Chapter 48 Freya
FREYA
Cole: Just got onto the plane, will be leaving soon. I’ve arranged a surprise for you. Expect the apartment buzzer to go off any minute.
Isuck in a sharp breath. What has he done now?
Tonight is the club opening. I have my dress ready in the bedroom. It’s nothing fancy, but something that still fits from my time in Vegas that I think will be appropriate. Casey and I had planned to go shopping together, but she hasn’t managed to find the time.
I, on the other hand, have been as free as a bird. Although, not if you ask Levi who popped up in my messages trying to arrange our next date. Yeah…I don’t think that’ll be happening. Ever.
Nerves rattle through me at the thought of what tonight might hold.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the media spotlight. Well, not me, of course. But much like tonight, I was on the arm of a man the media all wanted a piece of.
I hated it. Felt like nothing more than a puppet being dragged along against its will.
I cringe as I remember the shouting and screaming to get Rowan’s attention. The flash of the cameras. The enthusiastic fans who were desperate for a piece of him.
At the beginning, it was fun. I’d willingly get dressed up and enjoy being a part of it.
I can’t really pinpoint when that changed, but it did.
I guess it started small with Rowan not approving of how I’d done my hair or makeup.
Then it would move to my outfit choice. It got to the point where if we were going out in public, he’d decide on my clothes.
Toward the end, I just stopped getting invited at all.
Eventually, I was cast aside. Replaced by prettier, more talented women.
I remember the first time I saw him with someone else; I was physically sick. I’d had all these hopes and dreams for our future, and there it was, clear as day on the internet, that he’d moved on.
I was drowning from our separation, and he was up on stage kissing pop stars and dating models.
I can’t go through that again. I barely survived the first time.
My nerves about tonight grow.
I hate that I’m alone this afternoon. If Cole were here, I doubt I’d be as scared as I am. Just his presence would calm me. And I have no doubt he’d have the right words to say, too. He always does.
Freya: What have you done?
His message shows as read immediately, but he doesn’t start typing.
I sit there with my heart in my throat, waiting.
Eventually, the dots begin bouncing, although the sight doesn’t calm my anxiety at all.
Cole: You deserve to be treated like a queen. So sit back, relax, and enjoy your afternoon. I can’t wait to see you x
“Oh god,” I whimper, my head spinning with ideas.
Unsure of what to reply, I go for the polite option and instantly regret it.
Freya: See you soon. Have a great flight.
Cole: Did I fuck up?
I drop my head into my hand, regret rolling through me.
Freya: No, not at all. I’m just nervous about tonight.
Cole: Everything is going to be fine. And you’re going to look beautiful. But if at any point you want to bail, all you’ve got to do is say the words.
It’s tempting to say the words now. To tell him that I can’t go and spend the night home alone instead.
But that’s what the broken me would say. The new me wants to be brave and do things the old me would have embraced with open arms.
That’s what I want to do. Hold my head up high and embrace my new life with Cole. I want to stand by his side at events like this. I want to support him publicly, not be too scared to show my face.
Freya: Thank you.
Cole: Anything. I’ll never make you do something you don’t want to do.
I know this, I do. But old fears die hard, I guess.
Freya: I can’t wait to see you, too.
Cole: Just about to take off x
I slump over the kitchen island, exhausted from battling my fears and anxiety all day.
But I barely get a second to catch my breath when the buzzer rings through the apartment.
With ideas of what he could have done running full speed through my mind, I get to my feet and walk over.
“Hello?”
“Good afternoon, Miss Price,” Melvin says happily. I have to grit my teeth to stop myself from asking him to call me Freya again. He clearly doesn’t want to. “I have some very glamorous people here for you that Mr. Hansley has organized. Apparently, you have a big event tonight.”
“Uh…yeah. It’s a club opening.”
“Sounds very exciting. Am I okay to let them up?”
The desire to say no burns through me.
I don’t need them. I can do all of this myself. But…Cole planned it. For me.
“Yeah, that would be great. Thank you, Melvin.”
“My pleasure, Miss Price.”
He cuts the line, and I wait nervously, ready to let whoever it is in.
Five minutes later and the front door buzzer goes off, scaring the ever-loving crap out of me even though I was waiting for it, and I rush over, probably looking a mess.
I open the door to two kind yet stunning women with smiles on their faces. They both have carts, and one is holding onto a rack of dresses.
“Good afternoon, are you Freya?”
“Y-yes.”
“Fantastic. My name is Carly, and this is Francesca,” the blonde says, gesturing to her brunette friend. “Cole has booked us to get you ready for your event tonight. Is it okay if we come in?” she asks, making me realize that I’m currently barricading the door.
“Uh…yeah.”
They pile in with all their stuff. “Where would you like us to set up?” one asks.
“Um…my bedroom?”
“Wherever you’re most comfortable,” the other says softly.
I lead them to my room before I stand anxiously beside the bed while they maneuver all their supplies in.
Francesca pauses what she’s doing and looks up.
“Sweetie, you have nothing to worry about. Everything we do today is your decision. We’re here to take the stress of getting ready away, not make it worse.”
“I’m sorry, I just…I haven’t done this for a long time.”
“Here,” Carly says, pulling a bottle of pink champagne and a glass from her cart.
“Why don’t you get comfortable, have a little drink while we sort ourselves out, and then we can start with dress options.
” My eyes float to the covered rack, fear of what could be hanging inside almost too much to bear.
Some of the things Rowan used to get me to wear were awful, and I never had a say.
“Would you like to take a look now?” Carly asks, sensing my unease.
“Um…” I hesitate.
Making the decision for me, Francesca runs over and uncovers the rack.
All the air leaves my lungs as my eyes fall on a whole rack of beautifully colored dresses.
“W-who chose these?” I ask quietly.
“Cole sent us some photographs of what he thought you might like, and after gathering a little more information, we pulled the options together. If you don’t like any of them, we have time to have more delivered. We won’t leave here until you’re one hundred percent happy.”
“Wow, okay,” I breathe, accepting the glass of bubbles when it’s passed over.
If I knew I was going to be drinking this early, I might have had a little more to eat.
The champagne goes down far too well, and before I know it, I’m riffling through the dress options. They are all beautiful, and every single one is something I would look at in a store.
How?
How have they done this?
“Is there one or two you’re immediately drawn to?” Carly asks.
“This one,” I say, pulling out a sequin-covered sapphire dress.
“Okay, so shall we start there?”
I slip into the bathroom with the dress in hand and close the door behind me.
I pause when I see my reflection in the mirror. There’s excitement in my eyes. Never in a million years did I think I’d see that again while getting ready for an event like this.
The dress lining is as soft as silk, although when I notice the price tag swinging from it, I figure that it probably is. It feels incredible and fits me perfectly.
I twist this way and that, feeling those familiar sparks of the girl I used to be as I watch myself.
Feeling confident, I pull the door open and step out.
“Oh wow.” They both gasp. “That looks incredible,” Carly adds.
“Are you going to be a first-choice-wins kinda girl?” Francesca asks.
“Maybe. I do love it,” I say, gently running my palms over the sequins at my sides. “I would like to test a couple more, though, if that’s okay?”
“Of course it’s okay. You tell us which ones, and we’ll pass them through to you.”
I spend the next three hours having the best time with Carly and Francesca. I soon learn just how down-to-earth and relaxed they are. We shortlisted three dresses, but in the end, I couldn’t give up the sapphire one. Neither of them looked shocked by my choice.
Once my hair and makeup are done, and I’ve consumed another two glasses of champagne—thankfully, they allowed me to run out for snacks—I feel like an entirely new woman.
I’m not the old me that I’ve been trying to find. And I’m a long way from the broken girl I was not so long ago.
I’m…me, but another new version. And I think I really like this one.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s the one I’ve always been destined to be.
Carly and Francesca say their goodbyes and wish me a good night, and I’m left in the apartment alone, fully dressed and ready to go.
I haven’t heard anything from Cole, but as long as everything went smoothly with their travel, he should be back any moment.
I perch myself at an island stool and just wait.
Thankfully, only a handful of minutes later, I hear the familiar sound of the front door opening.