A Ring of Rose Gold and Ruin

chapter 1

Feyre Archeron heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she hit submit on her calc III exam, culminating her first semester of college. That was the test she'd been dreading the most, and of course, it ended up on the final day of testing, leaving her stewing in her own thoughts all week long. But now, after four grueling and sleepless months, she could finally relax. Feyre trudged along the path back to her dormitory through the half-melted snow, collapsing onto her uncomfortable bed as soon as she made it through the door. Instead of sleeping, like any rational person would've done after such an exhausting five days, Feyre pulled out her phone and began scrolling through Tinder. She'd desperately wanted to have a boyfriend in high school, but it was impossible thanks to the fact that her authoritarian parents homeschooled her and kept an unrelenting chokehold on every facet of her life. Now that she was finally out and on her own, she was certain that it wouldn't be long before she'd find the love of her life. Much to her dismay, this wasn't happening nearly as quickly as she anticipated. Feyre was gorgeous; she had perfect skin, blue eyes that sparkled like the ocean on a sunny day, and soft, sweeping, brunette waves down to the middle of her back. Her parents had tried desperately to get her into modeling as a young teenager, but she vehemently refused, claiming that sort of activity should be reserved exclusively for those with an atrocious lack of intellectual capability. Feyre had always excelled in her studies, doing perfectly in subjects well above her grade level. But being a homeschooled only child had taken its toll - quite noticeably, according to some. She had the social skills of an undomesticated chimpanzee, but her parents never cared to point it out since they didn't condone any involvement with peers, let alone making friends. Feyre still wondered why nobody stuck around... and that's exactly why she had downloaded Tinder in the first place. She was far more adept at communicating online than she was in person, so she thought online dating would be a great place to commence the search for her soulmate. She scrolled through man after man, deeming all of them too unattractive and geeky for her tastes. Then, all of a sudden, her feed was graced by the finest male specimen she had ever lain eyes on. His name was Rhysand. He had luscious hair the hue of the midnight sky, a jawline sharp enough to cut steel, and a gloriously muscled physique. He looked as if he had been hand-carved by the gods themselves, and as she stared at her screen into his piercing green eyes, she knew that he had to be the one. Completely entranced by his beauty, she immediately swiped right. Turning over to look at her clock, she saw that it was already one in the morning and decided it was time to go to sleep. As she drifted into a deep slumber, she began to dream of a wonderful future with Rhysand, from dating to living out their golden years together and everything in between.
When Feyre awoke to her melodious alarm, a piece from her favorite string quartet, she picked up her phone and saw a notification. Her heart stopped - she had matched with Rhysand on Tinder. She jumped out of bed and squealed like a child on Christmas morning, "This is it!! Finally!!! I've found him, the love of my life!!! I just know it!!! We're soulmates, meant to be! We'll get married one day, have children, grandchildren even, and " Feyre exclaimed breathlessly as she skipped around her dorm. To an onlooker, Feyre may appear as if she'd gone clinically insane, and quite frankly, she had. The naive girl hadn't even bothered to read the blurb in Rhysand's bio, too captivated by his beauty to care about anything else. She clicked on the notification and it immediately opened Tinder and gave her the option to message her new infatuation. Her fingers flew as she began to type out the message that could make or break the possibility of a relationship with Rhysand. Feyre's mind was racing; should she use some kind of pick-up line, or should she just be normal and say hello then ask something boring "what's up"? She decided to go for a pick-up line. Naturally, she chose the worst one she possibly could... what more would one expect a socially inept, lovestruck 18-year-old? Feyre started to type again, writing out "Hey, do I know you from somewhere? Because I seem to remember seeing you in my dreams" and promptly pressing send. It hadn't even been 30 seconds when Feyre heard her phone ping as Rhysand's reply was delivered. Feyre opened it and began to read, "Smooth... you do seem kind of familiar though. It's almost as if you're the one I've been dreaming about too. So, tell me about yourself", it said. Her heart was practically springing out of her chest; she couldn't believe he had ACTUALLY replied. Obviously it was a match made in heaven, Feyre thought to herself as she began to type back a reply. Instead of doing what a person would typically do in this situation, Feyre decided to send Rhys a whole essay to sum up her entire life story. She covered everything from age 3 on, which was quite a bad decision. She had just given this strange man all of the details he could possibly need to manipulate and prey upon her, and little did she know, that's exactly what he planned to do. Feyre and Rhys continued talking and Feyre discovered that Rhys was a 22-year-old who was a stock broker by day and the lead singer of a small, underground rock band by night. But the best thing about him, in her opinion, was that he was a motorcyclist. He thought cars were for cowards and he liked to live dangerously, because he thought that life wasn't worth living if you weren't always taking a risk... Feyre found this quite attractive and began to imagine Rhys as a sort of knight in spike-studded leathers. Then, another notification from Rhys came, pulling her out of her daydream. He'd just asked her out on a dinner date for tonight. It was on a very short notice, but she fervently agreed to go. She would make it to this date if it was the last thing she ever did. With that, she put away her phone and went downstairs, got in her car, and sped off to her usual salon. She couldn't go on that date without looking her best, so hair, nails, and a facial were in order. 3 hours later, Feyre drove back to her dorm to finish getting ready. She contemplated what she should wear, "What if he proposed tonight? Its unlikely, but clearly we're perfect for each other so it wouldn't be too unconventional... I'd better dress my best", she thought. Feyre put on her prettiest dress and a pair of heels as she sighed to herself and said, "I really hope the ring is rose gold. I've always wanted a rose gold engagement ring. I bet it will be. Tonight's the night I'm going to get engaged, I can feel it". Then, she headed back downstairs to drive to the restaurant. They were going to the nicest place in town, an upscale seafood kitchen nationally renowned for their lobster tails. She blasted her happy playlist on the way there, singing along to the tune of "Marry You" by Bruno Mars at a stoplight when all of a sudden, she was lightly rear-ended. When the light changed to green she went throught the intersection and pulled over to jump out of her car and check for damage. As she inspected her rear bumper, all she found was a small dent and a few scratches. She still decided to call the police though, since it was still an accident and it wasn't her fault. As she was pulling out her phone to dial 911, an Aston Martin pulled up right behind her and a scrawny, middle-aged man with dark hair and green eyes emerged from the vehicle. "Well, well, well... you're Feyre aren't you?" the mysterious man spoke. "Who are you? How do you know who I am?" asked Feyre. "I'm Rhysand... the one you have a date with tonight?" he replied. Feyre's expression shifted to a look one might have assumed after being punched in the gut with a truckload of shock thrown in. "But... but... you look nothing like the pictures! You don't have any of the features you had in the pictures! You just look like a divorced dad with a nicotine addiction! Why would you do that to an innocent girl like me? I thought we were perfect!!" she exclaimed with alarm. "Sweetheart, you shouldn't be mad! I just saved your life you know! You don't even need to call 911 now that I'm here to take care of you. Without me here you'd have been taken by now, as pretty as you are!" he declared. "Are you kidding me? Nobody's going to kidnap me in broad daylight on the side of a major highway where anyone passing by could see. Not to mention, my life was never in danger, so cut the crap. Don't try to paint yourself as a hero when you're just a creepy guy who looks old enough to be my dad. Just leave already, I'm going home" Feyre said before turning to get back into her car. "Wait, stay for just a moment longer! I'm not entirely a different person than the one you saw on Tinder! I'm still a stock broker and I'm still in a rock band and I still ride motorcycles, I'm just 52 instead of 22. It's only 30 years, right? People make that work all the time" he argued. He kept speaking, "Please, I even have a rose gold ring for you! I wasn't sure if you'd want it but considering I did save your life, you do owe me one. So please, Feyre Archeron, would you be my wife?". Feyre turned around and kicked him as hard as she could, right in the groin. As he writhed in pain on the slush-covered ground, she yelled at him, "NO! IF YOU WERE ACTUALLY WHO YOU SAID YOU WERE I'D HAVE SAID YES, BUT I'LL NEVER MARRY SOMEONE AS UGLY AS YOU, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE JUST A MANIPULATIVE PREDATOR. GET AWAY FROM ME AND NEVER COME BACK, EVEN IF YOU DECIDE TO GET AS GORGEOUS AS YOUR PICTURE, I WOULD STILL NEVER WANT YOU". With that, Feyre climbed back into her car and drove away, reflecting on her terrible life choices and leaving Rhysand to wallow in misery (and half-melted snow) on the side of the road, vowing to herself that she'd think twice before declaring someone her soulmate after seeing one picture and that she'd never be so careless online ever again.