CH.4

EVANGELINE

The spring breeze caressed my face as I stepped on the terrace, lifting strands of my hair and carrying the sweet scent of blooming jasmine.

I walked toward the bench positioned beneath a flowering cherry tree and settled on it.

My hands pressed together in my lap and my fingers intertwined to hide their trembling.

His serious demeanor, those sharp features… everything about him suggested a man with little patience for pleasantries or small talk. Still, I felt compelled to break the suffocating silence that stretched between us like a chasm.

"Would you care for something to drink?" I offered a tentative smile, hoping to ease the tension. "I could bring you coffee, tea, maybe something cold?"

"No!"

His curt response made me bite my lip in embarrassment, but I persisted in my attempts at conversation, unwilling to give up so easily.

"Are you usually this quiet? I mean, do you prefer silence to conversation?"

This time he turned those penetrating dark eyes on me, and I almost flinch at their intensity.

"I prefer silence to meaningless chatter!"

The tension between us was suffocating.

He was exactly as I'd expected. Sharp-tempered, unwelcoming, completely uninterested in making this easier for either of us.

The furrow between his brows hadn't relaxed since his arrival, giving him a perpetually annoyed expression that made my stomach clench with anxiety.

My gaze wandered from his furrowed brow to those penetrating dark eyes, then down to his straight nose, finally settling on his lips. Thin, unforgiving, occasionally moistened by his tongue in a gesture that seemed unconscious and almost vulnerable.

"Don't you have a problem marrying someone you don't know?" His voice was harsh, demanding, cutting through my observations.

The question sent my thoughts spiraling into chaos, dredging up every doubt and every fear I'd tried to suppress.

Was there truly no issue with marrying a complete stranger? With binding my life to someone who might despise me?

I pushed my doubts aside with tremendous effort before shaking my head with more confidence than I felt. "I trust Father's judgment completely. He wouldn't choose someone who'd treat me poorly or make me unhappy."

His prolonged stare made me reconsider my words. I wondered if I'd inadvertently complimented him, if he'd take my faith in Father's choice as some kind of endorsement of his character.

Those eyes of his were truly captivating in their intensity. Wide, seemingly kind at first glance, yet sharp, penetrating and cruel upon closer inspection.

He held my gaze without blinking, never breaking contact, which only increased my discomfort. It made me feel exposed in ways I couldn't articulate.

"Love can develop over time." The words left my mouth before I could stop them, sounding naive even to my own ears.

"What if it doesn't?" His tone carried unmistakable mockery, leaving me speechless and floundering for a response that wouldn't make me sound even more foolish.

"Don't expect anything from me!"

My eyebrows drew together in confusion and my heart sinking at the coldness in his voice. "What do you mean?"

He closed the little distance between us, leaned forward and caged me between his towering frame.

The sudden movement made me freeze and my body going rigid as his face came closer to mine, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin.

"It's shameful someone with your attractive features should be so foolish."

My attention wavered between his insulting words and his proximity. The masculine scent of his cologne, the way his presence seemed to fill all the space around me. But then annoyance flashed across my face like lightning once his meaning fully registered.

"Are you calling me foolish?"

"Aren't you?" He tilted his head slightly, his expression openly mocking now.

Those were his final words before he straightened abruptly, walking back inside without giving me any opportunity to respond, to defend myself, or demand an explanation for his cruelty.

~

A week passed without any contact between Gael and me.

No phone calls, no messages, no attempts at communication whatsoever.

And today was a day that should've filled me with joy, anticipation for the future, hope for what was to come. Instead, it brought only dread, a heavy weight settling in my chest that grew heavier with each passing hour.

Everything was moving too quickly, like a runaway train I couldn't stop or slow down.

The speed of these arrangements terrified me. They made me feel as though I was losing control of my own life.

Regret had begun growing like a cancer in my chest, spreading through my thoughts and poisoning every moment of what should've been happiness.

Marriage wasn't a game to be taken lightly, yet I'd agreed to this irreversible step with barely any consideration for the consequences.

The magnitude of what I'd committed to was only now becoming clear, and the realization left me breathless with panic.

I couldn't voice my hesitations to my parents, couldn't shatter their obvious joy with my doubts and fears.

Every time I witnessed their excitement as they prepared for my engagement, saw the pride shining in their eyes, my heart shattered a little more.

How could I tell them I was having second thoughts? How could I destroy their happiness with my uncertainty?

~Flashback ends~