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''Morning delivery!''
Victoria Ange Noir giggles from pure joy as Nathaniel Archibald approaches her from behind that just at the entrance of Constance with two french vanilla latte's in his hand.
''Awe,'' Victoria gushed while kindly taking a cup from his grasp. ''You didn't have to.''
He shrugs his shoulders. ''Yeah, but I figured, why not start the day off right?''
She smiles at him after taken her sip. ''Well, thank you, my good, sir. I see, I've dictated your taste buds with the coffee order.''
''You can't go wrong with french vanilla, am I right?''
He smiles in comparison to her laughter. It was so weird for Victoria to appear this.. Happy. Her feature's were always stern in concentration, as if she's always deep in thought. You rarely see her crack a smirk much less hear a harmony of laughter when it comes to her.
When you hear her name, itself, you see her cold exterior front who gives modest opinions and offers kind and polite gestures to most she doesn't know.
Nathaniel licks his lips before asking, ''How are you and dad? You know, since the incident with your mom?''
Her happiness seemed to falter by a more calmer complex. ''I'm okay. It's my dad who I'm worried about.''
''Is he acting any differently?''
She shakes her head vigorously. ''Not so far, which is the scary part. If there's one thing when it comes to us and our family, we're fairly unpredictable.''
Victoria and Nate where walking through the courtyard between Constance and St. Judes when cellular devices began to blare and chimes various ringtones and vibrations. Including Nathaniel's and Victoria's; which could one mean one thing.
Victoria pursed her lips and used her free hand to dig through her purse, finding her BlackBerry at the bottom of the abyss that is of her bag and pulls it out to light.
Looks like Victoria's fire was finally distinguish after mommy left daddy for a dead man. Apparently, what she would consider commoners are now becoming her new best friends. Do I smell a disaster on our way, or is Dull Dani going to sing us lullabies on this one?
Victoria alters her gaze onto the gravel of the ground when she hears voices all at once. They were so rushed, so hush, and harsh, they all sounded the same. She couldn't much decipher who said what, but it was more of what that was said that gotten Victoria so nauseated.
''Looks like she's not perfect after all.''
''Divorced parents isn't enough. She needs to be taken down, completely.''
''The apple doesn't fall far from the tree if she's going after Nate. He has a girlfriend.''
''Victoria,'' A voice called her back to reality. She looks up and finds the oceanic blue eyes of Nathaniel Archibald staring at her with a flash of concern. With everything exposed on Gossip Girl, everything is always blown out of proportion. He knows Victoria wouldn't cave into pressure, but words do hurt.
''I'm fine,'' She clears her throat. ''It's just nonsense. Nothing I haven't dealt with before.''
His head lulls to the side, he just couldn't find it in him to believe him. ''Via,-''
''I'm not a damsel in distress, Nate,'' She scoffs. ''So stop looking at me like that.''
He furrows his brows. ''Like what?''
''Like you need to protect me,'' She props that hand holding her cellular device on her hip. ''I've had my head high all these years with Gossip Girl after me, that's not going to stop now.-'' She sighs. ''I'll see you at lunch, I have Econ with Phelps and he has a tendancy to close the door a few minutes before the late bell rings.''
He opens his mouth to call her once more but only release a struggle groan. Even the way she walked, with her hips viciously swaying from side to side along with her hair, one foot stepping in front of the other screamed her confident. She could shine when walking into a room, it was impossible for her not to.
-
''Ugh,'' Victoria groans as she steps into her penthouse, her nostrils cringed at the scent of cheap beer lingering the air. Raphael Ange Noir was walking around the sweet in his pajamas, heading straight to the kitchen to retrieve another bottle.
''Dad, hey,'' She softly greets, following after him. ''How was your day?
He shrugs his shoulders while opening the fridge. ''Nothing new.''
She chuckles. ''As in the usual? Busy day, huh?''
He turns to her with furrowed brows, a glass bottle of Corona in one hand and the handle to the fridge in the other. ''As in, I didn't do work today.''
''What?''
He waves her off. ''Don't worry, bonita. I'm just taking a sick day.''
Victoria's stare lingers on her father, a hesitance noticeable in her body language that her father very well picked up on.
Raphael sighs. "What, Victoria?"
She takes a step forward, her hands fiddling against her stomach. "Dad, I am always going to be here for you. But if I can't be the one you go to, please consider going to somebody. Anybody, maybe even invest in a journal? Please don't give her the power to hurt us anymore then she already has."
His tense shoulders had fallen at the last few words that were heard. Truth be told, Raphael Ange Noir could not and did not know how to even begin this process of getting over the pain. The fastest and easiest way seem to have been sleep or fetching a drink. He realized that even though a third of his world seemed to have been crumbled up and carelessly tossed into a trash can, there was still a world that included another love his life; his daughter. Within this world, that included an enterprise he wanted to leave behind for her.
"I'm sorry I didn't go to work today, mi amour." Raphael turns around towards the fridge, surprising his daughter by placing the glass bottle back in the fridge. He turns back around and approaches her with his arms opening wide to engulf her in a hug. He assures her by her ear, "I'll be sure to get back to business tomorrow."
She quickly jerks back to look up to him, her brows arch and eyes widely giving him a pointed look, "And you'll be sure to also start finding a healthy outlet, right?"
He gives her a soft smile, mumbling an equally soft, "Of course, bonita-" He leans down to give her forehead a kiss before repeating, "Of course."
