I am the Queen

Side story 2:

Life after the Reunion part 1

Burberry, Jennifer's Office

"Did you see her face? It was so awkward that I was embarrassed for her. I don't even know what she's doing there. She's not even a model."

"Yeah. I didn't even know about it until you told me," Jennifer said with a laugh.

"Buy the magazine and let's support our classmate," the other line said. "I'm so going to save this for the future. I mean, this awkward thing is going down in history."

"Yeah. I'm totally laughing right now," Jennifer agreed. "She's totally exaggerating. No company will hire her. I mean, even I will take a second thought just for old time's sake. She's a disaster. I'm surprised a reputable company such as Sparkle took her in."

"Yeah, I mean, must be her connection and that sultry face of hers. That's why she got in. Anyway, I have to go. I'm going to tell the others. Make sure to buy a copy, so we have something to laugh about when I visit you there. Ciao!"

Jennifer ended the call and dialed a number.

"Hi, this is Jennifer Davidson of Davidson Leather Apparels. I'm calling about my order, a thousand copies of your latest Sparkle magazine. Can you deliver it by this month?"

Jennifer rolled her lips between her teeth as she twirled the cord of her phone.

"Yes. I know that it hasn't been a week since I ordered hundreds of copies," she said, eyes flickered on the mountains of magazine on the side of her table. "But don't you know how many employers I have? It's not enough."

----

Side Story 3:

Life after the Reunion Part 2

Calvin Devondale's Mansion

Buds of lavenders blanketed the garden as a man watched the flower in his hand. Tranced by the color, his eyes turned dull by the minute. The petals were as pretty as the woman in his head, and the urge to crushed it in his hand was so hard to resist. But it was like his limbs didn't have the strength to move.

"Young master," the butler called, phone in hand, "Sparkle entertainment called, confirming your million copies of their latest magazine."

"Mmm . . . ," Calvin breathed. It seemed like his tongue weighed tons, and he couldn't even move his mouth.

The butler nodded and spoke on the phone before he put it away and faced his young master. "And I am to confirm that after we received those magazines, we are to make a collage portrait of Miss Heart?"

Calvin's thumbs caressing the petals halted for a moment, but his lips remained tight.

". . ."

With heavy silence as his reply, the butler only perceived is a go signal. That would be another collection of Calvin's thousands of portraits of Evangeline Heart.

The butler could only shake his head in pity. His young master was too far gone in his obsession.

"Butler."

The butler's spine flinched straight at his young master's voice. "Yes, young master?"

"Am I . . . handsome?" Calvin said, voice lethargic.

". . ." Huh? The butler almost blurted. He wiped his invincible sweat with his hanky and coughed before he replied.

"There is no man more handsome than you, young master. Our manor doesn't run out of suiters ready to crawl at your feet just for your glance."

"Am I not rich?"

"You control the whole south, and your monthly income already surpassed the ten digit. If you're not rich, then I can no longer imagine the poor."

Calvin smirked with no delight. "Then why won't she like me?" he said. The pain in his voice mirrored his face.

The butler caught his tongue. This was a sensitive issue. Ever since the reunion, his young master was like a completely different person. His confidence and arrogance disappeared overnight. And now, he was just a shut in-depressed-lonely-pain in the ass man.

The butler's mouth opened, but Calvin waved his hand, dismissing him. The butler bowed and went out, hurry in his steps.

Another rounds of heavy silence, but Calvin remained stationary and lifeless. Even the vibrant lavenders bloom, and butterflies swirling under the warm rays couldn't lift his mood. He might as well be dead if it wasn't for his steady breathing.

"You know, crying will help you ease your loneness, dear cousin," said a voice, playful as a harp.

Calvin sighed, longer and audible. "I don't have time to deal with you," he said, eyes not moving on the still flower in his hand. His posture hunched and his face haggard.

"Wow. Meself flew all the way here because me heard that you have a . . . ," the man coughed a laugh and snickered, "girl problem."

Calvin's lips pressed tight, and the petals in his hands flew everywhere. His sharp gaze snapped in the direction of a young man barely twenty years old with the same golden eyes and hair as him.

"Squirt, have you forgotten that I am older than you? And that I've warned you not to break into my private garden?"

The man just shrugged. "Me cousin, is that a wrinkle in your forehead, I see? Only days passed, and you already look twice your age."

The man strode forward and placed a hand on Calvin's shoulder. "The best way to forget is to go out and date. Don't let a single woman define who you are. Take it from me. Yes, I love Emery, but my love for her doesn't keep me from enjoying myself. And look how free and happy I am?"

Calvin slapped the man's hand away and sneered, "you're just masking your emptiness with temporary warmth. That's even more pathetic, Adnan."

Adnan laughed. "That's because you don't know the pleasure me cousin."

"I know. Have you forgotten who you're talking to?"

"Ah. Yes. The great Calvin Devondale that can get any woman except Evangeline Heart."

Adnan's eyes glowed, and the smile on his lips widened as he neared Calvin's ears and whispered, "but have you tried men?"

Calvin's blood vessel almost popped, and his palms went straight to Adnan's grinning cocky face, pushing him away.

"I don't swing that way."

"A shame, you're missing half of your life. The first time is a little scary and the hardest, but once you––"

"I'm not interested," Calvin dismissed and turned his back on Adnan, resuming what he was doing and that was doing nothing but stared at the lavenders.

Adnan watched his cousin before he smiled in defeat. "Suit yourself, but even if just a tiny bit––"

"No."

"Really? Even just a tiny thought––"

"No."

"Tiny, tiny bit––"

"NO!"