Eleanor's POV
I gasp at her words, the phrase 'the devil herself', ringing in my head. It surely suits her, their belittling personality resonates with that of the devil.
Her parents made a big mistake naming her Amber, Daemonica would suit her better.
She's a colleague at work and for some reason or another, she hates me.
Despise the core of my existence. She would take me to hell with her if she had the chance.
"How? When? How did she get nominated?
Her artworks and paintings were not up to standard, she had no sponsorship. " I asked as soon as I found my voice.
" I heard she got a late sponsorship from some agency. That doesn't matter Elle, your work will beat her any day any time. Sisi has linked you up with your sponsors, so there's nothing to worry about. You got it." She says, trying to cheer me up.
" You're right, I have been preparing for this for almost four months now. Amber just got sponsored. Her trash is nothing compared to mine. We're gonna go make our hair tomorrow and shut down Paris."
Even though I try to elevate the mood, I still feel anxious, Amber's belittling demeanour making me shiver.
I end the call and lay on my bed. Finding sleep in every corner, I continue to roll on the bed.
"It's going to be fine Eleanor, you got this," I say aloud to myself as I stare at the ceiling.
I got into the salon, a scarf covering my ugly-looking hair. How did I not think of a makeover?
I saw Ciara on a twirling chair, waving at me. "Hey Elle, what took you so long?" She asks as I approach her.
" I had a hard time sleeping, so I had an equally hard time waking up." She arches her eyebrows at me, as she eyes me wearing that 'hope it's not what I'm thinking to look'.
"On the bright side, you are already done. I want your stylist to make my hair. He did an awesome job on yours." I scroll through my phone, looking for the photo of the style I had decided on.
"How will this look on me? Will the style suit my face?" I ask stretching my arm and showing the hair stylist the picture on my phone.
"It sure will, a butterfly cut will look good on you." She replies with a warm smile.
Minutes into it, I notice an oddly looking lady glaring at me. I have been seeing her in the mirror and her glaring makes me inquisitive.
I turn to look at her and she immediately avert my gaze.
Giving it a thought now, I could swear I felt I was being followed. The black Mercedes took every turn with me, following me till I had to step on the brakes.
I was surprised and relieved at the same time when the car sped past me. "What's wrong Elle? You look like you have seen my Uncle Jack's nakedness."
She asks as she turns to face me. " I think that woman with the scarf and large cardigan has been following me. I'm not a hundred per cent sure but she keeps glaring at me." Ciara stands up and starts to walk towards her.
Reaching her, the lady stands up. They speak for a few seconds and she walks out, pressing her phone against her ear. "So….?" I ask as she returns to her seat.
"She's some nerd. Said she was looking at you because she wanted the same stylist to do her hair." She says without any emotion as she continues to scroll through her phone.
" She had to answer her father's call. Trust me, if you had heard her speak, you would know she has no business with Mercedes." I stare long and at her, the way a person speaks doesn't determine the kind of ride they have.
"There's nothing to worry about. Remember you gotta help your Mom in her garden. So we have to hurry up." She adds as she notices restlessness on my face.
I arrived home, then quickly remembered about the garden appointment I had with Mom. "Lisa, is Mom in her room?" I ask the housekeeper as I slump into a couch. "No Eleanor, she's in the garden." She collects the bag of fruits I came back with.
Mom isn't really happy about me travelling to Paris, so I decided to treat her a little Pineapple is her favourite, I got lots of those.
"Go slice the fruits Lisa, tell Mom I will be there in a few minutes. Gotta freshen up." She smiles at my words as she peeps through the bag. Did I mention, that Lisa loves pineapple too?
I climbed the stairs and the incident with the lady at the salon crossed my mind.
Was she telling the truth?
Why was that car trailing me then?
Argh!! I must be overthinking it.
I'm not some superstar, I will soon be though. So the stalkers should come then. I giggle at my thoughts as I enter my room.
"Alexa play me Girl on fire by Alicia Keys." I say to my Ai companion.
I stroll to the garden to find Mom squatting, creating nurseries for her tulips. "You are late. We agreed on six, it's almost seven." She complains as I walk towards her.
Bending to her level, I reach for her shoulder and wrap my arms around it. " Had to stop for fruits, I got you pineapples." She smiles but returns the stern look, playing hard to get.
"Some sort of bribe missy? Some pineapples can't move me." She says, folding her arms.
"I bought chocolate too, are you sure you can refuse chocolate? At least I remember you were stuffing your face with some last week. Dad had to tell Lisa not to get any more chocolate for you."
She bursts into laughter, her back hopping up and down in rhythm.
I stay a little longer on her shoulders, inhaling the smell of fresh flowers mixed with the smell of herbal tea.
Mom isn't really happy with the fact that I'm going to Paris. She knows me too well, she knows I'm not over my ex. "I need to go, Mom, stop worrying about me. I know why you disquieting about it.
Her laughter stops, her shoulders more relaxed. "You were in pain, Elle. I watched you live sadly for weeks. What if it happens again?" I get off her shoulders to sit on the garden's chairs.
I still remember that day and it sits like thorns on my heart.
"Nothing's gonna happen, you know why I need this more than anyone else. Besides, he isn't gonna be there. Even if he happens to show up, Ciara will give him a smacking of a lifetime." I wear my gloves and pick up a flower pot.
"Insouciant Ciara? Yeah right." She giggles and I catch a glimpse of her perfect white teeth. A part of her which I inherited. Dad always says our teeth shone like pearls.
Lisa walks in with a tray of pineapple, her stained lips and jaw selling her out.
"I can see you have already had a mouth full Lisa." Mom whispers as she arches her brows.
Lisa wears a guilty smile, dropping the tray she hurries away.
I watch Mom eat the slices of fruit, I know she's not convinced, but she isn't as gloomy as she was during breakfast.
It's nine in the evening and I'm being rushed by my makeup artist. We arrived in Paris this afternoon and I have not had enough time for myself.
"That's enough makeup. Go get the dress, we still have a lot to do." I tell the make-up artist who's too engrossed in adding blush to my already red face.
Sisi had booked her for me, what would I do without her? Sisi was my art teacher, we had painting lessons together.
Just call her my mentor because I look up to her. She has supervised all my paintings since I became a newbie. She's way more than a mentor.
She's a little bit older but had that banging body.
I pick up my phone and dial Ciara's number, and haven't seen her since we arrived. So much for being by my side
"Hey girl," she says as she picks on the third ring.
"Where the fuck are you? I'm almost at the point of chewing my nails off." She laughs at my remark, I seldom cuss out loud, yeah that's how frustrated I feel right now.
"Jeez calm down, I went over to see the venue and get some shots of tequila. You cannot believe it, I met this guy and…"
She stops chattering as she notices my silence over the phone. "I'm sorry Elle, I got carried away. I will be there soon." She sounds apologetic, and that's good, I don't need her acting all crazy now.
"No, don't come to the hotel, go make sure my paintings have arrived safely at the exhibit. Please tell them to put the Medusa painting in front." I say in almost a breath and I seem to have startled the make-up artist.
"Ma'am here's your dress." She places the dress on the bed and walks out.
"Hello, are you there Elle?"
"Yes, I'm here. Go now Ci, nothing should go wrong." I end the call and stand up to pick up the dress. It's made of silk with pearls and flowers embroidered on the flowing bottom.
Wow!! I gasp in awe at the magnificence of the dress. The thought of walking the red carpet alone gave me goosebumps.
I dial Sisi's number and it goes to voicemail.
"Hey Sisi, I saw the dress you got me. It's amazing. Thanks a lot. Love you." I drop my phone on the bed as I giggle.
Holding the dress to my body I twirl around happily. Tonight is gonna be a great night.
I walk out of the hotel into my assigned car, Sisi hasn't called me back and I haven't heard a word from Ciara either.
I inhale deeply and breathe out just to relieve the stress. I feel anxiety crawling up my skin.
"It's gonna be fine" I mutter as the car sets into gear.
I arrive at the red carpet with a lot of paparazzi lurking around. Camera lights all over my face and I struggle to stand upright.
"Miss Eleanor Philip?" A petite lady asks approaching me.
" Yes," I say as I nod my head in affirmation.
I follow her into a hall, an exhibit room.
It is less bright here and I can see my paintings and my name written before them.
I get startled when someone hugs me from behind.
"Ciara jeez, where have you been?" I turn around to behold her curvy figure. Her boobs are fighting to get free from her provocative tight dress.
"Had a hard time getting your painting here. Forget about that, you look hot and girl." She holds my right hand and motions me to turn three sixty for her.
"But wait, I could swear I saw someone with a similar dress on the red carpet."
I arch my brows at her words, "Similar dress Well, it's a coincidence. I look gorgeous in mine."
Our fingers intertwined, we walk through to the award hall, smiling and waiting to experience one of the best nights ever.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Solitude Realistic Awards begin." I sink deep into my seat as I await my category.
"From the category of best female mythology-inspired artist. Your nominees are," I hear the presenter call out the names.
When it got to mine, I turned over to see Ciara who was already looking at me, a bright smile on her face.
And the winner is….
Amber Davids!!!!.