Chapter 9

The doorbell rang and Trinity reached to open up for Rick. Only, it wasn't Rick who was at the door. Staring back at her with big green eyes and a wide smile plastered across her face was Melanie Graham.

Trinity gawked, disbelief written all over her face as she replayed the scenes of her nightmare all over again. In her dream, Melanie had died in a car crash, severing the bond between her and Daniel. But in reality, here she was, standing right in Trinity's front, smiling like she did in all of her pictures. Trinity envied her for being even more beautiful in person.

"Hi. You're Trinity right? Trinity Everton." Melanie spoke.

"Trinity D'alore now," Trinity felt the need to emphasize that other name that was now hers….even though it was temporary.

Melanie simply smiled in return and let herself into the house, brushing past Trinity willfully.

"My name's Melanie, Daniel's ex-wife."

EX-WIFE??

Trinity was confused. "Daniel never told me he got married to you."

"Guessing the timing and his sudden decision to replace me, I doubt he was really interested in telling you much of anything, really." Melanie scoffed and decided she had the autonomy enough to roam the place.

Trinity felt more annoyed now. "He's not around, you know."

"I figured." Melanie gave a dry response as she came to a stop at the picture ledge. She stared at herself in the picture for a moment before taking it in her hand and putting it into her purse. "I just came to get some of my belongings that I must've left behind, I'll be gone in a minute and you'll forget this ever happened."

Silence hovered as Trinity watched the woman move back and forth, entering rooms and places she wasn't even sure she herself had been granted access to. As long as she did as she said, there wouldn't need to be any sort of confrontation. That was what Trinity hoped for, at least.

Finally, Melanie Graham had decided she had done thorough searching of the place and had gotten everything she needed that was hers. She stood face to face with Trinity now, staring her down intentionally like she needed to pass a message into Trinity's thoughts.

Trinity held her breath as the stranger in front of her stared right into her soul. She didn't stop holding her breath even when Melanie suddenly broke into a smile.

"I'll be on my way now." Melanie walked towards the door.

"I'll let him know you stopped by." Was Trinity's eager goodbye. She clutched the door handle, restraining herself from shoving the red fox outside and slamming the door against her.

Melanie gave Trinity one last intense stare. "FYI, this won't last. I know him well enough to settle for you."

Trinity wasn't having it anymore. She slammed the door without hesitation. If Daniel ever wanted to get back with that bitch, then that was really none of Trinity's business. But she wasn't going to allow herself to be put on the spot because of him.

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"I'm thinking about getting back into acting," Trinity told Elodie as she watched the heiress apply more layers of acrylic onto an almost finished art piece.

Elodie beamed at the announcement. "Why, that would be lovely Trin."

"Yeah, but it'll hard starting up again in DC. I left everything in New York."

"It doesn't matter," Elodie said with excitement as she blended the colours together on her wildlife painting. The artwork looked beautiful with the finishing touches, and Trinity was proud of how gifted her friend was in almost every area imaginable.

She had agreed to spend the afternoon with Elodie since she was all alone most of the time, and Rick wasn't enough company for her even though she had started to grow really fond of him.

The place where they were was an art house in the heart of Seattle, a place Elodie stored and sold many of her collections.

"Have you forgotten that you are THE Trinity Everton? Lots of agents would be dying to work with you."

"I'm not so sure about that. Maybe there was a time that I was THAT Trinity Everton, but everything has changed now. All the news about my….."

"My god, don't tell me you still watch the news."

Now that she was done with the painting, Elodie stood up from the small chair she had been plastered onto for hours and stretched her legs. It would only take a few hours for her new art piece to dry and it would be ready for her next auction.

"You know what I mean, El." Trinity said.

Elodie took off her apron and moved closer to Trinity. "It doesn't matter. You're one of the few best actors I know, you've got this." She enveloped Trinity in a reassuring hug.

"Now what we both need is a coffee break."

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The coffee break had in fact not been the usual coffee break a normal person would have in mind. The rest of the afternoon involved the two girls chit chatting in an outdoor restaurant until Ruby joined them for lunch.

"She did what???" Ruby squeaked, her jaw dropping and blue eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"She came over. It was so random." Trinity said as she explained the entire ordeal with Melanie.

"The audacity to tell you your marriage with Daniel won't last." Ruby scoffed and took a sip of her chai latte.

"I mean she is right, but the audacity nonetheless." Elodie said, almost fuming as hard as Ruby was.

"Guys, I don't care that much if she gets back with him. I just cannot stand being a stag at home fake wife anymore."

"Come with me to Sydney." Ruby offered.

"I really wish I could, Ruby, but right now it feels like I'm….. tethered, held, bound.. against my will. But I promise not for long."

"Well if you ever need to run away and not have to be found forever, we're always one call away." Elodie said.

Just then, Trinity's phone buzzed and a message flashed before her screen.

"Hey Trin, it's been a while. Let's talk"

Bryan hadn't bothered to reach out in months, she wondered why he was texting her now. She didn't want to get mixed feelings or her hopes raised falsely, so she ignored the message and continued her conversation with Ruby and Elodie.