After Ever After

Chapter Three

The Golden Flower

Friday Night

The Golden Flower was the perfect mix of elegant sophistication and uncouth rurality. All the walls were painted burgundy with a variety of gold designs and trimmings, except for one which was all brick. Dozens upon dozens of different assorted bottles of alcohols sat on dark mahogany wooden racks, which mixed beautifully with the dark brick on the wall. The bar, also dark mahogany, stretched fifteen feet long on one side of the club and was lined with chocolate brown leather barstools. Round tables of black granite lined the other side of the bar, giving customers the view of the city beyond the bay windows. Each table had identical high-back, red armchairs; mimicking the design of the chairs at the bar. The floors were a rich Brazilian walnut that led down to the large dance floor, each side lined with a long, plush red couch and granite tables.

Snow sat at one of the tables by the window, taking slow sips from her glass of red wine. She had arrived fifteen minutes early to give herself a moment of peace. Snow had been thinking about Cindy all day; her sad little voice played in her head over and over while she was at work. She hadn't heard Cindy sound so upset since her father passed away. Oh god, Snow thought, what if she's dying?

Before she really had time to register the idea, Cinderella walked into the bar. Spotting Snow across the bar, she made her way to the table. As usual, Cindy was perfectly put together. Her strawberry blonde hair sat gracefully upon her shoulders; her bangs dusted her eyebrows. She had decorated her gorgeous blue eyes with a light layer of makeup. Her typical pink lips donned a light layer of gloss. She was dressed in a collared, white button-up blouse and a green floral skirt. Her small feet sat in a pair of simple ankle strap heels.

"Hi Cindy," Snow said almost in a whisper.

Cindy heaved out an exasperated sigh. She sounded so defeated without even speaking. She waved down the owner of the bar to place a drink order.

"Cindy! Snow! How you ladies doing?" Flynn greeted them once he reached their table. "What can I get for you?" He flashed his most dashing smile at them.

"May I please have four shots of whiskey, Flynn?" Cindy muttered with her palms pressed to her forehead. Both Flynn and Snow were stunned at her answer. Cindy never drank anything heavier than wine and champagne. Cindy was a woman who loved drinks that were sweet and fruity, red and white, not brown and strong.

Flynn hesitated but obliged her order. "Sure thing Cindy...coming right up."

When Flynn was out of earshot, Snow leaned in towards her distressed friend, placing her hand into Cindy's.

"Cindy, honey, what's going on?"

Flynn returned with her shots, setting them down in front of her. Without wasting another second, Cindy picked up a shot glass and took it straight to the head. She grimaced at the harsh burning it left behind. Flynn and Snow glanced at each other before he walked away. Cindy took a moment to compose herself before she went into the details of what had her so distraught.

"I think Ferdinand may be having an affair," she stated in a hushed voice and then threw back another shot.

Snow's eyebrows went up. "What?" she hissed back. "When? With whom? How do you know?"

Cindy started to tear up as she contemplated Snow's questions. Just the thought of her husband, the love of her life, cheating on her made it difficult for her to speak. "I think it started recently...with his assistant, Stephanie."

"What makes you think he's cheating on you?" Snow questioned doubtfully, unable to believe that Ferdinand, the most honest man she knew, would cheat on his wife.

"He's always gone, Snow. I never see him during the day, and if I do, it's for half a second before Stephanie whisks him away," Cindy replied before downing her third shot. "I swear she's doing it on purpose."

"Well, the man is running for mayor, Cindy. You've got to expect him to be busy trying to get his campaign together and such."

"No, Snow, you don't understand. Whenever I step into a room with them, Stephanie is always rushing my time with Ferdinand. If we talk for two minutes, she gets all fussy. 'Time is of the essence, Ferdinand, we mustn't be late.' Ugh, I want to knock her snooty English ass into the ground."

"Just because she's acting that way doesn't mean Ferdinand is cheating on you, honey. That man loves you more than anything--"

"I know but--" Cinderella's bottom lip quivered. "You don't see the way they interact with each other. They're always laughing together. They have so much in common. They both come from rich, privileged families. They have similar upbringings, while I--I practically came from nothing."

Snow stared at her friend. Something wasn't making sense. Yes, it was true that Cinderella and Ferdinand came from different backgrounds; however, that didn't matter when they fell in love. So why would it matter now?

"Cindy, what's really wrong? I know something else is bothering you other than Stephanie."

Finally, Cinderella allowed her tears to run down her cheeks. "I think Ferdinand is getting bored with me...I haven't seen him look as happy as he is with her in years," she said as she dabbed her face with a napkin. "You should see the way he looks at her...he used to look at me like that."

Snow reached across the table to grab both of her friend's hands. "And he still does," she assured. "If you feel like Ferdinand is getting bored, just talk to him. Maybe he's not bored, maybe it's all in your head, maybe you're the one who's bored, and if you are, then spice things up!" Snow offered a playful wink with her last statement.

Cindy appreciated her friend's advice, but it didn't settle the relentless feeling in her gut or the slow, shallow breaking of her heart. 

A/N: Credit to Solely Sagittarius for inspiring this story and credit to artbyjody for the chapter artwork!