(unedited)
It had been a long day yesterday and today was the final shoot day, today they were going to go to the chateau. The home in which his mother killed herself. Richard leaned forward, touching his forehead to the tiled wall in front of him as the hot water continuously pounded on his back. He knew that he was on the brink of an anxiety attack and the only thing that kept him hinged was his race-horse-like focus on Farrah; on her, her dreams, her wants, her aspirations, and her ambitions. He was well aware that no amount of medicine or breathing exercise can bring him back if he lost his focus today.
He wanted her to be a success. He wanted to prove all those naysayers wrong. He wanted her to prove that with determination anything can be conquered, even your worst fears. And today, Richard was going to walk into the scene of his nightmares willingly. He had not stepped foot into that place since the day his mother died, always opting for hotels instead.
He breathed deeply, in and out â a steady rhythm to calm his racing heart. The steam that filled the room warmed him to the very last pore. He desperately wished that instead of the hard tiles under his palms, there was an expanse of warm flesh. Something that he could grip, that he could mold to swallow the echoes of his memories. Somewhere where he could bury himself in and just for a minute forget about everything that haunts him. His palm connected to the wall harshly and he restarted his breathing exercises. He knew that today was going to be one of the most difficult days in his life.
***
The calm and solace that Farrah had found in her Fajar salah ebbed away slowly as she looked out the window, watching as the streets grew quiet as they gained distance away from the city of Paris. Paris, the city of love. Farrah twirled the edges of her hair and rubbed it absentmindedly against her lips.. The charm of Paris had always intrigued her; the history, the culture, the fashion, the art, the passion. And today, she was allowed the privilege to enter such a building that had held her attention for the longest of times. She remembered watching the funeral on the tele with her mum, and in its backdrop was this gorgeous chateau.
A small private estate owned by His Highness Prince Charles and his wife, Princess Elizabeth. The rags had dubbed it, The Lovers Nest as the Prince and Princess honeymooned over there and continued to frequent the chateau until that day. The day they found her in there. Hanging of the chandelier in her room. Of course, the first thing that was in everyone's mind was 'foul play'. That somebody had had the princess killed and staged it to look like a suicide. The never found a note. They never found anything until they started packing up and found her diary.
In there the princess revealed all her secrets. How she was constantly afraid of being alone. How she felt her children were never hers. She knew she was pregnant with all three of them but there was some part of her that didn't believe that they were hers. She constantly showered them with attention, be it with affection of just plain ol' money to assuage the guilt she felt at not being able to connect with them at a baser motherly level.
She was constantly plagued by thoughts of how her husband, who even though was madly in love with her, could be cheating on her. In the days leading up to her death were the worst; she kept hearing voices and she felt as though she was being watched. There was minimal staff at the chateau, something the Princess herself had requested and that made it all the worse for her already fragile mental state of health.
Farrah gripped the pages of the printout tightly as the sun rays began to peak through the clouds. She had never thought that Princess Victoria would allow her the full copy of the Princess' diaries, but she did. The only available content of the diaries were the excerpts that were allowed public by the Palace. Victoria had sent over a box full of diaries and wishes of good luck. As she sat and read each and every word, she wondered if Richard had ever read them. And today, that was one of the questions that she would be asking him while filming.
They were almost reaching the chateau; it was time for Mark and Will to begin their shooting and for Farrah to get ready. It was going to be a long day today. Even though, there was promise of sunshine; call it her sixth sense but something was going to terribly wrong today.
***
The had already gotten their money shot; the sun rising over the chateau, casting light over what was once dark. Now, they were awaiting the arrival of Richard. Mark and Will were positioned in the driveway with all their equipment at the ready. Rachel had wanted it to be as natural as possible, which meant there was only one take and the boys had better not fuck it up. Farrah adjusted the long sleeved white silk jumpsuit she wore and smoothed her ponytail. She had put on a simple and natural makeup until Rachel told her to jazz it up a bit with a winged eye and liberal coats of mascara. Farrah felt good looking at her reflection. Her long necklaces with coloured stones and nude heels completed the look perfectly.
Smiling slightly, the feeling of dread still not really abating from her tummy, Farrah walked towards where the rest of the crew was waiting for Richard. As they waited, they quickly discussed a few last minute angles for the segment. For the end of March, it was surprisingly warm in Paris. Farrah couldn't help but let her eyes sweep the vast expanse of the grounds. The grass was trimmed and she knew if she walked deeper into the garden, there would be a wonderful flower garden there. It was already March, would the roses be in bloom yet, she wondered quietly to herself.
They saw the black range rover coming towards them first rather than hear it and both Mark and Will scrambled to get into place. The filmed the whole thing from two angles; from the car coming to a stop right at the steps to the chateau to Ben opening the door for Richard. Farrah's stomach dropped as she saw Richard; the eyebags were slightly more prominent today and he was pale â well, more so than usual. Even that spark in his eyes that always pulled her in seemed dimmed. And that clenched jaw really expressed how much he hated being here.
Once that shot was over, Rachel went over to Richard to give him a rundown about what was to happen today and what parts were they supposed to film. Richard's face remained perfectly composed but Farrah could see him clenching and unclenching his jaw. Walking up to him as Rachel went to check on the Mark and Will, Farrah saw that Richard was avoiding the surrounding. He kept his gaze on the papers in his hand, adjusting his hold to hide the fact that he was trembling.
Gently taking the papers out of his hands, Farrah looked into Richard's eyes and asked him, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, of course I am," he said with a forced smile.
"You're trembling, Richard," Farrah whispered as she gripped his hand.
Smiling tightly, Richard let go of her hand and picked up the papers again, clearing his throat he said, "I..I just need to...ah...look at these. I'll be with you in a minute."
Farrah was stung by the dismissal. Now you know how he feels whenever you do that to him, her subconscious taunted her. Taking a deep breath Farrah looked to the right and saw that Ben had been watching them. He shook his head and shrugged saying a silent apology as he followed Richard into the gardens. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Farrah pasted a smile on her face and got ready to do what she was there for.
The filming as it was went almost perfectly. What didn't, was Richard. The more they filmed, the more shut off he was towards Farrah. The look on his face as he walked through the doors of his mother's bedroom was something that she knew she wouldn't forget. The sadness that he had all but hidden seemed radiate from his entire person. The other thing she noticed was how he avoided looking at the chandelier. And neither did he sit or touch anything in the room. There was a sense of urgency from him to exit that room and once they were done, he shot out of the room and went straight to the gardens.
Farrah knew he needed some air and privacy, but Rachel being the shrewd filmmaker that she is, managed to secretly film Richard in the garden. He stood there motionlessly, with his hands supporting his head as he looked up. Farrah knew that he must have been doing his breathing exercises then. She had wanted to go to him, to help him, as her heart ached to see him like that. But Ben had told her to stay put, to let him check on Richard instead and with all her instincts telling her to ignore Ben, Farrah listened to him and stayed where she was.
The rest of the day passed in a flurry of activity. Before Richard had left, she had gone up to him but he brushed off her concern. With a smile that didn't reach his eyes he told her that he was fine. His parting words to her were to inform everyone that he had made reservations for everyone in a club that night; and that Ben would provide them with more details.
Farrah stood there watching as the black range drove into the distance, getting smaller as it drove further away from her. That feeling of dread that she had in the morning, was now coiled in massive knots in her stomach.
***
Guys, I desperately need your help...So I've been nominated in the 1st Biannual New Beginnings Fiction Awards and I need your help to vote!!
I have been nominated in the spiritual category, don't know how that happen as I definitely think The Segment is more chick lit, but hey ho....okay point being I need 5 people to comment under my nomination 'I Agree' and The Segment will be considered for the category.
I've already got 1 vote thanks to the lovely and fantastic @ThatMatchie. Come on guys, we (me, Richard, Farrah, Saif, Charlie & Ben) are on our knees begging for you guys to vote. Especially you, my beautiful silent readers...please help a sister out!!
Here's the link
https://www.wattpad.com/667458621-1st-biannual-new-beginnings-fiction-awards-open/comment/667458621_4179220a7c61ef10c3c20c53089e5e15_1545276218_8d094aaaba
Voting ends on 24 Dec 2018, so there are only a few sleeps left. Please help guys!!
And you know the usual drill, please share, vote, and comment. Show me some love guys! LOL
Thank you, thank you, thank you!