Sebastian handed the golden rimmed envelope to his master who has pulled his brows together. A normalcy which Sebastian has observed. He knew his master hardly reply such letters, he leaves them on his desk instead for the housekeepers to discard.
He was however, suprised to see Ethan sip his wine and read the letter with concentration.
"Well, In two weeks time, I would be getting ready for an art Exhibition Charity Gala mask party. I have been invited by the Elite Wales association, You will see to what I will wear for the day. Been long," He stroked his chin and stared at the letter again.
Sebastian smiled tightly, it was a way of showing his excitement. It has been ages since The Master made an attempt to party, or even ask him to prepare his wears. He always picked everything himself, except for the ordering and arrangement of his new wardrobe which was done once in two weeks.
Sebastian nodded curtly and excused himself.
***********
"Wow, this is beautiful. It's sensational" Lora's eyes watered as she gazed at the piece of art in her hands. It was a beautiful portrait of hers.
She threw her arms around Emma in a bear hug.
"Oh, don't flatter me. The portraits you get at home are definitely more beautiful, compared to this," Emma said in a modest way.
"Can I see your art studio? Been long since I had a peek at your works. You've got anything like that?" Lora said after she was done caressing the piece.
"Uh... It's not like the exquisite ones you see out there in California, I just had to construct something for myself," Lora nodded knowingly.
They took the quiet trip to a room demarcated from the main room and Emma opened the door, it gave way with a creak to a small space filled with different Aesthetic paintings. It was a mini home made studio filled with heartwarming and perfectly constructed drawings.
Lora slowly gazed at each of them in concentration. Being the daughter of one of the most influential elites in Wales and being privileged to fly around the world whenever she wanted had great advantages, including getting to see different masterpieces by renowned artists but Emma's paintings surpassed, by far all the other paintings she has seen in her entire life.
"This is utterly beautiful, Emma. Your paintings are bold and aesthetic and take my breath away. I'm speechless."
Emma nodded in a giddy way "Thanks Lora, I really needed that. I get compliments mostly from James, and sometimes, I think he says them so I don't feel bad,"
"Either ways, he is right." Lora gave her a knowing look.
"Talking of James, How is he? Been weeks since we spoke. He's been busy." Lora sighed.
"He was here, just yesterday. He's been really involved in his new job, just as I have my nose stuck in my numerous jobs. It's been really hard keeping up, but I do it anyway. Anything to grow in my niche," Emma smiled and Lora watched intently as the soft evening ray fell on her soft features.
"I would be solidly behind you, Emma. I really admire how hard you work to build your studio and other important things," Lora turned to the painting "Now, I'ld like to see more of these."
"And this," Emma says, excitedly unveiling a wooden painting "Is the infamous painting of Statue of Liberty," Her lashes were puckered in concentration as she starts to explain the dimensions of the work of art. Emma displayed a few other art works of hers and finally, Lora left for her home with thoughts on what to do to help Emma establish fame as a renowned artist in the whole of Wales. She concluded on keeping her fingers crossed and monitoring opportunities that might bring Emma to the spotlight.
**************
A week later, 11:00pm.
Ethan is seated on a lounge chair, in front of his exotic pool.
He stares deep into the pool as though trying to solve a difficult puzzle. His eyes are bloodshot and he slowly twirls the wine in his glass.
"Fuck you," He mutters "Fuck you and the effect you have on me, Victoria Hamilton. Why? Why me?" He growled and downed the content of the glass in a go. He filled it almost immediately and raked his hair with his left hand. It was times like this that turned him into the beast that he is.
Most elites would do anything to stay away from the great Ethan Grey's wrath, as this would have them on his black book.
And it was danger to be on Ethan Grey's black book. It is as good as being stigmatized for life.
Yet, Victoria Hamilton, a simple innocent looking girl that one would not suspect of hurting a fly, had shattered Ethan's heart into many fragments. She broke him without remorse and went on with another business partner of his, Geoffrey Walton.
A man Ethan hated with passion.
Ethan's future initially seemed rosy with Victoria by his side. They were the perfect couple, he was tall and athletic, had an alluring aura, blue eyes that called attention effortlessly and chiselled features. He was the type of man any sane lady in Wales would desire, while she was small and had rosy cheeks.
He wonder what he saw in her. He had seen her at her weakest point, She was the eldest daughter of an Elite who died no sooner than she was born. Due to this, the family had wavering wealth and less servants to work for them. Perhaps, this was why she jumped at the opportunity of having a life with Walton. Ethan smirked, concealing the pain tearing at his heart.
"Who's bigger now, huh?" He mused. Obviously him. He amassed copious wealth in very little time and made name for himself.
"I will make you pay dearly, Victoria" He said after another gulp.
A dim figure stood by the blinds of a room, watching Ethan in his misery.