HANNA

Caleb Rivers and Hanna Marin had the perfect, rich, and spoiled life. The All-American family. They lived in New York City, in a gorgeous, three-floored apartment, with marble floors, granite counter tops, and an indoor pool. Caleb had used his technology skills wisely, and was now one of 3 CEO's at Apple. As soon as Hanna graduated from high school, she applied to Parson's School of Design. She had watched her idols on Project Runway work there with Tim Gunn during her teenage years and was inspired. She was accepted, and slowly, over the years, climbed her way up to the top of the fashion industry ladder. She now stood on the top of that ladder, literally, in one of her five New York Stores, HaMatchi, trying to reach for a pair of Louboutins she had stored above the skirt rack, so no one would know about them. They were special for her daughter Macy's 18th birthday.

"Kia," she said to her assistant, "I need you to catch these shoes when I throw them down! But be careful! They're worth more than you make in a year!"

Hanna had gotten Macy eight inch swarovski studded Chrisitian Louboutin heels, the ones she had been begging Hanna to buy her she turned 13.

"MOM, I can walk in six inch heels in my sleep! I need a CHALLENGE!" Hanna thinks back to the conversation she had with her daughter only last week. Of course, she had already bought them by then, and even though they had cost a fortune, ($75,000 to be exact), they were what Macy, her baby girl, had wanted, and for a good reason.

These were ballet shoes. Of course, for Macy's ballet competition, she needed to stand out. She had won for the last ten years. Everyone was trying to beat her. If she could perform as well as she usually did in these, there would be no competition.

Her only concern was that she hadn't told Caleb yet. Her birthday was in two months, and he would probably get her a cake, and some nice bracelet from Tiffany's. But Hanna new Macy didn't want that. Macy had more shoes, clothes, and accessories then any girl could dream of. Some might call her spoiled, but for her 18th birthday, this is what she wanted. She hadn't even asked for a party. Plus, she had already gotten a Bentley Continental GTC for her 16th and 17th birthday (it was for both birthdays, because it had cost over half a million dollars. Needless to say, it was a gift from Hanna, Caleb, her older brother Kingston, the Fitz's, the Fieldrall's, the Cavanaugh's, her grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, and every living relative- it was that expensive.)

She climbed down the ladder, thanked Kia for holding the shoes, and decided to go home for the day. After all, she was the boss. The boss of all 64 HaMatchi stores across the world. She hopped into her Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe (a gift from Parson's, after becoming the most successful student to ever graduate from there), and drove home. She walked into her home, put down her keys, and walked into the kitchen, where she was greeted by her twenty year old son, Kingston, who was sitting at the table eating oreos and milk with his girlfriend Alexa.

"Hey Kingston, Lex." She acknowledged the two. They had met last year, in their freshman year at Colombia University. She really loved Alexa. She was so kind, had a great sense of style, and most of all, made Kingston happy. Also, she knew for sure Alexa wasn't using them for their money, which nowadays many people tried to.

"Hi Hanna. How was your day at work?" Alexa asked. Most people wouldn't care how Hanna's day had gone, but Alexa did. She always cared about others before herself.

"Great sweetie, thanks. I came home early to grab a bite to eat, take a bath, and then I have meeting with Brian Atwood." Brian was so insistent on co-creating a line with Hanna for HaMatchi. He was a great, successful designer, with gorgeous shoes, and Hanna's business was thriving, so it was a great opportunity. "Of course I would love to get some shopping in if I can." Kingston and Alexa laughed. Hanna, even at 40 years old, still loved to shop as much as any teenage girl.

"Alright Mom," Kingston started, "We're just gonna chill here for a while, maybe hit the gym or watch a movie or something. Oh, and by the way, Aria called about your get-together this month. She wants to know if the 25th is okay, and she wants you to call back so you guys can catch up a little."

"Thanks. I'm gonna call her tonight. Bye guys, see you at dinner!" Hanna responded and made her way up to her bedroom so she could get her bath started. While walking up the stairs she couldn't help but think about her best friends from high school: Aria, Emily, and Spencer. They were slowly drifting apart, and she didn't like it. Aria and Spencer still lived in Rosewood with their families, and had grown much closer over the years. Emily and her family lived in Philadelphia, where year round, she trained for the Olympics. Once a month, all four girls would meet in Rosewood (the common ground between NYC and Philly), and would catch up on their lives. When they met that one time each month, it was just like their high school days, like nothing had changed.

However, when it wasn't that time each month, Hanna felt like she was losing her best friends. Her true friends. She was great friends with a girl named Nelly, and was friends with many people within the industry and city, but none of those people compared to her friendship with Aria, Emily, and Spencer.

Occasionally, when Aria was in the city for a book signing, or Spencer for a big lawsuit, they would come visit Hanna at her apartment. Hanna knew they were intimidated by her lifestyle. After all, she thought to herself, who wouldn't be intimidated by a woman whose garage is filled with an Aston Martin, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and a Bentley, and is one of the biggest names in the fashion industry?

Emily understood a little more than the others. Being an Olympic athlete, with 5 bronze medals, 6 silver, and 2 gold, she understood the fame and the money. Hanna and Emily talked three to four times a month on the phone, which was more then she talked with Spencer and Aria.

She started running the hot water in her bath, and thought of presents she might want to bring for the girls. Not overly flashy, but just enough to let them know that they're my best friends.

She stepped into her bath, and sunk back into the steamy waters, filled with lavender bath salts, which soothed her underratedley stressful life. She was just about to fall asleep when she heard her partner scream furiously "HANNA!"

"Babe, what is it? I was about to fall asleep!" Hanna whined.

Caleb walked into the master bathroom, livid at his naked wife. "WHAT IS IT? It's the freakin CREDIT CARD BILL I just opened? $75,000? FOR A PAIR OF SHOES? WHAT THE HELL? You better EXPLAIN yourself!"

"Caleb, calm down, it's for Macy's birthday." Hanna said, trying to soothe Caleb's anger.

"HANNA, we agreed that we would decide on a present for Macy TOGETHER, not just have you impulsively go out and by her a pair of shoes!"

"Caleb, first of all, you know that if Macy had asked for a party we would have spent well over that amount for a party and-" Hanna was interrupted by Caleb midsentence, who looked a little calmer then when he stomped up the stairs.

"But don't tell me you weren't planning on doing other things for her birthday besides these shoes. If you told me that it would be a filthy lie."

"Honey, this is what she wanted, and it's not like we're in a bad financial situation. Actually, we're in a better situation then some people wish they could be in." She tried to calmly reason with him. Caleb had always been frugal. Maybe it was wrong for her to have bought the shoes without discussing it with him, but he was definitely overreacting.

"AND THAT MEANS WE SHOULD THROW ALL OF OUR MONEY OUT THE WINDOW ON A PAIR OF SHOES? SHOULDN'T WE BE SPENDING WISELY AND GIVING CHARITY AND SAVING OUR MONEY?" Caleb ranted. Hanna knew he was really only upset because she didn't ask him like they'd agreed.

"Look- I'm sorry for not-" Hanna started, but Caleb cut her off, madder then he was before.

"YOU KNOW WHAT, HANNA? SCREW YOU. YOU NEVER CARED FOR ANYONE BUT YOURSELF." And with that, Caleb stormed out of the bathroom and down the stairs. Tears began streaming Hanna's face as the realization of what he had just said hit her. She was stung with pain of the words he had just said. She began to sob. Faintly in the background, over her loud tears, she heard the Ferrari come out of their garage and zoom into the streets.

Wow, Hanna thought to herself, through the pain, He hasn't been this mad since I told him I would never marry him.