I'll never let go..| A titanic inspired story 🚢

The Diamond of Scottsdale (chapter 11)

First class suite, 3:57pm

After our second encounter, I couldn't stop thinking about Joel. His mesmerising blue orbs, dark parted hair and full lips. I kept daydreaming about him that day and James or my father would snap me out of it.

"Isobel."

"ISOBEL!" James snapped his fingers right in front of my nose and it startled me.

"There was no need to do that James." I said harshly. I was still rather angry about what he had said that morning.

"Yes well, you seemed very busy with your imagination. You need to focus on reality. With me."

He was right. I did need to focus on reality. I was going to marry him after all. He leant in and kissed me harshly on the lips and randomly inserted his tongue. His tongue felt like he was trying to push mine out of a window. 

The experience was quite unpleasant and when he pulled away it was then when I realised.. his complection wasn't really that appealing.

His hair was short and had no character, his eyebrows were thick caterpillars that rested on his face. His only redeeming quality was his smile and it was a rare occurrence when he did. I did quite like the idea of having children one day but I didn't really like the idea of having ugly children that turned out to be just as brattish as their father.

"Wow you are just such a beguiling girl. You know that?" James said, smiling for the first time in a year.

"Thank you." I didn't know what to say really. I felt a little traumatised by our kiss just a second ago.
"You know I love you, right?" He rested his hand on my thigh. Usually I would get butterflies but this was not the case. I felt guilty for some reason.

"Yes, James. I love you too." I whispered. I had a feeling he was going to ask for a request. I wasn't in the mood.

"Well, I decided to get you a little gift. I was planning on giving it to you at our wedding ceremony but I decided to give it to you early."

He handed me a green, velvet box. It was no bigger than my hand. I ran my index finger along its surface and appreciated the texture for a while.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" James asked me while raising an eyebrow.

I briefly nodded and unlatched the latch to the box and opened it. The glint of a mesmerising green diamond was beautiful enough to blind me. It shimmered in the sun as dawn approached. I marvelled at it for a good minute right before James interrupted my perceptiveness.

"It is a 56 carrat Diamond. It was worn by royalty. You are my royalty, Isobel." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ears but I didn't take my eyes off of the beautiful necklace in my hand.

"Wow.." is all that I could say. Sure, I had so much jewellery that I could sell it all and buy a whole mansion but nothing could have compared to this.

"It is called the diamond of Scottsdale" He said with a grin on his face. He took the necklace from the box and carefully lifted my soft curls that kinked around the back of my neck to clasp it together."Do you like it?"

"I do."

"Very good. That's why you are going to get dressed in this." He got up and walked to the wardrobe. James pulled out the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. It was an enchanting chamoline green with flattering chiffon sleeves and skirt. The crinoline was elegant and was just long enough to touch the floor. Dazzling lace and patterns were engraved along the dress and neckline. It truly looked like it should've been worn by a princess. It really matched well with my necklace.

"It's beautiful." I slowly approached it and ran my finger along the patterns on the torso. I knew I would impress everyone at the dinner.. including Joel. I didn't think James had thought about this logically so I eagerly got changed and did my makeup in 40 minutes. I decided to colour my eyelids a matching blue to the dress. The time was 4:37pm and the dinner started at 5:00pm sharp. Whilst I had changed, James had too. He was dressed in a magnificent tuxedo with a matching ebony bow-tie.

"Ready!" I exclaimed as he walked back into the bedroom where I was perched on the edge of the bed whilst wearing my new necklace too.

"Uh. Not quite." James summoned a few maids and rather rudely ordered them to do my hair. They obliged and tied my hair up into a Dutch braid. Glancing in the mirror, I admired my reflection. Hollywood would've taken me.

At 4:49pm, we left our room to attend the dinner. I received a few admirable stares and even a few compliments as we made our way to I the dining room. A set of large, wooden doors stood before us, inside awaited a lovely meal. James wanted to go inside but I offered to wait outside for our guest. There was a giant grandfather clock above me, at the top of the grand staircase. Each second, the hand would tick closer and closer to 5:00pm. It was currently 4:57pm and most people had arrived. Not Joel. Anticipating his arrival , I started to bite my nails. Maybe he felt too embarrassed about what happened earlier and decided not to show up? Maybe I should've jumped after all. Maybe he felt threatened by James and decided to back off. I couldn't help but wonder where he was. 5:59pm. Still not here. I was starting to loose hope until I heard a familiar voice.

"Look. I am meant to be down here so can you let go of me? You heard the man himself."

"You are third class. You are prohibited from being here."

I peeked around the railing and spotted Joel being held onto by a police officer. He looked pretty distressed until he noticed me too.

"Isobel! Tell him I'm meant to be here." He shouted in his appealing voice.

"He is. Joel is a friend of mine" Climbing the stairs, I took Joel's hand and grinned at the police officer. He scratched his head in confusion.

"You can let go now." I said politely. He reluctantly did.

"To the dinner." I said, still gripping Joel's hand.

"Yes. To the dinner."