Butterfly Effect

15. Rumour Mill

The evening wore on, and the very thought of having dinner together became unbearable for her. Instead, she found solace in the depths of her walk-in closet, meticulously styling her outfits.

At least that was the excuse she had given Julian, who was currently enduring what she anticipated to be an incredibly uncomfortable meal with his estranged brother.

Meanwhile, she lay sprawled on the couch within the closet, cocooned in a plush blanket.

Jana gazed down at the photograph clutched in her hands. The woman captured in the image bore an uncanny resemblance to herself, to say the least. The picture, although slightly worn, displayed vibrant colors and depicted a stunning Egyptian woman adorned with a cascade of thick, curly hair and a complexion darker than her own.

It was a bizarre feeling, she pondered.

Her mother, a mere illusion she had conjured, remained a mysterious figure in her life. Jana had no knowledge of who this woman truly was or what she had been like, except for the striking similarity in their appearances. They were practically identical.

She wondered how her mother and father had met, and how her mother found solace in the very man who had raised her.

She couldn't say she had ever felt that way about him before.

The Polaroid picture was one she kept hidden away in her closet, inside an old Tiffany's gift box. The box rested on her lap, and she tucked the picture back inside, grazing her hand over the rest of the few remnants in there.

There wasn't a lot. After all, the box represented her fondest childhood memories and she couldn't say there were many, if any for that.

Her fingers moved over the silk ribbon that bled a crimson red.

Her fingertips grazed the smooth silk ribbon that bled a deep crimson hue. It was the same ribbon she used to tie off her braids as a young child. At the age of ten, she had learned to braid and tie her own hair after a nanny had recognized the princess's struggle to style her own locks.

Jana's mind drifted back to those early years, when she would sit in front of her vanity mirror, attempting to imitate the intricate hairstyles she had seen in old photographs.

The memories were hard to digest, reminding her of the absence of a motherly figure in her life.

As she continued to rummage through the box, her fingers brushed against a delicate silver necklace. It was a gift from her father, given to her on her sixteenth birthday.

The pendant was in the shape of an ankh, a symbol of life in ancient Egyptian culture. Jana had always been fascinated by her heritage, and this necklace was a connection to that part of her identity she longed to explore.

Lost in her thoughts, she couldn't help but wonder if her mother had worn a similar necklace, a reminder of her own roots.

Perhaps it was her way of finding solace in her Egyptian heritage, just as Jana found solace in her walk-in closet.

The sound of the door closing snapped Jana out of her reverie. She quickly closed Tiffany's gift box, hiding away her precious memories once again.

As she emerged from the depths of her closet, she caught a glimpse of Julian entering.

His face bore a mixture of exhaustion and relief. Jana knew that his dinner with his brother hadn't gone as smoothly as he had hoped.

She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his tired form.

"How was dinner?" she inquired, her voice tinged with genuine concern.

Julian exhaled deeply, finding solace in her comforting embrace. "It was... quite challenging. But I managed to get through it."