Young Adult

Chapter thirty seven - New York Socailites

"Are you ready?" Ezra called out to me from the bedroom, I was just putting on my Prada pumps in the walk-in wardrobe. I came out smiling, "yep let's go now."

Ezra smiled back escorting me into our car, he was wearing the matching cufflinks I had bought him yesterday, the matched my red dress well, I'm proud of my styling sometimes.

But then again we're already wearing a matching set, I looked down to our matching wedding bands. Sometimes I'm jealous of past me being able to remember marrying this great man.

We stepped into the house as the valet parked our car, "if it's too overwhelming we can leave any time." Ezra reassured me before we entered the ballroom. Surprisingly I felt more at home with this atmosphere than I first did at home.

Ezra unwillingly was separated from me as soon as we entered the gathering, I didn't want to intrude in his informal meeting so I locked my pathway to the wine stand.

"You're Ezra's wife." I turned around after downing my first glass to see who was calling out to me. "Do we know each other?" I smiled politely.

"Oh no not really, we met briefly at your wedding, I'm Elena Vanderburg." I almost chocked on my second - almost empty - glass of wine. Really past me? You invited your husbands ex-fiancée to your wedding?!

I held out my hand for her to shake, "I'm Addison Reed." I smiled politely once more, I want to start a cat fight with her for slapping Ezra, but obviously I can't fit the sake of his stock.

"Is your father the one who orchestrated tonight?" I asked trying to make conversation without bringing up the subject of Ezra , she nodded, "yes, well I would say more my cousin helped the most with the creation of tonight, she's from the states unlike my father and I but she's been living with us in our house in France for so long that I consider her to be more like a sister. I should introduce you two you're around the same age."

I exhaled after she left to find her cousin, I had been keeping in my breath for the whole encounter as I had drunk a lot of wine. Despite being aware of the problem I grabbed my fourth glass, as counter by a waiter that was signing the amount of glasses I had whenever we made eye contact.

I looked over to Ezra, he seemed to be enjoying himself so I didn't want to tell him that I was bored already, I guess that I was romanticising how good these events were. Maybe it was because Charlotte made them fun, tonight's interior does look like the events at New York we attended together, or do all of these parties look the same?

I smiled back at our memories as a grabbed my next glass, "Addison?" I drunkenly smiled at the name calling out to me before I turned around to face the person.

My eyes widened and I instantly sobered up. "C-Charlotte?" I stammered, no right? Wait! The Vanderburgs were Charlottes cousins, that's why the name was so familiar. I looked at charlotte, wren said that she had been to rehab after my accident, I guess that she's been living with her cousin ever since then.

She was faintly similar as how she used to look, but she looked at me in a way that she never had done before, was she apologetic?

Before I could react my legs were already moving me out of the room and towards the garden, maybe I instinctively knew that anything to do with Charlotte was bad news.

"Addy!" She called out to me after chasing me into the courtyard, I clenched my fists to contain my anger, it was suddenly all hitting me.

"What Charlotte!" I yelled as I turned around to face her, she looked at me deflated, "you know I rehearsed this moment countless times in my head, but I never guessed that you would yell at me. I guessed we've both changed a lot these past years." She mumbled.

Six years. Six years. Six years. I was tired of hearing that, why must people change over time? Why must I feel small every time someone says that to me!

I sighed to calm myself down, "look, I wasn't expecting to meet you again, ever if possible. But it all just came up so suddenly." Charlotte grinned deflated again, "I'm glad that you're angry actually, that means that you still haven't gotten over our friendship."

I glared at her, this was classic of her actually, playing the superiority card all the time. "Why are you glad that I'm reminded of my then boyfriend cheating on me with you, didn't rehab teach you anything?" I spoke whatever came to mind without thinking before.

Charlotte chuckled for a second, "so you've been keeping tabs on me, I'm glad." I gave up on my anger, it wouldn't get me anywhere with her, I decided just to sit down at her tea table to take the weight off of my feet. "Have you been keeping up with me too?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

She laughed, shaking her head "not really, I've heard rumours that my mom tells me, but other than that not really." I sighed on relief, "go on then," I spoke, she looked at me confused "you said that you have a speech prepared for me, I'll hear what you have to say but I won't accept your apology."

Charlotte smiled once again, I couldn't tell in this light if her expression was fake or not, was I still just a game to her. "You know how hard it is to succeed a company in the future, the stress we kept to ourselves as a teenager was only relieved with spending our fortunes. But you soon grew tired of that, it was like you were leaving me all alone in this world. I thought that you used to look down at me like a child."

I was growing tired of hearing that same excuse, she would often ask me to not leave her when she was drunk or high, but using the same excuse as an adult seems arrogant.

"That night ... it only just hit me that we would be going to different schools, we have the same amount of wealth but you always felt more superior to me. I tried to find you at the party but I found James instead, we were both the same to you - just some people that could entertain you for a while. I ended up kissing him, the thing in most sorry about to you is that when you entered the room, I didn't regret the kiss instantly."

I clenched my fists once again, so I was just a game to her. "But then I heard about your accident ... I saw you in the ICU, they said that you may never woke up. So I did the thing I did best, I ran away and partied away my feelings. But I got caught by my brother and my parents threw me into rehab, I could finally deal with everything, I've wanted to escape that New York socialite now for years. I just want to be Charlotte now, not the daughter of a conglomerate."

I didn't want her to press for an apology, James already apologised enough and I thought I had gotten over all that after seeing him. But with Charlotte it's different, besides my family she was the only person I could trust even if it was a business transaction.

So should I be happy or sad that she's no longer the one left in my shadow ... I'm the one now who can't move forward.