𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 | ʜᴇʟᴍᴜᴛ ᴢᴇᴍᴏ

𝟏 ᴅɪꜱᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ

milan, italy

2011

Kalina was too attuned to her heels clicking against the cobbled roads of the old city, to hear her phone vibrating violently in her purse. As she waved her hand to a car in the street, she rushed across to avoid more traffic as it slowed to let her pass. The people chattering along the walkways and the cars honking off in the distance distracted her thoughts, as she rushed on her way to the cafe to meet Giulia, her business partner on the Italian front.

The socialite had made a name across western Europe by rising to become one of the most coveted fashion consultants for runways and private buyers. She had partnerships in nearly every western European country, and several eastern, to include a growing popularity in east Asia.

She had endured the sting of heartbreak in years past and refocused her energy on developing her empire. Her essence was now plastered across the world, and the Konopka name had become an international icon.

Her brunette hair feathered in the light breeze, as she moved across the plaza with grace and poise. Her phone had begun to vibrate again, which finally caught Kalina's attention. She reached into her purse, fumbling between lipstick and currency cards, grasping the small block box in her hand. Her eyes adjusted to the name on the screen: Marceau Fournier.

Kalina let the phone ring, before it disconnected again. Staring at the screen, it revealed three missed calls from Marceau, her latest fling. She sighed as a voicemail populated at the top of the notifications. She was not interested in a relationship, but found herself surrounded by men in elite social circles, begging for her time. Kalina obliged, because she could. She was no longer engaged, she was no longer tied to anyone, though she preferred it this way. Her business was her marriage, and she was only interested in pursuing more.

This didn't stop the loneliness, when the darkness overcame the light as the sun set every evening, Kalina was reminded of the black hole in her chest that sucked the energy from her every being.

It was safe to say, after three years, she had done her best to move on. She had no communication with Helmut Zemo since the evening he left. Kalina wore her engagement ring, waiting for his return, but on the year anniversary of his departure, she cried silently in the penthouse she was was renting in Barcelona, and took it off for the last time. The woman came to terms that he had left, and that he would not suddenly return for her any longer.  After a year, he had solidified his commitment to EKO Scorpion, and surely would be out in the field for the foreseeable future. Kalina could not shed any more tears.

She locked the ring away in her belongings, and sent them home to the Konopka estate in Sokovia, vowing to forget Helmut's promises. She knew she had to pick herself up off the floor to begin her next chapter: her own legacy.