Beauty And The Beast

Chapter 2

Two weeks later

I haven't seen or heard anything from James since that party. Our engagement party. It's better this way. I've been preparing myself for the fact I'll be married two weeks from now. My mother was all worked up. Do this, don't do that. Roses, not lillies, roses are sophiaticated, lillies are plain. Bla, bla. I gave up. Nothing is going to be the way I want it. Starting with the groom. I sighed when I heard knocking.
"Yes?" I asked rubbing my temples.
"Elena?" Mother peeked through the door.
"Yes?" I asked louder.
"Daphne called. She would like to come with us to pick the wedding dress. I said she could come. Is that okay with you?" She asked smiling.
"You already said she could come, what's the point in asking me now?" I asked annoyed.
"God, you're so sensitive. She is your future mother in law. Get to know her" she said letting herself in.
I sighed deeply and got dressed. I gathered my hair into a messy bun. That should do.
Daphne's driver picked us up and we went to one of the best boutiques. Ladies were chatting cheerfully and I was sick.
"Do you like anything Elena?" Daphne asked patting my shoulders.
I shook my head.
"What do you mean? The dresses are gorgeous Elena! Don't complicate!" Mother sqealed.
"Let her be. She is young and needs to find her own style. Remember yourself in her age. You sure weren't listening to your mother, were you?" Daphne asked smiling.
Mother shrugged her shoulders.
"You're right."
After five stores in which I didn't find anything I found her. It was a perfect dress. I stood there and stared at it for a while.
"Perfect, isn't it?" Daphne asked smiling.
I nodded and touched the soft material.
"Go try it on" she said.
I went into the dressing room and tried the dress on. It was perfect.
"Oh my.. James is going to be stunned once he sees you wearing this. Darling you are gorgeous."
Either she is so polite and forgot the fact my sister hurt her only son or she's faking it really well. I couldn't tell at the moment.
Mother brushed away a tear.
"We'll take this dress, right Elena?" Daphne asked talking to the sales lady.
I nodded.
As we left the store Daphne stopped.
"Dear, would you mind having lunch with me? I need to speak to you" she said carefully, as if she didn't want to scare me away.
"Of course" I replied with a small smile.
She nodded and we sat into the limo. After half an hour we were ordering food.
"The reason I invited you is James. As you probably know, Charlotte broke his heart badly. He was unrecognizable by the time she left. Since then he has though time trusting people. You can change that Elena. You can make him love you, you can make him happy again. More then anything in the world I want my son to be happy with you. Will you try?" She asked, her eyes glimmering with tears and hope.
"With all due respect I don't think James even likes me, let alone love me. I don't think I can force him into anything" I said shaking my head.
"I've seen the way he looks at you. He is struggeling with his feelings. Just give him a chance. That's all I'm asking for. A chance."
"I'll try. I won't make any promises but I'll try" I said smiling.
She smiled too.
"I have to ask you something" I said looking at her and she nodded.
"Why are you being nice to me after everything Charlotte did to James?"
"You are not Charlotte. You don't even resemble her phisically. It feels like you aren't even sisters. The way you speak, smile, walk, everything is different than with Charlotte."
"It's true. We were never really close like real sisters. She was always traveling and after she met James, she was rarely even home" I said.
We ate and after she paid, she stood up and took my hand.
"Remember what I told you Elena. Take care" she said and left.
What can I do? I can't make him love me. But I can try and make this marriage work.
I'll do that.
After I got home I had to tell mom all the details on what we talked about.
I laid on my bed and my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Elena?" A strong male voice asked.
"Yes?"
"It's James."
"I thought so" I said quietly.
"I wanted to ask how are things with the wedding going."
"Almost everything is done. I picked the wedding dress today" I said smiling.
"I know, mother told me" he said.
"That's it. We picked white roses for the bouqet" I said feeling down.
"Your voice seems sad. Roses were not your choice?" He asked surprised.
"Actually, I wanted lillies but mother convinced me they are plain."
"I'm in Madrid currently. I'll be home tommorow and we'll talk" he said decisevly.
"About?" I asked feeling a bit scared.
"Roses and lillies" he said softly.
I smiled.
"Go to sleep. Good night" he said and hung up.
Wish I could.
By the morning I was exhausted. I just couldn't sleep. My phone vibrated.
I'm home. Get ready. I'm picking you up in 30 minutes.
I jumped up and got dressed. I brushed my hair and gathered it into a bun. I got downstairs when the doorbell rang. I opened and there he stood. His sexy suit and gorgeous face, his black mischievous hair. God Elena. Get a grip.
" Hey" I said.
"Hey."
"I'm ready" I said taking my purse.
He nodded and we left.
After half an hour we pulled over in front of a flower shop.
"Why are we here?" I asked quietly.
"You'll see" he said and strode inside, leaving me behind.
I followed him and the lady approached us.
"Can I help you?" She asked smiling at James.
"We are getting married and we want white lillies" he said shortly.
Her smile vanished.
"Sir, it's not their season. We don't have any lillies left" she said shaking her head.
"Thank you" James said, took my hand and dragged me out of the store. We went to three more flower shops when James finally found them.
"Sir, I would like to suggest white roses or orchids. They are delicate and sweet" she said smiling at him.
He raised his hand.
"My wife wants lillies and she'll get them" he said shortly and I was left stunned by his words.
"In that case, we can order them. I need to warn you though. The price is going to be double."
"I don't care, take care of it this week."
He left the shop and I ran after him.
"Why did you do that?" I asked once we sat in the car.
"Did what?" He asked playing dumb.
"Why did you look for lillies for me?"
"Because I wanted to. Stop asking questions and let's go to lunch" he said and started the car.
As we were eating I couldn't forget his words from earlier. So much trouble over lillies.
"Is the food okay?" He asked putting away his fork.
I nodded and stared at the plate.
"Why are you not eating it then?"
"I was just thinking about something" I smiled.
He continued eating and when we were done he offered to take me home.
When we pulled over on our driveway he got out of the car.
"Thank you" I said looking down.
"For what?" He asked surprised.
"The lillies" I replied.
He smiled and grabbed my hair. He messed around it and it fell over my shoulders.
"You should wear it like this. Suits you better. Good bye Elena" he smiled and left