A Heart in the Mafia's Grip

Chapter 4: Shattered Trust

The day of the show arrived, and Kaia was whirl-blown in both excitement and anxiety. Under glittering chandeliers, the elite mingled in the gallery buzzing with high-society energy, appreciating the paintings. Heart pounding, Kaia stood close to her works and peeks at the guests' responses. Almost everyone in the room had noticed her work, which was distinctive and intensely felt. Nothing else would have done; the colours, the textures, the stories behind every brushstroke called to them. As she had always envisioned, the throng drew in and the compliments started to flow in.

She wore a basic, emerald green outfit that highlighted her gorgeous eyes slightly. Under the gallery lights, the delicate cloth shimmered; her blonde hair was laid in loose curls that surrounded her face. She exuded a gentle grace, a beauty more inside than outward. Her heterochromia eyes blue in her left eye and green in her right would be especially more noticeable. She seemed out of place but in the greatest conceivable sense the richness of the surroundings contrasted with her subdued presence.

More and more visitors gathered around her works as the evening progressed, murmurs of wonder. At last she was seen for what she really was: a gifted artist. But Kaia sensed a sharp, frigid change in the mood as the compliments got louder.

Vivian had been staying back, her eyes darting between Kaia and the throng. Kaia had seen Vivian's attitude change the tension, the discomfort. Then Vivian walked in, her high heels tapping on the polished floor, her face taut, just as the final visitor stayed close to Kaia's work.

Kaia went to her, seeking some criticism. But Vivian claimed next felt like a slap to her face.

"Kaia, you have to pay attention." Vivian's voice was oddly quiet, cooler than normal, and her eyes locked onto Kaia with a disturbing force.

Kaia blinked in uncertainty. "What?"

Vivian's lips opened to a smile she never could see. Kaia felt a shiver in her bones from that smile. "All of this... the appreciation, the focus? Fantastic, but you have to keep your place in mind."

Vivian's comments sliced like a razor across the air before Kaia could reply. "You think this is all yours, not sure?" Her voice was silky but dark, with a suggestion of something far darker behind it. "You believe people are staring at you, at your gift. You are mistaken though. I put on this display. I made sure these folks would pay me attention."

Kaia stepped back while her heart surged. "Vivian...what are you talking about?"

Vivian's eyes sparkled with icy wrath, her face contorted into nearly unidentifiable shape. "You believe yourself to be unique? These bits, Kaia, belong to me. You did not design every one of them. You hardly created half of them. I answered. You are only a beautiful face; I let you perform as an artist since it helps me."

Kaia's breath seized in her throat, the treachery plunging right into her chest. She started to talk, but the words stuck in her mouth. Vivian approached closely, her voice low and poisonous.

"You will silence yourself if you wish to preserve your employment here-that is, if you wish to remain in this small universe I have let you enter. You say nothing about the actual creators of this work. I will be the one listed for everything."

Kaia's vision darkened, the sting of Vivian's words slicing through her like a razor. "No... you're mistaken.Bss please, this is my labour."

Vivian's eyes closed, her smile grew wider as her voice sharpened and became more lethal. "Do you honestly suppose anyone will accept you? You are none. Kaia, it is me with the power here. You lack anything. And you will lose everything if you believe you will be able to hide the truth. Your future-gone, your career, your reputation, gone."

All of that. Kaia's body froze in shock, her head whirled. Though she had always understood the world as merciless, this was quite different. It transcended mere business. Vivian had converted Kaia's dreams into a game, twisted everything, and now she was making her play subject comply with her harsh guidelines.

Vivian moved one last step towards her, her voice now a whisper with a terrible warning. "Don't even consider presenting this publically. If you do, I will see to it you never paint once more. You'll be nothing."

For a long minute, Kaia stood there, her heart thumping in her chest. Though the reality was stifling, she wanted to yell and fight back. At this instant she felt helpless.

"Kaia, you have never been strong. Like all others working in this field. Proceed as follows now. Straight forward Assume everything is in good shape. Still, I am the one who brought this about."

Vivian turned on her heel and moved away with the same grace she usually possessed. The harsh, merciless businesswoman Kaia had never recognised as more than a tool to be used replaced the grace of the lady Kaia had once loved.

Kaia stood in the midst of the gallery, her heart bleeding from the too great sting of betrayal. Nobody saw, though. Nobody noticed the woman standing among her own artwork silently falling.

→

Kaia found it intolerable later that evening to think of going back to her flat. She had to flee, to close the universe out. She could not face her own place or her own ideas. She so strolled to Julian's flat in search of some comfort.

His face collapsed as he opened the door. He was not obliged in asking. She gave him everything with her look.

"Kaia...?," His voice was gentle but wary. Without a word, she swept past him and proceeded straight to his bedroom. She lost interest in explanations and in anything at all. She simply needed someplace to fall.

Somewhere to be numb. Her voice strained, "I'll be taking your bed," she said. She entered the room and collapsed, tears running freely as the weight of the evening crushed her; she did not wait for a reply.

She had assured herself she would not cry once again. She had assured herself she would be robust. But the suffering of what Vivian had done-of how she had betrayed her-was too great. Like a scar reopening she had spent years trying to cure, the betrayal seemed all too familiar.

Kaia worried if she would ever be able to trust once she laid in Julian's bed and her tears filled the solitude. She also wasn't sure whether she could stay on, if her heart could survive another betrayal.

A bit later the bedroom door creaked open, but Julian said nothing. He wasn't obliged to. He simply sat there, lending her the one thing she was unable to provide: empathy. And tired and broken Kaia let herself silently lean on him.

----

Julian's flat was dark, the silence broken only by her intermittent tears. Originally seeking solace here, the weight of the betrayal hung over her like a shadow.

She also wondered if she had made the correct decision as she laid there curled in Julian's bed. Would depending on someone ever feel safe once more?