Mademoiselle Chanel

What we do not earn ourselves,” he said, “is never truly ours. It can always be taken away. But even if we lose everything we work for, the achievement is ours forever.

I admire you. You have learned to rise with the wind, rather than fight it. Too many people struggle to become what is expected of them, when, as we both know, what is expected of us is rarely what we desire.

Since fortune was dragging its heels, I would lure it out with my hard work.

And opportunities are like stories in books,” I retorted. “All we need do is pick one.

Simplicity,” I said, “is true elegance. A woman is closest to being naked when she is well dressed. Her clothing should be seen only after she herself is.

Nothing is the same afterward, is it? We carry on, as indeed we must, but we are never who we were.” He

Where was it written that I, child of no one, deserved such joy? It only happened at night, this abyss of dread, never during the day. Only in the empty hours between today and yesterday, when I was alone with my sleeping lover and the weight of the past crept upon me like a reproachful ghost.

I turned on my heel and left her, exasperated that even as I worked my fingers to the bone to liberate women from our cloth chains, our minds remained as closed as ever to the possibility that we might deserve more than a husband, children, and growing old cooking sausage.

Five is the most sacred number in the firmament.” She motioned.

it is our most holy number, the perfect embodiment of God’s creation: wind, earth, fire, water, and, most important of all, spirit. Everything

I unlocked her cage, but you, my thieving friend, aim to set her free. Be careful with what you do. Wild things are never tamed.

But even if we lose everything we work for, the achievement is ours forever.

There was never any question of marriage if that is what you think. Men do not understand me. They say, ‘you needn’t worry anymore. You don’t have to do anything because I will take care of you.’ But what they really mean is you don’t have to do anything except be there for me.

I’m married already—to my work.” I