Happiness Begins // polin A.U.

Chapter One: Strangers

Time stands still and it's only us

What we feel started way before we ever touched

Just imagine only us

Yeah, you found me right before I'd given up

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Penelope didn't choose to have a crush on her best friend's older brother. She didn't choose for that crush to turn into pure, unadulterated love. If she had any choices, she would have chosen for Colin to love her back. To notice her. That's not fair. He does notice her, just not in the way she'd like him to. Penelope didn't choose to be friends with Eloise solely because she had a crush on Colin. No. Penelope and Eloise go way back! All the way back to daycare. It also helped that they lived across the street from one another.

Eloise is one of eight children. Yes, eight. She's number five. Colin is number three. Violet and her late husband had the gift of fertility, and saw each child as a blessing. Edmund and Violet married when they were only twenty years old. Twenty! They were university sweethearts and just couldn't wait. They welcomed their eldest son that same year. They really couldn't wait.

But they could afford it. Old money that kept turning into new money. And luckily the late Mr. Bridgerton had an exceptional life insurance policy, so his family is pretty much set for life. Anthony, took over as CFO of their family business. He was only eighteen when this happened, so he and his mother pretty much ran things together until he was old enough to do things more on his own. He still had to go to university and all that. He deals with all the money. It's what his father prepared him for.

Benedict, the second oldest, didn't have quite as much pressure on him, so he got to pursue more of his passions. And being the nepotism baby that he is, he could afford to pursue his passions. He's become an accomplished artist. He specializes in charcoal drawings, but he's also an exceptional painter. One of his spare bedrooms is dedicated as his art studio. His apartment is no joke.

The two boys are only three years apart. They were the only Bridgerton children until Colin was born six years later. After that, there seemed to be a new baby almost every year to every two years. Again, the gift of fertility.

Two of the Bridgertons have been married off. Surprisingly enough, the first to get married was the fourth born, Daphne. She was twenty-one when she met her future husband. He was an old university friend of Anthony's. They didn't like each other at first, but that dislike grew into a friendship, which grew into more. Much more. Their engagement wasn't long, and they didn't wait to have children. Daphne always wanted to be a mother, just like her own. After taking care of her younger siblings, she grew to adore children. It had the opposite effect on Eloise, but we digress.

About a year and a half after that, Anthony met his match in Kate Sharma. Kate and Edwina Sharma were visiting with Mrs. Danbury who lives about two blocks away. Mrs. Danbury and Violet are close friends. And so, they all met at a welcoming dinner party. It wasn't easy for Anthony and Kate, especially since Edwina took a liking to him right away. But in the end, Anthony and Kate were married. He never thought he'd get married. He didn't want to be in love, and then lose his love the way his mother had after his father died.

None of the other Bridgerton's were in as much of a rush. It took ten years for Colin to look at Penelope as anything other than a friend. Ten, long, and patient years. Penelope was never outgoing, she was often a wallflower, not listened to much. Her mother made her feel like the runt of the litter compared to her two elder sisters. Penelope was gorgeous in her own right. Her hair a breathtaking shade of red accompanied by manageable curls. A button nose, bright eyes, and a beaming smile if she allowed herself to show it off. But compared to Eloise, compared to Daphne, compared to her own sisters...she didn't always feel beautiful. She wasn't skinny like the other girls. She had to put more effort into her look. (That's what her mother told her.) And even though Eloise never dated, it's not like boys didn't try. She just rejected them. She rejected girls too. She just didn't want a relationship in high school. Or in college. Penelope was grateful that she and her very best friend didn't have love lives, but she'd find herself getting jealous when no one would even look in her direction. She was the one who got asked, "what's your friend's name?" if anyone approached her. It was exhausting.