Alright, so I guess I am being influenced by my family. How is it possible that they've had me believing I was ugly for so many years with no remorse? They weren't evil. Just mean. So mean to the point they'd love to keep my self-esteem so low that I don't pursue the men I want. The last straw being the people who agreed and stomped on my confidence until it was barely there anymore.
"Jane," Pére scolded. "How many times have I told you that all of my daughters are not ugly? My sons...maybe, but not you guys."
"Well, it's true," Jane muttered.
"It doesn't matter what you think is true or not. If my personal designers think of her as model material, then she's model material. You have no say in her work life."
"But--"
"Jane," Maman warned. "I swear if I hear another word out of you, I'll coupe tes oreilles."
I held in a laugh as Jane covered her ears in fear. Maman was good with threats and insults. Especially when she was fed up with Marie and Jane's bickering.
"Who's taking Eloise, Célia, and Sophie back to school?" I asked suddenly.
"You are," Marie snapped. "Jane and I have things to do after lunch."
"Can't you take them on your way to wherever you guys are going?"
"Do we look like we care to take them back to the enfer we graduated from?"
I sighed heavily and silently agreed to take them back to school. Driving wasn't my strong suit, but I was happy I didn't have to go back to work with Pére. Plus, I could pick them up from school and take them to see my new mansion. The weekend was near, so of course I'd allow them to spend the night there if they wanted to.
Lunch wasn't as fun and lighthearted as I always longed for it to be. Marie and Jane just had to have their negative comments about what we were having. I found the soup quite delicious and soothing. Maman knew the way to my heart. She might have been rude this morning, but she knew how to make it up to me. If she was willing, I'd spend the rest of the day with her.
"Maman, what are you doing after lunch?" I asked.
"Nothing, amour. Don't you have that job interview?" she reminded me.
"What if I don't want to go anymore?"
"That's you. I'm not in control of your life anymore, Cesca."
Oh, right. Of course. I didn't want to be a teacher anyway. Not enough money and I hated children. I sure didn't want to be an interior designer. People loved to switch up on me and I didn't have the patience for that. My only option left me with modeling, but no that was not what I wanted to go for. Pére's designers would feel the need to be nice to me, because I was their boss's daughter. They'd keep lying and telling me I was beautiful. Never going to believe that.
As the day wore on, I found myself picking up my sisters from school. They were happy that they'd be the first ones to see my house, so I was looking forward to this. We arrived and the gates opened for me almost immediately. It scared me half to death.
"Whoa," Sophie exclaimed. "Are you working or something?"
"No, not yet. Pére bought it for me," I confessed.
"Of course, you tried to talk him out of it." Eloise shook her head. "At least you have your own place now. Can we have a housewarming party?"
"I don't know about that. I don't really like to be social."
"What about when we have sleepovers? You could stay out the way if you don't want to be around teenage girls all night," Célia suggested.
"Maybe. Next week. I think I have a lot of free time. Do you guys want me to cook for you? You could plan your sleepover this week."
"Sure, sis."
We got out of the car and I unlocked the front door. I didn't like how the house was already furnished. It made me look bad in front of my sisters. They'd think I was a daddy's girl, which I was not. I was avoiding that title as long as I lived.
"I heard one of daddy's designers asked you to model for them," Eloise said. "You should do it."
"You think?" I smiled at her.
"Of course. Marie and Jane may laugh at you for not being as pretty as them, but you do have the looks."
"Is this another one of your jokes?"
"No. I'm being serious, sis. Imagine your face on a billboard for all of Paris to see?"
I didn't want that, but at the same time I did. Just imagining my face as the face of Pére's company felt good. But, I wasn't going to take that chance. Anything bad could happen to me and everyone would be at my door wondering what I had to say about it. Every tabloid story always started with someone saying I'm in a relationship when I'm not. Happens to every good model I've known personally.
I let them explore the house while I cooked a small dinner. Nothing more than Soupe à l'oignon. A little something the whole family knew how to make when we weren't in the mood for a huge dinner. It was mostly reserved for family gatherings and I guess this counted as a family gathering.
Little Célia came up beside me and watched as I put the Soupe à l'oignon in the oven. We didn't say anything while I walked into the dining room to set the table.
"Did daddy pretend he didn't own the house and got the real estate agent to come and convince you this house was right for you?" She asked.
"...Has he done it before?" I laughed.
"Yeah. Marie said he did it to her, but she caught on and told Todd to buy her a house."
"Marie is like that and doesn't know how to accept free things."
"...Right. You're still ugly though."
I knew that was coming. Why during the most serious conversation we've haven't had in months? Célia was an odd child. I could see who she got it from, too. Arthur. Once he told a joke at a funeral and almost had my family kicked out. I'll admit it was hilarious, but it was a funeral for goodness sake! Our family had never been more embarrassed in our lives. Especially me.
"Oh, by the way, your phone rang," she said randomly. "I answered it and it was some guy talking about seeing you on Monday for some tailing..."
"Tailoring," I said subconsciously. "...Oh, no. I didn't agree to that."
"Well, I don't think you have a choice, Cesca. He also said if you didn't agree, he was going to come find you."
"Merde."
"Language."