The Law of Attraction

(7)

Calvin leads me up the beautiful marbled staircase and pulls me by my small hand through a set of awe inspiring French doors the likes of which I've never seen.

I expect these double doors to lead to a room, but they don't. Instead they open up to an immense balcony that seems to also serve as a secret garden.

Pots filled with flowers and fruits fill my vision, and the beautiful sweet aroma they provide wafts through my nose.

"Oh my goodness" I gape, completely dumbfounded by the sight before me. I run my now free finger tips over the velvety petals of a ripe rose, relishing in its splendor.

"I thought you'd appreciate this." Calvin responds, the blaring moonlight reflecting off of his sharp features in an unnatural sort of way.

"Why would you think that?" I ask, wondering his reasoning since we've only just met.

"I'm not sure, there's just something about you that screams elegance. The kind of elegance portrayed by a midnight hidden garden."

My face flushes pink, and I drag my eyes away from Calvin's electric blue stare. He seems to be patiently watching me as I distract myself from his words by plucking a plump strawberry from a vine.

I press the fruit to my lips and linger there for a moment, my brain relentlessly trying to think of what to say to this man. He isn't like I had expected at all.

He's much more handsome that I had anticipated, and he's very quiet. His confidence is deafening, but so far he's a man of little words. It's as though he allows that smirk of his to do the talking for him.

"You're uncomfortable." He states as I take a small bite from the fruit, his discovery only scratching the surface of how I really feel.

Honestly I'm distraught. Down stairs the man I've apparently fallen in lust with his wriggling himself in to the panties of another woman, meanwhile I'm supposed to bat my eyelashes and make conversation with a man my father has chosen for me.

If I wasn't so certain that the opposite was true, I'd dare to say that I'm a princess and this is my peak story arc.

"You could say that." I finally respond after being quite for far too long.

I go to take another bite from the strawberry, it's sweet and tender taste a sweet relief from my detrimental thoughts, when I notice Calvin's eyes locked on my lips.

He's staring as though he's seeing something more to them, more than just a ruby red lacquer.

"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable Isabella, I really don't." He mouths softly, his voice barely being carried to my ears on the gentle breeze. He almost seems remorseful as he regards me.

I instinctively shake my head no, trying to ensure him that none of this is his fault. He's only doing what he's been told to do just as I am.

"This isn't your doing, it's our fathers." I respond matter of factly. Calvin shakes his head and takes a step towards me, something in his stare pulling me in like a sirens call.

He's oddly beautiful. He's similar in style to William but quite younger and more boyish looking. He's tall and strapping with a bit of facial hair peppering his jawline.

Their eyes are both a deep dangerous blue.

There is nothing wrong with Calvin, and I'd dare to say that he could probably make a woman very happy someday. I'm just not sure if that woman should be me.

I'm not so sure that I'm the kind of girl that's supposed to find love. Everything I've done so far in search of it has left me either empty handed, or morbidly confused.