Love, Lies & Legacy- chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

I was sitting at the hotel's cafe, drinking my macchiato while enjoying the view of the Eiffel Tower. Julez is away on a photo shoot for French Vogue and Jesse is off spending his evening with some of his former mates from boarding school.

He was a little hesitant to go because he did not want me to spend the evening alone but I assured him I was going to be all right. My dad called me last night saying he wanted me to meet an old family friend that lives in Paris.

Apparently I have met them when I was a toddler. I was supposed to meet her at the café. My dad told me that she would be able to recognize me easily. In my head, I was wondering why this woman would want to meet me.

"Beautiful is it not?" a voice asked as I was staring at the Eiffel Tower. I immediately stood because for some reason, this woman in front of me commanded respect.

"I apologize if I startled you, Sienna," she said with her thick accent. She looked in her early 40s. She was stunningly beautiful with a face that seemed to age gracefully. She had white blond hair, tied up in a ponytail with a red ribbon. I was completely speechless in her presence. She looked like a woman that has been through a lot in life and has the natural power to give command and demand respect.

"Sit down, my dear," she said, gracefully placing her vintage Chanel handbag on the chair next to mine while taking a seat in front of me.

"How did you know I'm Sienna?" I asked abruptly.

"You have a striking resemblance to Aurora. I could recognize you anywhere," she said proudly. Hearing the name Aurora made my heart jolt in pain. After my mum's death, her name was not mentioned much because I refuse to remember the day she went away.

"You should not be sad. Aurora was a beautiful and charming person. You should be proud to be her daughter," she said with care as she saw my disturbed expression.

"Not to be rude, but who are you?" I asked finally.

"I am Annaliese Cuza. I was your mother's best friend and your godmother," she said calmly. Then I started to remember things. My mum would go to Paris every fall to shop for new clothes, enjoy the countryside and visit Annaliese. But I have never got the chance to meet her since I was a baby.

"Oh, my mum mentioned you a couple of times. You two grew up together, right?" I asked, sipping my macchiato.

"Yes, we went to school together," she said, while looking straight at me.

"Why do you want to meet me? Why now?" I asked while looking at this stunning woman.

"What I am about to tell you is usually a conversation between mother and their child. Your mother told me that if she was not here during the right time, I would be the one to tell you."

"Tell me about what?" I asked, curious to know this supposedly mother-child conversation.

"Every year, a group of parents from an elite, opulent and powerful families host a ball for their teenage children. It is a very exclusive ball and only children from certain families are chosen to attend," she said seriously.

"The ball is to introduce the future members of the Eternelle Situation De Trio. It is a very old society," she continued. Society? What is this woman talking about?

"What does this society do?"

"Well, we help each other out. Control the uncontrollable, fix what is broken and prevent the unthinkable," she said.

"I don't get it," I said, frustrated and confuse at the same time.

"Your introduction was supposed to be last year, when you were 16. The ball was two week after your mother's death. She did not have a chance to tell you about it. Listen Sienna, this is a very important matter."

"Why is it important?" I asked, exasperated.

"For 3 generations, your family did not send a representative for the ball. For 85 years, the Masenfers were not in the society. Your mother wanted to introduce you, the first Masenfer in almost a millennium," Annaliese said.

"Masenfer? That's my mum’s maiden name…” I said, trying to wrap my brain around this whole secret club.

"Indeed. Before this, every girl in the Masenfer family who got married would keep their surname for the society. But since the Masenfers did not join the society that time, your mother did not bother to keep it. She thought when you were a little older; you would hyphenate or change your surname to Masenfer. She wanted you to continue the wonderful family legacy.

"Ok, I need time to let all of this sink in. But if I wasn't in Paris, how would you meet me and tell me all of this?" I asked suspiciously.

"Your best friend's family is in the society. I did a few things so you would come here," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"The Everards?"

"Yes, this whole thing about you meeting Julez and coming to Paris was all set up. The plan went better than I thought. I did not expect Julez to release your song and you falling in love with Jesse was very surprising…." She said with a smile.

What did she mean a set up?

"What do you mean set up?" I asked, feeling the anger crept through my skin.

"Your encounter with Julez was not an accident. It was all planned out. We knew you two would be great friends and that she would invite you to Paris this summer because she comes every year," Annaliese said. For some reason, I felt like bursting out and killing somebody.

"What? And Jesse? Was he a set up too?" I asked, controlling my anger.

"No, he was not a set up. We intentionally wanted to set up you up with Jesse but he was dating Lexy that time," she said while the waiter arrived with her coffee. "Merci."

Jesse dated Lexy? The fabulous leggy supermodel! I was trying real hard to wrap my brain around this while trying to control my state of confusion and anger.

"Lexy Pierce? The supermodel?" I asked.

"Well yes. I thought you would have not known her. She is well known in Europe but not so in the States," she said. I rubbed my fingers on my temple, trying to let everything form the secret club to the fact that my boyfriend once dated a supermodel and did not even tell me about it.

"You know what; I think I had enough for today. I really need time to calm down and process al this new information," I said while getting up. Annaliese stood up too with a look of understandment.

"I understand all of this is new for you. You think about the Eternal ball and your introduction. Aurora did not want to force you with this," she said while taking her handbag.

"I'm sorry for this. It's just a little shocking."

"It’s completely normal. I will contact you sometime to ask whether you would attend the ball. I would appreciate that you do not tell anybody about this, not even the Everard twins," she said seriously.

"All right. It's great to meet you Annaliese. It's nice to finally meet my godmother," I said while shaking her hand.

"It is nice to finally meet another Masenfer," she said with a smile and walked away. Masenfer, how come every time I hear that name, I feel like have this big responsibility.

The thing is I did not know much about my mum's side of the family. She told me she had a younger sister and that my grandparents died when I was young. Other than that, I did not know anything.

It seemed to me that the Masenfer family is full of mysteries that my mother did not have a chance to tell me. Then there is the ball for Eternelle Situation De Trio, a society that sounds very old and important, which I have no clue of.

The questions that are stuck on my mind are why the Masenfers stop sending a representative? Why did they exclude themselves from the society? Was there a conspiracy behind all of this? The other important question is why didn't Jesse tell me that he had dated Lexy?