My Little Secret

Catherine was sitting in the front seat when Ivan and I came downstairs.

"You mind shifting to the back?" Ivan asks her.

"That's alright, I'll sit at the back." I say and she looks at me and smiles, it was so fake. She hated me.

He opens the door for me and I look at him and smile. He was such a gentleman.

"So, it is true huh." She asks breaking the silence after two minutes. Both of us look at her, confused. "You two. Are a thing now?" she asks.

"Oh yeah, Catherine. Meet my girlfriend, Sofia. You remember her." Ivan says sarcastically. He was a tad bit mad at me for letting her sit in the front. Every time our eyes met through the rear-view mirror, he turned away. I'd pacify him later, I thought to myself.

"That's nice. I guess, welcome to the club, Sofia?" she asks as if she didn't know what my name was.

I smile and don't say a word. Ivan looks at me through the mirror, to see if I was okay. I guess he wanted to make sure I was okay more than being mad at me.

We arrive at the Radcliffe mansion. It was huge! The gatekeeper opened the gates for us and Ivan smiled at him. I guess Ivan made sure he knew who worked for his family. It was very humble of him. There were a few fancy cars in the driveway. I suddenly wished I had dressed better. Catherine looked stunning in her olive-green silk gown. It complimented her curves quite well. Ivan himself looked so good in the tux he was wearing. I felt out of place, despite planning out the outfit well.

Ivan opens the door for me and helps me get out. I felt a little better then.

"Don't be nervous." He whispers in my ear and kisses my cheek.

I look at Catherine who looked at me like she was going to gouge my eyeballs out. I was terrified of her.

"Catherine! So good to see you." I hear a young lady say. She was wearing a peach evening dress that had a few sequins on the torso. Her hair was let loose and her hair curled in the most perfect way.

"You must be Sofia." She looks at me and smiles and extends her hand. I shake hands with her looking confused.

"Oh how rude of me, I'm Vanya. Bryan's wife." She smiles. She had one of the prettiest smiles I had ever seen. I imagined how she and Bryan would look together. They would look like those couples that came in wedding catalogues or Instagram pages for weddings. The perfect couples on Pinterest.

"It's so nice to meet you." I smile and say.

"I've heard you've got some talent" she says as we walk inside. Ivan joins us.

"Oh, she does, Van. She's too good." He says and grins. It was so sweet, how supportive he was of me.

"You've gotten him all smitten, Sofia." Vanya says and smiles, squeezing my hand a little.

I expected her to be more inclined towards Catherine, since she knew her. I was surprised to find her talk so nicely to me. She made sure I didn't feel left out at all. Till Bryan came in.

"If it's not Catherine Russo herself." He says and gives her a hug. He smiled at me and I expected nothing more. I was used to being treated as an outsider since Bryan found out that Ivan was dating me.

The dinner was quite awkward. There were a lot of people from all over the place, at least two dozen of them. Catherine and Ivan were quite occupied, since they had a lot of mutual friends. I guess I did kind of feel left out. I look around and notice everyone, they were in their own worlds. I didn't think anyone would have noticed if I disappeared. I gulp down the glass of wine and slip out for some air.

"It's awful to keep up with all this isn't it?" I hear Bryan say as I take my heels off. The grass felt nice to put my feet on.

"Do you believe in soulmates, Sofia?"

I look at him, surprised. I shrug. "I don't know."

"I do. Some people, are just not meant to be. Your world and Ivan's are very different. The sooner you realise that, the lesser the heartache." He says and turns to walk away.

I look at him disappear into the house. I agreed with him.

'This wasn't where I belonged' I thought as I walked out of the gate.