Artifice of Love

Chapter 1

They say dreams are only real until you open your eyes. And that the greatest nightmare is the ugly face of reality.

Celine remembered how Ashton's eyes had watched her with pity as she made those fateful steps to Nathan's office. The way her colleagues had whispered amongst themselves, each of them wearing a 'what has she done this time' look on their faces.

Her throat tightened as she swallowed the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes. Raindrops splashed on her face as nondescript reminders that the world to her would always be lonely and bitter like wet clothes left to dry in the frigid cold.

Everything she'd worked for had vanished, never to see the light of success. All because of a jerk that viewed her as a dispensable employee.

Her boss's words echoed in her ears, his sharp accusations cutting through her like the angry stabs of a knife. 'Liar.' 'Traitor'. They were words she had never expected to hear at her job.

Nathan had just wanted a scapegoat for the leaked fashion designs. If it was found out that the designs had been stolen due to his own incompetence, embarrassment would follow him like a dark cloud, never to be dissipated. It was easier to blame others than to blame yourself.

She had worked so hard after college, enduring the sleepless nights, scrambling for an internship, and groveling for the favor of her superiors. But at the age of twenty-three she had nothing to show for it except for a bad case of insomnia and the few hundred dollars in her dwidning bank account.

The dreams that had seemed so achievable now fluttered away, anxious butterflies escaping from smoke and raging fire.

Celine bent down to adjust her broken heel, briefly massaging the soreness in her foot. They were the kind of shoes that looked pretty but were a horror to wear. The back pinched on her heel like sharp claws, her toes crushing together uncomfortably.

The glossy exterior and cute bow did little to override the worthlessness of the footwear. It was only now that she realized how useless everything was.

They had once given her so much confidence but now tied her down as if dragging her to the center of the earth, designed by the very person that was about to fire her.

Celine had wanted to work for a different company but had failed to get in. And Nathan disliked being anything other than number one. It wasn't a surprise that he blamed her for his leaked designs. Now her punishment would be getting thrown out of the industry.

She walked faster, recounting all the ways she had ever pissed Nathan off, when her apartment came into view. The unit was located in a short brick building with dusty windows and tightly latched doors, meant to obstruct the occasional burglar or hooligan.

Dissatisfied tenants had asked the landlord for a renovation but with each passing day found the inches of debris and damage spreading, devouring their living space, as if swallowing up the very air they breathed. The neighborhood was a home for criminals and the unfortunate; people down on their luck and with nowhere else to go.

Approaching the eyesore of a structure, Celine noticed a lone figure standing in front of the building as if in waiting. They contrasted against the backdrop of crumbling gray infrastructures and sparse trees unlike the normal inhabitants that kept their heads down, fearful of being spotted by either the police or the aggressive criminals that prowled the streets.

She silently prayed that it wasn't one of the neighborhood creeps that offered 'to give her a ride' with the hopes of kidnapping her and selling her body parts on ebay. Today had been a bad day but she didn't want to die just yet.