Song: The Beauty and The Tragedy

For I am finding out that love will kill and save me ...

Larry pulled into a grand driveway of a building a few blocks over from the Willis Tower. After putting the car in park, he opened my door as Henry walked around the car to me. I slipped my hand into Henry's, stepping out from the vehicle as Larry closed the door behind me.

"Have a good time, Mr. Cavill and Mrs. Cavill," Larry said to us.

"Thank you, Larry," I replied with a smile.

"I will let you know when we're ready to go," Henry advised.

"Yes, Mr. Cavill. I'll stand by for your call." Larry nodded, then walked around to the driver side and stepped in, driving the car from the driveway.

"Ally!" Someone called my name as Henry and I started to proceed inside the building.

We both turned around to see Nick walking from where his driver dropped him off. "Great timing, don't you think?"

"Hey, Nick," I greeted.

He looked extremely dashing tonight with his suit and blue tie that brought out the blue in eyes. "You look very beautiful tonight, Mrs. Cavill." Nick smiled, his dimple appearing on his cheek.

"Thank you, Mr. Barnes." I returned the smile. "You look very nice yourself tonight as well."

Henry faked a cough. We both stared at him, who didn't appear like he was going to let this slip by without making a scene. Then my husband snaked an arm around my waist, pulling me toward him like I was some property he was trying to claim in front of his friend.

I sensed a little jealousy on Henry's face. I placed a hand over his chest and left a kiss on his cheek. "And you look very handsome too, Mr. Cavill."

Nick chuckled while Henry's laugh followed.

The three of us proceeded inside the building and joined the crowd heading toward the elegantly, decorated golden hall.

Henry and Nick stopped to say "hellos" to a few people on our way to our table, none of who I knew. Like every occasion before, I mostly smiled and nodded my head, pretending to be engaged into their conversations. When the question was directed at me, I went along with whatever answer came to my kind.

After Henry and I found our table near the front, I caught sight of Victoria at the entrance talking to newly arrived guests. Annette, her mother, stood by her side, smiling with that old fake and conniving smile of hers.

Seeing their faces made the old memories and animosity between us resurfaced. I quickly diverted my attention elsewhere to keep me distracted and my mind occupied since I didn't want to cause any scene tonight.

To my surprise, the empty chair next to me was soon taken by someone I finally knew. The evening just got better. She was dressed in a laced golden gown that fell down to her feet. The dress matched her outgoing personality spot on.

"Good evening, Ally. It's good to see you here with Henry. Oh my goodness." She studied me up and down like a princess.

"Hello, Juliet." I stood, and we hugged. "You looked very beautiful tonight."

She smiled and straightened her squared glasses. "Thank you, but enough about me. Let's talk about you. Don't you look glamorous and glowing tonight! Honey, you need to dress like this more often." She turned to my husband. "Henry, don't you agree?"

Henry nodded with a smile. "She should, but knowing Ally, she rather be back home in her sweats as usual."

Juliet laughed. "Me too."

"You flattered me too much. Have a seat. We need to catch up." Sitting back down in my seat, I threw Henry a playful scowl quickly before turning my attention back on Juliet. "How is the shelter doing?"

"So far, not too bad. Seeing that we're half way through the year, the shelter has already received more funding than expected, so for that, I'm extremely grateful." She took a sip of water from her glass. "Have you been in contact with Violet at all?"

"Yes, I have. Henry and I recently visited Violet and her mother the other day. They are doing really well on their own."

Juliet's kind face definitely set me at ease for the evening. It was comforting to have a familiar face next to me for the whole evening.

Before dinner started, John Sinclair, Annette's husband, went on the stage to make a speech and thanked everyone here tonight who had donated to his campaign for a seat in the Senate.

Once dinner needed and the waiters began serving dessert, I excused myself to use the women's room.

While fixing my make up and hair in front of the mirror, a lady walked in and came over to stand next to me. In the mirror by a quick glance, I recognized it was none other than the woman who hated me. Victoria. She was dressed tonight in a white satin dress fitted perfectly to her body, her blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun.

"Good evening, Alexandria," she greeted in the same cold tone she used with me.

"Hello," was all I replied to her. I didn't have anything else to say to Victoria, and talking about my husband was the last thing on my mind. It was all too old and familiar to me. I wanted to get passed this.

"I didn't know Henry was going to bring you here tonight. You two must have made up from the last time, I presumed?" she asked, somewhat sarcastically.

I smiled at her in the mirror, seeing her eyes gawking back for an answer. "Yes—as a matter of fact, we did. We're husband and wife. We have to learn how to forgive each other for the mistakes that we made, just like everyone else." I placed my lipstick inside my clutch and crossed over to the door. "There's no point I'm feeling angry or jealousy over something so pointless. By the way, this is a very lovely event." I headed out of the ladies' restroom before the situation escalated into a bad scene.

On my way back into the hall, I saw Henry walking out toward me. "There you are, Ally. I was wondering why you were out so long."

"I met Victoria in the bathroom, and we had a little chat." Henry furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't worry, honey. Nothing happened between us. I was on my best behavior."

"That's not what concerns me. I just don't want them to put you down again."

"Put me down?" Did Henry know more than I think he knows?

"Never mind." He smiled. "Don't think too think about it."

I nodded with a smile. "Why aren't you in there?"

"I needed some fresh air." He walked to me, gently slipped his hand in mine and pulled me along with him. "And I was getting a little bored without you in there."

We walked outside onto the terrace, showcasing the heart of Chicago from every directions. The skyscrapers surrounded us from all around, the Chicago River below.

I released my hand from Henry's and crossed over to the glass railings, putting my hand on the cool metal bar. "Henry, where's the resort from here?"

I turned around and looked at him, hoping he'd show me his office.

He pointed in front of me. "It's that building over there."

I stared into the direction he was pointing to but couldn't identify which building was Pearce Hotel and Resort from the dark. "There's so many. Which one is it exactly?"

"That one."

"Do you mean that one?" I pointed randomly at one skyscraper.

"No." He came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist. Placing his chin on my right shoulder, he moved his face close to mine. "It's that one, honey."

He pointed at one of the tallest buildings standing ahead of us. It was lighted up brightly—one of the most brightest buildings downtown—and the reflection of the windows made it looked even more enchanting in the night. "Do you see it now?"

I beamed. "I do now. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Shall we get out of here?"

I turned around to face him. "If you want to. I'm up for anything. The night is still young. There's time for us to do something."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Anything. I'm already tired of sharing you with these people this evening." My hands snaked up to feel his chest. "I just want you to myself tonight."

Henry kissed my nose, and I chuckled. We turned to the sounds of footsteps coming near us.

Mr. Sinclair was making his way over to us by the railings. "There you are young man. Henry, may I have a quick word with you? I wanted to catch up on some things. I promise it won't be long."

"Sure, John." Henry turned to me. "I'll be back in a bit, sweetie. Why don't you go back inside, and I'll come find you when I'm finished. Hmm?"

I nodded. "That sounds good. Come get me. I'll be waiting at the same table then."

"Thank you, Ally," John said. "We won't be long."

"No problem." I smiled at him.

Henry kissed me on the cheek before returning inside the building with John.

After a couple minutes on the terrace, I went back inside to the chattering hall and found my same seat. Juliet wasn't there any more at her chair. She probably was talking with some of her friends or had left the event already.

"How was the food tonight?" Nick appeared at my side a few seconds after I sat down.

"The lobster was great. It's not meatloaf, so I can't complain."

"You and your meatloaf," he mocked me with a grin.

"I'm never been a fan of meatloaf for as long as I can remember."

"Meatloaf is delicious. You just never had the right kind." He unbuttoned his jacket and took Henry's empty chair. "Where's your husband?" he asked, looking around the banquet room.

"He's talking with John Sinclair about some business."

"Oh, good. Sounds confidential?" he remarked.

"It might be. That's probably why they're talking in private."

"Your husband tells me you two are leaving to Austria this week for the new hotel location opening there. Are you excited?"

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

He laughed. "I'm glad Henry's finally taking you around the world with him. He's a busy man."

"Tell me about it."

"Ask him to take you to Vienna. It's a gorgeous city."

"I plan to already. I always wanted to visit there."

"You'll love it. Anyways, Ally, I—I wanted to ask you something. If that's okay with you?" He seemed tensed.

"Yes, sure."

"It's a question about ...." he trailed off.

"About what?"

"Ummm ... about—please don't think of me differently, promise me first?"

I stared at him, wondering what was going on with Nick. He usually wasn't like this with me. "I promise."

"Could you tell me more about ... you know, your kind?"

"My kind? What do you mean? Women?"

"Yes." He cleared his throat. "Like what do they like men to do and not do."

"Okay?" I was caught by surprise. Nick was asking me for tips about women? It was funny to think a handsome guy like him could be making this request. He looked like the guy who would know everything about women. "What are you trying to say, Nick? You're dating someone?"

He shook his head. "No, no, no, I don't have a girlfriend."

"I don't believe you," I teased. "A handsome and nice man like you don't have anyone?"

"No, seriously. I don't have one. Believe me. If there was, I'll let you know." He giggled. "Well ..." Nick pushed
his chair closer to me and straightened up, recomposing himself. "Why are women, you know, like always—sorry, Ally, my phone."

"That's alright." I chuckled, sensing how nervous he was becoming in this situation.

It was so unlike Nick to be uncomfortable with women. I wondered what woman had done this to him. She had to be someone special.

Nick grabbed his phone from the pocket of his blazer and peered quickly at the screen. "It's L- Luke. He's a friend that I met in Europe during my trip there. Let me take this call quick. Excuse me, Ally."

I nodded at him curiously and waved for him to go. A corner of Nick's lips raised as he spoke into the phone. He appeared genuinely happy, and it made me wondered who was on the other end of the line. Hopefully, when Nick came back, we could continue this conversation. I really wanted to find out who this mysterious person was.

After Nick left, I sat at the empty table, eating the desserts set on the table by the waiters. They were untouched, and I didn't want them to go to waste. There were so many kinds of cheesecake from original, strawberry, to blueberry.

I began to wonder when Henry will come find me when a loud sound erupted out of nowhere. The explosive noise shook everything in the room, from the utensils, tables to the chandeliers.

Everybody stood still for a second, looking back at each other, as we all registered the unexpected noise. A second terrifying sound broke out again from a different part of the building, and screams echoed throughout banquet room. Everybody rapidly stood up and ran wild toward the exits to the hallway.

Shock and confused by what could have made those sounds, I stood up rapidly and headed in the same direction with the crowd.

All I could think about was Henry.

Where was he right now?

Was he in a safe place away from the chaos?

Please let him be okay.

I wanted to hold him in my arms right now. To feel him. To know he was unharmed.

The crowd pushed through the banquet doors frantically as people scrambled down the grand stairs to leave the building for safety. Terror and panic etched on all there faces.

I searched in the frantic crowd for Henry after getting out into the hallway to the stairs, but there was no sight of him or Nick. I hoped they were both safe and away from the commotion.

"Ally! Ally!"

Once I made it onto the lobby floors from the stairs, someone called out my name from ahead. The closer the voice became, I knew immediately who it belonged to. My eyes searched for him among the crowd until I found him running to me from the other end of the lobby.

"Henry!" A breath expelled from my lips as relief filled me, thankful to a higher power that he wasn't injured.

As we ran toward each other, my heart became lighter by the seconds.

Henry immediately wrapped his arms around me as I swung mine around his shoulders.