6. No more men...

ELOWEN

The door to my small apartment slammed shut behind me. Throwing my heels to one side, I somewhat dragged myself to the small couch.

Silence buzzed around, just the faint hum of the city outside, the kind that didn’t care about broken marriages or public humiliation.

I dropped my purse on the table and leaned against the small couch. This apartment belongs to Serena and me. In college, we bought this apartment and used to share it until I moved in with Adrian. Later, Serena moved into her luxury apartment as well, but we kept this place as it is. Though it is nothing fancy, it's cozy and feels like home…

The evening was crazy. It was supposed to be my day, but that bastard had turned it into his and—that man. God! My chest still burned from Adrian’s words, from Alexander’s suffocating smirk, from all of it!

“Men!” I rolled my eyes.

I slowly glanced at my purse. Slowly, I leaned forward and opened the purse, pulling out a small small notebook and a few tiny vials.

The pages smelled faintly of lavender—my first blend, back when perfume was my world. Before Adrian. Before I gave up everything for his ambitions.

Indeed, it was my dream to become a perfumer. Not so common, I know, but I got it from my grandmother…

I flipped through rough sketches, neatly written notes were still there: ‘Wild rose base with amber.’ ‘Signature scent: independence.’

‘First drop of fog, mixed with plum berries.’ A fresh and fruity fragrance…

My throat tightened. Memories bled in, harsh and uninvited—Adrian smiling as he told me not to “waste time” on fragrances, that I was better off supporting his company. And I?—blinded by love, throwing away opportunities, and silencing my dreams.

And in the end? Humiliated. Laughed at. Cast aside and the person for whom I left all of it, stabbed me in the back.

My nails dug into the page until it nearly tore. “No more.” My whisper carved through the silence, firmer with each breath. “I will start over, and this time, nothing can hold me back, and certainly, no man…”

—————————

The next morning, I woke up with Serena hovering on top of me, with a frown.

“Yaa! Bitch! Seriously!” She screamed near my ear, making me rub my eyes and sit up.

“What's wrong?” I was still in a daze.

“What's wrong? Seriously!?” She rolled her eyes, frowning. “You just ditched me in the club and vanished! Bitch! I was so damn worried! I even kept calling you and you didn't even pick up the whole night! Why is your damn phone turned off!?”

I blinked, only then realising, last night I left alone from the club and my phone—wait, my phone! I quickly picked up from the bedside table and realised why… Well, it's completely out of charge.

I scratched my head and gave her a sheepish smile, “hehe, sorry.”

“Sorry!? Really?!” She narrowed her eyes, still fuming. “After calling the security guard, I finally learned that you returned home! What were you thinking!?” She slumped on the bed.

A deep sigh escaped my lips. “I know, but last night—it was a mess. I was too lost to care about anything else. I'm sorry.”

Although she still had frown on her face, her eyes softened, “you okay? What happened later you stormed away, El?”

“Nothing special actually. Again bickering with Adrian and—” I paused as those cold green gaze flashed before my eyes. The way he was smirking, and those unnatural flirtings—Alexander Veyrek had truly left a strange impact on me!

“Well, nothing really…” I wanted to shake off his vision and cut him from the memories, when suddenly Serena's phone buzzed.

The moment she gazed at her phone, her sour expression changed, and her eyes lit up.

“Forget yesterday! It's time for a new beginning!” She cut me off excitedly, and pulled me out of the bed, “now go and get ready! You have a meeting in an hour!”

Wait—what!? …..

————————

Serena dragged me to a chic downtown café. My nerves tingled as she introduced me to the man sitting at the corner table in a grey suit, clean-shaven, sharp eyes that assessed me like I was another business proposal.

“Elowen, this is Mr. Carson,” Serena said, her voice carrying a sly smile.

“Pleasure,” he said, shaking my hand. His grip was firm, confident. “Serena talks about you a lot, miss Corvella…”

And that hit me. ‘Miss Corvella.’ Finally, after years my name was taken again and it soothed the bitterness of my ears a bit.

“And I must say, your explanation and notes choices are outstanding.” He added.

I blinked, and didn't understand at first. “I-I didn't even show you yet.”

Carson chuckled. “Correction. Serena showed me. In fact I smelled one and it's remarkably unique.”

“Ah—I see. Thanks.” I said shyly, my cheeks heating up.

After sacrificing everything for Adrian, I didn't completely stop creating fragrances, but it was a few and for my loved ones: myself, Serena, and Adrian. Although Adrian didn't know his perfumes were created by me, he always thought I bought them and raved about the perfumer. I never corrected him, though; I only took pride in silence.

Carson leaned back on his chair, as three cups of delicious coffees were served. “You have something unique, Miss Corvella. And I would like to hear more.”

I swallowed, forcing my composure. “Perfume is… more than just a fragrance to me. It’s a bundle of memory, emotions captured in a bottle. I want to create scents that hold meaning, that speak to people, and spark different good memories in them.”

His lips curved with interest. “That sounds refreshing.”

For a moment, pride bloomed inside me. Finally, it's going to happen. Finally, I'll come forward, not as Adrian Hale's wife or secretary, but as myself. As Elowen Corvella…

“I'll need the samples, Miss Corvella.” Carson said again, earning my attention. “I want to show it to my partners. I believe they would love it as well.”

“Of course.” My voice was steady, but inside, my heart was thundering so loud I felt all could hear.

Finally, a door is opening for me, and this time I won't let anyone become a barrier between me and my dreams…

_______

After meeting with Mr Carson, Serena dropped me home. I entered home with a glimmer of hope and a relieved sigh… Life feels different now, no work, no dealing with rude people, no fake smile and certainly no tantrums from Adrian.

Now, it's all about me…

“Live your life, Elowen. It's your time to shine.”

The rest of the day passed leisurely. I had watched two movies I had in my list that I couldn't manage time to watch, had snacks and then went through some of my previous fragrance designs, rewrote them and made a list to gather the notes.

Around the afternoon, I dozed off lightly until

my phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.

“Nooo…” I groaned, pulling the pillow over my head, but the buzz won't just stop!

At first, I thought it was Serena checking in. But when I reached for it with a frown, the notifications just kept piling—texts, pings, alerts—an avalanche of annoying noise.

“Who's dying bro.” I glanced at my phone and opened the news feed, and the moment my eyes caught the bold, huge headline, my blood froze…

‘Adrian Hale’s wife of five years found in arms of Alexander Veyrek?’

What the—!?