I Walked Away, Now He's Begging

Chapter 6 Metamorphosis

Elena

I sat across from Grace at Le Bernardin, pushing my salade niçoise around my plate without appetite.

"How's everything set up in LA? Work? Housing?" Grace asked.

I nodded mechanically. "My Columbia friend helped arrange everything. There's a position at an investment firm. Housing's sorted too." So what? It's not like Adrian would even care to know.

"Elena, you look tired. Even makeup can't hide how exhausted you are."

I offered a weak smile, saying nothing. What am I supposed to do now? How do I start over when I don't even know who I am without him?

"Excuse me, miss."

"Ah!" I gasped as cold soup suddenly splashed across my white blouse. The server had stumbled, spilling gazpacho all over me.

"Oh god!" The server's face went pale. "I'm so sorry! Let me—"

"Oh my god, I have a flight to catch! What am I going to do now?" I stared at the stain.

Grace's eyes lit up with sudden excitement. "Let me create a new Elena! Trust me on this one. It's time to show Adrian what he's lost."

The Madison Avenue salon was the kind of upscale place I had never dreamed of entering.

"Sophia!" Grace called out to a striking woman with dark hair and knowing eyes. "My girl needs your magic!"

Sophia turned from her station and gasped. "Oh my god, Grace! You didn't tell me you had such a stunning friend hiding behind those glasses!"

I automatically reached up to adjust my frames—a nervous habit Adrian had always found endearing. Stop thinking about him.

"Honey," Sophia said gently, approaching with the confidence of someone who'd transformed faces for twenty years. "These glasses have been hiding your beautiful eyes for far too long."

She reached for my frames. I instinctively pulled back. "I... I can't see without them."

"Trust me, darling."

The world went soft and blurry as the glasses disappeared. I blinked, feeling exposed.

"Now, let's reveal who you really are." Sophia's hands were already in my hair, loosening the tight bun.

"I'm thinking classic elegance. Luminous skin, earth-toned eyes..." She spoke as she worked, her voice soothing. "Grace, hand me the bronze palette."

"Make her look like a goddess!" Grace called out with undisguised glee.

I felt like I was floating as Sophia worked, with a hint of anticipation beneath the surface. Could this really transform me into Elena—not someone's substitute?

Brushes swept across my face, fingers combed through my hair. I couldn't see the details, but I could feel something changing.

Sophia held up a white off-shoulder top with black floral patterns. Grace grabbed a pair of black high-waisted flare pants. "These!"

I squinted at the blurry shapes. "Won't it be too... noticeable?"

"Elena," Grace's voice was firm. "You need to be noticeable."

Both women looked at each other and grinned. "Perfect!"

Twenty minutes later, Elena stepped out of the dressing room. Sophia clapped her hands together. "Ta-da! Look at yourself, beautiful."

My breath caught. The woman staring back at me from the mirror was a stranger.

My golden hair fell in sleek, straight lines past my shoulders. My eyes, freed from glasses, were luminous and striking. The makeup was subtle but transformative—I glowed.

"Is that... really me?"

Grace clapped her hands. "Now THIS is the real Elena! Adrian doesn't deserve you. Hell, he never did."

I touched my face wonderingly. "I never knew I could look like this."

Sophia smiled knowingly. "You always looked like this, honey. You just needed to let her out."

For the first time, I'm seeing myself—not other people, not what they want me to be. I think I'm falling in love with this Elena.

At the airport, as Grace walked me toward security, I could feel everyone's eyes on me. For the first time in my life, I didn't want to hide. I wanted to be seen!

"Call me when you land," Grace said, hugging me fiercely. "And Elena? Don't you dare look back."

"I won't," I promised, and meant it.

I walked toward my gate, checking my boarding pass. "Gate 23B, seat 15A..." I murmured to myself.

Lost in checking flight details, I didn't notice the tall figure walking directly toward me until—

THUD.

I walked straight into what felt like a wall of muscle, stumbling backward.

Strong hands caught my waist, steadying me against a broad chest. I looked up, my vision still adjusting without my glasses, and found myself staring into—

Oh.

The world stopped.