by Lily Garner

Created on: July 10, 2009

Smiling, Antonia accepted the glass of champagne. She had gotten good at that; smiling. It was a strange thing to be good at, but she had often found it taxing when she started out in the business. Smiling to the camera, smiling to the fans, it had been so difficult. Especially when she was constantly thinking about the past.

Yet she had learnt to put on a brave face, and here she was. It was the party of the year, everybody was saying. And she had, naturally, scored an invitation. The clink of champagne glasses, the string quartet, the laughter of celebrities; it all told her that she had made it. She had finally accomplished her dreams. And success tasted so much sweeter knowing that she had done it on her own.

That trail of thought was leading into dangerous territory. She didn't want to think about the past. Thinking about the past meant made her forget all she had learnt in the last ten years. She could be so composed, so elegant, when she didn't think about it. The shining star the whole world saw her as.

The whole world minus him.

What she would have given to be able to have him with her, through everything. Her dreams were coming true, yet she had no one to share them with. Only fake friends who clung to her when the cameras emerged and sleazy men who wanted something to brag about to their friends, or worse, to the media. And after all; what's the point in dreams coming true when you have nobody to share the moment with? It wasn't the same going alone, no matter how much she tried to persuade herself otherwise. She needed someone she could trust, but she had left all that behind. It was in the past now. All ties were severed.

Antonia took a gulp of the French champagne she had been offered. The taste of champagne still shocked her; elegant and suave, yet dangerous at the same time. It was her second glass already. "Just stop," she whispered to herself. "Mustn't get drunk." It was wearisome, having to be on her best behaviour at all times. But she needed this; one slip up and she could lose everything. Just like before. No; she would need to spend the entire night being as charming and lovely as possible; she doubted that she could do that if she had any more champagne.

"Jill." A quiet voice overpowered the flurry of activity surrounding her. Jill...she hadn't heard that name in a long time. Had she imagined it? After all, it didn't really belong on the Hollywood scene. Perhaps the champagne was already starting to play tricks on her. It was strange,

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>