oOo
Bella sighed wistfully as the curtains closed, ending the first act of The Nutcracker.
She was having a marvellous evening.
She'd gasped when Edward had showed up at her front door in a black suit with a slim tie. She'd never seen a man this soulful and sexy.
Now, he had his arm wrapped around her waist as he led her to the little table that held their pre-ordered glasses of champagne. Bella felt very spoiled and pampered by Edward. On the one hand, it was gorgeous and luxurious, on the other, she kept feeling a little ill at ease.
The simple fact was that he had a lot more money than she did. Or her parents. Or anyone she knew.
"To this wonderful evening." Edward raised his glass.
This was another thing she'd gotten used to. Edward liked to have a drink or four. Never so much as to be drunk.
She could live with that.
"What these people do with their bodies," Edward remarked, entwining her fingers with his, "is amazing." He shook his head.
"I know," Bella replied. "They make it look so easy, while it's the hardest work."
"You're okay that we came, aren't you?" A worried frown had crept up between his eyebrows.
"Of course, silly." She gave his fingers a squeeze.
Edward opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted by a female voice.
"Edward! Darling!"
They looked up. A beautiful, skinny black woman smiled at them.
"Oh, hi. Hello, Zafrina."
"Edward! How good to see you."
Edward got up from his chair, leaving Bella's fingers cold and lonely.
"Yeah, um. Bella, this is Zafrina Huilen. Zafrina, this is Isabella Swan."
Bella and Zafrina shook hands. Bella couldn't help but stare at her. Her beauty was otherworldly.
"Hi," she said softly.
"Hi!" The woman barely acknowledged Bella before she turned back to Edward, who was standing awkwardly between the two women.
She felt small and boring between those two exquisitely beautiful beings.
Old fears were bubbling up fast.
Edward chatted with Zafrina, but Bella could tell that he was feeling ill at ease. Everything in his body language told her that he was far from being relaxed. She wanted to take his hand again, but somehow, she knew that he wouldn't appreciate that.
"… incredible," Zafrina was saying. "And the gallery is such a lovely place, too. Joham told me that there might be a retrospective of Irina's work? Is that right?"
Edward's face became even paler, and Bella could see his jaw get tense.
She had no real idea what Zafrina was talking about, but she wanted to shout, "Wrong subject! Wrong subject!"
"Well, I haven't been approached, but maybe her family in the U.S. agreed to something. I don't know."
He grabbed his glass of champagne and practically downed it.
He was clearly suffering, and it broke Bella's heart that there was nothing she could do – that he didn't seem to want her to do anything. It was as if she wasn't even present.
And that hurt.
"Excuse me," she mumbled, turning away and making her way to the toilets. Tears were burning her eyes, threatening to spill over. She locked the door of the stall and leant against the wall, trying to muffle her cries with her fist.
She didn't want to cry about him. She wanted to shout at him. She was so angry.
He had behaved as if she wasn't even there!
He hadn't told this despicable Zafrina woman, "This is Bella Swan, my beautiful girlfriend."
No.
"Isabella Swan" had been his way of introduction.
Bella kicked the door of the stall.
A bell resounded, informing the audience that the performance was about to continue. She realized that she couldn't go out and rejoin Edward.
She probably looked like a panda bear. There was no way she'd let him see her like this.
She dried her eyes with a piece of toilet paper. She blew her nose.
And then, she sneaked out of the ladies' room. People were making their way back to the theatre, and Bella used the opportunity to hurry to the cloakroom to retrieve her coat.
Once she was outside, she couldn't stop her tears.
oOo