-Evangeline-
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So much for making a first impression.
"You must be Evangeline!" The golden-haired woman's sweet, angelic voice breaks the silence and eye contact off me and the man, towards her, "My name's Claudia Winters, and this is my husband, James Winters."
Not knowing whether to shake their hand or bow in the presence of such royalty-rich members, I do the first thing that comes to mind, "Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Winters," I curtsey.
Mr. Winters squeezes my side as I raise my head, seeing Hunter and Mr. Winters's father's eyes staring at my breasts.
"Let's get acquainted with each other while the men talk," Claudia walks towards me in her white heels, matching her white silk dress.
"Why, certainly. I don't think Cole minds if we spend more time bonding with each other," I look at Cole's face with a smirk. His eyes narrow at me, mad for taking more time out of our plans later.
I slide out of Cole's grip, his hand lingering onto mine a little longer before I walk away, following Claudia to the fireplace a couple of steps away. I watch Cole grab a glass of champagne from a tray a maid staff is holding.
My eyes can't help but stare at Cole's father, James. His ocean blue eyes stare out of a naturally dark look, and his coal black neat hair shines on his head without a single grey hair for his age. He's an even mixture of Cole and Hunter, but somehow, something doesn't add up.
Mr. Winters's father looks like he's in his thirties, and Cole's two years older than me. So, if I'm not overthinking this, James must have had Cole when he was at least seventeen, or eighteen.
"Go ahead and sit. Make yourself at home," I turn my attention to Claudia who's gesturing for me to sit across from her in the white princess club chair.
I sit in the chair, feeling the heat of the flaming fireplace next to me. The silver fireplace sparkles a steady fire of fake wood. Many golden awards and golden mini statues sit in spick and span condition in a perfect line on the mantel of the fireplace. A huge painting of Claudia and Mr. Winters's father sits on the overmantel of the fireplace in a gold trim.
"Would you like a glass of champagne?" My attention turns from the odd fireplace to Claudia.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can't drink while I'm pregnant," Claudia's eyes widen at my words, and I can sense Mr. Winters's father's eyes on the back of my head as their conversation gets to a sudden quiet.
"Oh! I should be the one to apologize. I didn't realize you were pregnant. I thought you were just fat," I clear my throat and lick my sudden parched lips.
"Pregnancy gets to you," I mumble, "Do you have a glass of water I can drink? I've suddenly found a quench of thirst."
"Of course! Right away, darling," Claudia snaps her fingers, sending a butler her way, "Get Evangeline a glass of water, now."
The maid nods, and not a minute later, she brings me a champagne glass of clear liquid on a tray.
"Thank you," I say as I grab the glass of champagne from the tray. The maid bolts away, leaving me holding the glass and trying to control the urge to not splash the drink into Claudia's face.
I take a sip of the drink and smile, "Much better. Thank you for the drink."
"You're pregnant?" She repeats, ignoring my gratitude.
"Yes, I am," Claudia's eyes narrow behind me.
"I've been trying to have a child for a while now. How is the pregnancy journey?"
"Let's take this conversation to the dining room. I'm sure the ladies will join us in a while," An unfamiliar voice, -whom I suspect to be Mr. Winters's father- says his voice is smokier than the smoke going up the chimney and smoother than butter.
Footsteps are the last sound I hear in the room before leaving me and Claudia inside the room alone with the sound of the crackling fire beside us.
"I knew that would get him to leave us to have a private conversation. He never wants to talk about children," I look at her confused.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't he?"
She scoffs, "He says he doesn't want children. Anytime I bring up the subject, he skips or finds a way to get out of it."
Sounds like a Winters is what I wanted to say, but instead, I took a sip of water, "How long have you guys been together? If you don't mind me asking."
"We've been together for two months now and married for a month," I nearly choked on my water at Claudia's reply.
"A month?!" I say, trying to not raise my voice, "I'm sorry. That tone was out of line. A month?" I repeat in a much calmer voice.
"Yeah. A month. I know it's a long time, but when you know, you know. I mean, you should know with Cole. The way he looks at you and wraps his arm around you, you should be lucky he still does that with you. James hasn't looked at me like that since after the week we met, but you know the Winters men," I look at her, astonished.
"I- I don't know the Winters men. I only know Cole."
"Oh, don't stutter, darling. It's unwoman-like. It's really not attractive," I swallow a sip of water, resisting the urge to show her what attractive really is.
"So, tell me. How did you and Cole meet?" Claudia rests her head on the bridge she made with her hand, trying to act as if she's interested in talking to me instead of talking about herself.
I set my glass down on the golden coffee table before it 'accidentally' ends up all over Claudia and lick my top lip, thinking of a reply, "Well, we met at work," A lie and a truth.
She lifts her head off her hand, rubbing one of her hands together, "Oh... so it's a work romance?" She scoffs, "I could never work in a business suit. They get too messy."
I grab my drink and take another sip. If I have to deal with Claudia and her annoying, sweet voice any longer, then I'm going to have to pretend this water is something stronger.
"Sometimes I wished me and my husband met differently. We met at one of my shows. I was modeling on the runway, and he caught my eye with the way he peered at me from the shadows. It made me feel... alive for a second as I walked in my gorgeous angelic outfit. It felt like I was modeling it just for him," I nod, taking every detail to heart, "That didn't last long."
"Tell me, how do you do it, Evangeline?"
"Do what?" I say after taking a large sip of water.
"Call the attention to yourself from the whole room. The way all three of the men look at you, I've never had my husband look at me like that way before. Even while pregnant, you have all of them eating out of the palm of your hand," I roll my eyes out of habit.
"Please, I try not to call attention to myself, but it seems the more I act like my absurd self, the more they look at me. Who am I the one they should be staring at? You're a gorgeous young model almost the same age as me, and definitely better looking than me. You have nothing to worry about," That should fill her ego to stop talking.
A small smile -the first one I've seen her have tonight- appears on her lip. She sighs, "You're right. I am. Sometimes I think all the money's not worth it, but then I stop and think, oh my god, it is."
I form a fake smile, "I don't do it for the money, darling. I do it for love," I take a sip of my drink and set it down on the table, "We should see how the men are doing. We wouldn't want to make them wait," Tired of Claudia's shit, I stand up and straighten my dress, hanging onto my purse tightly as I walk out of the living room.
Not knowing where I'm going, I wait for Claudia to stand up and walk out before I follow her down the long hallways to the dining room.
As we enter the impeccable white and gold dining room, the men turn towards us.
Hunter's face turns into a beaming smile as he looks at me, "Ah! There you two are. Come and sit, so we can get to... talking," He walks to a chair, pulls it open, gesturing for me to sit in it while looking me dead set in the eyes as Claudia and James sit in a chair opposite of each other.
I roll my eyes and walk towards Cole, taking a seat next to him as he holds a chair out for me.
Hunter sits across from Cole and next to an empty chair against a large closed window which shows the pouring rain and thunder from outside.
James and Claudia sit at the end of the table, Claudia being next to me, "
"Oh! It's starting to rain. I'm glad we're inside where it's toasty-"
"Ah, finally the food's here," James says, interrupting Claudia's words.
Several butlers put a golden tray in front of each of us, lifting the golden lid, and revealing a plate of red tomato slides with white cheese and a leaf on top as hors d'oeuvres.
"I've made a special menu tonight in honor of you dining with us," Claudia's voice turns my attention to her from the weird fancy looking tomatoes with cheese, "We'll have a fine selection of courses which include the best-roasted chicken you've ever tasted, and our chef's famous chocolate pie."
I smile, "It sounds amazing."
"Evangeline is allergic to chocolate," My head turns to Hunter, who's taking a sip of champagne.
How the hell does he know that?
"Allergic to chocolate and pregnant? What an awful situation to be in," James spits out after Hunter.
"Oh, it gets better," Hunter smiles at me as Cole places his hand on my thigh.
I clear my throat and scoot my chair out, making Cole's hand drop off my thigh as I stand up, "If you can excuse me, I have to use the restroom," I look at Claudia, "Where's the restroom?"
She smiles and places her hand on mine, "It's down the hall, to the left," I give her a weak smile before I grab my purse, push my chair in, and walk out of the dining room, finding my way to the restroom.
Entering the baseball-size white and gold bathroom should be the first thing I notice, but instead, I lock the door behind me and stare at myself in the mirror as the pressure and questions surround me. What is going on? I ask myself as I try to connect the missing piece of the puzzle.
I use the toilet -because chugging that water from talking the Claudia really put a number on my already weak bladder- and slowly walk out of the restroom.
"A STRIPPER!?" I hear Cole's father yell. I hide behind a wall to the dining room, peering at them.
"Really Cole!? You gave your identity out to some fucking stripper? I thought I raised you better than this. I thought you would be the next face of the company, but instead, you're running around with a whore, taking pictures in fucking picture booth, and being on the front page of Radiant Magazines with A FUCKING STRIPPER! What's even worse is you got her FUCKING PREGNANT!" Cole's head turns towards his father, saying nothing.
"You think that child like that could be the next generation of the industry?! What are people going to think when you show up at a meeting, bringing a FUCKING STRIPPER WHO IS PREGNANT!? I want you to get rid of the child," My heart starts beating out of my chest as I hear those words.
"You don't think I've tried?!" My stomach drops, it's the first words I've heard Cole say all night, "She wants to keep it! She won't let me do anything to get rid of it. Do you think A STRIPPER can be a good mother?! How is the press going to think when they see me trying to sue the women I've impregnated?!" My breathing stops at those words.
"I'm only doing this so the press will think I'm a good father. Once the baby is born, I'll drop her with the child and return to my normal life. Think of her as a toy. When I'm done playing, I'll throw her away," Mr. Winters picks up his champagne glass, "Please... don't act as if I like her when she's nothing. All she will ever be is a stripper," His words come out mercilessly, stabbing me in the heart. He takes a sip of champagne, acting like he didn't say my worst nightmare.
Hunter looks over at me, making eye context while sipping his drink, and smirks.
"Have you tried to force her to the clinic to get rid of the baby?" Hunter continues to make eye contact with me while setting down his glass of champagne.
And that's when it happens... Cole turns around and makes eye contact with me.
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-End Of Chapter 77-
Thank you soooo much for reading Chapter 77 Of CRASHING DOWN INTO GLORY! <3