"So, the art exhibition outside is from your gallery, Mr. Bricker?" Asked Cora. She knew that with this question Simon would start talking and she could just listen for the next hour or so.

Simon smiled: "You are correct my dear, the paintings are made by Teun Postma, a Dutch artist. This is the first time he is showing his work, and I got the chance to represent him"

Simon went on and on, about the artist and the paintings, the meaning behind his artwork and how he discovered Teun. He was so full of himself, thought Cora, he made himself more important than that guy Teun, who painted them, and how she hated it when he called her dear, she wasn't his dear. Not yet. And if it was up to her, she wasn't going to be. Imagine, Cora Bricker, not when she had anything to say in it. She knew her mother dreamed of it. Mr Bricker was a well-known name, and her family would climb higher up the society ladder if she married him. It was always about her, marrying high up in society, her brother, was left alone by their mother. It was like Martha didn't care if he married or not. Well, no, that's wasn't entirely true, she knew Martha wished Harold would marry, but she left him to decide what he wanted, but not with her.

Every week her mother invited herself and Cora to a party or event. She must have spent a fortune for this one, it was in The May Fair hotel, and you could only attend if you donated. Cora didn't even remember what charity it was this time.

"Miss Levinson, come we will take a closer look at it outside, you just need to see it" Simon didn't even wait for her to answer and headed to the door. Cora walked close behind him, and the moment they reached for the door, it swung open and it almost hit her, a good looking man stepped back in. He was wearing a light grey suit, but what she saw first were his blue eyes. Their eyes locked for a second, but Simon was yelling at the man for slamming the door in her face. She didn't mind, it could happen, she was ashamed for Simon's behaviour, she made her excuses and walked further outside, taking Simon with her, so he would leave that man alone.

"Mr. Bricker, what painting do you like the most?" Cora asked, she would rather just step back in, it was quite chilly outside and her dress wasn't warm enough, but she wanted to be polite. To her surprise, Simon didn't answer but asked: "Well, I'd rather know which one you like the most"

Cora started to make her round, and picked two paintings, she really loved. They were all very colourful abstract artworks. While she was looking at the paintings, she could feel his eyes on her back, she straightened her back, and tried to ignore this feeling. After her round she asked if they could talk more back inside, she was getting really cold.

"I apologise my dear, it is indeed cold outside, we will go back inside", said Simon with his creepy smile. Cora didn't like it when he smiled at her like that. Like he wasn't just looking at her, but undressing her. She didn't feel at ease, and she definitely didn't feel loved.

Back inside, Simon left her for a minute to get new drinks, Cora looked around to find that man in the grey suit. She found him on the other side of the room, talking to a woman. She wondered how it was possible that, in that split second their eyes locked, she felt a connection with him.

"Cora, darling, what do you think of Mr. Bricker, he is interesting isn't he?" Martha was standing next to her.

"He has enough to talk about" answered Cora, "but he didn't ask any question about me. Oh mama, I want something more than this. I want to feel loved."

"Cora, be reasonable, you are turning 25 and can't be picky anymore, Mr. Bricker is a nice gentleman and he has enough money to give you a comfortable life. We are not going to discuss this here anymore, put a smile on your face and make him happy"

Cora felt so alone in this moment, how could her mother want this for her, she had married for money, she knew that, and she doubted if her mother and father had really loved each other. It wasn't a happy marriage, and she didn't want that for herself. She needed someone who would love her and would listen to her. Not someone who was just using her as a trophy wife, so she could carry his children and be pretty.

She felt sick to her stomach, and excused herself, got her jacket and walked out of the hotel. She heard Simon call her name, but she walked on. Stopped a taxi and went home. She knew that tomorrow she would have to explain to her mother why she walked away, Martha would be furious, she was a shame for the family in this way. She needed to do what was best for the family. She sat silently in the back of the taxi and tried not to cry.

Before she knew it, she was dropped off at her home. She rented a cosy apartment in West London, her mother also disapproved that choice, but she wanted a place for her own.

She threw her jacket on the couch, kicked off her shoes and crawled in her bed. She didn't have the energy to take off her dress and clean her face, she was dead tired and wanted to sleep, maybe tomorrow she could face another day knowing she needed to marry Simon.