A Man in White Collar (Completed)

Chapter 21: The Unexpected

His figure disappeared
Like sunlight runs away from moonlight
His reverie collided
Like meteor crashes the atmosphere
His faith shattered
Like boulder carves the soil

__________________

The soft light of the street lamps in Luxembourg set aglow the carpet of fallen leaves. The autumn in Paris was one of Lou's favorite seasons. She wore vintage floral dress along her favorite white oxford shoes with its nicely stacked heels. Lou cut her hair into above-the-shoulder bob with the front pieces angled upwards around the face. She looked fresher than she had ever been. Lou sat on the bench with her journal on her lap.

"Days have gone really fast," she had written. "Paul proposed me in the next summer after we had broken up in the same place, in this place, Luxembourg. And now it's the fifth day of Autumn and five days before the wedding. Pre-wedding photos have been published, invitations have been shared, friends and families have been introduced. Time flows really fast like eagles chase the clouds above. I'm excited. But.. some part of me is losing something that I don't dare to explain."

Lou glanced at the sunset above. She smiled as the memories of her and Paul crossed her mind perennially. She opened up a few pages of her journal from the back, she accidentally found a gray handkerchief. It was folded in a mess. It was Alex's. She remembered the time when he couldn't stand to see her crying. She unfolded the handkerchief as she tried to brush the memories of Alex away. In the corner of his handkerchief was sewn, 'William Laurent'. Lou pressed her lips and cupped her chin. She closed her eyes holding the tears to stream as the picture of Alex started flashing on her mind. Lou opened her eyes and moved her right thumb from the corner of the handkerchief, '20121'. The sewn numbers next to the name of William Laurent. Lou started wondering what those numbers meant. Wondering if those numbers were probably important to Alex, until he had to put them on his handkerchief. She looked for her phone in her bag, looking up for Adrien's number and called him.

"Lou!" Adrien surprised.

"Are you surprised?" Lou chuckled. "How are you, Adrien?"

"No, um." Adrien stuttered. "Um, yes. I'm fine. Totally fine, how are you? It's been a while."

"I'm," Lou sighed. "I'm good. Everything's good."

"Are you alright?" asked Adrien, lowering his tone. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm fine," Lou smiled. "I'm just strolling around the park. In Paris."

"In Luxembourg?" asked Adrien but it sounded more like statement rather than question and Lou suddenly remained silent until Adrien continued, "Is everything alright?"

"Adrien," Lou sighed. "I'm getting married in five days but I feel like there's something wrong with me."

Before Lou finished her sentence, Adrien had already interrupted. "Is it about Laurent?"

Lou sighed as she nodded, giving the sound of Uh-Uh. Before Lou continued, she suddenly got reminded of something. "Wait, how did you know I'm at Luxembourg?"

"You're sitting on the bench, and journal on your lap, and wearing white oxford shoes. Oh, is that new?" Adrien chuckled.

Lou's mouth widened as she covered it with her palm. Her anxiety about Alex suddenly went away after she had heard Adrien said so, "How. Did. You. Know. Bloody hell, you're scaring me. How did you know?"

Lou looked around the Luxembourg trying to find Adrien, wondering if he was actually there. As she looked around the corner of the tree in front of her, she suddenly heard some very familiar voice, "Looking for someone?"