Mailen Mazzello, a celebrity, unlike Belle, who was a socialite. That did not matter, both were as popular. Mailen was a writer, one of a kind, who had found impressive success — the kind of success that most people work for a lifetime to achieve —after releasing her debut novel. At only nineteen years old, she had already accomplished so much; And her future seemed very bright.
But after releasing the decade's best-selling trilogy of books, Mailen decided to stop signing publishing contracts in order to start signing birth certificates. At her height of her fame, Mailen got pregnant with her boyfriend Joseph Mazzello's child, who was a member of a prominent political family. She gave birth to a son, Eric Mazzello, and her life became complete — she had a family, she had money, she had amazing friends, she had an amazing loyal fanbase.
But not everything was rosy. Being under the spotlight provided a hard and cruel lifestyle for Mailen; who had drastically gone from being an ordinary Argentinian girl to being a household name in the United Kingdom and all over the world. She was constantly being praised and eulogised by her fans and press, but the press still loved to harass her, putting an insane amount of pressure on everything she did. She wanted to know why it had to be so hard only for her.
If there was one thing that Mailen Mazzello, née Lee, had learnt over her six years of being a famous writer, was this: Nowhere was safe. Not the streets, not the car, not the airports, not in her hotels, not in the streets of other countries. No matter where she'd be, there would always be a camera or a passing person. She was always being watched. And when her lack of privacy began to completely mess with her sanity, she started to find a way to relieve her distress, her desperation, her pain. She found it in a bottle of rum. In a bottle of wine. In a bottle of vodka. Her body began screaming for alcohol everyday, and she started to need it more and more. It became her medicine, a part of her daily life.
But just like everything in the world, her alcohol abuse had to come to an end.
It was a cold Saturday morning. She opened her eyes, only to find out she couldn't move very well since she was hooked up to an IV drip. The atmosphere was desperately frightening. She looked to her right. Her husband Joseph was with her. Her son Eric was nowhere to be seen. She asked about him. Joseph broke down in tears. Child protection services had temporarily taken him away, granting Joseph the full custody of his son with supervised visits with his mother. That's where she knew she had to stop — she had become legally uncapable of taking care of her own son, and she had to do something about it. She had to go to rehab in a totally different part of the country, without friends or family. It was going to be a long and painful process, but it had to be done.
But the wait was over now. The first place Mailen visited was Belle's old house, where she lived with Mary. Mailen was talking to Mary about her return to the city and her plans for the future. Mary was delighted to see that she was healthy again. After spending several minutes talking about everything under the Sun, Mailen's smile fell.
She looked at the person entering the house. Familiarity washed over her brain, and her heart skipped a beat when she realised who it was.
It was Belle Bulsara, her beautiful and beloved best friend. The girl who had been her maid of honour, the godmother of her son, the sister she never had. After spending hours, days, weeks and months waiting for the moment they'd meet again, she only managed to scream her name in overwhelming happiness.
"Belle!".
Belle looked at her, and let out a smile that contained all the ecstasy in the world. She was resisting the urge to jump over the table and hug her. Even after one year and a half, she made her heart race at the speed of light. She had changed. For the better. Her appareance no longer looked flushed — her brittle hair, her underweight physique, and her yellow eyes were nowhere to be seen. She looked better than ever, very healthy, radiating nothing but rejoice.
As for Mailen looked at Belle, she hadn't gained any inches on her height, still the 5'6 girl she had left behind year and a half ago against her will. However, her face did look different, her cheeks were rounder and fuller, but she was still a slim woman who looked fantastic. Her hair was longer now, mid-back length, as opposed to her past modest shoulder-length hair, although she was still dressed in her trademark ladylike dresses and silk ribbons that had turned her into a style icon years ago.
"Mailen!", Belle squealed with delight, wrapping her arms tightly around her, in a moment that she swore would be engraved in her memory forever.
"Belle, Good Lord. Oh my God, oh my God oh my God", Mailen felt tears of joy welling up in her eyes as she rubbed her friend's back, feeling the smooth fabric of Belle's satin dress. "I think it's freaking unnecessary to tell you how much I missed you. So much, I could never be able to express it".
"Me too. When.. when did you get back?", Belle asked as her chin rested on her friend's shoulder, trying to contain her verve, still not pulling away from the hug.
"About four days ago. I was released from rehab around four days ago. But I needed to take my time to move back into my house, reconnect with Joe and my son again, with my parents, and I did it for you. I didn't want to see you again without recombobulating first. I wanted to show you that I put everything back into order myself, I wanted to show you that I've reoriented. I wanted to make you proud".
Belle pulled away from the hug this time, smiling broadly to her friend as she fixed the young woman's hair.
"Of course you've made me proud. I've been proud of you since the moment I walked through this door and saw you. I am so happy you are back. Please tell me you're staying here in London".
"Of course I am!", she hollered. "London is my city. I want to raise my son here. All my loved ones are here, including you. I'm excited to be back and rekindle our friendship".
"I'm very happy to hear that", she took Mailen's hands.
"And where's Brian? I miss him so much. Do you still talk to him? I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. You and him were the ultimate display of endless trust".
"Of course we still talk, he's still my best friend and he has asked about you so many times. We both have missed you so much".
"I missed you guys more than you could have ever imagined and I'm ready to make up for the lost time".
"I'm so glad to hear this", she answered. "And we have a lot to catch up on, I mean, a lot. It's been a year and a half. The last time I saw you I was still in my junior year of college and you were looking for a playgroup for Eric to join. What has happened in the last one and a half year?", Belle asked as she sat on a metal stool, gesturing Mailen to do the same.
"I was locked inside a rehab centre for 18 months. How could I ever have something interesting to tell?", she jested. "I only saw Eric during the weekends when Joseph brought him. And my parents couldn't renew their visa to come and visit me. And you know they didn't allow any friends to visit. I literally had the worst months of my life, living in total seclusion".
"It's alright If you don't want to talk about it, I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to live under those circumstances", Belle uttered with compassion. "I only want you to know that I am ready to welcome you back, and I will support you on whichever path you want to choose. Whether it is going back to the bookshops or dedicating your entire time to your son, please know that I will be right by your side".
"Thank you, sweetheart", Mailen cooed as gratitude pulsed down her body. Belle looked to her right side, realising her mother was there and she had not said hi to her.
"Oh, hi, Mom. I'm sorry I didn't greet you earlier, I'm in a state of shock", Belle apologised as she walked towards her mother and kissed her on the cheek.
"That's not a problem, sweetheart, I'm as astounded as you are", she answered from behind the kitchen's countertop. "How is Alice doing, though?".
"She's great, Mom, living the dream life which consists of only eating and sleeping", she jested.
"Uhm.. I hope I'm not being too nosy, but who is Alice?", Mailen kindly asked, slightly tilting her head to her right side. As she asked her question, she propped herself onto her hand, touching a newspaper positioned over the table. She looked at it, and her calm face morphed into a confused one.
The newspaper's front page was plastered with a gigantic headline that read: "Alice Malek-Bulsara: Britain's pop culture princess gets a name".
Mailen gasped, her shoulders sagging as she struggled to speak clearly.
"You have.. you have.. a daughter?". Her shock and disbelief was evident. She was frozen and truly dumbfounded, feeling the most speechless she had ever felt.
Belle only managed to let out a small chuckle, nodding her head as she held her it down. She could only imagine how shocking that must have been to process, be gone for eighteen months only to come back and find out your best friend birthed a child in the meantime.
"I do. Her name is Alice, but I think you know that already", she said with a nervous laugh, her face reddening.
"But who's the father? How — How old is she? And.. and.. Sorry, I just have so many questions", she apologised as she kept stuttering her words.
"Um.. well—",
"My daughter is happily married to Rami Malek and they have a beautiful baby daughter together", Mary cut Belle off as she grabbed her shoulders and smiled to her, trying to prevent Belle from saying anything that wasn't delightful.
"Oh, Rami Malek?", Mailen exclaimed as her eyes sparkled, still looking very bewildered. "I've talked to him a few times before; He's a very respectable bussinessman. Not the kind of guy I thought you'd be into but I'm not complaining at all. You made a great choice".
"Well, thank you", Belle faked a smile. "But I'm afraid I'm not the only one who has a daughter to introduce to you. Brian has a six-month-old daughter, with.. Beatrice".
"Beatrice?!", she chirped, running her hands through her hair as awe transformed her face. "I cannot believe that! I mean, I do, they both loved each other so much and I'm happy had a child together. It's still impressive and I cannot believe my two closest friends reproduced themselves in less than two years while I was away", she laughed.
The three women laughed as Mary looked at the clock.
"Girls, I think I have to go now. I need to supervise the construction of a building I'm developing", Mary uttered as she poured coffee into a vacuum flask. "But you two can stay here. We brought seafood yesterday. You can eat as much as you girls like".
"Thank you, Mom, but I'm nursing, and I think I'll try to stay away from mercury poisoning", Belle stated as Mary nodded her head.
"That's alright. Goodbye, girls, and I hope to see you soon, Mailen. It's great to know you're back", Mary hugged her.
"Thank you, Mary, good luck", she waved goodbye as Mary left.
"Well, I think I'll go too", Mailen said to Belle with a sigh. "But I cannot leave without inviting you to have dinner at my new apartment tonight. It's in a completely different neighbourhood, but I hope you can attend and bring Rami and your baby daughter with you. Joseph is going to cook something delicious", she smiled.
"Of course, just write me the new address and we'll be there with you tonight", Belle enthusiastically answered.
"I will. And I'm planning on surprising Brian with an unexpected visit too. I need to invite him as well. London's Holy Trinity will be reunited tonight. Can you believe it?", her whole face lit up.
"I am incredibly happy right now, Mailen. I have been dreaming about the day you'd come back for months. This is so unreal, in a good way", Belle told her friend as her eyes became warm and soft.
"I'll never stay away from you guys ever again".
---------------------------------
"Honey, I'm home!", Mailen shouted as she entered her brand new apartment, taking her shoes off.
Her husband, Joseph Mazzello, rushed down the stairs as soon as he heard her voice.
"Hello, love", he softly kissed her. "How was everything? How did your friends react to your glorious return?".
"All I can say is that I will never forget the look on their faces when they saw me again", she grinned as she caressed Joseph's face. "And don't forget about our dinner party tonight. You will not believe the people Belle will bring. Let's just start by the fact that she's married to Rami Malek".
"I'm intrigued about the people she will bring, but it's not a surprise that she's married to Rami. They are always all over the news. If you watched television or read the newspapers you would have known", Joseph laughed. "And I haven't forgotten about it. In fact, I wanted to tell you that I decided to invite a close friend of mine as well. I know you said you didn't want many people to come but I had to invite him. He supported me a lot when you went to rehabilitation".
"That's not a problem, who did you invite?".
"Roger Taylor".
"Hey, that's fantastic. Roger is an amazing guy. I cannot believe we will be surrounded by our closest friends today; Belle, Rami, Brian and Roger. It will be wonderful".
"I'm sure it will be".