"Aria Price!"
Adriana's yell was loud enough to echo through the entire second floor of Blue Rose villa.
James's eyes widened in shock and he walked into Aria's room.
"What did you do?" He asked, watching her take out all of her toys from the toy storage box.
She pushed all the toys under her bed and then use one of her pillows to cover her head, now that she was inside the box.
"Shh, don't tell her I'm here," Aria warned him and continued to hide.
James' facepalmed mentally.
He then ran inside his room.
Sitting in his playing area, he organized all of his legos and cleaned up any sort of noticeable mess in his room. He cleaned his bed, closet, floor, and even his desk.
He needed to make sure that if Aria got in trouble, he wouldn't either.
After all, when their mother is mad, she notices every single little thing. Nothing goes unnoticeable.
He then walked out of his room to clean up the mess he had made in the living room with his toys. When his mother found him, he was picking out the last toy.
"Where's Aria?" Adriana asked.
"I don't know mommy." He responded.
Adriana narrowed her eyes at the floor and then turned around.
"There's one more under the couch." She told him and ran up the stairs.
James gulped and quickly put away the toy under the couch.
They had finished eating dinner, and Adriana had gone back to her room only to find one of her nightgowns missing. There was no one else in this house who could have taken it other than Aria. She wasn't mad, she just wanted to know why she had not returned it yet, and why she was running around the house with it.
"I'm not playing games with you Aria! Come out!"
Finally reaching Aria's room, which she had already checked before but had not found her, she noticed the change in the toy box.
She walked towards it and lifted the pillow. Aria with her head buried in her legs had her eyes tightly shut.
"Seriously?" Adriana raised a brow.
"You don't see me," Aria whispered to herself, hoping it would come true.
"Come out."
Aria sighed, and with a pout, she came out of the toy box.
Looking at her daughter up and down as she fidgeted with the robe on her, Adriana sighed deeply.
"Why didn't you put it back?"
"It makes me look like a princess. I just wanted to wear it for a few more minutes." Aria placed her hands behind her neck, biting her lip. She had asked Adriana for it about an hour ago, but she had promised to put it back before bedtime.
Aria had panicked because she had immediately fallen in love with the robe.
"You're not wrong." Adriana raised an eyebrow, looking down at her.
"Right?!" Aria's eyes lit up but then she lowered her head when her mother returned serious again.
"Put it back or else you'll dirty it."
"Just 5 more minutes!" She begged.
"No, not five more minutes, you can't be dragging it around the house. I mean, these are for sleep Aria."
"But you wear yours around the house sometimes." Aria insisted.
"That's because mine actually fits me and doesn't fall below my knees," Adriana replied, looking at how obviously oversized it was for a 6-year-old.
With a sigh, Aria walked towards her mirror and twirled around with it one last time before removing it and returning it.
"I'm sorry mommy, I won't make promises I won't keep anymore." Aria then sighed exaggeratedly and walked back to her bed as she dropped her shoulders, looking extremely devastated.
Adriana didn't know if it was appropriate for her to laugh in this situation.
Why did kids always feel the need to look extremely disappointed just to convince their parents of letting them have something?
Sighing again, Aria pulled her blanket over her and turned around, curling into a ball.
Another sigh escaped her lips.
"Fine, but you can only wear it during your sleep."
"Really?" Jumping out of the blanket, Adriana stood on her bed, grinning from ear to ear.
"Yes," Adriana replied, placing it on top of her counter.
"Only while you're in your room, if I see you walking with it around the house, I will take it."
"Okay, thank you, mommy. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Jumping up and down in excitement, Aria thanked her repeatedly.
"Alright enough, now get those toys out from your bed," Adriana told her before leaving the room.
Walking down the stairs, Adriana heard the front door open.
Seeing who it was, she then continued.
"Whoa, you don't have to look like a freaking goddess every time you do something you know?" Cristy's voice entered her ears.
'Oh, it's the flattery voice.' Adriana noted.
This means one thing and one thing only; she needs something.
Walking towards Adriana Cristy extended her hand like a gentleman and when Adriana received it she kissed the back of it and walked her down.
"I firmly believe if elegance were a person it would be you."
"Alright, what do you want?" Adriana cringed.
"*Gasp* I'm offended, m'lady."
Receiving Adriana's hard stare, Cristy laughed nervously. "Okay, look, I really don't remember what I came here for but if you give me a few more minutes to think about it-"
"A few minutes later I will not have the same generosity." Adriana cut her off.
"Fine, fine, I just need 2 billion dollars."
"Pardon? Are you trying to end my title as a self-made billionaire?"
"Oh, c'mon 2 billion is like 2 potatoes to you."
"I will not hand over 2 billion so nonchalantly, what do you take me for?"
"You once told me if you could measure your time in money, it would be 2 billion dollars. So please I just need 3 hours from you." Cristy begged.
"I rather give you 2 billion dollars instead," Adriana replied, sitting down on the couch.
Cristy groaned in frustration.
"Please!"
"The last blind date I will ever ask you to replace me in, promise."
Once she heard 'blind date' Adriana immediately stood up and walked towards her study room.
Confused, Cristy followed her.
She then watched Adriana sign a check and hand it to her.
"Now leave."
Cristy blinked, staring at the 2 billion signed check.
"W-what? You'd rather give away 2 billion than help me? I'm really hurt. What kind of friend are you? Humph." Ripping the check into pieces and throwing it in the trash, Cristy sat on the couch, crossing her arms.
Adriana sighed and took her seat.
"I don't do blind dates. If there's any way to meet the worst partners in this world, it would be a blind date."
"Are you speaking from experience?"
"I've watched you cry over 500 guys you met through blind dates. I think that's the perfect example to back up my claim." Adriana insisted.
"You're exaggerating some of them were really nice."
"You mean the ones who sent you flowers and chocolates while secretly stalking you? Or the one who threatened to post your nudes?" Adriana raised an eyebrow.
"Hey! First, they were not nudes, just sexy pictures, and second I posted them before he could! That's a power move, give me credit."
"Right, like the one guy who catfished you and turned out to be a 70-year-old man."
"Or the one who proposed to you an hour after he met you? In fact, didn't he turn out to be another obsessive stalker?!"
"That's it! Stop it! I've heard enough." Cristy's face turned sour remembering all of that.
"Damn it! It's not like your love life's any better."
Folding her arms on the desk elegantly, Adriana's lips curled upwards. "Better than yours for sure."
Cristy's lips twitched and picked up a cookie from the snacks on the coffee table, she sighed.
She then smirked and leaned back on the couch.
"Your first boyfriend was a rich playboy from the suburbs who dumped you for Rachel, that red-headed bitch. The second, was a really sweet guy but then he started ghosting you and you even went weeks without seeing or speaking with him, it was so dry that you had to break it off."
"Your third boyfriend said he was of humble background and he created a whole freaking identity and by the way, he turned out to be the son of the mayor which BY THE WAY was already engaged."
"Your fourth boyfriend was your coworker who you broke up with because of how controlling he was! The following day he tried to assault you!"
"And guess what? All of their names started with a J!"
"And last but not least, Noah Preston, the closest man you've actually had a healthy relationship with, ended in a tragic divorce!"
Finally, letting all of that off her chest, Cristy glanced at Adriana.
"Still better than yours!" Adriana glared at her.
"Name one successful relationship you've had!" She added.
"Thomas." Cristy grinned in victory.
"Oh, please, it would only count as successful if you hadn't lost feelings for him 6 months into the relationship!" Adriana countered.
"Greatest sex I've ever had!" Cristy defended herself, standing up and shouting.
"And the best you'll ever get!" Adriana shouted, getting up as well.
"Well, at least I'll have sex unlike you who isn't attracted to anyone else aside from her ex-husband!"
"Hah! Let me remind you the only man you've ever truly loved married your cousin!"
Cristy gasped.
"At least, I can walk out of my house without wondering if my ex-husband's best friend will try to murder me!"
Adriana opened and closed her mouth. She then pursued her lips.
"Maybe, but at least I didn't get engaged to my cousin's ex to get revenge and then backed out last minute, in the middle of walking down the aisle!"
Cristy pursed her lips in response.
"You're so mean."
"You're one to speak."
Cristy pouted and placed down the coke. She then walked around Adriana's desk and hugged her tightly.
"I'm sorry for saying that."
"I'm sorry too," Adriana whispered back.
"kinds of..." She added jokingly.
Cristy pinched her shoulder in response.
"The blind date is who my father is forcing me to marry. I really don't want to meet him."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm traumatized, I'm done with blind dates."
"Why else?" Adriana asked.
"He's a model I did a photoshoot with once, he's a total asshole. I rather jump off a building than marry him."
"Okay, I'll go."
"Really?" Cristy's face lit up.
"Mhmm."
"I love you!" She then hugged Adriana tighter.
Hugging her back Adriana answered, "I know."
"Can't you at least say it back?" Cristy complained.
"ich liebe dich."
"What? Can't you speak a language I understand?!" Her complaints continued.
"Is that German?" She asked.
"Please say it again!"
Rolling her eyes, Adriana repeated her words.
"Aha!" Cristy smirked when her translator went off.
'I love you.' was the translation.
"I ich liebe dich you too." Cristy told her.
"Ooo, can you teach me?"
Pushing her off her Adriana sat back down.
"I don't know how." She responded.
"You just spoke it!"
"Just one phrase, I'm not fluent in it."
"Didn't you study lots of languages in high school?! How did you not learn German?"
"I was too lazy to continue, mandarin was hard enough."
"I see. I didn't know you could be lazy." Cristy mumbled, sitting back down on the couch.
"If I allowed myself to be lazy, I wouldn't be making over 100 million a day," Adriana replied.
Cristy gulped.
"Damn you! How does a designer get to be so rich, anyway?"
"I'm not just a designer Cristy. I'm a businesswoman. And I have a handful of companies-"
"Alright, stop bragging."
"I'm just encouraging you to work harder. You can't trust your future on that shitty family of yours."
"Yeah…" A regretful expression then made its way on Cristy's face as she looked at the trash can.
"I should have taken the 2 billion." She pouted.
"Your loss." Adriana rubbed salt on her wound.
"By the way, my favorite speech from you is the one you did in London fashion week. Play it at your upcoming fashion show. I think it will do great for your image."
"I did a lot of speeches in London, be more specific."
"Your words of 'success' and how someone at your age became so successful. Best speech ever, most iconic!" Christy explained.
"Oh, that one. You just saved me from creating a new one! Thank you."
"See, I'm pretty useful." Cristy chuckled.
"Suuure."
"Excuse me?!" Cristy placed her hand on her chest, offended.
"I'm joking. Send me the details about your blind date." Adriana told her and opened her laptop.
"You need a break. You got out of the hospital not too long ago."
"I took a break," Adriana replied.
"Yeah, right."
"We should go on a vacation of some sort. I've been working hard, every day I'm one step closer to being as rich as you."
"Each day? More like each decade."
Cristy choked on her saliva.
"You're really so mean. Can you take one second to not roast me?"
"That's what best friends are for!"
Pouting again Cristy fell silent.
"I don't want to model anymore." She suddenly uttered.
Adriana paused, her fingertips leaving her keyboard.
"So suddenly?"
"Yes, I don't think it makes me happy anymore."
"You've always said it's your greatest passion."
"I said that because my mom wanted me to be a doctor. I simply wanted to go against her. Sure it was fun for a while but not anymore."
"What do you want to do then?"
"I don't know. I'm still trying to figure it out."
"Tell me when you do." Adriana nodded.
"Yup." Picking up another cookie, Cristy accommodated herself on the couch and looked up at the ceiling.
"Do you ever regret it?" She asked.
When she didn't hear a response she specified, "Sacrificing your peace and happiness just for revenge?"
"I am happy."
"Suuuure. You know you could have raised your children away from here, not needing to work so hard. After all, everyone thought you were dead. And I could have supported you. Baby, I could have even married you."
"You would make a horrible wife, no thank you." Adriana rejected.
She then took a deep breath in. "The wound in my heart is too deep for that Cristy. I can't let go, and as unhealthy as that might sound, I don't think I will ever be at peace knowing the person who destroyed my life can breathe peacefully."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense, but that's not what I mean."
"Then what do you mean?"
"You used to be so freaking optimistic and you would say that being remorseful and keeping grudges for too long was unhealthy and letting it go was the way you could be truly happy."
"I'm allowed to change my mind, aren't I?"
"Hmm, but still. It's like you became a different person."
"Maybe because the person you knew was a facade," Adriana replied.
"Hmm?" Cristy lifted her head, looking at Adriana and meeting her eyes.
"I thought I could be happy and at peace if I returned evil with kindness. I thought smiling every morning was the way to go. Not once did I show how offended, hurt, or betrayed I felt to people. I was the perfect friend, the perfect lover, the perfect student. Perfection is what I strived to be. I never allowed myself to get emotional or to have a bad day."
"I was so used to receiving rejection and hatred that I became a people pleaser."
"And now if I want to be petty, if I want to laugh and if I want to scream, I can do it. I feel like I can do anything, I'm so light I could literally fly."
"You're my idol." Cristy blurted out, stunned.
"I felt that way once. Remember the time I dragged you to the roof of my apartment door and just screamed out all of my problems, and caused a crowd downstairs to start applauding and cheering me on?"
"And that's why you're my idol," Adriana replied.
"Huh? How? If failure were a person, it would be me."
"If strength, determination, and impulsiveness were people, they would be you."
"Gosh, damn it. You're actually complimenting me!" Cristy wiped away her nonexistent tears.
'Impulsive' was actually a compliment to someone like Cristy who had done nothing but make the perfect decision for her parents, and basically lived for them.
"Now you're just being dramatic."
"Nuuu! Please continue, I'm listening."
The moment continued with Adriana describing all of Cristy's excellent traits and how they make her an amazing person. Yes, Adriana sounded like a robot repeating everything, but Cristy was content and that's all that mattered to Adriana.
______
Did you know you can send FREE Valentine's day cards to kids in St. Jude Children's hospital?
It doesn't take much of your time to share a few words of kindness!
Visit Stjude.org