Chapter 11 Shutters and Attitude
\-Celeste-
No sane man would have picked you.
The words cut deeper than I wanted to admit. My chest felt heavy, and for a moment I couldn't breathe. He had kissed me like he meant it, yet now he spoke like I was nothing.
I wiped away a tear as I watched him walk off. Maybe this was all a mistake. Maybe I should have put on a brave face and married Colin, pretended I didn't know he and Lilith were cheating on me and planning my death. Or maybe... I should have done this my own way.
I shuddered, whispering to myself, "Well, there's no going back now."
Before I could collect myself, my phone rang, buzzing in my hand like a child demanding attention. I was ready to ignore it, the way I had been ignoring every call from home. But when Denise's name flashed across the screen, my assistant, I froze. I couldn't ignore her.
I sniffled, cleared my throat, and forced my voice steady as I answered. "Hello, Denise."
"Miss, Ma'am, I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past two days," she said quickly, her voice tinged with panic. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Denise." I forced a smile, as if she could see it through the phone. "What's going on?"
"Uh... not exactly good news. But first, congrats on your marriage." Her tone carried a faint sting.
My chest tightened. Denise wasn't just my assistant, she was my friend. She had every right to be upset, finding out about my marriage from the news.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It all happened so suddenly."
"It's fine," she said quickly, but her sigh lingered. "The problem is the shop. Ever since the announcement, reporters have been camped outside. No one's coming in, and sales are dropping fast. This is even worse than the time everyone found out the Ashford heiress ran the place."
A small sigh escaped my lips, my mind reeling over what to do next. Between this marriage, my family, and now the shop, it felt like the walls were closing in.
"So what are we going to do now? I've been stuck at the counter all day while these people photograph me like I'm some kind of zoo animal. Not a single customer has walked in."
"Alright, just stay in my office. I'll be there soon. I can fix this." With that, I hung up with a new determination in my chest. There was no way in hell that I'd let anyone take Gâteau Celeste from me.
I made my way to the door, but just as I reached the handle, I heard Lucien's voice behind me, like a wolf lurking in the shadows.
"Where are you going?" he demanded.
"I have to handle something," I murmured without turning.
"What?" his voice cut through the room like steel.
My jaw tightened. I wasn't a child to be babied. I turned to face him, meeting his cold gaze. "None of your business."
"You do realize that if this place is discovered, we'll have the press all over us."
"I can handle myself."
With that, I hurried out. I had already ordered a ride. While waiting, I stood inside the private lobby on the first floor, close enough to see when the car pulled up but far enough from the entrance to keep myself hidden from curious eyes. The last thing I needed was a photograph leaking before I was ready to be seen.
When we arrived at the pastry shop, I had planned to slip in through the back entrance, but the scene in front of the shop stopped me.
A mob of paparazzi had gathered at the doors, their cameras flashing at a frightened woman they had mistaken for me. Clearly just a customer, she was cornered and snapped at with questions and flashes as if she were prey.
Without thinking, I stormed out of the car, crossing the pavement.
"Hey, that's enough!" I snapped, grabbing their attention. "It's me you want, not her."
Dozens of heads whipped toward me, eyes gleaming like kids who had just spotted a shiny, new toy. The flashes resumed, blending with the noise of their questions.
"Celeste! Look this way-"
"Were you cheating on Colin with his uncle? Are you going to call off the marriage?"
One shoved his camera too close to my face. I lifted a hand to push it away, and the moment my palm touched the lens, the shutter snapped in rapid clicks. My glare. My hand mid-motion. Caught in a string of scandalous shots. The woman bolted past me, her shopping bag swinging wildly as she ran, leaving me in the middle of the storm.
"Caught on camera attacking the press-" someone jeered, already twisting the story.
My stomach burned with fury, I'd given them exactly what they wanted. A story they could spin however they pleased. A spoiled heiress lashing out.
Just as they pressed closer, threatening to suffocate me with their madness, the door of the shop yanked open and Denise's voice cut through.
"Get in before they eat you alive." She pulled me inside, slamming the door and muffling the roar outside.
She muttered under her breath, shaking her head. "Zombies. That's what they are."
Quietly, she pulled me into my office before letting go.
"Are you alright? I thought you said you'd come in through the back entrance?"
I walked to my desk and plopped down. "It's fine, I saw them harassing a potential customer."
"So, what are we going to do now?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "For now, I need you to get me some essentials, some clothes from the boutique a few blocks away. Use the back exit."
After she left, the land-lady came in. Like she had been at the door, waiting for her turn. She hardly ever came around, unless it had to do with rent or some urgent matter.
I quickly rose to my feet. "Mrs Danbury, I didn't know you were around... Please have a seat." I gestured.
She sat, but the expression on her face said otherwise.
"I'll cut to the chase, Ms. Ashford. This new attention you've garnered is bad for other people's business. Not everyone wants to shop in front of a building sprawled with cameras, these people pry in unimaginable ways!" She snapped.
I swallowed, clenching my fists under the table. How was I supposed to handle this?
"Mrs. Danbury, I assure you. I had no idea. I'll do my best to get rid of them before the end of today. I promise. I didn't mean any trouble."
"There won't be a need for that. This was a bad idea from the start." She murmured, her eyes avoiding mine.
"Excuse me?"
"The thing is, I'm selling the building. We're already finalizing the deal, and the new owner has already decided they don't want you here."
My stomach dropped. Sold? Doesn't want me here?
"Why?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
She shrugged, indifferent. "I can't say. Look, if you really didn't cause any of this like you claim, then here's how you fix it. Close the shop," she said, her face blank, as if she had no idea how much this place meant to me.
"Mrs. Danbury, you know Gâteau Celeste is my mother's, the only thing that connects us. I can't just walk away," I replied, my voice heavy with frustration.
She shook her head. "There's nothing you can do, unless, by some miracle, you're willing to buy the building. If not, you have one week to leave."
With that, she turned and walked out, leaving me staring after her, stunned and helpless.
An exasperated sigh escaped my lips as I slumped further into the chair. The new owner didn't want me here? Was this Grandmother's doing?
I barely had time to think before Denise returned with even worse news.
"All the cards declined, I had to use the business card. I think your accounts are frozen."
Another sigh. So this was Grandmother's way of making me crawl back.
"It's alright, thank you, Denise."
"What did the land-lady say?" She questioned.
"Nothing important. She was just upset about the reporters. I told her I'd take care of it." It wasn't exactly a lie, but how could I tell her that in a week's time, she'd be out of a job?
"You know what, Denise? Take the rest of the week off. I'll let you know when things are back to normal." She nodded, then left.
Finally, I was alone with my thoughts. The moment the door closed behind Denise, the weight of everything hit me and I let the tears fall. My world was falling apart, and I couldn't stop it.
I wiped my face, trying to steady myself, when a sudden sound made me freeze. Someone had opened the front door. A cold dread settled in my chest. Had one of those paparazzi somehow gotten inside?
I hurried out, only to see Colin, his back turned to the door as their cameras flashed in my face. My heart sank. What was he doing?
"Celeste, we need to talk," he said, walking toward me like he was oblivious to what he had just stirred.
"What are you doing here, Colin?" I asked, my voice trembling.
He smirked, his expression darkening. "You call off our engagement, then run off to marry my uncle, and you ask why I'm here?"
"Well, I'm not the one who cheated!" I snapped.
He paused, a sinister grin spreading. "Ah, so that's what this is about? Did she tell you that herself?"
"So you're not even denying it?" I asked, as if it would salvage the situation.
"It was an accident, a one-time thing. We were at your parents' villa in the Hamptons, got drunk... and it happened. Big deal."
He shrugged.
My stomach lurched. My hands trembled at my sides, my chest tightened, and I felt like I might collapse right there.
How could he say that? How could he make it sound so... casual? My mind swirled with anger and disbelief.
"Look, it's not too late to spin things around. End this nonsense, and we'll walk out the door, together. I still want to marry you, Celeste," he said, eyes sparkling with that infuriating, self-centered glint, as if he expected me to melt at his words.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, and the flashes and murmurs around us grew louder, but I didn't care. All I could think was how audacious he was to show up here and make such a brazen demand.
Without a word, I stepped closer, my hand shooting out across his cheek.
"I hope that answers your question." I sneered, letting all my anger pour into that motion.
This heightened the shutters, but Colin barely seemed affected. Instead, he suddenly reached for my hand, gripping it tightly. "Come on, Celeste. Don't make this harder than it has to be," he said through gritted teeth.
My pulse drummed in my ears. Clearly, this was an assault.
"Let go!" I snapped, struggling against him. "I said let go!"
Then, from somewhere behind me, a deep, cold, familiar voice cut through the chaos.
"You heard her, Colin. Let go."