A N G E L A
"We're here ma'am,"
The words went through one ear and out of the other as I continued to gawk at the building ahead of me. Soon I heard the blaring sound of car horns from behind me but I still didn't move from my seat.
"Ms. Olson?"
Raymond's voice echoed through my ears, reeling through the silence that once filled the limo. I shifted my gaze toward him with a questionable look and he cleared his throat, readjusting himself in his seat.
"We are here and the limo is blocking the staircase," I blinked, looking outside the window again to see that we were indeed blocking the staircase leading to the entrance of the building
I fixed my hair and nodded at him before unlocking the door and opening it. I grabbed my clutch before placing a foot outside the limo and crouched under the top of the car so I didn't mess up my hair.
Once I fully stepped onto the pavement outside of the building, I waved Raymond off and he smiled softly before driving away into the night. He was one of my dad's best guards and drivers so I knew he'd be back for the gala, he must be going to find a better parking spot.
Heaving a sigh and fixing my dress, I approached the railing of the stairs and held onto it as I used my other hand to lift my dress, careful not to scrunch the material. When I made it to the top, a swarm of press and paparazzi engulfed me and began taking pictures of me from every angle.
Are you fucking kidding me?
I forced one of my best smiles and continued to move through the crowd since there would no doubt be more people approaching me tonight. Especially since I had been the topic of conversation since this morning.
Finally making it out of the camera's lighting, I searched for the bar in hopes of downing a glass of water but I ended up locking eyes with Jasmine instead. She held a clear short glass in her hand, swirling around the clear liquid before taking a sip and setting the glass back on the table. I walked up to her and sat beside her before calling the bartender to order my own drink.
"Hi, can I have a Tequila Sunrise please?"
"Yes ma'am, one tequila sunrise coming right up," The guy called out then turned to make my drink
After hearing my order, Jasmine turned towards me with her drink still in hand with a playful grin on her face.
"I could've sworn you said you were going to be sober tonight," She teased as a smile broke out onto her lips
"I could've sworn I said that too, but these are my parents we're talking about. I'm going to need something in my system to make it through tonight," I joked not knowing that I was actually right
A few minutes passed when the bartender brought me my drink and directly after, the lights dimmed as two spotlights flashed on the empty stage. I took a sip from my drink as my parents approached the stage with a drink in their hands, most likely wanting to propose a toast of thanks before the gala truly began.
My mother was the first to make her way to the podium so she clicked her freshly painted fingernail against her glass to gain the attention of everyone in the room. To have that much power over a crowd without mumbling a single word was something I dreamed for in life and I found myself envying her for having it so easily. It wasn't fair but I suppose I still had some time to get there.
"Initially I would like to thank you all for coming to this year's gala to announce and celebrate the generational success and progression of the Olson's business and franchise..." She began, her voice booming with security and gratitude through the microphone
Bittersweetly, my mother knew how to keep a crowd on their toes in public settings like this, so because I knew what she was about to say, I turned back to the bartender and asked for a dry Martini.
Smiling, the bartender marched behind the doors of the kitchen and when he came back, he popped open the bottle and grabbed my glass to refill it with the bittersweet liquid. I nodded towards him, taking the glass and turned around to face my mother, taking a sip from it.
Making eye contact with my mother was my first mistake but keeping that contact as she smiled and continued her speech was my biggest one.
"So with that being said, my husband and I would love to announce and celebrate our daughter's, Angela's, relationship and marriage with her new husband, Carter Evans! Let us cheer for another generation and newfound love in this industry everyone!"
As she finished her sentence, it felt like the music stopped playing, the lights stopped flashing, and everyone's movements ceased to move around me as my mother took another sip from her glass, never tearing her gaze away from me. It wasn't until I forced myself to blink when I felt that my lashes were slightly damp and my breathing was far from even.
The sound of broken glass lured me out of my head and time seemed to resume as the guests started to look over their shoulders to see where the sound came from. With everyone's heated gaze on me, I felt suffocated and overwhelmed to the point of fainting right then and there.
I had to leave. Now.
"Angela! Are you okay?"
Jasmine was now in front of me with her hand on my shoulders, lightly shaking me to make me focus on her but all I could see was my mother's smirk as she looked down at me with an evil glint in her eye. The amount of pain and betrayal I felt right now was too intense to the point where I felt like I was drowning and for the first time in years I felt like I didn't want to come back up for air.
For the first time in fucking years, I felt something I vowed to never feel again.
Helpless.
"I- I have to go use the bathroom,"
The voice that came from my lips didn't even sound like mine as I stumbled around her to escape to the nearest bathroom to catch a breath.
The hallway that once felt like it would've took 3 minutes to walk along now felt like 15 minutes as I continued to stumble my way through it, also not trying to throw up from the terrible feeling that I felt in my chest and stomach.
There was nothing that could have prepared me for this moment and my entire plan of ruining this night for my parents went out the window. All I was focused on now was leaving before I was forced to see him.
Once I finally made it to the bathroom, I pushed the door open seeing that it was only one stall and went to the mirror to look at myself.
Although I had some makeup on, I looked pale in the reflection and it bothered me. I shouldn't have let the mere name of a man do this much damage to me. It took six long years for me to forget that name for good, so I began to despise myself for allowing it to still have this effect on me.
"Fuck, get yourself together Angela," I mumbled to myself despite feeling pain when I realized that my throat felt dry and clogged
The jingling of the door knob reeled me out of my thoughts before I could ridicule myself any longer, but once they realized that the door was locked, the sound of the jingling stopped as quickly as it started.
I blew out another shaky breath trying once again to get myself together until I heard the doorknob jingle again. Before I could say anything though, the door was pushed open, and I rolled my eyes in the mirror realizing I should've stayed home rather than dealt with this bullshit.
Shocked and annoyed, I spun around from the mirror to face the bitch who fucking picked the lock to use the bathroom. When I opened my mouth to curse the person out, a gasp escaped me instead as my blood chilled for the second time tonight.
Because unfortunately my teary brown eyes stared right into his shimmering green ones.
YOU ARE READING
His Unrequited Lover
Romance"I don't fucking care about what they said. Do you understand me? You were mine before and you're mine now, Angel," His thrusts became brutal as I struggled to keep myself balanced on the bed beneath us. My moans slipped into the pillow that was hol...
