Even before he ran into his ex-wife and her current lover, Nick Gregory sensed that the trip to Switzerland was a disaster bound to happen.

When he arrived at the exclusive boutique hotel with his fiancée, he felt incredibly foolish because he didn't know what he, a 46-year-old playwright from New York, was supposed to do there. Cherry had insisted that they go as one of her sponsors was financing the entire trip and she had read somewhere that all the rich and famous were supposedly hanging out in Switzerland at this time of the year. Nick was supposed to tag along as her "boyfriend" and help her strike a perfect pose in the pictures she would post on her various social media channels. After all, he had practically done nothing else all year.

Whereas Nick was writer who was regarded as a genius ever since his breakthrough drama The Couple had hit the Off-Broadway stage in 2008, his partner's fame stemmed from the fact that she had a curvy body with a tiny waist, big breasts and an even bigger bottom and that the internet seemed to love persons who looked like her. When Cherry Malooney had graduated from high school five years ago, it had been clear to her that at 5-foot-10, she was not tall enough to become a famous fashion model. So she had done the next best thing and created her own brand thanks to a few apps she had installed on her phone. By the time she had met Nick, Cherry was ready to move on from her "instant internet sensation" fame to serious acting roles. She had obviously thought that dating a well-known playwright whose ex-wife was one of the biggest feminists in the country might be good for her.

So far, dating Nick hadn't really paid off because he hadn't created any career opportunities for her or even finished writing that play for her that he was always talking about. On the other hand, he was good-looking enough to be popular with her followers and had turned out to be a talented photographer. That was why she had decided to stay with him when she had found out she was pregnant six months ago.

"I'm not sure you should be here in your condition," Nick remarked when their cab pulled up in front of the hotel.

"Why don't you let me worry about that," Cherry said, but she was visibly upset that the 5-star hotel sat high on a lonely mountain and was about as far away from civilisation as one could get. It was true that there was a village in the valley, about 3 miles away from the hotel. So there was a place where you could go and get the most basic necessities, but it wasn't the kind of place where you would find boutiques filled with luxury goods or where you could expect to run into the international jet set. "At least the scenery looks pretty here, and we can take a lot of beautiful pics."

"Is that all you want to do here?" he asked as he paid their driver with the money she had given him.

"What else can you do in a chalet like this... 'Chalet' is the right word, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Nick said.

When they walked inside the hotel, two things hit him almost instantly: The first thing was the heat in the reception hall of the hotel, and the second a familiar, bored-looking figure who was talking to one of the receptionists. The tropical climate inside the hotel did not really come as a surprise as it was exceptionally cold outside and the snow in the hotel's driveway had been piled up so high that it reached up to Nick's hips. It seemed only natural that the hotel's guests demanded to stay in rooms that were properly heated, although the abrupt change in temperature upon entering the hotel was so poignant that it could make you feel faint. Moreover, it wasn't the heat that made Nick stop dead in his tracks, but his ex-wife. With her loud voice and bossy attitude, Cara Marx was a sight to behold even though the clothes she wore on this occasion (an oversized hat, dark sunglasses and a white jumpsuit) were more appropriate for someone staying at a hotel in the Carribean.

"I demand to speak to the manager at once! When my partner booked the suite, he was told we would have an excellent view. That view is blocked now by all the snow that you have carelessly piled up in front of our suite," Cara snapped and pointed at her younger companion, who appeared to be aghast about the whole scene his girlfriend was causing.

"Isn't that...?" Cherry asked Nick. She had never met Nick's ex-wife or even spoken to him about her although she had always been curious about the infamous feminist.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm afraid it's the ex... Still alive and kicking! Why don't we go to the restaurant and order coffee, hot chocolate or anything else you want. I don't really want to talk to the ex if you understand what I mean."

But it was too late. Just as he took Cherry by the hand and tried to make a run for the hotel restaurant that he had spotted on the left side of the reception hall, Cara turned around and looked at him with shock and disbelief.

"Babe, are you okay?" her companion asked her.

"Yes, I guess I'm fine," she said and tried to avert her eyes from her ex-husband and his very pregnant companion.

"But you look as if you have seen a ghost."

"That's because she has," Nick interrupted the young man. He had decided to walk up to her and face her at once. "Hello, Cara. Long time no see, but you're looking as pretty and radiant as ever!"

"Hello, Nicholas. What a surprise to see you here!" Cara exclaimed with a fake cheerfulness that was even less convincing than Nick's. "And congratulations obviously! Are you here on your honeymoon?"

"No, Cherry and I are not married... just pregnant," Nick said and was happy that the great Cara Marx appeared to be jealous.

"But you're surely going to propose while you're here! This is such a romantic place!" Cara suggested.

The tension between Cara and Nick was almost unbearable. One could literally sense that there was a lot of anger between them, words that had been left unsaid and a weird sexual attraction that had never gone away even though it was inappropriate now, given the fact that their partners were present.

"We'll see what happens," Cherry said, butting into the conversation. "I'm Cherry Malooney, and I've been such a big fan of yours for years!"

"Oh, really?" Nick only needed to take one look at Cara to see that his ex-wife was not really impressed by his latest girlfriend.

Jayden, on the other hand, was clearly starstruck. "You're the Cherry Malooney?"

"Yeah, I'm the girl from the internet," Cherry confirmed and was glad that Cara Marx's boyfriend was obviously one of her fans. That didn't make the scene any less awkward, but the focus of the conversation shifted from Cara and Nick to her.

"Wow!" Jayden exclaimed.

"Are you one of my followers?"

"You bet! On Instagram, Twitter, you name it... You're one of my favourites."

"Then send me a DM, and I'll follow you, too," Cherry suggested.

"Cool. I'll take you up on that," Jayden said and couldn't hide his excitement.

The fact that Cherry and Jayden seemed to get along fine clearly annoyed Cara, who rolled her eyes because she had no idea who Cherry Malooney was except some pretty-looking thing with big lips and even bigger breasts. It didn't take a genius to figure out why she had managed to become a star on the internet. 

"All right. Now that we've said hello to each other we can both go and have a nice vacation... And it won't be awkward!" Nick said because he had no interest in continuing the conversation either.

Cara was glad that there was at least one thing that she and her ex-husband would not be arguing about in the days that were yet to come. "I agree. Have a nice stay here!"

"You, too!" Nick exclaimed.

And just like that, both couples split and went their separate ways.