Pic: Annabel’s London
* Music during reading (to feel better the atmosphere of this chapter I recommend this song in the background)
An authentic Picasso’s piece, renamed as ‘‘‘Annabel’’, in honour of the place where it was domiciled, welcomed two slender nicely dressed young women, entering true four-story Georgian mansion.
The new building that housed Annabel‘s, one of the most exclusive private membership clubs in London, you can even dare to say, in the world, was only a few steps away from the place where it had been born by the hand of Mr. Birley almost 60 years ago.
Being a member of Annabel’s* has been a synonym with class and social status since its founding. The most illustrious celebrities and privileged elite of the last decades have belonged and continue to be part of this iconic spot, which not long ago moved to 46 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, inaugurating its even more stunning and luxurious facet.
The two friends crossed the entrance, welcomed by the kindness of the Club’s staff and observed by a majestic sculpture of Pegasus, the winged horse, which hung from the ceiling surrounded by a stately staircase that seemed to lead to the heaven, flew over every visitor entering ‘Annabel’s London’.
‘‘The first time I came here I was with Christoph,’’ said a tall blonde with straight hair, dressed in a midi black dress, when she walked through the corridors upholstered in wild motifs, selected by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, ‘‘it had just been reopened,’’ she continued. ‘‘When I saw it, I understood that it was what I dreamed of as a child, without knowing yet that something like this could exist.’’
‘‘When I saw it, I understood that it was what I dreamed of as a child, without knowing yet that something like this could exist.’’
The friend who was walking with her to one of the four wonderful restaurants of this private club, knew that story. She was just like her, not only physically, but also in the way of perceiving life.
‘‘Thanks for recommending this place to me, really. Since Joseph decided to move to Mayfair, Annabel’s garden terrace has become his favourite spot,’’ said her “twin”. ‘‘When you live the big-city life, you are always looking for a place that could take you to the calm of the nature.’’
‘‘When you live the big-city life, you are always looking for a place that co you to the calm of the nature.’’
Matteo’s, the most recent opening of the club, which offered all the delicacies of Italian cuisine and the best wine cellar, was their destination. They sat on one of the velvet sofas, surrounded by the most varied pieces of art, which created a chaotically satisfying atmosphere, reminiscent of a dream that you cannot explain. After choosing the drink from a wide selection, they resumed the conversation they had in the car on their way to this restaurant.
‘‘Well, now you can tell me what is wrong with you,’’ said the girl with chestnut-coloured hair and Slavic features, settling herself and subtly reviewing the food menu.
‘‘I love him. I love Michael… and I cannot help it. I don’t know what to do,’’ answered the blonde one, taking a sip of Giuseppe Rinaldi, a reserve of 2008. ‘‘It has been almost three years since I have seen him for the last time due to all what happened, and I hadn’t thought about it until now. Now, when I know that I can truly lose him, despite not having him, I understand it. I understand that I need him in my life.’’
‘‘Adina, it has been three years since that, there is no way back. You’re married to his father,’’ the brunette cut off her illusions.
‘‘I know, I had never regretted it and I always thought I had done the right thing, but when I saw him in the hospital, I understood that I was wrong, that I want to be with him, save him, take care of him, and always be by his side. I don’t know what to do!’’ The blonde continued almost bursting into tears, understanding that her love will not come back to her.
She met Michael Sommer at one of London most iconic nightclubs almost four years ago, when she just arrived in the capital of the UK. In her ambitious quest to aspire for more, she concluded: Why she should conform herself with the son if she can conquer the father, the true owner of the fortune. A decision guided by the constant desire of dissatisfaction and the fear of missing the most beneficial opportunity, her false expectation of happiness. Although she had feelings for Michael and, as she now understood, she never stopped loving him, the fear of not losing the best life came before that love. That decision that destroyed a family, killed a person and changed the way to be and to love of the Nordic-looking. She knew that he would not forgive her, but she does not lose the hope; After all, some relationships never end, they just fall asleep inside us, waiting for their owner to come back and wake them up.
‘‘After all, some relationships never end, they just fall asleep inside us, waiting for their owner to come back and wake them up.’’
‘‘How is he? What do the doctors say?’’ her friend asked, while the waiter was serving her a burrata di Andria.
‘‘Out of danger, but we don’t know when he will wake up. Christoph is with him now,’’ Adina continued, remembering the unconscious face, which she could not delate from her mind. ‘‘As soon as we find out what happened, Christoph ordered the jet; There are not many flights because of the pandemic. I insisted on coming with him… The truth is that they have not spoken to each other since we decided to tell him about the relationship. I know he blames both us for his mother’s death.’’
While at Annabel’s the antipasti were replaced by a Parmigiana di Melanzane, at the hospital where still lay the unconscious Sommer, a handsome dark-haired man arrived with an attractive woman who seemed to be a model.
He had never met his friend’s father personally, although from various conversations he did know of his betrayal. The man from Madrid, who stole last night’s date of the Nordic-looking, met his friend already being an ambitious man, who didn’t trust others, but just himself; A person who apparently did not love anyone and did not let himself to be loved, but whose soul showed the contrary thing, demonstrating fidelity and honesty everywhere and with everyone he was related with.
The young people greeted the man who looked like an exact copy of Michael with 30 years more. His father’s Norwegian and Austrian roots won out over his mother’s Mediterranean physique, which could only be noticed if one looked extremely attention. The newly arrived girl was an identical clone of that Spanish woman who died in a car accident three years ago, due to the alcohol consumed that night, to drown the sorrows for her husband’s treason.
Eva, Michael’s older sister, was not related to the gentleman who was sitting next to her little brother’s bed. She did not hate him, even at a certain time in her life she loved him, for having substituted the figure of a father for her, but this feeling was completely erased with the decision that took away her mother’s life and, in a certain way, also her brother’s, who has never been the same person again. They say that there is only one step from love to hate, and the truth is that you have to love someone very much to hate him, just like Michael loved his father.
‘‘They say that there is only one step from love to hate, and the truth is that you have to love someone very much to hate him…’’
The straight-haired blonde got in an elegant room in shades of pink with walls patterned in flower illustrations and the ceiling filled with hand-sewn silk roses. Curiously, the ‘‘Ladies’ Powder Room’’, the lavatory designed by Brudnizki, located on the top floor, had become a point of admiration for the club members and a must-visit for those who have never got in Annabel’s, and perhaps they never could.
She leaned on one of the sinks, created from the shell-shaped onyx stone; They seemed sculpted by the nature itself or taken out of a fairy tale. Opening the tap that imitated the figure of a golden swan, she took water in her hands and rinsed her face, observing in a huge mirror, the mascara running over it: That young and beautiful face, that looks older than its real age. A face she had bragged about her entire life and was hating right now.
* Due to the measures taken in relation to COVID-19, the schedule and access to some spaces may change.
Topics: love novel online – romance online – online novel – online novel free – private club London – membership club London – Annabel’s London
TINA KEVICH 