The Story Of Us

Enchanted

Hardin’s P.O.V

My blood raced through my veins as I leaped from rooftop to rooftop with my princess in my arms. Who would’ve guessed that, after all this time, my heart would be beating for this woman who so easily crept into my heart? I lost all my passion years ago after I lost contact with Liv after we finished high school, but when I saw her at the masquerade ball last month, I couldn’t help but feel…enchanted. I hadn’t realized that the girl was my former classmate underneath the mask, but I was drawn to her costume of choice, a black floor-length dress with a mask that matched my heroine’s.

That night was just another work party that my friends dragged me to, filled with forced laughter and fake smiles, it reminded me how lonely my life had become. I was tired of the walls of insecurity and the vacancy in my heart but, as if by a miracle, all seemed to vanish as I laid my eyes upon her. I watched as her eyes did a double take as she looked at me and then excused herself from the group she was with and made her way over to me. Even if she did recognize me, my heart beat for the first time in a decade when she asked me to dance with her. A playful conversation started between the two of us, countering my quick remarks like we were passing notes in secrecy.

Our night was sparkling as our dance came to an end when I realized that I was wonderstruck, my blush hiding underneath my mask. I blushed all the way home where I collapsed on my bed, my thoughts racing through my mind. Did she know? Did she know how I felt about her? It seemed like I could have spent forever wondering if she knew I had become so enchanted with meeting her.

In the end, I wondered till I was wide awake. It was two in the morning and the question of who she loved kept tumbling out of my mouth. I ended up pacing back and forth, wishing that she could, somehow, be at my door. It would be as simple as opening my door and saying, “Hey, I was enchanted to meet you”, but now I might spend forever wondering if she knew that.

All I could do was wish that it wasn’t the first page, not the end of the story. I knew my thoughts would echo her words until I saw her again, as I regretted what I held back even if I had left all too soon.

‘Please don’t be in love with someone else’, I thought.

‘Please don’t have someone else waiting on you’

I was more surprised than anyone when I found out, after a few bribes to the ushers working that night, that the girl in black was Lilly. My heart broke when I found out that she was engaged, but due to some quelled bravery, I decided to do the unthinkable. I crashed her wedding.

I smiled as I tightened my grip on her. I lost my lady once. There was no way I was going to let my princess slip through my fingers as well.