ATONEMENT || 𝟏𝟖+ [hiatus]

𝑣𝑖. 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

──・・𖦁・・──

Since my first social outing after two years of seclusion was...less than stellar, I accepted an offer to go to a garden party at the house of my former talent agent, O'Halloran, hosted by his wife, Giselle. He never let me use his first name, so he's always been just O'Halloran. Plus, I met Levy through him, since she's his daughter. I have no doubt that Ophelia and Levy will be attending, but there's another, more pressing issue. O'Halloran is also the reason I met Sam. He was a model when we met, also managed by O'Halloran.

This means, I'll probably end up seeing the two of them...great. This time, I'll be on my best behavior. Scout's honor.

I decided to wear a navy double-breasted dress and tan belt by Alessandra Rich, a diamond jaipur link necklace by Marco Bicego, and white Fendi knee-high boots. While some might think it's an odd choice for an outdoor event, it's appropriately on brand with the casual luxury of the O'Halloran family.

They live outside the city on 340 acres of land in the countryside. Their houses shouldn't even be defined as a house. It goes beyond mansion and manor. It's something else entirely, that I never know how to label, so I suppose house will have to do. I walk through the house to the backyard, following the stream of other guests out into their backyard. It's a massive space, decorated with tables covered by pale yellow sheets, and beyond the round tables is a longer one, piled with teacakes, eclairs, doughnuts, macaroons, and more. Beyond the table, wickets are spread out across the lawn with three to four mallets lying nearby along with their respective balls.

Levy notices me first and waves me over to the table where her and Ophelia sit with O'Halloran and Giselle. I smile and approach the table, taking a seat between Ophelia and O'Halloran. It feels so different from dinner with Alexander. Maybe it's a shift in mentality. Maybe it's because I got to let out a little bit of steam at Cassidy and Sam's party. I'm not quite sure.

"How's it going, Firecracker?" Levy smiles at me and throws in a wink.

I pour myself a glass of chardonnay and take a sip. "Firecracker? That's an interesting nickname, but new and unique. Wonder what it refers to..."

Ophelia shakes her head and smiles. "Did you have fun at Sam and Cassidy's?"

"Oh, it was great. I wore that dress I had custom made last year, the one for Alexander's birthday when the theme was still red. Then I talked to like two people, theeeen I left. It was really fun."

O'Halloran snorts beside me. "That's the condensed version. Leave it to you to leave an impression no matter where you go."

"Were you there, O'Halloran?"

"I got front row seats to the whole affair. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to kickstart your career again," he glances at me, taking a sip of his drink. It looks like J&B. Not sure, though.