Cinderella of Our Time

Chapter 8

(Day 9/122 of the experiment)

Getting up at 6:30 today was significantly harder than yesterday because I hardly slept all night. The excitement before the interview and the filming turned into short moments of sleep and tossing and turning, which really exhausted me.

However, surprisingly, a quick workout and half a liter of pure water energized me. To save time on preparing breakfast, I ordered a taxi and headed into the city.

“Today will be a great day!” — I told myself when I heard my favorite song on the radio. So today, I feel like a true blogger and thought leader.

Since we reached the city much faster than I thought, I had time for a full breakfast. So I headed to a restaurant with beautiful Petrikov paintings on the walls.

After enjoying a coffee and a cherry pancake, I quickly ran to the shooting location — the makeup artist, hairstylist, and journalists were waiting for me there. Oh, what fear was within me. What if I get flustered and can’t say anything? What if the makeup turns out poorly and in the photos, I look not 100 percent but all of 45 years old? God, why did I agree to this? What for?

An hour and a half of beauty treatments flew by like fifteen minutes. I enjoyed it so much—professionals worked their magic on me while I scrolled through Facebook and drank coffee. And the result pleasantly surprised me — in the mirror, I saw a young, beautiful, and, most importantly, happy woman. It was a true Cinderella — not the one who was busy with housework but the one who met the prince. So I quickly took my phone and texted Lilia:

-Hello! What are your plans for the evening? Don’t you want to go somewhere? This beauty shouldn’t be hidden at home.

*photo attached.

-Cinderella! God! You look gorgeous! Vanya and I had plans for the evening. But you can come with us — my husband’s brother is opening an Italian restaurant today. By the way, he cooks deliciously and is single. Want to join us?

-Well, it feels a bit awkward. You had plans ... maybe I’ll just take a walk around the city then?

-No, Cinderella. Vanya already reserved a table for four. We’re waiting for you at the square at 18:30.

-All right, thank you very, very much!

The interview went much better than I expected. Sveta supported me in every way, didn’t pressure me, and gave me time to think before responding. It turns out that I will personally approve the photos for the online and print publication, so there are no reasons to be nervous about that either. To celebrate my debut, Sveta treated me to champagne and candies, and we chatted for another two hours with the girl journalists about our shared craft — their work and my education. When I looked at the clock, I realized it was time to head to the restaurant.

Oh, what happened next!!!

(Day 10/122 of the experiment)

Today, I decided to spend the day reminiscing about yesterday – I want to remember every detail: every moment.

A beautiful hall, violinists, a buffet, women in cocktail dresses, men in suits and shirts. An atmosphere of elegance and celebration. And most importantly – I don’t feel like an outsider, inferior to other women; I know I am beautiful. Lila also reminded me of this from time to time so that I would feel even more at ease.

My attention was immediately drawn to one man – tall and handsome. He was walking quickly around the hall, greeting each guest. His dark blue suit emphasized his athletic figure and masculine face. It was unlikely that one could call him "conventionally handsome" – he wouldn’t be invited to be a model for a women’s magazine. There was a certain charisma in his appearance – something between Daniel Craig and Vincent Cassel. But that was a direct hit, or rather, into my heart. While I was pondering how we could get to know each other, we quickly managed to sit at our table and received a compliment from the establishment – small toasts with salmon and avocado from the waiter. A second hit – a healthy snack!

"Tristan said he would come in five minutes – the last guests have arrived, and he will soon be able to relax," Ivan said, while pouring us champagne.

Today, I decided to indulge myself and have a couple more glasses of my favorite alcoholic beverage.

I watch Ivan’s manners and realize that he and Lila are the perfect couple. She is so fragile, gentle, light, like a fairy. And he is strong and sturdy, a true prince. And there is so much love in their gazes; they can just look at each other, and the amount of dopamine in the air automatically increases. Perhaps this is true love. After all, she left her hometown for him and moved to a small regional center where no one knew her. In fact, she started a new life from scratch. I wonder, could I do that?

"Congratulations once again! Sorry I didn’t greet you right away; you know that “your own” always suffer. I’m Tristan." – The man in the blue suit stands right next to me and is even more handsome up close.

"Tristanik, meet Cinderella – my friend I’ve told you so much about." – Lila says something, and I sit there with my mouth open, unable to believe that this is the same Tristan – the owner of the restaurant, Ivan's brother, and most importantly – a bachelor!

"Hello, Cinderella! I won't be original if I say you have a very unusual name. I’m Tristan."

"Good evening! Nice to meet you."

After a friendly handshake (thankfully, Tristan decided not to kiss my hand because I have such a terrible manicure), we started having dinner.

It turned out that Tristan was married. He had been dating a girl for three months, and then she "got pregnant." Like a real man, Tristan married her and prepared to become a father, but his acquaintance, and by a twist of fate, the gynecologist of his newlywed wife, destroyed their family happiness when he accidentally blurted out that the pregnancy was fake. And thanks to two bottles of expensive cognac that loosened the doctor's tongue, Tristan quickly became a desirable bachelor again. There you have the perks of a small town where everyone knows everyone.

As the evening neared its logical conclusion, I really didn’t want to part ways with Tristan. And it seemed he didn’t want to either. So we drove to the nearest gas station (sounds completely unromantic, but as Lila explained to me, there are no places open after midnight in the big city, so the youth go to gas stations to chat, drink coffee, and spend time).

After coffee and a little walk along the night waterfront, Tristan drove me home and wished me sweet dreams. Two strange facts – Tristan didn’t drink alcohol because he was worried about the restaurant opening, and so we managed to drive around the big city a bit, and the second fact – Tristan didn’t invite himself over to my place. This raises the question – is this man a true gentleman, or did I simply not interest him enough for him to ask to come over for coffee?

When I washed off my evening makeup, fed Richard, and took a bath, the clock showed 4 AM. After texting my coach about not being able to attend training, I turned off all alarms and went to bed.

Of course, a day of my "healthy lifestyle" was missed, but I had a great sleep, chatted a lot with Tristan, and it seems... I've fallen in love.