We step on the red carpet and the flashes start blinding me. I square my shoulders and hold my head high, offer the cameras a sweet dazzling smile for their covers.
All of a sudden, I feel a delicious shiver running through me. The one that leaves you quivering and goosebumped skin. That's when I feel Ethan's hand, traveling low from my side all the way to my waist, and then my hip. He finally stops moving his hand and settles low on my hip, somewhere between my side and behind. I do all my best to shiver or grin like a fool.
"You ok?" he turns to me and grins at me.
"Yeah," I smile back, averting my gaze down to his mouth and back at his eyes.
"I've got you," he nods his head and guides toward the red carpet with posters of his new movie enlarged.
He stands next to me, relaxed and poses for the camera. We stop at three different spots before moving to the longer section of the event. The interviews. Multiple microphones and cameras are standing on each side of the long red carpet, leading to the theater. We first walk by the left wall, where fans are screaming at the top of their lungs. I feel somehow envious and yet victorious as the fans are calling his name—mostly women—and he's mine. Well, at least in the name. Lorena holds his heart and body.
He leaves my side to give autographs and take pictures with his fans. He laughs with them, puts his hand on their back and just winning their hearts. It's easy to fall in love with him as a talented actor, I gather. And yet it's also easy to mistaken falling in love with the person he is or becoming a fan of his media persona. He waves off to his fans and says goodbye to them after thanking them to join him.
Next, we move to the hungry media. The second they see us approaching, they go wild,
"Mr. Kingstone, here, please,"
"Mr. Kingstone, the rumors are you are engaged. When did it happen?"
"Ethan, tell us about your plans for Kingstone Co."
"Ethan, can you confirm when the next Turbo movie will come out?"
Ethan only stops to talk to the most famous media, such as magazines and famous celebrities websites,
"What do you think of this adaptation? Do you think the fans would love it as much as the book?" one woman asks, holding a microphone, while a guy behind her is filming the interview, and several others taking advantage by holding the microphone close.
"The book is very well written and not loving it would be absurd. The cast and crew have done an amazing job, trying to create something that would be respectful toward the book and to the fans, so I think the fans would enjoy it, perhaps, less than the book. We can't be as perfect as Mr. Danielle," he answers.
"Are the fans going to see more the relations between William and Walter? Because as far as I know, in the book there hasn't been much mention of the brotherhood,"
"I think that's one of the secrets that you have to only watch," he laughs, charmingly.
"Now I understand congratulations are in order. You've been engaged, rather fast. How long have you known each other?" she directs the questions more personal.
Ethan chuckles, pinning me to his side closer and looking down at me with adoration, "we've known each other for a long time. We have grown up together and I think that we haven't realized how we truly felt toward each other until very recently and I decided to tie the knots with this beautiful woman. She's truly amazing and I am honored she has accepted me," he grins wickedly.
Don't fall in love. Don't believe.
Only just then, he leans in and leaves a peck on my lips. The crowd aww and ooh. But the time stops for me. I can feel myself drifting, staring at him and his lips for too long. Oh, no, what have you done to my guard again?
I figuratively shake my head and smile at him. I have to get used to this. I only have to keep myself at bay for a year.
"What do you think of his movie, Evelyn? Are you excited?" the reporter asks, holding the microphone toward me.
"Oh, yeah. I have been anticipating this movie for a long time and every time we saw each other, I would ask him not to spoil it for me,"
"And I never listen," Ethan laughs, pinning me more to his side, in a way that my breasts are firmly against his side and chest and with the vibration of laughter, I feel the jolt in my body as well.
This part ends too. I release a long and deep breath the moment we step into the theater and away from cameras to record every movement. Ethan doesn't lose his hold because we are still in the public. A group of people joins us; some of them I recognize them, all of them, co-stars. We enter the theater and a surge of shouts and cheers rises. Climbing down the steps all the way to the front row, we all settle with me sitting next to Ethan and the rest of the cast.
A speaker starts speaking, welcoming the fans and the cast. I glance at Ethan, catching a bright grin on his face. They call the name of the cast and crew and they start walking the stairs to the stage. When the cast is called up, I end up one of the few people remaining in the first row. They are offered to take a seat and presented with a microphone in their hands.
I pay my attention solely to Ethan and how he truly cares what his fans think of him. You might not recognize the man after an interview with the scavengers—aka the media. Certainly, his dedication to his fans is admirable, and I think part of that has intrigued me to have feelings for him. He's the sweetest charming single guy—not for long—who steals away the audience. Who wouldn't have feelings for him? That and the fact I have spent my childhood growing up with a sweet boy who cared that I didn't know how to swim.
"So, Ethan, I understand you were a bit emotional on a few scenes...," the host asks,
"Yeah, I was... you know, the atmosphere was not certainly one of which you would typically find yourself touched emotionally, but there were a few times that I truly understood the reason behind it, and, reflecting that I just realized how each relationship is really important and how this whole story affects not only the main characters but also the whole town. And also as we were filming, I realized that if I screw up that sequence, I would be ruining the whole movie for the fans and I am a huge fan of the book, and I had to do that part of me justice regarding such a beloved book," he says, waving his arm to the crowd and everyone starts cheering for him.
"Are you going to get emotionally touch tonight when you watch the movie?" the host asks again,
"I don't know, man, I'm already emotionally touched. I've recently engaged," he's cut off with loud and cheerful applauds, "and I hope my love would hold my hand tight through the movie," he looks down at me from the stage with a grin on his face.
The crow awws and I feel like that the spotlight is on me, with every eye regarding me. I smile, awkwardly, taken off-guard.
He's a charmer, that he is, but he's also a good freaking liar that knows what to say and what to do to win the crowd. Gosh, I hate this aspect of him.
On the way back to LA, in the jet, he pops a bottle of champagne with a loud noise and starts pouring us drinks. Offering me a glance, which I took, gladly to numb my tiredness, he takes the other one.
"To a successful premiere and lots of tickets sold," I raise my glass.
"Cheers," he clicks it to mine. "It actually went well, despite my expectations," he says after draining half of the glass.
"Why do you say so?" I reach for the bottle of champagne and pour another drink for myself.
"I was expecting them to rip us apart the moment they saw that ring on your finger. Media suck such news. And I think after all the surprises they bring to us, this time, we might have surprised them." He cracks a laughter and I join him momentarily.
Mid laughing, I stop to yawn, covering my mouth, embarrassed to show how tired I am.
"You must be worn out. You go get some sleep in the back cabin, I'll wake you up when we arrive," he suggests,
"Are you sure? I mean, you should get some sleep as well,"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be occupying myself with some work," I see a hint of a smile.
"Ok," I mutter, accepting his offer without haste, before standing up and making my way to the back suite. The minute I get inside, I get rid of my gown and drape my body over the bed, breathing freely.
In the next five hours, I manage to get a short nap, take a short shower and getting comfortable clothes that would allow me to get my second phase of sleep without the annoyance of having to change clothes. When you're an actor who is required to travel a lot, you learned to pack your bags efficiently and use every second to sleep because you don't know when the shooting would be over. I have had times when we had to shoot for over sixteen hours.
When the next morning I wake up, the house is quite empty. Of course, it would be at eight sharp. I take my time freshening up in the bathroom, brushing my blonde hair and washing my face. When I look up and stare at the mirror, I find myself comparing myself next to an imaginary photo of Lorena, created out of my imagination.
Wearing my shorts and a simple T-shirt, I step out of my room. As I step down the stairs I can hear the birds singing in the backyard and I can't help the anticipation of wanting to go out and explore his backyard. Of course, it's not his backyard if you consider the size; it's more like a big Garden made only for kings and queens.
I start taking out the ingredients for my breakfast; eggs, some bacon, milk, and every other thing that seems unbelievably delicious. I blame this on last night's events.
Taking out a frying pan, I put it on the stove and start making my breakfast and at the same time making coffee. When I hear some Shuffling from behind me, I turn around, only to find Ethan is standing behind me. I shriek.
"Oh, my goodness. I thought you'd already left." I say as I hold my hand over my heart. "You gave me a start,"
He stands there with his hair ruffled as if he has taken a shower a few minutes ago and tiredness has deprived him of asleep. I can tell how tired he is by the black areas under his eyes.
"I didn't mean to startle you," he says, yawning at the same time as he makes his way into the kitchen, "I thought my housekeeping staff is here and so I decided to have a word with them before I introduced you to them."
"Oh, well, I thought I'm the only one in the house and so I started making breakfast for myself, I mean, I would have done it if you were here either way, but..." I keep rambling, moving plates and stuff around, refusing to look at him. I wasn't expecting him to walk in and find me in my comfortable shorts, which I'm too shy to wear around him. "Um, if you would like, I can share it with you, or if you don't like, I can make another one. I don't know, it's up to you..."
"Hey, no, it's okay. I'll just have whatever you're having. We'll share," he says he takes two seats behind the breakfast bar and I bring another mug of coffee for him.
"So did you fall asleep or something?" I ask.
"Something like that. Last night was tough. My dad insists that I need to take more responsibilities as if I'm not taking care of more than half of the company,"
"So are we going to your premiere tonight?" I try to change the subject from anything relating to the damn company.
"We are," he says as he spread butter on his toast, "I have also decided to take today to introduce you to my staff and perhaps spend the rest of the morning trying to get hold of the company. What are your plans for today?"
"I don't know exactly. Maybe I just work on my schedules and try to clean it up for the next two weeks. Your mother has sent me the details of engagement and wedding party. She has requested me to discuss the details with you. But I get it if you don't want to, I mean, it's okay if you don't want to have to do anything with the wedding and the engagement party. It's not like you truly approve of it," I chuckle dryly.
"Evelyn, it's not like that. This is going to be our first marriage, for both of us. And of course, details and the wedding are important. But just because I don't feel like dedicating my time to it, doesn't mean I don't approve of it."
A loud ring starts buzzing through the house and as the saying goes; we are both saved by the ring.
"That must be the staff," he says, standing up and drinking the last of his coffee before making his way to the door.
I sit there and try to absorb his saying. I scoff loudly. Doesn't that mean that he doesn't approve of it because he doesn't want to dedicate his precious time? It's not like I really prove it either. This is my first wedding, who knows when would be the next one. Who knows if there is a next one.
I hear chatter coming from the living room. A group of people is walking toward the kitchen so I stand up, gather my wits, and try to look presentable.
"May I introduce you to my fiance. This is Evelyn, Evelyn these are my staff. Kim, our house cleaner, her assistance, only comes once a month, Ali is a gardener, Juliette is our chef and George is the housekeeper, and the person whom you can coordinate with anything regarding the house. These are the people, I trust my life with the most," he pats Ali's back, as he is who Ethan is standing next to.
Wow, this side of him must be new. I have never seen him with employees. That only makes me wonder if there is something wrong with me since apparently, I am the only one who is not receiving his charming smiles and pats on the back.
"Hello, everyone," I offer my hand to each of them and shake it, "it's very very nice to meet you. I'm very glad to finally meet the people behind this elegance and cleanest." I smile, not one that is fake and forced, but one genuinely out of love and respect for these people. Maintaining a house as big as this is hard.
"It's very nice to meet you, too, ma'am. We have all been wondering when Ethan is going to bring a girl home," Kim says with a Korean accent.
"Oh, thank you. And you can call me, Evelyn."
"Alright," Ethan claps his hands together, "I'm gonna go catch up with work. Have fun." he says, making everyone chuckle.
I spend the rest of the morning, talking to the staff, going over the rituals and things to be done. They told me where I could find the food storage, which is just after the kitchen, through the narrow corridor next to it. Ali shows me the best spot of the garden and tells me about his flowers. He tells me that he misses them on his days off and uses Ethan's garden as his own. I tell him that he is welcome to come any day he wants, as a visitor, not an employee obviously and enjoy his hard work.
When I finish my walk with them, I return to my room and fire up my computer only to work on my schedules and going over the engagement details, summarizing points, so Ethan wouldn't go bored reading them.
Just at one o'clock, after the staff leave, I hear a buzzer. When I walk to the front door, where the buzz came from, I find the screen next to the door turned on. In the live camera, I see a man in a black car. I frown. Should I open? I'm not receiving anyone, then who is this?
"Ethan," I knock on Ethan's door and wait for him to open the door or grant me permission to enter. So classic that I am.
"Come in,"
I open the door ajar and stick my head in, "there is a man at the gate and I don't know him. I thought you should come and see."
"Ok," he stands up and walks out of his office with me trailing behind him.
He answers the door and clicks the gate to open.
"Who is it?" I ask,
"A delivery for you," he answers, opening the front door,
"For me?" I frown as the car speed toward the front door and stops. A man in a black suit steps out, carrying three big boxes.
"It's from mom," Ethan says, as he walks down the steps to meet the guy and grab the boxes from him and sending him on his way.
"Here, give me one of them," I grab the first one on the top the moment Ethan makes it upstairs.
"Thank you," we walk back in and to the living room.
"What are they?" I ask, but before waiting to get the answer, I curiously open the box I was carrying only to reveal a set of shoes and accessories.
"Our engagement clothes," Ethan says, reading the note in his hand, "'Thought to surprise you, folks. Enjoy my engagement gift,' love, Mary," he flips it around and finds it blank. "Wow,"
I grab the note from his hand and read it again.
"This is my suit, I assume," he says, taking out the suit that is neatly placed in the big box without being folded.
"And this is my dress," I take a blue dress and let the long skirt shimmy out of the box.
"I think you'll look beautiful in it," he says, looking at me with a warm smile. And my heart melts.
This is the first time he has ever given me a genuine compliment, so I shall cherish it.