Wilting Roses (Formerly known as Arranged)

2 years and 9 Month's

~Chapter Four~ (April, 30, 1793)

Two years and nine month's had passed. Nothing had changed except her fragile heart. Scarlett Heart sat silently at the dinner table staring down at her mushroom soup. There were no words to describe just how much she hated this kind. However, she wasn't one to complain to the cook. Feeling the warm vapor of the soup lightly brush her face she quietly dipped her spoon into the murky liquid, her lips slightly curled up in disgust as she forced down the small morsel of food.

This is unbearable, thought Scarlett.

She was overwhelmed to spit it out but instead reached for her cup of wine and took a small sip in order to make the food tolerable. Curious to see anyone agreeing with her thought's she lifted her gaze to look around the dining room. She noticed that everyone else seemed to be enjoying the fowl soup. Cousins from her husband's side and a few aunts and uncles sat at the table eating. Lady Rita Heart, Dathan's mother, enjoyed it the most, she had called it one of her absolute favorites. It was no surprise she held taste for such tacky and tasteless things. Rare was the occasion she let herself stare at her charming husband but today she spared a moving glance.

The month's progressing under contract had changed him. Scarlett partly blamed her solitude for growing certain feeling towards the man that treated her much like a ghost. Deep down she knew she was stupid for not being able to contain her heart from skipping every time he smiled. From a distance Dathan presented a charming persona, he was kind and gentle. His eyes were as crystal as the exotic waters she had heard of and only seen in paintings. She hadn't paid much attention to him in the beginning but as the months passed her eyes had noticed much more.

What was is about his dashing smile and dark ebony hair that made her heart skip? She often found herself asking these questions but always came up empty handed. There was never any hope inside of her that something else could be. In reality Scarlett desired more than anything to see her family. Her parent's had been fooled into thinking she was so busy socializing that she had no time to visit. It was sad and pathetic the way she allowed them to toy with her. Lady Rita Heart was the worst of them, driven by the greed to manipulate her son she had made it her personal task to ruin Scarlett's life.

Why had the heaven's blessed this wretched woman with two more sons? Wasn't it enough that she brained washed her eldest son to think the worst of Scarlett. Again her eyes shifted to glance in his direction making it the last she would give him. In that moment his hand lifted to squeeze his true love's and it twisted an awful knot in Scarlett's heart. She knew it should mean nothing to her yet she could not help feel tortured to watch him treat his lover with such tenderness.

Lowering her eyes she felt another blow to her already wounded heart but her outer self-remained calm. Only the slight tightening of her spoon gave any indication of her feelings. Dathan cared very little for her feelings. Trough out dinner she was certain that not once had he spared her a glance nor cared for what she thought.

On their wedding night he had spent it with Lady Camille, she was a pretty blond with beautiful skin and dashing green eyes. Since day one of their marriage all he had ever done was break her heart. Nothing had changed, nothing at all. The days had turned into months and months into years yet she felt stuck. No one looked upon her with kindness, his mother was a wretched woman. It was only Sir William Heart, Dathan's father, who looked upon Scarlett with favor. Her spirits lifted with each of his rare visits. The only thing she disliked about his visits were the frequent questions about their marriage. She knew the old man was concerned that maybe Dathan was lacking. However, she never allowed him to know the truth. The three years were nearly up. It was best to leave things the way they were for what could change? Would Sir Heart force Dathan to treat Scarlett right? It would result in chaos and only lead father and son to pull much farther apart.