Chapter Text
After Alcina left your apartment, all you could do was refresh the thread to see if more people had commented.
Anonymous: Don’t listen to the haters, OP, they’re just a bunch of loser incels. What happened to you was wrong and you deserve justice. It doesn’t matter that you were legally an adult, plenty of 18 year olds are still in high school. Alcina Dimitrescu is a middle aged creep who preyed on your lack of life experience. If she was willing to be sexual with an 18 year old, she would go younger and there is a chance that she has.
Anonymous: Agree completely with the above poster. There’s got to be something we can do. People should not be supporting this woman. If OP can’t seek legal justice, we should spread the word where more people will see it so they stop buying her wines and going to her winery,
Anonymous: Personally idgaf about what happened to OP but it would be funny to see that bitch go down. What will little miss generational wealth do without her only source of income? She might have to work an actual job rather than having a title that makes everyone else work for her.
Your emotions were all twisted up in your stomach. This thread, not knowing whether Alcina was being entirely truthful or if there was some merit to what Delaney was saying. No, there was no way! This could have been resolved privately like adults, Delaney was out for revenge…or was she just seeking justice the only way she knew how as an absolute last attempt? This concept wasn’t exactly new. You weren’t a stranger to hearing about cancelled youtubers who had abused their power over fans for sexual favors, people spoke out on sites similar to this one because it was the only way to get closure and validation. Then of course there were the A-List celebrities with their own similar scandals so why not a local celebrity? The timing couldn’t have been worse though.
It was as though your relationship had some sort of curse on it. Alcina officially asked you to be her girlfriend and her ex husband tailed you in his car and harassed you. From there, the original drama thread, then Kurt wanting to take custody of the girls, and now an even more detailed drama thread. The only life jacket being that Alcina had confessed her love to you.It was still a shock that that had actually happened. You both said it, you were in love with each other...so why did you feel even more doomed than before?
Clutching a pillow to your face, you screamed until no more air could be pushed from your lungs and you began seeing sparks flying around in your field of vision from the lack of oxygen. Then you took a deep breath and screamed again until your throat was raw. It was the only thing that was helping. Your hands trembled as you lowered the pillow from your face and then threw it up against the wall. The emotions were still too much, you held your hands to your face and clawed into your cheeks, dragging them down slowly. It stung, your eyes watered, but the rush you felt helped to calm the storm raging inside of you. Moving your hands up, you repeated the same motion. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Your cheeks felt raw by the time you were done and there was blood caked under your nails. That’s when you came to your senses. You had to work this week! That and school would be starting.
You had to assess the damage and see if there was anything you could do to make it not stand out as much. It took a moment before you were able to look at yourself in the bathroom mirror. At first, you were horrified, dried blood had crusted and browned along both cheeks making your self inflicted wounds look a lot worse than they were. You sucked air through your teeth at the feeling of the wet washcloth on your tender skin, but after that first swipe, you had become used to the pain. After discarding the stained washcloth, your face didn’t look nearly as bad once it had been cleaned off, it looked more like acne scars or some type of rash. Luckily, you had a first aid kit in the apartment. It was one of those things both your and Olivia’s parents said was a must when you first moved into the apartment. Rarely was it ever used and judging from the fact it was still in the medicine cabinet, Olivia didn’t think to bring it with her when she moved out.
You yelped out in pain again as the disinfectant stung worse than your nails and the washcloth combined, but you sucked it up and properly tended to your wounds. Apart from the redness, it probably wouldn’t be too bad by the next time you worked. Next you scrubbed your nails and then decided to throw a load of whites in your building’s washer since you wanted to make sure the blood was removed before it set too much. After throwing your stuff in, you set a timer on your phone for the wash’s duration. Generally, the shared washer was never an issue so long as you didn’t let your stuff sit unattended for too long. Since it was in the basement of your building, you decided to go back to your apartment while you waited.
Maybe there would be more comments under the thread? You hadn’t checked since before your episode. Maybe Alcina managed to get it taken down? As you were about to open the link again, Olivia was video calling you and your finger hit accept.
Fuck.
“Hey, bitch!! What the fuck is up??” Olivia was shouting and covered in neon paint. You could hear music playing from another room as people talked, laughed, and yelled. She didn’t look or sound sober.
You tried your best to conceal your face by holding your chin in your hand gripping both your cheeks. Hopefully she would be too intoxicated to notice.
“Hey, Liv.” It was so hard to try and keep your cool and not let onto anything that was happening. “Why are you covered in paint?”
“Probably because I just got back from a paint party, duh.” She teased you, still not noticing. “You so have to come up and visit me. I didn’t think I’d like having to share a room, but everyone is pretty chill! I’m in a double so it’s just me and Tay Tay.”
“Tay Tay?”
“Yeah! My roommate Taylor. You’d love her, she’s so fun. We’re in a pod so there’s a couple more doubles and a triple, I’m still learning the other girls’ names though.”
Well, at least Olivia seemed to be thriving at her new school so far. Classes hadn’t even begun and she was already going to parties and hanging out with her new bestie “Tay Tay.” You were rolling your eyes on the inside, but then you thought maybe you wouldn’t be so bitter about this had you not experienced this awfully confusing day. Taylor was probably a nice girl like Olivia said and Olivia deserved happiness and to have friends.
“That’s awesome, Liv! I’m glad to hear that you’re having a good time, but listen I was kind of in the middle of something-”
“Oh em gee, what happened to your face!!??”
Shit, she noticed.
You cursed under your breath. “Today was a really bad day, I don’t wanna bring you down with me.”
Olivia’s eyes had lost that drunken sparkle as she zeroed in on your face, taking in the damage you had done to yourself.
“How did that happen? Did you…do that to yourself? "Are you okay? Why?”
It took a lot for you not to break. You didn’t want to cry over a video chat or at all. You hated crying, it made you feel weak and stupid. That and you didn’t want to ruin Olivia’s night. You were going to tell her about everything that was going on, just not tonight. That seemed to be the running theme of today, feeling forced into saying things you weren’t 100% ready to say.
“To make a long story short, there’s some drama going on with Alcina. Can anyone hear me?”
Olivia shook her head. “No, Everyone is in the common area and they know I was calling a friend from back home.”
After collecting your thoughts, you caught Olivia up on everything from your encounter with Kurt to Alcina telling you she loved you and why you did what you did to your face.
Olivia sat there dumbfounded as she stared into the camera.
“Well…” Your voice cracked as you spoke. “Are you going to say anything?”
“You were a sugar baby? Why didn’t you ever tell me? In fact, why didn’t you tell me about all that internet drama when Sam knew all about it? Did I do something to make you feel like you can’t tell me things?”
“No, Liv, it’s not that at all. I never planned on the sugar baby thing getting found out by anyone. That’s why I just let you think Alcina was someone I was casually dating. Then when she did ask me to be her girlfriend, the sugar baby thing didn’t matter anymore. You have to understand, I was really struggling to make our portion of the rent back when I had that mall job.”
“I’m not judging you.” Olivia interrupted. “I should have figured something like that was happening when you started dating a 40 something year old woman who had a giant house and was always spoiling you. At least you finally said you love each other! I knew you were in love with her! But damn. There’s so much I didn’t know like how your girlfriend might lose custody of her kids and that drama site, why do people even care??”
At least she was understanding.
“I mean, yeah, it is nice to have that out there, but Liv, the internet thing was something I thought had blown over when the first post was taken down. I wish I knew why people were like this. I didn’t want to dwell on it and you know, you’ve been busy with Dustin and other things. I was glad to see you happy after so long. I didn’t want to bring you down with my own shit. I also doubt the court will do anything that drastic, all they’re doing is reevaluating custody sometime soon.”
“Aw, I don’t want you to feel like you have to keep things from me to keep me from getting upset. That actually hurts more. You were there for me even when I was a complete asshole to you. Let me be there for you this time.”
You couldn’t help the tear that trickled down your cheek, but you managed to stop after just the one. “Okay, I will keep you posted on everything, but same goes for you!”
Olivia giggled. “Of course! And if you ever feel like hurting yourself again, you better text me or something before you do. How dare you hurt my best friend.” She teased.
You shook your head. “That was just an impulse thing, I don’t know. I promise though.”
The door to Olivia’s room opened and a girl you didn’t know started talking.
“Liv, are you coming out to get any of these jell-o shots before they’re gone or nah?”
Olivia turned around to respond to her. “Be back in a minute!”
“You go have fun, Liv. I’m just gonna watch tv and try to get my mind off all this.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. We can talk another time. Before you go though, have you heard from Dustin at all since you guys moved up to campus?”
Olivia scrunched her face up in thought for a moment. “A couple of times. We’ll probably hang out soon, but he already has his own friends up here and I’m getting to know the girls.”
“Come on, Liv!”
You heard another voice shout from outside of Olivia’s dorm room.
“Sorry, I gotta go.”
“It's fine, I promise I’ll be okay. Go have fun. Love you lots.”
“Love you too!”
The video call ended and you were free to go back to what you were doing before, checking the thread for more posts. Sure, you told Olivia that you were going to get your mind off of the drama, but it was eating away at you to not know what was happening.
Anonymous: I’ve linked this thread to her winery’s review page to get the word out there! I hope you get the closure you need, OP and that Alcina Dimitrescu faces consequences for her actions.
Anonymous: So I checked out the popular sugar dating websites and she doesn’t currently have a profile, but I was able to find the last profile she had through an archive site. I’ll link the screenshots.
Of course you clicked on the link. It was exactly what her profile looked like the first time you had sent her a message, all pictures included. How were they even able to get this stuff? You thought you were safe since profiles were supposed to only be visible to those who had signed up for the site. That was the only reason you felt comfortable enough making one.
Anonymous: More Bikini fap material. Her body isn’t too bad for being as old as she is, but I just know those things are full of silicone.
You felt offended on Alcina’s behalf. Not only was it disgusting and misogynistic, you could personally attest to that being false. These absolute losers probably had no idea what it even felt like to know the touch of a woman.
More vile comments poured in. You left the site to check the reviews for Alcina’s winery. She had 4.5 stars with very few reviews being negative. All recent reviews had been 5 star experiences until a review posted on this day came with a 1 star.
Soycreeper: Would never support this business. Owner likes touching little girls.
Attached was a link to the drama thread. You reported the review for being against the site’s guidelines and only got a generic message that your report was being reviewed. Then you did the same with the drama thread to see if you could be any help at getting that taken down. If what Alcina was saying was 100% truthful and that Delaney was lying about everything, it was libel. Not to mention the actual revenge porn. Alcina was probably already working on getting things shut down. You didn’t want to bother her and despite everything, you still felt you needed some space, at least until your next shift.
You didn’t sleep much in the two days leading up to your 3rd to last shift. The thread was still up though less comments were appearing since there was no new information. You wondered why Alcina hadn’t been able to get something so damning taken down mostly because you hadn’t spoken since she left your apartment. Yes, you loved her and she apparently loved you too, but you still needed some space to sort out your feelings and she was respecting that. You decided it was best to finish out your last week at the winery as if nothing had happened. As far as you knew, no one outside of your circle and Kurt knew about your relationship with Alcina. There was no harm in getting the extra cash from the tip pool while you still could.
The review for Alcina’s winery that you had reported was removed, but more suspicious looking one star ratings began popping up. Nothing of substance, generic comments about the wine or service being bad from strange usernames rather than first and last names. Reporting those didn’t do anything as they didn’t falsely accuse Alcina of any unlawful behavior and there was no way to prove they didn’t have a bad experience there. By this point, the only thing that had changed from the gossip thread were the spicier pictures of Alcina being removed. Other than that, Delaney’s statement still stood with mixed commentary of supporters and trolls. It wasn’t fair that she got to hide behind a shield of anonymity while the woman you loved was lambasted.
Out of the blue, your mother called you. Odd, since you didn’t talk often and hadn’t seen either of your parents since the summer family reunion. Since you wouldn’t have work for a few more hours, you picked up in case it was something important.
“How’s it going, mom?”
“I’m alright here.”
Silence.
“So…any particular reason you called me? Is something going on?”
“What, I can’t call and have a conversation with my daughter?”
Here we go.
“I didn’t say that, mom. You know I’m more of a texter than a caller.”
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. You talked on the phone more than ever since you had met Alcina, but she was in that age group of people who preferred calls to texts.
“Anyway, what’s going on with that woman you work for?”
You felt a chill spread throughout your body.
What do you mean?” You laughed nervously and cleared your throat.
“Yeah, one of my friends called me and apparently that Dimitrescu woman pays money to sleep with young girls.”
“No, mom.” You sighed. “That’s just some nasty internet rumor.”
"Either way, I know I had a reason to not like that woman.”
“What are you talking about?” You cut your mom off. “When you met her at my graduation you were super nice to her and you and dad even invited her to have dinner with us.”
“Why was she at your graduation anyway? The way she was behind you, touching your shoulders. That’s inappropriate behavior from someone who is supposed to be your boss.”
She did a lot more than touch my shoulders when we celebrated my graduation.
You smirked to yourself since your mom couldn’t see you over the phone. Thankfully she was not into video calls. “I don’t know, mom. She was just being friendly and she is very involved with her employees to make the place feel more family oriented.”
Your mom scoffed. “Whatever you say, hon. I just know that winery is nothing like it was when her parents were still in charge, They were the ones with actual family values.”
“Okay, I gotta start getting ready for work so we can talk about this another time.”
There was still plenty of time before you’d have to go in, you just needed this uncomfortable phone call to be over with.
“Well, I think you should steer clear of that woman. Don’t let her tempt you into that lifestyle.”
“Okay, mom, love you, bye.”
Angrily tapping the hang up button, you ended the call. This was exactly why you didn't talk to your mother on a regular basis. You’d probably get an earful from her about ending the call so abruptly the next time you spoke, but luckily unless something came up, you likely wouldn’t see your parents until Thanksgiving.
Red lipstick, black shirt, black pants, black shoes, and some foundation to cover the faint marks on your cheeks. That was everything you needed to be ready for your shift at the winery. The lipstick wasn’t required, but it became a habit to wear it whether Alcina was there or not so that way when she was there, it wouldn’t be noticeable if you happened to kiss. Way easier than spending the time trying to rub it off which would leave the skin around your lips stained.
Alcina’s car was in the parking lot. Not usual for a weekday, but she had been coming into work more often, mostly using that time to make calls in her office. You parked a distance away, always had since you started to make sure there was never anything suspicious and that you looked like any other employee. This shift was gonna blow without Dustin. Even when you couldn’t talk due to Amanda’s strictness and the hatred for you she didn’t try to hide, just having him there was reassuring in a way. Alcina too, of course, but at the winery she was your boss…unless you happened to share a secret kiss in her office. That was different though, you could at least interact with Dustin as a friend out in the open. If people suspected more, you didn’t care because that would be nowhere near as scandalous as the other staff suspecting you and Alcina had something going on.
Amanda was the first person you saw when you walked in. She was whispering with one of the other girls. Fine by you, she was too busy being a hypocrite to notice you had walked in. Why was she there? Usually Alcina tried not to have Amanda work the same shifts as you if she was there, but the past few times she still used Amanda as a shift supervisor since she was mostly in her office and not acting as a supervisor herself. Sure enough, Alcina’s office door was closed and locked again today. You’d be waiting tables again today which was fine. You liked it more than being in the tasting room or giving tours of the vineyard. You definitely liked it more than weddings since those were extremely busy. The only benefit being the food at the end of the night was slightly better than what you’d get at the end of the night on a weekday, though it was all amazing quality regardless of the day.
It was getting towards the end of your shift and business had slowed down as it normally would this time of night. Actually, a bit slower, but Alcina said it was common this time of year for that to happen. Then once the leaves changed and fell, the grounds would be closed until spring with the dining area only being open on weekends or some special events. The off season was when the business relied on its wine sales though Alcina always reiterated that finances were never an issue. She could go an entire winter without selling a bottle and everything would be fine. The wine always sold though. Locally, nationally, and internationally.
The last customer from your section had left so you got to wiping down tables before Amanda could nag you. She was still carrying on with one of the other girls you didn’t know too well. Quite loudly too for someone who would have a conniption if you so much as blinked at Dustin and it happened to look like Morse Code. Amanda was loud enough that you managed to hear what she was talking about. It was a good thing that there weren’t any customers left because what Amada was saying had you full of rage.
“I just can’t believe it. I’ve worked here for years and I never would have thought that Ms. Dimitrescu was like that. I don’t care that she’s gay, but to sleep with high school students as an adult woman? That’s wrong on so many levels. To think, I started here as a hostess when I was a senior.”
Amanda kept talking, not noticing you stepping closer.
“I mean, I wouldn’t have done anything with her if she approached me like that, but some other vulnerable girls did. I don’t think I can keep working for her if this is true and apparently, she still has sugar babies. That is SO crazy.”
Amanda and what’s her face, you didn’t care to look at her name tag, were giggling when you approached them and spoke up.
“That’s really gross and disrespectful of you guys to spread rumors about Ms. Dimitrescu while she’s literally here.”
Amanda glared at you. “I wasn’t talking to you and it’s rude to eavesdrop.”
You stood your ground. “So you can spread lies and laugh with um-” You looked at the other girl’s name tag. Alexa! how could you forget a name like that?. “Alexa! Yet you freak out at me for every little thing I do here to try and get me fired?”
Amanda moved closer, trying to intimidate you while Alexa stood back. “How would you know they’re lies? Why do you care? Are you gonna run to her office again and tattle on me for being too harsh with you like you always do? God, it’s almost like you’re one of the ones she’s screwing.”
You remained silent and kept your best poker face, but it wasn’t enough.
“Oh my fucking god, it all makes sense now. You are, aren’t you?”
“No..” You shook your head. “Just because-”
Amanda held her hand out in front of your face. “It all makes sense now because you should have been fired the month that you got here and yet you always kept your job despite your shitty performance. Your callouts? Getting a Saturday off during wedding season? Ms. Dimitrescu would have never let someone like you stay here otherwise. I’ve seen her fire someone for spilling a glass of wine. Must be nice to get that special treatment. Are you gonna go home and spread your legs for her tonight?”
“That is quite enough, Amanda.”
Alcina’s voice cut through the room that fell into a dead silence other than what Alcina had to say.
“I will not have my name besmirched in my own establishment. Turn in your name tag and apron, grab your things, and go home.”
Amanda looked around in disbelief. “You can’t be serious right now! Whatever, I was gonna quit anyway, but I guess you can fire me so I’ll get unemployment.”
Amanda slammed her nametag and apron down on the hostess stand and stormed towards the exit. She turned back once more, pointing at you before leaving.
“Thanks for confirming that you are fucking her though.”
The doors slammed and no one moved.
Alcina’s eyes were dark with anger. “Well, this place isn’t going to clean itself up. I doubt anyone else is coming in for the remainder of the evening.” She clapped her hands, the sound was sharp as it echoed through the dining area. “Move!”
Everyone scattered to do their normal closing jobs while Alcina left through the back of the building.
Things were tense, but closing went much quicker than it normally would have. No one really wanted to stick around for family meal so people just packed what they wanted and threw away the rest. You didn’t take anything, the last thing you cared about was food, you were sick to your stomach. Whether your other coworkers believed it or not, it was now in their heads that you were fucking their boss. There was no way you could finish out your last couple shifts, tonight was your last night. As you grabbed your stuff to leave, you left your name tag next to where Amanda had left hers. She was finally gone, but now it didn’t matter because you were too.
Alcina had never come back in so you never got a chance to speak with her privately before leaving. It had been days now and you were at the point where you weren’t sure if your mutual confession of love were words of parting or if you were somehow making this still work. You’d just have to call her tonight.
There was a plume of smoke near your car. It didn’t seem to be coming out of your car, that was unmistakably cigarette smoke. Why would someone be smoking near your car? It was dark out and now you felt unsafe. At least until your heard your name spoken in a familiar voice.
“Alcina?”
Alcina was standing by your car, cigarette in hand nearly smoked down to the filter.
“You started smoking again?” You didn’t mean to sound as though you were scolding her, but she had kicked the habit before you spent that first night together and you had been proud of her for quitting.
Alcina took one final drag before stomping it out with her heel. She coughed out the final puff of smoke and answered your question. “Snagged one off of one of the bus boys. I don’t intend on going out and buying a carton, I just needed something to calm my nerves.”
“We need to talk.”
Alcina nodded in understanding. “Absolutely. I would have talked to you sooner, but I know you wanted your space.”
You shrugged. “Yeah, I have been stressed too, how come you couldn’t get the thread taken down this time? What they’re saying about you is vicious.”
Alcina laughed. “You don’t have to tell me that, I am well aware. According to that lowlife of an admin, because there was “proof” this time, they are allowing Delaney’s statement about me to stay up. All I could do was get my sensitive photos removed though I am sure everyone has had more than enough time to save them to their devices which is just spectacular.”
Your body shook with anxiety. “So what can you do to stop this?”
Alcina turned and coughed. “My apologies, my throat is no longer accustomed to that burning sensation.” She took another deep breath. “All I can do is take legal action. I have a case against Delaney and maybe I will find a way to get that forum shut down, but I can’t change what’s already been said.”
Alcina held her arms out to you. “Come here, darling.”
For a moment, you hesitated, but then you gave in because you missed the feeling of her arms around you. She held you tight to her chest and you savored how soft she felt against you, not caring at all about the smell of cigarette smoke that mixed in with that designer perfume she loved because it was still her.
“None of this matters. Everything will be taken care of. Internet gossip can’t tear down the Dimitrescu legacy that has stood here since 1906. I no longer care who knows where my proclivities lie, this isn’t the 90’s anymore and whenever you feel ready, I say, to hell with discretion.”
“But, my parents and what about what’s going on with Kurt and your custody agreement?”
“Kurt will never take the girls from me, he’s only going to make a fool of himself. As for your parents, it’s not as if you’re obligated to bring me around for dinner or to holiday gatherings. I will go at whatever pace makes you feel safe even if that means not ever being direct with them about our relationship.”
Alcina tilted you up to look into your eyes. “I love you, that’s what matters most to me and I know that I’d be a fool to let you go.”
Everything felt like it was going to be okay for the first time in a long time. “I love you too, Alcina.”
She was right, that’s all that truly mattered and everything else would resolve with enough time passing. You brought your hands to Alcina’s face and pulled her down for a long, passionate kiss. It didn’t matter if any of her lipstick smeared onto your face because no one was there to see it.
You were both panting heavily after breaking the kiss. Enough time had passed to where it had gotten much darker outside.
“Come back to my place so we can finish what we started.” Alcina said in a low, playful tone.
It had been so long since you had spent the night at her place, of course you were going to say yes.
“Alright, I’ll follow behind you.”
“Nonsense! Come with me, my dear, and I will drive you back to your car in the morning.”
Now was as good a time as ever to tell her the news.
“Oh, I quit tonight just as a heads up.”
Alcina giggled. “I figured as much. Can’t say I blame you for not wanting to finish out your week, but it will be kind of tough missing both a shift supervisor and my favorite server. I will make do though. I always manage."
You shared one more kiss before Alcina escorted you from your car to hers. The parking lot was empty apart from the two of you, the air was crisp, the stars were bright, and you were about to have a passionate night with a woman you were deeply in love with. If only you had been more aware of your surroundings, you would have noticed the hand and phone peeking out from behind one of the dumpsters.