Engaged
1050 Words
"Miss, please come up. You will need to wait for your entry with Mr. Fabian."
I swallowed hard, as I turned away from the assistant planner, then nodded. Gerald gave me a big, approving smile from where he stood with my dad who had just arrived, and I returned it, mine feeling rather strained. Slowly, she led me away again outside, and we took the stairs. The way I understood it, we would have to make an entrance from the heavily decorated stair case inside the hall.
I swallowed hard as we finally stopped in front of a door, and the girl walked in front of me. She opened the door, then turned to me, ushering me in with her eyes.
"Thank you," I muttered, then slowly walked in front of her, my dress in my hands. The room was beautiful, with large couches instead of a bed. It looked more like a conference room, and I swallowed hard.
No one else was in there, and I sat on one of the couches, my head low, my fingers nipping painfully at each other. I am not sure which made me more anxious. The wait, or Fabian's absence. His absence just made me anticipate his coming and it was not a nice feeling.
I gave a small sigh, feeling all of the fatigue from last night seep into my bones. I turned, and there was no one. I adjusted a little, then lay my head on the couch, curling up under my dress.
I only intended to rest a bit till Fabian came and I had to be on guard again, but the fatigue seemed to be stronger, and slowly, I felt myself drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
I moved my head a little to adjust it on the sofa, my lips smacking. My eyes moved as I tried hard to adjust, a lash seeming to interfere around my lids. I gave a small sigh, finally giving into the disturbance.
My eyes slowly opened and I started to reach for my them to clear off whatever it was, my head still cloudy with sleep. Suddenly, my eyes caught something else, and I stopped in place, shock parting my lips.
Fabian was in front of me, squatted, a glass in his hand. His eyes were hooded and shielded by his thick lashes, his expression unreadable. I swallowed hard and moved away, my breath faltering a little.
He didn't move, his eyes lifting to me as I sat up.
"What...what are you doing here?"
He raised a brow, before he slowly stood up, then walked to the large center table, dropping his glass. He tucked his hand to his pockets.
"We need to go down," he said simply.
He sounded a little tipsy, even though nothing of his stance said it. I nodded and stood up, adjusting my dress around me.
I raised my eyes to him when he didn't walk ahead of me, the questions in my eyes. If he noticed it, he chose to ignore it, and I gave a small sigh and started to walk away.
Suddenly, I felt his fingers clasp around my wrist, stopping me in place. I turned, my brows furrowed. Without a word, he let his hand drop, till he was holding my hand in his. His hand felt warm, his touch surprisingly soft.
"Let's go," he said simply, then pulled me further with him.
I was too dazed to put up a protest, and I followed behind him, slowly falling into step with him.
We walked out the door and then slowly through the length of the balcony, his hand in mine all through.
He slowed down when we got to the top of the stairs, just as the lights downstairs went off, dimming around everywhere.
The spotlights came on both of us, and he held my hand a little tighter. I turned to him, but his eyes were focused on the stairs, his lips pursed.
Slowly, we went down, a smile immediately plastering itself on his face. I was not as good in acting, and it took a bit of time for me to finally adjust to the congrats and the greetings.
It all felt like a blur, his hand never leaving mine till we got to the very front, a young woman standing there with two elegantly cased rings.
I swallowed as Fabian took mine, a small, inexplicable tremble to his fingers, his chest slightly heaving.
I met his eyes, mine a little inquisitive. It seemed like something was wrong with him, but I wasn't sure how to enquire. He sighed, like he needed to stay in control.
He held my hand, then brought my hand to him, and slowly slid the ring in. His eyes finally met mine, and in there was a mix of emotions that I couldn't read or discern.
I swallowed and grabbed his ring. I lifted my eyes to his, expecting him to give me his hand. He did not move, and I looked down. Slowly, I reached for his hand, then brought it to me. He let me, his eyes dark. I slid the ring in amidst the deafening claps, his eyes on me.
I could see the hatred that clouded his eyes, and the slight triumph. He gave a small smirk as the lights dimmed again, a chord striking up from the grand piano. It was handled by a world class pianist and he played one of my favorite Mozart classics.
I swallowed as I felt his hand cup my waist. There was nothing affectionate about the way he did it, his other hand pulling me closer as we took slow steps in tune to the song.
"How does it feel being engaged to me?"
I swallowed and turned to him, mustering all of my courage. "Gross."
His brows furrowed as the pressure of his fingers on my waist tightened and he pulled me to him even closer, his head leaning towards me.
"Say that again, Aurora. I dare you."
I turned away, knowing fully well what he is capable of. He said nothing more, taking my withdrawal as his triumph. Once the last chords of the song came to an end, he let me go and sauntered away, leaving me almost breathless with anger.
- Writer
