The Runaway Bride

Ten(Edited)

X: Letters

Edited ✓

SIMONE KNEW SHE SHOULDN'T DRINK MORE. It was barely half past nine, she was alone, slowly going through a lovely Château Margüi. She recognized the symptoms.

Simone was acting like her mother.

The only difference, Simone thought bitterly, was that she wasn't popping pills as she waited for her husband to come home from yet another late night at work (or so he claimed).

She knew why she was acting so emotional, and it made her angry that her past still held so much influence over her. Simone had always been good at hiding herself, but tonight she couldn't. Tonight she drank to dull the sting of tears at the back of her eyes.

She'd received a package.

At first Simone had laughed. It was a care package from Cole, perhaps as a housewarming. It was, after all, Simone's first night at her newly renovated Victorian house. But she'd been mistaken. It wasn't a basket of pouperi and macaroons.

They were letters.

There were four. Four people felt it their right to intrude on Simone's new life, to rip open fresh wounds. With nothing else than an apology from Cole, five monogrammed envelopes lay in the opened box on the coffee table, right next to her half empty bottle of wine.

Rosé wine, of course, was as red as she could stomach to drink. A tad bit childish maybe, but red reminded her too much of her ex-fiance. While Maxton Hastings may not be directly involved in the family business, still the sight of a California grape made Simone woozy. And to think how loyal she'd been to the Hastings wine, the dark alluring Black Dahlia had been the only red that crossed her lips for years.

And now here she was, drinking alone like a Manhattan housewife, too afraid to open the last two letters she'd silently been staring at for over an hour. Simone had already read three from her friends. Meredith Blair-Ford had, as always, been overly dramatic and entirely self-absorbed. One would think just from reading her letter that she'd been humiliated to the entire world.

Meredith wrote of things Simone did not care to know, like how Eleanor and Maxton had moved in together and that the paparazzi was eating it up. A small part of her was a little glad that they were together, but the bigger part was somehow content with the news of the media coverage they have. Surely they are being painted in dark light, Simone, after all was the one left on her wedding day.

That selfish, livid thought scared Simone and she'd quickly ripped Meredith's letter into pieces. She'd only read half but already Simone could feel her anger feeding off of Meredith's. The sad thing was, that no matter how much they had hurt her, Simone did not want to wish them ill. Simone had never been a firm believer of things like fate or karma, but she can't help but think this is life's way of getting back at her. Simone failed Eleanor once before, she'd hurt her sister possibly deeper than Elle had her. Maybe this was her penance.

Then there was Maxton. Simone tipped her head back and drank the last drop. Did he ever really love her? Did she? It was all so abundantly confusing. When Simone was with him she felt like it was the right thing to do. He came from old money, his birthright cultivated in the Northern California soil. He was a Hastings, the name held power in the world of wine and he himself was a successful hedge fund agent. Maxton is a gentleman, handsome and gentle and...he is just the man her parents wanted Simone to marry.

But was that love? Was the comfort she felt under Maxton's protective wing the things that have inspired poets for centuries? She had been content, taken care of (sometimes a bit too much) but Simone always knew it wasn't the toe-curling, goosebump kind of love. That didn't exist, not where Simone came from. Women like Simone got her knights in tailored Armani riding in on a Rolls-Royce. She'd had it all. But was it what she really wanted? Simone wasn't so sure.

Aside from Rosie and Theodore's unexplained hostility towards her, Simone has never felt so at peace before. Here at River Falls, could anyone possibly fathom it? Here Simone has found peace and tranquility. She feels free of obligations and restrictions. She can finally breath.

The second letter was different. Felicity Prescott is an old friend from the private school Meredith and Simone attended. They had been inseparable in high school, and when Simone went off to Princeton, Meredith went to Brown and Felicity to Columbia. They had always had different interests and different lives. Felicity was always the wildest of the three, and she lived her life to the fullest in university.

Meredith and Simone didn't reconnect with Felicity until the three were reunited in their city after graduation. Something had happened to her, maybe she had grown tired of the parties and the drinking, but she seemed calmer. Bored even, and the three bonded over the familiarity of being home again. Her letter was done in her straight-cut handwriting, so unlike Meredith's loopy cursive. Felicity asked how Simone was, and how she was dealing with not only the wedding fiasco but the fraud scandal. Felicity said she was worried because Simone had left so suddenly, and like the great friend she is, she swore to declare war on Elle.

But that isn't what would make Simone happy. In fact, it made Simone worry about her younger sister. Having to deal with the backlash from their mother was plenty. But Elle had to handle things at home, become stable ground for the Mercers' crumbling foundation. And if that wasn't enough, Simone was sure people were talking. Maybe even her friends were active participants.

The next letter was even more surprising. Simone's grandparents had always favored Elle, and as a result, Grandmother was always somehow less attentive of Simone. When Simone saw her grandmother's name it shocked her enough to sit up straight to open it. Her words were kind and sympathetic. She asked Simone to return, but also knew she would be unable to. Grandmother said she missed her, snobby attitude and all, and wished Simone the best in finding what she couldn't have back home.

Enclosed was also a check with more zeros than Simone thought she'd ever see again. It was, in Grandmother's words, some compensation for losing everything she ever cared for in one day. Although the amount wasn't nearly as much as had been originally promised to Simone, she knew she would never see any money from her formerly bottomless trust fund. This check was now her inheritance, or in Simone's mind, her lifesaver. She could now live assured and self-dependant, without worries of ever running into financial struggles.

Grandmother's letter had been impacting, but nothing would have prepared Simone for the last one. Simone recognized the handwriting right away.

It was from her sister.

She held the envelope tightly in her hands, debating whether or not she should rip it to shreds. What could she possibly have to say to Simone? How could she even have the nerve to ask Cole to deliver it, Simone didn't know. As much as she loved her sister, Simone definitely wasn't ready to exonerate Elle for what she's done. The prideful part of her urged her to throw it into the limestone fireplace, but part of Simone knew she would regret it immensely. She was curious, of course she was.

With a frustrated groan, Simone jumped off the couch and opened the drawer of the side table. Before Simone could act on an impulse and do something reckless, she threw the letters and all the evidence of Cole's package inside before locking it.

If Simone did not acknowledge the letter, then she didn't have to read it. It was the only way to hold onto her composure.

After all, if Simone's life back home taught her anything at all, It's to swallow back and keep always keep up the facade, even if you're crumbling inside.

Update on me:
I understand it's sucky to have to wait a month for an update, but when you take 6 university classes (19 credits) and sleep four hours (if I'm lucky) a night, then writing automatically becomes your last priority. College has been kicking my ass. While I'm happy to report that I'm starting to get the hang of things, it's still going to be a while before I get back to a regular schedule. So please please please don't hate me when I don't update right away.
I love you guys, thanks for being so amazing. XoXo