serendipity [ c.leclerc ]

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻.

BELLAROSA HAD BEEN sitting in the restaurant for 2 hours now, waiting for her longtime boyfriend, Theodore. Exactly 4 years ago today, Theo had asked her to be his girlfriend and they wanted to celebrate their anniversary together.

Theo had promised to take her out again after months of working overtime at work. However, two hours ago he had written to her that she should drive up to the restaurant alone since he couldn't leave his work yet, but during this time she didn't hear another word from her boyfriend.

A female voice she was already familiar with snapped Belle out of her train of thought. "Madame, if you don't order in the next few minutes, I'll have to ask you to do leave!"
The native Italian looked desperately at the waitress and answered: "Please give me a little more time, my boyfriend will definitely show up soon." The waitress gave her one last disapproving look and then disappeared.

When another half hour had passed, Belle decided to head home since Theo wasn't there nor has he answered his cell phone in the meantime. She ordered an Uber and stood outside, near the main entrance of the restaurant, to wait.

"Qu'est-ce qu'une jolie femme comme toi fait toute seule ici?" [What's a pretty woman like you doing all alone out here?] Said a deep voice. Startled, Belle looked up to see an older man standing very close in front of her, she could smell a strong odor of alcohol.
"Oh, I don't speak french, sorry." She answered hesitantly. "Es-tu ici tout seul?" [Are you here all alone?] Belle hastily stepped back, but the man began to move closer.

"Oh allez fille ne sois pas si prude J'ai quelques idées pour passer le temps pour vous."[Oh come on girl don't be so prudish I have a few ideas to pass the time for you.] The older one said and tried to grab her wrist, she backed away in fear but she crashed into another person who quickly grabbed her arms to keep her from losing her balance. Stunned, she looked to the side and saw a young man with mesmerizing green eyes she could have drowned in would have been the right time who appeared to be her own age. The young man was about to apologize to her when Belle interrupted him "Cherié! There you are, I've been waiting for you. Our Uber should be here soon." The young man looked at her confused, but seeing her pleading look and then the creepy old man near her "The waiter brought me the wrong jacket. is everything ok here" The young man answered her with a strong french accent while eyeing the creepy old man, the old man in question backed away and raised his hands apologetically. "Désolé mec je ne savais pas qu'elle n'était pas disponible." [Sorry man I didn't know she wasn't available.] With that the old one ran awy but Belle's savior couldn't help but stare at the man's disappearing shadow in disgust after he said those words.

The green eyed man turned to Belle with a worried gaze and asked if she was alright. She nodded and said: "Thank you so much, I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up." "No, of course, I'm glad I could help you and prevent worse." "I am Bellarosa" "I am Charles, nice to meet you. Are you still waiting for someone?"

"Oh no, I was supposed to be here to celebrate our anniversary with my boyfriend today but somehow he didn't show up so I'm just waiting for my Uber to take me home." "Oh, I'm sorry to say that, but your boyfriend sounds like an asshole." "Well, that's the way he is, I can't change him." Charles looked at her skeptically but Belle just ignored his look "How can I make it up to you?" she asked him. "You don't have to make it up to me." "No no, I really want to. It's not a matter of course that you just do something like this without asking any questions." "Okay, then how about a coffee?"
She reluctantly agreed to his suggestion, convincing herself that he hadn't suggested it as a date. "Sounds good, here's my cell phone number so we can set the time and place." Charles gave her his cell phone, she typed in her number and handed the cell phone back.

The two talked for a little while until Belle's Uber arrived, they said goodbye and Belle went down the stairs and although Charles knew that Bellarosa was in a long-term relationship, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

— author note :
hey guys, this is the first chapter! Hope you liked it  🫶🏻