Twisting Roses

3: Beautiful Memories

-The rivers continue to dazzle under the sparkling moonlight-

I could see the waves twirl, a sense of sensation kept my heart tangled in a confused mess. The sweet misery was a constant pang weighing on my heart. I was standing near the yacht's railing and staring at the faraway islands...blue sky. 

The sun was on the brink of rising. 

Inhaling the sweet air and enjoying the fresh breeze of a new day, I could feel my heart constantly beating with an incoherent rhythm. Just a few years had completely twirled my heart...my life. I was breathing in completely different emotions, eyeing the rising sun with bittersweet delight.

Since little, I had been fed a dream and a promise; my husband was supposed to be my prince charming. He was supposed to shelter me away from storms and deserved my heart...my sincere caring attitude. And I was a simple goner when it came to fairytales. 

Chasing after a sweet dream, I was adamant about simply dedicating my happiness to my husband. Demir...the spark in his aura...somehow, I had found myself believing that he was my fairytale turned real, but I failed to realize that I had yet to become a princess. 

Cold, strange, arrogant and so confusing, his ways baffled my soul but made my heartbeat grow erratic. I couldn't understand what made me fall for him. My mom had always defined a prince charming to be a gentleman; so well-spoken and considerate, yet my prince just came in the form of a beast. I couldn't understand why I had even fallen for him. 

Even tortured and mistreated by his completely strange and cold ways, I was still here...trying to unravel his mysterious personality, meet his status and just reach his heart. 

I was pathetic. 

Soon, as the sun rose in the sky and deep loneliness continued to caress my senses, I breathed. Aliya and her parents were still on board. We were now sailing towards the Great Pina Islands owned by Demir's second cousins, the heirs of Naveria Kingdom, and hoping to spend a week among the beautiful landscapes of Kern Villas. 

There was a grand ceremony going to take place there, which was meant for crowning the new king of the Naveria lands. I was actually feeling thrilled and a little scared. Adventure always made my soul spark. Ignorance doused my emotions.

Tangled, I pushed my warm shawl around my shoulders and pressed my face against its warmth. Amid a terrifying hurricane, I was breathing in a calm and alluring breeze. 

***

One simple sound of thud had me racing out of the yacht and stepping onto a beautiful pier which was leading straight towards a row of limousines parked and two young men kept shaded by royal peasants holding red umbrellas above their heads. My childish excitement was on the flare. 

However, I couldn't really express my excitement in an ungraceful manner, so instead of skipping down the peer and fangirling over the limousines parked, I had to wait as my in-laws and their family friends elegantly stepped out of the yacht. All the ladies were wearing beautiful and huge hats and clicking their heels against the pier of the wood while the men had adorned ray-bans to shield them from the heat. I had to roll my eyes as I noticed Demir swiping my mobile screen, conveniently being shielded by the shade of a black umbrella held above his head by one of his workers. 

Rich brat. 

Courteous, I allowed my in-laws to take the lead. We were walking down the pier as we felt our hosts keep their gaze firm on us. Upon reaching them, Demir was immediately pulled into a firm hug. 

"Brother, you came." A man around his age greeted him. He was probably his cousin 'Hammad'.

"How could I not?" He beamed, moving away. And soon, we were guided to sit in the limousine. Samiya Begum made sure she sat with me, while Demir, Sonia, Aliya and her parents sat in another car. My heart actually panged at the sight of Demir gesturing one of his workers to open the limo door for Aliya and her parents, but I ignored it, as I was guided to sit inside the limo.