C2 2

It's Christmas time, and I'm freezing as I stand on the street corner, holding my suitcase. The snow flurries around me and I shiver in my jacket that's way too light for this kind of weather.

I'm outside Haute Couture, looking in the frosted window at a gorgeous dress on display. It's red, of course. Everything is red at this time of year. The dress displays the mannequin's cleavage in a sexy yet tasteful fashion, and the mannequin herself stares at me and silently mocks my plain outfit as I shake in it from the bitter cold.

It was here, on this very spot, standing outside Haute Couture with Percy last year, when he grabbed my hand and pointed to last year's sexy festive mannequin and told me, "You'll marry me in this dress next Christmas."

Someone walks past me, bumps against me with their elbow as they speak into their cell phone. The phone drops out of his hand and onto the icy sidewalk.

"I'm sorry!" he says, bending to pick the phone up. But the phone has slid between my feet, so I pick it up for him and hand it over with my own apology.

Before he takes the phone, I get a look at the image he's using as a background. I recognize the woman in the photo. Her name is Estelle Devereux, and she's the daughter of a wealthy property tycoon. In the picture she's standing beside Percy. They're getting married soon.

I clutch the phone and my hands hold it against my chest without my control. The man gives me an angry look and grabs the phone before storming away and apologizing to whoever he was speaking with.

The suitcase at my feet stares at me in the same mocking tone as the mannequin, and I collapse in front of the shop window and break down into tears.

I wipe the tears from my eyes, trying to pull myself together, then stand up to leave this horrible place. Before I can leave, I see my friend waving at me.

I don't want to be with her, don't want to see her or talk to her. I hurry away in the opposite direction, hoping she'll think I didn't notice her. But she chases me, and I hear her shoes slap against the cold pavement as she tries to catch me.

I turn down a small alley and hide behind a trash can. Shortly after me comes my friend, and with her I can hear the voice of her boyfriend.

"You must have mistaken someone else for her," says the boyfriend. "Didn't you say your friend is going to marry a rich businessman? Why would she be here?"

My friend says to him, "I heard from some friends that her boyfriend tricked her father into going bankrupt, and then he dumped her and kicked her out of their apartment."

They leave. I cover my mouth and cry silently until I can't hear their footsteps anymore. Suddenly my feet are numb and when I try to stand I lose my balance.

Someone reaches a hand out and I grab it out of reflex. I look up to see a well-dressed man, who makes sure I'm alright before being on his way once more.

From across the street, my friend sees me again and runs over.

"What are you doing here?" she asks me. Her eyes go to the luggage that I try hiding behind me. "What is that?"

"I'm here to pick up my Haute Couture dress," I tell her.

"We've been best friends since high school," she says. "You'll ask me to be your maid of honor at your wedding with the rich gentleman, won't you? I remembered you said the last time we met that the wedding would be around Christmas."

I hide my emotions behind a happy face. "It's been postponed."

Her boyfriend calls her from across the street and she gives me a wave, saying, "I'll wait for your invitation!"

Not wanting to leave while my friend and her boyfriend can still see me, I go into Haute Couture, dragging my suitcase behind me, and hide. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see them leave.

A man in a tailored suit approaches me, and I apologize and try to leave. But the man grabs me and drags me into a nearby changing room, pulling the curtain closed. He pushes me against the wall as I try to escape and puts a finger on my lips.

"Shh…"

The man pulls the curtain back an inch, and I can see that my friend who was across the street is now in the store. My face turns a deep red, and when I hear my friend exit the door of the shop I push the man away and leave the store.

There's a fancy car parked on the side of the street. A man in an elegant coat stands beside me and holds out a hand.

"Hello. I'm Sterling."

I'm reluctant to take his hand but feel awkward if I don't.

"Victoria," I say. I'm shivering uncontrollably. Sterling takes off his scarf and hands it to me, and I take it.

"Thank you," I manage to say through chattering teeth, and wrap the scarf around my neck.

"Can I give you a ride?" Sterling asks me, looking at the pumps I'm wearing. "No, thank you."

He writes his phone number on a card and hands it to me. "Call me if you need any help."

"It's okay, I'll be fine."

He smiles brightly. "At least call so you can return the scarf."

I watch him drive off, then my heart stops when I see Percy and his fiancee in the distance. I leave my luggage on the sidewalk and run after them through the traffic. They walk into a jewelry store.

I try to go inside but two security guards stop me. "I'm sorry, Miss. We're booked today," one of them says.

"I know the gentleman who just entered," I tell him, nodding toward Percy who still hasn't seen me. "I'd like to meet him."

One of the guards stays outside with me while the other goes inside. I see him speak with Percy. Percy looks at me through the front window.

The guard comes outside and says, "I'm sorry, the gentleman says he doesn't know you."

Now I'm furious. I try to push past the guards. "Get away from me! Let me in!"

The guards give me a shove and I fall backwards into a snow drift. Passersby stare at me like I'm some kind of bum.

I scramble to my feet and get back to the Haute Couture. My luggage is gone. I wrap my arms around myself and walk down the street, trembling with cold. I'm hungry now, too. Everyone else is wearing warm winter clothes.

I stop at a bakery and look through the window at the freshly baked bread. A little girl exits the shop and sees me. She stares for a moment before returning inside, then comes back outside with a candy cane breadstick and hands it to me.

"Thank you!" I gasp. "Oh, you sweet angel." I reach out to take the bread.

A tramp sprints between us, grabbing the bread from the little girl. The little girl screams and runs back into the bakery. The tramp takes a bite of the bread and looks at me, then decides to come closer. Closer.

I scream for help and run the other way. I slip on the ice, and everything goes dark.

When I open my eyes again, I'm surrounded by medical equipment. I'm wearing a hospital gown, laying in bed with an IV in my arm. As I struggle to sit up, a nurse enters the room.

"Are you feeling better?" she asks.

"What's wrong with me?"

"You passed out on the street. Do you remember what happened?"

"No, nothing." I fall back and stare at the ceiling. "When can I leave?"

"You're almost recovered, but you or your family needs to pay the bills before you can go."

"I don't have any family."

"What about friends?" she asks.

I shake my head. "No friends, either."

"I'm sorry, but you can't be discharged if that's the case. Maybe you can find a charity to pay your bill."

The nurse takes some folded clothes from a cart and places them on my bed. She takes a note from her pocket with a phone number on it.

"I found this in your pocket."

I take the note and stare at the numbers, remembering what the gentleman had said. Call if you need help with anything. I look at the hospital telephone.

It seems like a long time passes before I decide to dial the number. The phone rings several times before someone picks up.

"Hello." I recognize Sterling's voice.

All I can think to say is, "Hi."

"It's you, isn't it? The girl with the suitcase."

"You remember me?"

"Of course. Not many girls have such a beautiful voice. What can I do for you?"

I bite my lip. "I...I may need your help."

A few hours go by. A nurse knocks on my door and tells me that a friend has come to help me get discharged. A total stranger walks in. I was expecting Sterling.

"Hello, Miss." The man is dressed in an expensive suit and carries a briefcase with him. "My name is Gabriel Mendelson, Mr. Bellegarde's attorney. He sent me here to handle your affairs."

I don't know what to say. "Thank you. I didn't want to bother him, but…"

"I understand. Mr. Bellegarde wanted to come himself, but something came up and he couldn't make it. He did say to me that he'd like to meet with you after this is all settled."

"Of course," I tell him. "I must express my gratitude to him personally."

Gabriel is a handsome man. He looks into my eyes and asks, "Do you need to pack?"

I shake my head. "No. There's nothing except me."

Gabriel takes me from the hospital to a luxury apartment building on the top floor. From the window I can see the entire city. The Christmas spirit is everywhere, blinking in red and green lights in the streets and on the buildings.

Gabriel shows me to a bedroom. A housemaid follows behind. Inside the room is a large bed, with fine clothes, cosmetics, and jewelry sitting on it. I stand nervously in the corner of the room, playing with my fingers in front of me.

"This is Mr. Bellegarde's temporary residence here in New York," Gabriel tells me. "You may stay here for the time being."

"Where is Mr. Bellegarde?" I ask.

"Unfortunately, he has just left for Europe. He told me to offer you this room to stay." He gestures to the housemaid. "This is Becca. She will help you with anything you need. Of course, you're free to leave if you wish, but Mr. Bellegarde hopes you would leave your contact information behind so that he can meet you when he returns."

I have nowhere else to go, but I don't tell Gabriel that. As Gabriel leaves, Becca says something softly that I can't hear. She opens a closet. Inside is a rack of expensive and beautiful clothes.

A few days pass. I'm sitting in the living room, holding a cup of coffee, staring out the window onto the city below me. A fire blazes in the hearth.

There's a knock at the door and I turn to it. Gabriel enters and sits beside me on the couch.

"Are you comfortable staying here?" he asks.

I smile. "Yes, thank you. Do you know when Mr. Bellegarde will be back?"

Gabriel doesn't answer me. He hands me a document. "This is a record of all your previous debts. According to Mr. Bellegarde's instructions, I have cleared them all."

I gape as I grab the document and stare at it. "All my debt? Why would he do that for me?" I read through the document. It seems legitimate, showing everything from the hospital, credit cards, even my student loans. All paid.

"It's nothing to him," Gabriel says.

"But I can't accept this, it's too much. Please ask him to take it back."

Gabriel frowns. "Perhaps you misunderstand. This is not charity. Mr. Bellegarde is, unfortunately, dealing with some problems and needs your help. This is his way of paying for it. Of course, you can refuse to help. Your debts will be paid regardless and he will not ask to be repaid immediately. You may stay here until you find another place to live. Whether or not you choose to help Mr. Bellegarde, there will be no loss on your part."

Immediately I look for the catch. "What does he need from me? I won't do anything illegal, if that's—"

"Oh no, of course not. He merely needs to marry you."

For some reason, this doesn't shock me as it should have. "He has this nice apartment in New York, and he obviously has enough money, and he's a very nice gentleman… He should have so many women chasing him. Why choose me?"

Gabriel shrugs. "Maybe he believes in you."

"But we only met once!"

"Sometimes, that's more than enough."

I look down at the document and think about what Mr. Bellegarde is asking.

"I'm afraid I have to turn him down," I say. "I'm grateful for everything Mr. Bellegarde has done for me, but I was taught not to trust strangers. I'll leave tomorrow, and I'll pay off my debt to him when I'm able to."

Gabriel frowns. "Don't you want to think about it before you reject him outright? Perhaps go and speak with him personally?"

I sigh. "I suppose I owe him that much, at least."

Gabriel laughs. "You're a smart girl. Here." He takes another document from his briefcase and hands it to me along with a fountain pen. "Sign this. It says you agree to marry Mr. Bellegarde, and after you fulfill your duty and give him the help he needs, your marriage will end automatically. There's really nothing to be afraid of."

I take the pen. It's heavy. There's no harm in helping, I say to myself, then sign my name on the document.

Gabriel takes the paper and pen from me, looks over the document, then puts everything away in his briefcase. He stands.

"Is there anything you'd like to do before I take you to meet Mr. Bellegarde?"

I look at a newspaper that's sitting on the coffee table. The headline states that Percy will be married tonight. I look up at Gabriel. "How about revenge?"

That evening, Becca brings me an ornate box and tells me that it's from Gabriel. It's a dress that he expects me to wear to meet Mr. Bellegarde. I open the box and laugh. It's the dress that was on display at Haute Couture that day when I passed out in the street.

I put it on and stand in front of a mirror. What was once a weak and pathetic girl has transformed into a beautiful, noble goddess. I smile at myself and hope Percy is ready for what's coming.