Author's note: A very warm welcome to all of my readers to my new story entitled "Inastiable" after Darren Hayes' song. This is my first attempt at writing an M-rated story so bear with me, guys! I will try to make it as good as I possibly can. Hope you enjoy chapter 1 entitled after Natalie Imbruglia's song "Torn".
Chapter 1 - Torn
"As the CEO of JP Morgan and Chase, I am glad to have all of you here tonight, dear guests. Your hard work and loyalty to the company is what makes it stay one of the strongest banks in the world."
Believe it or not, there I was... On the Majesty Cornucopia yacht at the annual fabulous gala hosted by the bank JP Morgan and Chase. This year, a thousand of the most important employees in the New York branch were invited to attend this event. I remember for how long all the wives, fiances and girlfriends had waited for this event – just another night to celebrate luxury and snobbery. As if such a world was even that special to begin with…
I would hate to be misunderstood by you gentle and kind people. To clear things out, I do not have any prejudice whatsoever against the rich and the vain people that are on this boat tonight. I actually deal with such people every day of my life. Which is why I have developed such a powerful opinion of my own. Far be it for me to consider myself as being better than them. God is witness that I have my own sins to worry about. But I was at least happy and proud that I had something that these people would never possess – common sense.
I apologize, you must think I am extremely rude. For those of you who don't know me yet, my name is Elena Gilbert. And I know what you must be thinking… and I am anything but a banker. No, far from that... In earnest, I would simply kill myself if I had to sit in front of a computer and worry about accounts, interest rates and other similar things. Not that I have anything against bankers – I think they are wonderful intelligent creatures – maybe a bit boring for my own taste though. Especially since I have to listen to stories about banks day after day… And the reason for all of my banking-related torture can be summed up into one big name: Giuseppe Salvatore.
"And it isn't simply another yearly gala at our company. This year I am proud to announce that my son – Stefan here –" and with that Giuseppe Salvatore put one hand around my boyfriend's shoulders "is about to join the Executive board of the New York branch and help us maintain our path in order to achieve our ultimate goal: to beat our eternal opponent – the Bank of America Corporation yet again!"
With that a thunder of applause swept across the room, making my skin turn to goose bumps. Their corporate way of life made me nauseous.
I couldn't help but cringe at hearing Giuseppe's words. I knew Stefan hadn't wanted to do this to begin with. It is such a long story that I don't even know where to begin...
I met Stefan on the first day of senior year in high-school. What I am about to tell you might sound incredibly corny, but it was love at first sight...for real. And after our third date I knew for sure that I deeply loved him. Because Stefan was everything I had ever dreamed of – he was sweet, caring, considerate and such a kind person. He truly loved me despite all of our differences.
To make things clear, Stefan came from an extremely rich family, as you have probably figured out already. But it wasn't that his father was rich that was the problem. It was that his father was manipulative and controlling beyond normal limits of parental manipulation. Stefan had always wanted to become a doctor – it was a cause he believed in; a cause he would have excelled in. But his father needed him to run his company later when he would retire. And since Stefan was the only family that Giuseppe actually had, of course, he had to give up his dream so that his father would be happy.
So he graduated two consecutive degrees: Investment Banking, and Business Magna Cum Laude. Whilst I graduated Visual arts, more exactly Photography and Painting… Which is equivalent to zero in the investment banking field. Despite such divergent routes, Stefan and I never gave up on each other. But as he slipped further into the life that his father was preparing for him, he pulled me after him and so from a middle-class girl, I ended up being sucked into the high society. Emphasis on the expression "sucked into". I took one look at the hall filled with fancy-dressed people surrounding me. 70-year olds accompanied by 20-year old bimbos…and smug assholes who thought they were better than ordinary people just because they had money. And I felt only one emotion – utter disgust.
You might wonder why I even attended the event tonight if I was so against this way of life. I didn't like it but if I wanted to be with Stefan I had to put up with all this. And I loved him enough to survive living in such a world.
But, as much as I hate to admit it, somewhere along the way Stefan changed. And I am not talking about an imaginary change that had just happened in my head – I am talking about life-altering change of character. . The pressure that his father had put on him finally got to Stefan about one year ago and he slowly started losing it. The more he worked for his dad, the more he wanted to be better and bring in more investors, and more money to the bank. The fact that he had turned into a workaholic was the least of our problems. As the years passed by, Stefan slowly became more impatient, stubborn and angry. Which eventually started taking its toll on our relationship. Of course I never stopped loving him. As you can probably tell by my presence at tonight's gala…
"But this is not the only reason why tonight is so special. Because Stefan has informed me of a particularly pleasant event. Something that has brought me greater joy than anything else lately." I suddenly started to listen much more carefully.
"Many years ago, he encountered a girl who stole his heart, you see... And ever since they have been inseparable."
I cringed at hearing Giuseppe's words. A bad feeling crept into my heart and wouldn't go away. I was afraid of what he might say next. With Giuseppe it was always secrets and hidden games. I had learned that a long time ago.
"I am immensely happy that my son has found such a special person with whom he wants to spend the rest of his life with." I felt my cheeks catching fire. All of a sudden I could see people catching their breaths and turning around to look at me and I suddenly felt conscious as I was standing right next to the handrails. So I hadn't imagined it. He had actually uttered those words...
"Needless to say, I would like to wish her an official welcome in our company and our family. She is truly a girl of gold…" Giuseppe added in such a sweet but fake tone that I felt like puking. I desperately looked at Stefan hoping that he would stop this nonsense. That he would just snatch the microphone out of his father's grasp and take back all of those silly words. But there he stood next to his father – obedient as a puppy – as he always was next to him.
"So, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to the future Mrs. Elena Salvatore!"
A roar of applause erupted in the hall and reverberated through every atom in the room, including my skin. As Giuseppe beckoned me to come down the stairs I felt my feet sinking in the floor, glued to it and screaming for help. I gripped the handrail so that I wouldn't fall.
They say that the night of your engagement should be special – one of the most memorable nights in your life. Well, I couldn't complain about that. Memorable it was. Memorable it would forever be for every single person in New York city. Everybody apart from me… Because I had just witnessed myself getting engaged in front of the JP Morgan employees and the New York paparazzi who were now taking hundreds of photos of me.
I remembered I had to smile so I put on my best grin and slowly made my way towards the railing. As I went down the stairs reality hit me straight in the face. And I couldn't help but wonder just how trapped I was... How I would never escape to see the light of day ever again.
Just keep smiling…
I started heavily panting, trying to conceal it from everybody, especially Stefan. I didn't want to anger him – not tonight. Not when it was his time to shine so bright. I could never forgive myself if I did that.
Just smile and everything will be ok…
I took a good hold of my blue lace dress – I needed to take control of something, and this was the only thing I could control right now: not falling. Not tonight.
As I arrived in the spotlight, the applause intensified even more and I was momentarily blinded by the lights that were shining on all three of us. After all these years I still hadn't become accustomed to this glamorous life.
Stefan happily greeted me by graciously getting down on one knee. To that gesture, half the people in the room held their breaths, and the other drunken half started cheering.
God, this is not happening… I felt utterly humiliated.
"Elena" He said getting a little velvet box out of his pocket. To that, the entire hall went quiet in order to hear.
How can you do this to me Stefan?
"My only desire is to spend every single day of our lives together. Because I love you more than I can put it into words."
I felt like I could hit him in the face right then and there. But I just kept my happy and emotional façade. On the inside I was boiling.
"Will you marry me?" He asked me and at the same time opened the box to reveal the shiniest engagement ring that I had ever seen in my life. I felt my breath get caught in my throat as I recognized the ring from a recent jewelry magazine.
No! It couldn't be… It was the 9 carat diamond engagement ring designed by DeBeers. The ring that was worth 2 million dollars. I thought I was imagining it but as I looked into Stefan's eyes I knew it was for real. The Salvatores never went cheap for anything. It was one of their mottos in life. I could say the same thing about the dress I was wearing tonight… A dress just like princess Katherine had recently worn.
As Stefan's expression twitched for just a millisecond I realized it was my cue to finally answer. Everybody was waiting - of course they were...
And in front of the entire world I heard myself saying "Yes." A shaky, unsure yes that nobody apart from Stefan and the people closest to us probably heard. And then the entire hall applauded our engagement – whilst Stefan put the jewel on my finger and victoriously kissed me. God, it just felt like such a big fat spectacle. I felt like I was on display. So that the entire world could see that I was his property. Which I guess I now was.
After my eyes finally adjusted to the bright lights, I could see so many familiar faces surrounding the stage. Caroline and Bonnie were standing next to each other smiling towards me with admiration and a bit of friendly envy. My mum together with aunt Jenna were on the opposite side of the room crying with happiness. I knew for sure how much my mum had wished for this day to come... And Stefan was of course proud of his most precious asset...
And me? As I kept smiling for the photographers and the 1500 people present tonight I couldn't help but feel that I should have been happy…
I had everything that I could have ever wanted. A loving fiancé, a glamorous job and caring friends and family…
I had no reason to be unhappy.
As always, please leave reviews and comments so that I know where I am with the quality of the story. Until next time! :)
