#clemory

"My darling, I don't understand it... but it's only been a week and I love you more than I've possibly loved anyone else," he whispered in her ear, and her hopeful eyes turned to look up at him with a smile brimming with love. "Oh, you beautiful man... my beautiful man... I love you, I love you so much it shakes my heart." Her lips pressed sweet kisses all over his face, landing upon his own lips. "One day we'll be married, won't we?"

"I'd be a fool not to marry you, Miss Boehm."

The memory rushed through Clementine's mind as she sat in her new home, staring quietly out of the window. it had been three years since that weekend in Paris with Amory Fitzgerald. She was a photographer assigned to take a few shots of the supermodel, and from the moment they met, there was an instant connection. Their time together had been filled with whispered promises and midnight kisses and lovemaking at sunrise. He had to go back to New York, but he promised to call and come back... and but sadly, life got in the way. They wrote to each other briefly, yes, but she hadn't seen him since.

She met Victor Strauss, an extremely wealthy German investment banker, in her heartbroken travels around Europe. He swept her off of her feet and they fell into a certain kind of love - but it was nowhere near what she had felt with Amory. That love was passionate, overwhelming and it shattered her to this do. Her "love" with Victor felt forced, but she felt there was no point in fighting it. There was nobody she could love the way she had loved that blue-eyed man.

Victor and Clementine moved to New York, though spending their summer at his Long Island mansion. They had been together for a year and a half, and married for six months. It was a gorgeous and lavish wedding, yes, but money never interested her. She had come from nothing, and she was content with nothing. Her old friend, Olivia, came by to help her unpack while Victor was in town doing "work" -- which really just meant dealing with one of his mistresses. His infidelities were hardly  kept secret.

"It's so boring, why do we have to unpack?" Olivia groaned, turning to Clementine, "Come on, Clemmy, let's do something fun! There's got to be something fun to do around here, right?" Clementine just shrugged off her friend's comment and laughed, "Victor won't be very happy if he comes home and there's still boxes everywhere." "To hell with Victor! We're going out tonight -- there's a man around here, I hear he throws a hell of a party. His name escapes me, but that hardly matters, it's a come one, come all type of shindig!" "We weren't even invited!" Clementine retorted with a shake of her head, and Olivia nudged her with a smirk, "That's what makes it so fun."

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Hours later, Clementine found herself stepping into one of the largest homes she had ever seen. Everything was so bright, and there was  music, fireworks, and champagne everywhere. Everyone around her was dancing and laughing, and she couldn't help but immediately smile at the sight - she had never been to a party like this before, and if Victor knew where she was, he'd throw a fit... in a way, that made it even better. Olivia pulled her arm as they headed over to a bar. "This is absolute madness," Clementine commented, but with a bright grin, "I love it! How did you hear about this?" "Oh, a friend of a friend of a friend, that's just how these things work. God, how much money could this man possibly have?" Clementine sipped on her champagne and asked, "So, what's his name again?"

A nearby guest joined in their conversation and said, "It's Amory Fitzgerald - you know, the model." In that moment, Clementine felt her heart stop and everything went silent. "A-Amory?" The words fell out of her pink lips with a mixture of pure shock, tinged with a love that never faded. Her French accent curled around his name with such fondness, as it wasn't a word she had said out loud in so many years. "My Amory?" The last phrase was whispered so nobody could hear, and she quickly collected herself, "I... Oh, is he here?"

"If you can find him," the guest said with a laugh, "He's a rather elusive man, I don't think many people have actually seen him, aside from his photos. Clementine's throat went dry as she turned to Olivia, "Darling, I think I'm going to explore for a bit. Find me in the garden in an hour, yeah?" Olivia nodded, already taken with another gentleman, and Clementine disappeared, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

She searched through the crowds of people, the garden, the pool area, anywhere, until she finally reached his hidden away halls. It was here that she finally found pictures of him hanging on the wall. She stopped to observe them all, her fingers tracing over the photographs with adoration. One of the larger photos was in a held thick gold frame... and it was the photo she had taken of him. His smile was warm, his glittering blue eyes that seemed to see right through you, even in a photo... Clementine had certainly missed Amory, but she hadn't realized just how terribly, terribly much until that moment.

She could hear the boom of the music below, but still, she preferred to explore these hidden parts, stumbling into a library that was as large as the flat she had in Paris. The blonde warmly recalled all the nights they spent reading together -- well, with her head in his lap as he read to her, that is. Long slender fingers brushed along the spines of books on never-ending shelves of leatherbound perfection, and she found herself growing giddy and giggling. Her moment was interrupted though, but the sound of footsteps from the hallway. Turning quickly, she saw him, truly and honestly Amory, leaning against the door frame of the library, his eyes glued to her and his mouth slightly open with shock - the sight his of lips immediately made her remember how they tasted.