When Starlet walked into her mother's party, she was oddly nervous. She had given up going to these events with him fourteen months ago. When they were at the same event, she either stayed far away from him or they stood close but did not touch. Even going without him had made her feel vulnerable as she had known people had nothing better to do than scan the room and gossip. And she often felt she was the subject of some of those gossip sessions.
Her hand tightened on the crock of Lucien's arm and he gave her an odd look before stopping a passing waiter, grabbed two glasses of wine from his tray and gave her one. She took it gingerly.
"You need to calm down," Lucien said his voice so low she had to strain to catch the words.
The fact that he noticed her tension meant that her blank mask was slipping. She took a sip of the wine and let it slide down her throat. The bubbles tickled her tongue and the cool liquid flowed down her throat. She focused on that detail and wrestled some control of her emotions.
Never show weakness. She reminded herself. The moment you show your weak spots they will know where to hit.
"I'm fine, now." She whispered to her husband as she put her now half-full glass on a passing-by tray.
Lucien guided her further into the room and Star could feel the well-veiled speculative looks they were getting. She kept her face on a carefully meaningless smile. As she surveyed the room looking for a familiar face. Her parents were coming towards her. She saw her mother tell her dad to be nice and that's when her smile became genuine.
"You made it!" her mother was delighted as she hugged her.
Her father gave her husband a dispassionate glance and looked at his daughter.
"Hie, Dad" She hugged the older man and grinned when he kissed her forehead.
"You look well, twinkle bug." He said as he pulled away and ran his eyes over her as if looking for an injury.
"Thanks, Daddy," She grinned. "What did I miss?" she asked the party was well on its way and she was aware she was a little late.
"Not much," her father said in a deliberately long-suffering voice. "I will not be needing my sleeping pills tonight… boring dialogues." His voice was in an exaggerated whisper and his wife swatted his arm with her gloved hand and Star laughed at the two.
"Oh, the Quinns are here," Allison said looking over her daughter's shoulder. "Better say hello." And she dragged her husband away who mouthed "Help me!" to his daughter who giggled at his antics.
Star looked at her husband who was frowning.
"What's wrong?" she asked but was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder.
She turned around and was surprised to see Octavia.
"Vivi!" she said and hugged her. Octavia did not hug her back but hit her arms with her hands.
"Get off me, lady!" she protested and Starlet sheepishly let go of her.
Tristian who was behind her was grinning. "The Octopus getting the handsy treatment for a change."
"That's your worst one yet," Octavia said to him.
"I think they're getting better." He said to her as he took Starlet's hand and kissed it. "You're looking lovely, my lady."
Octavia rolled her eyes.
"My ears are in danger of just falling off and running away."
"Excuse us, please," Lucian said as he guided his wife away from the pair. He leaned into her ear and whispered.
"I see the Philips." He told her.
She followed his gaze and saw them. A fair-haired couple in their mid to late fifties. They were near the piano talking to someone Star knew as Thomas Walton. One of her best customers and an ex-boyfriend turned friend of Xiamie's older sister, Xiamie, and in extension, Star.
"Tom!" Starlet said cheerfully.
Tom winced and turned around. Then grinned when he saw it was her.
"My favourite artist!" he said opening his arms for a hug.
Starlet went in for their traditional bear hug and gave him a once-over.
"How are you?" she asked him. His sister who was also in their social circle had been in a coma for a little over a year now. Her doctors had long lost hope of her ever getting out of it.
"I'm fine." He looked over her shoulder at her husband and while scrutinizing her face asked. "You?"
She smiled at him and said, "I am doing well. Richard took some of my work for his show but I have some pieces not in there. I can show you pictures…" She pitched and Lucien moved over to start a conversation with the Philips.
"You're actually here for them, aren't you?" Tom whispered in her ear.
"You're no fool." Starlet grinned at him.
"What do you see in that block?" he discretely gestured at Lucien and Star smiled sadly. "He's my fool's gold." She let out sadly.
"We all have that one," he said in understanding his face sad. Star wondered who he was referring to but refrained from asking. She knew better than most that sometimes a person wanted it all locked in.
The two talked about the projects that Tom was planning to invest in, and the ones he had already that seemed to be thriving.
Their chat was interrupted by a chiming bell in the centre of the floor where Star's mother rang a golden bell to get everyone's attention.
Everyone turned to look at her. Lucien moved to Starlet's side.
"Thank you for giving me your attention." Starlet's mother said to her audience. "I'm grateful to you all for taking the time to this party. I know you are all busy so I will get to the main point. It is with great joy that I inform you all that your input to the Allison Marks Foundation has helped put five thousand young people through university in the past three years." There was applause in reaction to this. Starlet continued with her speech for a few more minutes and then directed her crowd to the dining area. The food she announced was served by a celebrity chef who had a lot of Michelin stars under his belt and was specially flown in.
With dinner done, there was music and people were dancing in the centre of the floor. Starlet, her husband and his siblings found themselves seated on the sidelines. Octavia and Tristian were behaving for the most part. Maybe it was because the group had split into two conversations. Maybe it was because Lucien and his wife sat between them physically separating them. Starlet and Octavia were together talking about Octavia's next job as she was an actress having trouble picking between two movies.
Lucien surprised Starlet by putting his arm on the back of her chair. She experimentally leaned into it without breaking her discussion with her sister-in-law and he didn't notice. Octavia noticed and smirked but didn't comment. She excused herself to go talk to someone she recognized in the crowd and left the table. Lucien and Tristian continued talking and Star feeling brave snuggled into her husband's side. He automatically wrapped his arm around her shoulders and continued talking to his younger brother.
Star thought he felt warm. She wondered if he knew what he was doing when his fingers started drawing patterns idly on her upper arm. She wasn't going to tell him and she was going to enjoy the most intimate moment she's had with him since their honeymoon.
She wanted to intertwine her fingers with his but she was afraid to in case the moment was broken. She wanted to draw this for as long as she could. She wanted to lay her head in the crock of his neck wanted to lay her hand on his chest but she daren't. Just to have this was more than she had hoped for in a long time. This was very much more than he had given her in a long time. She was happy. This was the happiest she had been in a very long time. She looked at him as he used his free hand to emphasise what he was saying to his brother. His dark brown eyes were sharp and focused and a lock of his dark hair fell on his brow. She wanted to brush her fingers into his hair and see if it was as soft as it looked. She wasn't brave and she was greedy. She wanted and wanted and wanted but she was afraid of losing this morsel of contact she had with him. Her heart cried with joy and it yearned for more. He looked at her arched a brow at her and then turned back to his brother.
She wondered what that meant but refused to think about it further. She stayed like that until her bladder decided to ruin it for her.
She got up and went to the bathroom. She passed some people and made brief greetings on her way. Her bladder made her know it was unhappy with the delay.
When she had taken care of business washed and dried her hands her hands. She opened the door and as she walked back to her husband something she heard made her stop.
"Did you see the Marks daughter?" Someone, female and young by the voice.
"Yeah. I feel sorry for her." Another voice said.
"With a husband like that, I wonder why she stays."
"He must have a good tongue to waggle his way into her good graces over and over again." The two women laughed.
"Maybe she lacks something and she's afraid he's the only one who can have her."
"Yeah, it's no secret she's worth more than him!"
"A scar?" one gasped.
"Or an ugly birthmark." The other said and they tittered.
"Or maybe he's just magic under the covers." That was suggested after they could catch their breath.
"He has to be! The number of women he has had during their marriage is staggering."
Star felt sick. She refused to confront the women and instead stumbled outside to the garden.
She sat on the bench lifted her eyes to the stars and remained like. How long she sat there she did not know. She was used to this kind of speech but it still hurt. It never stopped hurting.
When Lucien came outside, he found her shivering so he took off his jacket draped it over her shoulders and sat next to her. His sister had come to find him and explained what those harpies had done. They had come looking for her together. And when they found her, his sister had pushed him towards his wife and marched back inside.
His usually strong wife let out a small sound, then another, then another quite more audible than the first two squeaks and then the dam broke. She was sobbing. Letting out the most pained sounding tears he had ever heard. He felt something stir in his chest and took her into his arms. Whatever little control she had left died away.
In his strong arms, she found the confidence to be weak. So, she cried. She cried two and a half years' worth of tears. She cried for every time she had to be strong and held it in. She cried because she didn't know why he couldn't just let go of what her father had done and see her for who she was. She cried because she loved him. She cried because she started crying and now, she couldn't stop.
When her sobs died down, she registered that he was holding her and rocking her a little. His head was buried in her hair and one of his hands was rubbing her back while the other was in her hair. She stayed like that relaxed in his arms the only place where she felt free enough to be vulnerable.
Her head was on his chest and she could feel his heartbeat through his chest. She closed her eyes and stayed like that.
It took a while for Lucien to notice that she wasn't crying anymore but she was actually asleep. He raised his head to notice that his in-laws were standing at the door watching him.
***
With his wife tucked away in her old room Lucien sat with her parents in their office. The party was still going strong downstairs.
"This is what my daughter has been reduced to since she married you," Bod said his voice angry.
Lucien wanted to tell the man that this was his doing but he knew better. Locking heads with him would hurt him instead as it was no secret that Bob Marks was a very vindictive man.
"Bob," Allison said gently to her husband then turned to her son-in-law. "I know you care for her at the very least. So please don't hurt her. Please."
"Don't beg him," Bob told his wife.
"Shut up Bob," Allison said sternly. "She is all I have." She directed this at both men. "She's locked in between your little powerplay and it's hurting her." She got up and walked to the door, thought about it and walked back to her husband. She took his arm and dragged him out of the room leaving Lucien alone with his thoughts.
Star isn't trapped in the powerplay, Lucien thought cynically. She's an active part of it.