Life Without You

Chapter 17 - Adjusting to Fame

Settling back home and having Rita stay with her like they used to was just what Ariel needed - a normal life back. Well, not really.

Being a celebrity meant that a few photographers could be seen outside her house from time to time. She had two bodyguards assigned to her by Fujita to escort her every day but unlike Leon, she did not need them constantly around her. That was because the paparazzi were not as comparably massive or intrusive as the ones Leon could garner, but as her popularity grew, so did the curiosity from the outside world. The media and fans at home were a lot more aggressive than the ones in Japan. Fujita was taking full advantage of the publicity by making sure she wore their own make-up line and drove in one of their cars to work each morning.

The once blissfully ignorant girl who never cared so much about her appearance now spent a lot of time in the mirror to make sure her make-up was neatly done and the right clothes were matched, and every step she took was carefully orchestrated to make her look presentable on the media.

Fujita hired a former paparazzi to train her on how she should carry herself at all times - the manner of how she got in or out of the car, the way she carried her bag, how she angled her face, paying attention at all times that she did not allow a finger to scratch a nose or butt that will make her look unflattering. On and on, the list was endless.

Fujita's contract required that she carried herself professionally at all times to uphold their reputation, even when there were no paparazzi around. Experience with Leon Waltz taught her that those with smartphones could secretly capture and report anything they wanted. It felt like a suffocating, never-ending circle of eggshells, making her anxious over little things that ordinary folk take for granted. Only when she was at home in private could she then relax and be herself.

Hiroshi was busy overseeing projects from Fujita's other businesses, so she found herself heading the operations of Hinata restaurant and the promotion of Fujita sauces.

Ariel worked with the Fujita team in planning out the interior design of the new restaurant and reinventing the menu offered at Hinata in Japan to appeal to Western taste. Some of the dishes she used to cook for Leon would be sold as part of their key selling points. From hiring to training the new staff, negotiating for the best possible prices with reputable wholesalers to co-planning the branding and marketing strategies while keeping within the given budget for the financial year, Ariel's responsibilities were heavy and work hours were long. Once the Hinata restaurant was settled, she would be tasked to lead the team and ensure every dish that came out was top notch and premium, like the way her former boss, Madam Yong from Oriental Treasure taught her.

Seldom would Ariel cook at home as it felt like work again and she was too tired to anyway, making her kitchen look almost spotless from the lack of cooking. Often, she opted for food delivery from any of the city's top restaurants for her and Andy.

It was a defining period in her career where she learned the business side of things. The reality of running a restaurant was not as straightforward as she naively once thought. In addition, chefs from around the world were following her closely on social media and she had been invited to participate in partnerships, workshops and talks with some of the world's most prominent chefs on behalf of Fujita. She was required to do occasionally travelling around the country in order to service the demand.

Ariel's Instagram account had now ballooned to more than 3 million followers since it started when she was Leon's chef. In the past, she was rarely into social media, with Camila managing her Facebook and Instagram accounts to update her fans. Now that she was a bigger celebrity, she was required to pay close attention to what was happening on social media - about her and about competitors and the latest food trends.

A marketing executive was now tasked to update her social media accounts and answer fans on her behalf, and she was granted half the autonomy as Fujita wanted to control how she was portrayed to the world.

Gossip magazines continued to pester her to leak out any dirt about Leon and her life with him, with insane amounts of money offered on the table. If she had given in, she could easily buy a decent house in the best central district in the city, but she rejected all their requests, not only because it was a breach of contract which she signed with Leon, it was not in her character to entertain such evil.

Ariel finally understood what Leon must have felt when he was betrayed by friends who sold him out, resulting in his loneliness and him being aloof, even ruthless, with those around him. She wondered if her friends would do the same, but laid her concerns to rest when she remembered how they refused to breathe a word to the paparazzi when they pestered them too. Like Leon, she felt herself getting more cautious with those around her, now that there were people sucking up to her.

On certain occasions, Ariel had to accompany Hiroshi and Mr Fujita to high-class networking functions to meet the powerful and the rich. Slowly, she began to understand their conversations, a far cry from the first time at the gala dinner where the world of the rich and their talk was alien to her. Still, it felt superficial to a certain extent, where everyone was trying to please everyone with their over-statements.

Despite her tiring schedule, Ariel managed to find time with Andy. She refused to hire a personal assistant against the advice of Hiroshi, preferring instead to manage their own private lives.

Rita used her floristry skills to beautify the house, filling it with natural scents of fresh and dried flowers. Staying with a celebrity friend meant that she was also photographed once in a while, and she felt just as irritated by the paparazzi's presence. The only upside was that the floral shop was getting a boon in business because of her association with Ariel, and once in a while customers would inquire about Ariel or Leon but she chose to guard her privacy just as much, still never really getting used to the attention since the first time a photographer spotted them at Andy's birthday the year before.

His birthday was once again drawing near. This time, he got to choose how he wanted his birthday to be celebrated, whatever gift(s) he wanted to his heart content and whom he wanted to invite.

But there was one person Andy so badly wanted at his birthday whom he knew he could not have, and his mother would not approve anyway even if he demanded it.

But he hoped that somehow this special person would not forget him.