Page 15 of Eternal

The day goes by in a blur, hairstylists and make-up artists appear and disappear, masseuses visit, and estheticians stop by for facials for Serena and I. They do their best to cover the dark circles under my eyes and the overall puffiness of my face from crying. Serena never leaves my side throughout the day. We sit in silence all day, sipping on mimosas and peach bellinis. Still, Serena vibrates with curiosity wanting to know what Soren and I discussed.

Chugging the whole glass, I turn to Serena, half slurring my words, “Well, you want to know what Soren said to me last night?”

She clings to me as I barely let the attendant finish filling my drink before I slam it down again.

“Oh my god, yes, I have to know. I’ve been wondering-- you know, it doesn’t matter. What did he say?”

I look her dead in the eye with no emotion, “He told me that he never wanted to get married, have children, or be tied down, and now he has to at least be married and tied down. Then proceeded to tell me that I would stay busy with the kids and become an author.” Serena’s face dropped further as I continued, “Oh, and we will both be happier if we have lovers. As in, I am not good enough.”

I think I might turn into my mother, but I’ll personally slit the throat of any woman that touches Soren.

Serena’s face screws up in anger. “Not good enough? Bitch he better be fucking joking. Who else is better than you? No one. Literally no one. Oh my god, men are so fucking stupid.” She holds a fist to her forehead and lightly bangs on it.

I giggle at her antics. “Well, sure, there are a lot of women better than me. There’s uh, Kendall Jenner, Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez. I mean, the list goes on. They’re not only fucking gorgeous, but they’re also stinking rich and extremely talented.”

“Bitch, are you fucking stupid? You are all three of those things. I can’t believe you right now.” Serena flops back onto the bed.

A knock sounds at the door, causing Serena to sit back up. “Come in, for fucks sake.”

The door opens to Abe, holding two dress bags up so they barely drag on the floor, “Uh, I don’t know who's who's, so here.” He thrusts out the bags to Serena as I walk into the closet scouring for the perfect jewelry.

I settled on an iconic Harry Winston piece that reminds me of a piece that only royalty would wear. It’s a collar necklace that has diamonds dripping down in teardrop shapes. Simple dress, iconic accessories. I pair them with a set of diamond studs gifted to me by my sister. Opting for no rings. My sister brought me the dress I had picked out the other day while shopping. It’s a black off-the-shoulder velvet dress that cascades into black waves over my legs. I look at myself in the mirror, smoothing my dress a million times, trying to calm my nerves. Giving up, I go to the living room, only waiting for Serena as Abe sits beside me dressed in his tux. We only have minutes before we have to leave. There’s a firm knock on the front door that catches my attention. Abe stands to answer the door, turning back to look at me quizzically. I shrug and turn my attention back to the TV.

If I focus on this one thing, then maybe it won’t be so bad tonight.

Abe answers the door and stands straighter.

He clears his throat, trying to act professional. “Soren, what do you want?”

My blood freezes at that name.

“I am here to collect Freya.” He pauses, “It looks better if we arrive together.”

Abe stands out of the way allowing Soren to move past him. We lock eyes once he passes over the threshold of Serena’s home.

“Freya, you look beautiful.” He stands with a hand in his pocket, the other holding a light gray bag.

As he comes closer, I notice his tie matches my dress’s color and material. How did he-? It must’ve been Serena.

“Do we have somewhere we can speak privately?” He begins to look around the apartment.

“I’ll go check on Serena,” Abe grumbles, walking down the hall and leaving us alone.

“Would you like to sit?” I gesture to the couch.

He comes closer and sits a little closer than normal to me, his knee bumping with mine. “I got something for you.”

Soren places the bag on my lap and leaves his hand lingering between us. I give him a big smile and begin tearing into the bag.

“I hope you like them; I was out collecting my tux when I passed them in the window and thought of you when I saw them. I figured you need to have those in your closet.” He says with a shrug.

Yes, because buying motherfucking expensive jewelry on a whim is such a simple thing.

I continue to open the intricately wrapped jewelry. A chunky chain necklace with diamonds encrusted all around it, a bracelet to match the necklace, and a pair of earrings that are two ovals interwoven and again covered in diamonds. This must have cost him a fortune. My eyes widen more and more with each piece of jewelry. I reach behind my neck to unclasp the necklace and take my earrings out. I carefully put on each piece of jewelry, then turned my back to Soren.

“These are beautiful,” I whisper, but my stomach turns, noticing it’s a collar necklace. “Is there a dog to go along with this?” I almost tease. Almost.It’s a little insulting that he’d buy me a collar necklace right after I’m being forced to marry him.

“A dog? Why? Do you want a dog?” Soren’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.

---