Scarlet Rose

Chapter 57

(dedicated to my dear friend Nandia who keeps me on my toes writing but also has followed this story, wishing to read the ending for more than 10 years now, so thank you filenadaki for the company!)

Christian arrived late at the Perkins mansion. Although he followed social events and he frequented many of those parties thrown by the Bright Young Things, where to party hard to the point of acting insane was almost compulsory - you would risk being labelled a bore otherwise and shunt by the in circles - he was fonder of smaller, more intimate gatherings.

That particular night, he actually felt grateful for that party. He could shut out of his mind, everything that had occupied his thoughts δlately. He counted on the drugs and the booze, he was sure they were freely available to help him with the task.

Given he was one of the latecomers, he was faced with an advanced state of intoxication from almost everyone else who was there already. Face expression became more pronounced, comical even. Guest were in an almost constant state of flux, moving between rooms, a lot of them dancing.

His gaze searched for Rose. He couldn't see her in the ball room. Not that it was easy to spot her if she had been there. A pair of hands covered his eyes. For a flashing moment, his heart jumped in his mouth. That much on the edge he was. He needed to relax. He touched the hands. Their skin was soft and the fingers were long and slim, adorned with rings. He smiled.

"It's the devil incarnate." He guessed.

He heard her roaring laughter. She uncovered his eyes and hugged him from behind.

"It's Audrey, you silly."

"Close enough." He said back. He turned to see her. "You look the part, as always."

"Nonsense. I looked better when you had me in your bed." She winked and licked her lips.

God knows what has she taken already

"And then I became not good for your as far as I can remember." Christian reminded her.

Once upon a time, Christian had fallen heads over heels for the young woman in front of him. Having returned from Paris, fresh faced and fired up to leave his mark, she was the one who had embraced him as a painter and as a man. For a while they were inseparable. Her drug fuelled, non-stop partying lifestyle eventually made his art suffer. Half of the time not having the energy to lift up his brushes and the other half being too wasted to do so.

He had loved her. He definitely thought so, back at the day. Infatuated with her drive to drink life down to its last drop. Hanging with Audrey was intoxicating just as much as it could be fatal. It came to a point when he suffered but he ignored it. Both of them did. Audrey was getting off the rails and so was he. Till her parents stepped in. They sent her away to Wales to an aunt of hers, for a whole year. Not only that. They forbid any contact with Christian. Of course for them, Christian was an unknown quantity, not knowing his real parents. Who knew which were his natural inclinations? What they had witnessed was a young man heading towards destruction. Keen to eliminate every bad influence in Audrey's life, while they sent her away, they had visited him at his home. In a few words, Christian wasn't someone they desired their daughter having a relationship with.

Within the same month, Audrey's letter arrived, telling him the same thing. They were not compatible. She loved him but she was given a chance from her parents to straighten out her ways and with him, she would find it impossible.

That night Raven was born.

"Water under the bridge, darling." She said with a smile.

She hadn't stopped wanting him. A part of her was still in love. Rose's fairy god mother had also an ulterior motive. Her friend could find happiness with her hot ex and she could perhaps get back to being more than friends with Christian...