The Mystery of Chloe B.

1 - The letter

It was a beautiful day. Even the weather was perfect, as if Chloe Bourgeois ordered it personally. The sun wouldn't dare hide behind the clouds on her birthday. Oh, never! It must shine in the sky so that the golden child, the most important teenage girl in Paris would have a good birthday!

That day Chloe not only was showered with presents from her daddy, but she got also a special letter. The letter was delivered by a dispatch runner to be handed personally to Chloe. She just looked at the envelope and felt suddenly that she needed to read it in private. She excused her father and the butler, and she ran out of the room.

The letter was addressed by her mother's hand.

She hugged the letter close to her heart, and for the whole way to her room she was wondering what it could mean. Did mom send it today for a reason? Did it mean she was in Paris? As soon as Chloe reached her room, she ripped open the envelope and read the letter:

My dearest Chloe,

If you are reading this letter, it means that I have found a courage to take this step towards the precipice I couldn't have done for years.

You must know that it's not easy for me to make this decision. Actually... I'm still hesitating. You must know that I love you very much, though maybe I haven't expressed it in the way you deserve. However, I can't let this happen to me. I can't be a victim like my dearest friend, Emilie Agreste. One day you will understand that, darling. My free spirit doesn't fit to the framework that your father and social standards have dictated. There are so many expectations for a wife of a man of high standing. Where is the place for me in all this? Me as me?

I don't know where this path, I've decided to follow, will lead me. I can't put you to inconvenience, because I won't be able to give you all the comfort you deserve.

I hope you've found someone with whom you have bonded friendship as strong as I had with Emilie. Such friendship is a treasure for life. Emilie and I had even a little dream that maybe one day we would become a family... We joked that we should engage you and her son, Adrien when you were babies in cradles, as it used to be done in royal families. Such friendship is priceless, my darling.

I love you,

Mom

P.S. You are to receive this letter on your 15th birthday. I wish you all the best, my dearest. Be good for the others and they will be good for you.

That's all. Not much but still too much. Chloe was standing, leaning against the door, and tears were running down her cheeks.