The Disastrous Love Lives of the Delaney Family

4.3 c'est la vie... le vie continue

My sincerest apologies - I've been super ill over the past few weeks and have been too tired to write! I'm back to my usual self, so catching up on my updates. Hope you enjoy it.

After last night's fiasco at Alizées's party, I had hoped that Maely was starting to rethink this whole plan of hers. It hadn't been a pretty sight, sitting next to her in the car on the way home, watching as her smudged eye makeup trickles down her cheeks, but when I told her to take the night and think about what sly wanted to do, she shook her head and said she'd already decided. Still, I had hoped that she would change her mind.  

Only, when I received her text this morning, confirming our plans for tonight, all hope vanished. Even now, as I get dressed and ready for our 'date', I'm praying that she's going to back out. Why would anyone want to put themselves through this? I can understand that she wants some semblance of freedom away from her father but there have to be better ways of achieving that goal than to do... this. 

"I still think you're crazy," Madeline mutters from the doorway as she watches me straighten my shirt. When I shrug my shoulder in response, she clicks her tongue. "You're both fools. But Christian, you can stop this. If you tell her that you cannot help her maybe she would stop."

"Or maybe she will find someone else to help her."

Madeline frowns. "And why would that concern you? Up until a few days ago, you and Maely were apathetic towards each other, and that's a very polite way of putting it. What, now you're best friends? You've developed an attachment to her? Please, mon Dieu [my God]-" she makes a sign of the cross over her chest. "-Don't delude yourself into thinking you're in love with her. It is not your responsibility to jump on a white horse and rescue her."

"There are no white horses," I tell my sister as I push her to the side and exit the bedroom. Grabbing my phone and wallet from the side table, I open the front door, pausing to look back at her and say, "And I'm not a knight in shining armour."

I don't hear Madeline's muffled shout coming from the other side of the door as I slam it shut; I imagine it's another lecture about how I'm being irresponsible in encouraging Maely but really, I've heard those words countless times from her and frankly, I'm sick and tired listening to her. I love my sister but she has to give me the same amount of space as I offer her. Despite being the eldest, I don't micromanage her life; she's free to make her own mistakes just as I'm free to make mine. I don't judge her but I do support her when the earth is pulled out from under her and she needs a hug or affection from her brother. 

Exiting my building onto the street, I see the dark sedan waiting for me. One of the perks of being Emma and Hugo Rousseau's kid is that getting around Paris is hardly ever a problem since we have a fleet of cars and drivers at our disposal. Jumping into the back seat, I greet the driver with a polite 'bonsoir' [good evening] and remind him of our destination. 

While Maely is still cagey about me going to her house (since it is l'Élysée), she has arranged for me to pick her up at an alternative address, the home of one of her closest friends. From there, we're going to Le Cinq restaurant at Quai Malaquais where I've made reservations in one of the quieter dining rooms available. Despite it being a small restaurant and the staff discrete, it's a magnet for the wealthy and those who seek fame. Paparazzi typical swarm the doors, especially later in the evening, catching news-worthy couples emerging after romantic dinners out.