This place was usually used for weddings and big occasions, but ofcourse Blair would use it for a little party. The Liberty Warehouse was dreamy. Cozy lightning with beautiful crystal pendants, elegantly decorated tables and a wonderful view of the clear blue water.
I spotted Blair and Connor talking to some guests. It didn't take long until Blair saw me and James coming in. She smiled widely immediately and excused her and her husband as they rushed towards us. Her big, sparkly dress bounced with every step she took and every part of her silver necklace, that matched perfectly with her silver dress, gleamed. Her brown curls revealed her glittery earrings as they bounced together with her dress.
You could say Blair exaggerated every time she entered a room at an event or party, in her big dresses and expensive jewelry, but she was a lovely woman with a good heart, unlike many in this world. She loved her husband and the happiness in her brown eyes blazed almost every time I saw her.
❞James! Catherine! Welcome!❞ Blair chirped as she approached us.
❞Thank you. You look wonderful, Blair.❞ I complimented as I looked at her.
❞Thank you! You two look lovely tonight! I see you two couldn't agree on the gender-guess.❞ She raised her eyebrows and smiled as she looked at what we were wearing.
James wore a simple, blue suit while I wore an elegant, pink gown. We didn't even talk about this, I just told him about the invite, we got ready and came here together, like we always needed to do. Why we were dressed like we were, was just because James would never put on a pink suit and I couldn't find a fitting, blue gown. It wasn't that serious to us.
❞What can I say, you women can be pretty stubborn sometimes.❞ James jested smiling.
Connor laughed and Blair lightly slapped his chest while she shook her head.
❞Come on Catherine, join us girls. Let the men have their own fun.❞ Blair concluded as she put her arm under mine and led me to the girls' table while our husbands continued to laugh again.
There were so many people that came to the party. Every minute, there was someone more who entered the room. The men were on one side and women were on the other side. It was kind of relieving since I didn't want to sit next to James for the next couple of hours.
As we approached the table, I immediately recognized all the faces that were sitting at it. Elizabeth, who just gave birth to her first baby, Olivia, whom I've seen sneak around with her lover, Jane, who just got her third son, Ella, the sweetheart that still wasn't married, Sophia, whom I was surprised to see since she and her husband always traveled, and all the other women were sitting at the long table.
❞Catherine! I haven't seen you in ages!❞ Jane exclaimed and stood up to hug me.
❞Hi Jane, good to see you. How are your sons?❞ I asked as she hugged me.
She sat back down and sighed, ❞Oh, let's not talk about them.❞ She responded, ❞I get tired as soon as I think of those mischievous, little devils.❞
❞Oh, stop it Jane, your sons are lovely.❞ Blair stepped in.
Ofcourse Jane talked about her children like this. She didn't even like children, she didn't even want to have some. This was a solution to her problems according to her. Her husband wanted to leave her after all. He wanted to build a family. He was younger than Jane, he had more plans for the future and one of his biggest wishes was to have a big family. That guy loved kids. But Jane didn't want him to leave her, after all, he was young, handsome and wealthy.
So this was her solution.
❞Wait til you get your own.❞ Jane shook her head.
Everyone muffled their laughs.
❞What do you want it to be? A little girl or a boy?❞ Sophia asked Blair before she
took a sip of the non-alcoholic champagne.
❞I actually don't know what it is.❞ Blair acknowledged, making everybody gasp. ❞I'm going to be as surprised as everyone in this room.❞ She added with a happy smile.
❞But do you hope a little extra for something?❞ Sophia interjected.
Blair looked down as she thought about her answer. She frowned a little, blinking several times.
❞I don't think that would be so important. As long as the baby is good and healthy, I think Blair will be happy.❞
I couldn't help but answer for Blair.
As soon as I said that, Blair's face brightened up a bit and she looked up.
❞Exactly.❞ Blair confirmed. ❞I don't care, I will love it as much, no matter what it is.❞
There was a short moment of silence, until Sophia spoke again,
❞When are you and James going to share some baby-news with us, Catherine?❞
I slowly put down my glass of champagne, feeling the liquid down my throat as I swallowed hardly. My jaw went slack, I felt my nostrils flare as I took a deep breath. I shut my eyes quickly, not knowing what to answer.
❞Me and James are pretty busy, I don't think we would really have time for a baby.❞ I finally answered.
❞There is no need to rush, there is plenty of time in the future.❞ Ella contributed.
❞You could always hire a nanny, take some time off, you don't need to be around the baby all the time,
if you really want one.❞ Claire suggested flatly.
❞Excuse me.❞ I said, standing up and walking to the bathroom.
I placed my hands on the sink and leaned forward, looking down and shutting my eyes.
Those women have no idea how it is, I thought to myself. Trying for years, only to lose two babies when we did succeed. The ache in my stomach and the feeling of blood running down my legs wasn't the worst, feeling the loss and my heart fracture was. I was never able to feel like a real woman. It hurt as much every time someone asked me about having children. I never went to a doctor about it. I knew I couldn't handle hearing the words, hearing how I'm unable to do something the most women can. I just accepted the truth. I can't have children.
I hit the sink with my hands, shutting my eyes even harder, bewailing because of my biggest wish that couldn't come true. What did I think? I asked myself. Coming to a party like this and avoid baby-talk? I'm a fool! I took another deep breath, slowly opening my eyes and looking up in the mirror in front of me. My eyelids drooped, my eyes glistened and my skin paled. I tried to get myself together and not think about the past.
I splashed some cold water onto my crimsoned face and grabbed my clutch. Powder helped me cover the redness on my face and the puffiness under my eyes. I reapplied my lipstick and I was just done. Just as I wanted to leave the bathroom, the door opened and Blair came in.
❞Is everything okay?❞ She asked carefully.
❞Ofcourse, let's go back to the girls.❞ I forced a smile and walked out of the bathroom.
The gentlemen Blair hired were singing, playing instrument and the room was full of beautiful music. Me and Blair approached the table and everyone looked at me, going silent. Just as I was about to sit down, James appeared.
❞There you are, sweetheart. I need to borrow my wife for a second. Excuse us.❞
James acknowledged with a forced smile.
He put his hand on my back while we rushed towards the exit. As soon as we were outside, James took my forearm and walked us away so nobody could hear or see us. I looked at James's face. Lines appeared on his forehead as he frowned, his eyes narrowed and his jaw grounded.
❞What do you think you're doing?!❞ He yelled.
I freed myself from his grip and felt myself frown too.
❞What do you think you're doing?!❞ I yelled back.
❞I just got a call from Harry.❞ He said, looking straight into my eyes.
I felt my face slack, my eyebrows rise and my mouth open. He found out.
❞He told me about a request for property. Catherine, what are you trying to do?!❞ He continued yelling. ❞Did you think you would actually succeed? Did you think I wouldn't find out?❞
❞Ofcourse I knew you would find out!❞ I interrupted him. ❞I wanted to solve this like normal human beings! I wanted you to finally have a piece of brain, a piece of heart and let me live my life with everything I built! Everything I built myself!❞ I yelled. ❞What did you think, James? Tell me. That I would sit and do nothing for more than three years?!
I can't continue like this.❞
He laughed. ❞It's not a choice. It isn't that that you chose to do nothing for all these years. You can't! You can't do anything, Catherine!❞ James corrected, still yelling and yelling.
❞We'll see!❞ I insisted again.
❞What? What will we see? It's done.❞ His last words caught my attention. ❞The request is denied.❞ He added a smirk. ❞You thought linking up with your best friend Edwards and visiting him on the Maldives with your stripper friend would bring wonders into your life? I know that you didn't visit your mother. I'm not stupid, Catherine. I know everything. You didn't succeed with anything, sweetheart. Nothing.❞ He exasperated humiliatingly.
❞I hate you! I hate you, James!❞ I repeated.
❞Oh no, be careful so our friends don't hear you. And oh, me and Harry need to pay Edwards a visit, he's back after all.❞ He said, making me quiver. ❞You're stuck with me, Catherine. Forever.❞ Smirking, he went back inside.
I found it hard to breathe. I felt dizzy. Humiliated. Stuck. Slowly, I walked towards the railing. I put my hands on it and I looked over the sparkly water. The moon was glowing. Together with the street lights, it made the deep blue water glittery. Closing my eyes, I focused on breathing. I couldn't cry. I couldn't feel rage. I was numb and lost, and most importantly, stuck. What kind of life was this? What would I do next? There was nothing more to do, James would always win, like he always did. He never did anything in his life, but he still won. Every time.
How could someone be so idle yet so powerful?
I always had hope. It was gone. Tasha, Carter, Lorenzo, they all managed to give me hope for everything. It was all gone now. James was right. I didn't succeed with anything. I made him humiliate me even more. I put Tasha in danger. I made Carter come back and I put him in danger, and when he was in danger, his sister and her children were too. He found out about Lorenzo because I wasn't careful. I made a mess. I was a mess. There was nothing more to do.
❞What is a beautiful lady like you doing out here, alone?❞ I heard a deep, manly voice from beside me.
I didn't mind looking, I just answered, ❞Giving up on life.❞
I felt how the man came closer and stopped as he stood right beside me. The powerful smell of his
heavenly cologne filled my nostrils like a drug.
❞You shouldn't.❞ He said.
I didn't know who he was thinking he was, interrupting me and my miserable thoughts. I looked at the side, surprised by the gorgeous man standing next to me. His jet black hair that looked so soft and voluminous was gently slicked back. The stubble on his face brought out his strong jaw structure and his visible cheekbones that led my eyes to his nose. A perfect, pointy nose that fitted his face just right. His formed eyebrows were perfect for his almond eyes. There was just a single wrinkle on his face, and it went down from his eyelid that covered his dreamy, brown eyes every time he blinked. Our eyes met as he caught me looking, and I could almost swear that I was about to pass out.
❞I'm sorry.❞ I hesitated, ❞I had a rough day, I didn't mean to be rude.❞ I explained.
He chuckled, showing his perfect set of white teeth, ❞It's okay, we all have them sometimes.❞
Our eyes looked into one another, making every thought of mine stop. I was caught in the moment.
❞Do you want to talk about it?❞ He interrupted the moment.
❞And share my deepest sorrows with a stranger?❞ I replied with a smile.
There was a moment of silence between us. I could see how his smile faded when he started speaking,
❞I saw you and your husband fight. I didn't mean to, but I was nearby.❞ His voice went serious, almost empathetic.
I frowned for a second, the thought of a stranger listening to our fight went quickly through my head, but me and James were outside and we both were yelling, I couldn't be mad.
❞I- I... We...❞ I hesitated again. ❞It wasn't a regular fight. It's a long story,
I don't want to interfere you with my problems.❞
❞It was me who walked up to you, wasn't it? I asked you. You wouldn't bother me.❞ He said kindly, ❞But I understand if you don't want to talk about it. I'm a stranger and problems can be personal.❞ He continued,
❞But I got an impression of you.❞ He added.
❞Really? Tell me. What kind of impression?❞
A smile appeared on his luscious lips, but it soon faded away. ❞You seem to hold a lot for yourself.❞ He spoke, ❞You're hurt, lost. You don't know what to do anymore. You're a beautiful woman, breathtaking even.❞ I looked down, feeling my cheeks redden. ❞But you worry too much. Live life, don't get stuck because of the past.❞
I looked up in his eyes, wondering how a stranger I just met was able to bring back my hope.
❞You always have two choices.❞ He went on, ❞The past is always going to be a part of us, it isn't wrong to try and figure it out.❞ He asserted wisely, ❞But you could always start a new life. Alone or with someone else. Here or far away.❞
I was caught by the words of the stranger. The problem was,
what was the right choice? Or was there even a right choice?
❞You choose.❞ He concluded before he added a smirk and started walking away.
I watched as he walked away. The black suit with thin, white stripes was like made for him. His shoulders were broad, his arms muscular and his legs so masculine. Was it really normal to be thinking about what a stranger, someone I've never seen before, just advised me to do? His silhouette faded into the darkness, and I leaned back onto the railing and enjoyed the moonlight.