chapter 1 (The realization)
1171 Words
The dimly lit ballroom was bustling with laughter and music, the air was filled with the sound of tinkling champagne glasses and the rustle of expensive gowns and suit-pieces.
“Excuse me, coming through”, Esme said softly as she moved through the crowd of elegantly dressed guests who had come to celebrate with her on her engagement, all the while holding her champagne glass.
Her emerald eyes, usually bright with joy, now held a glimmer of sadness that she couldn’t shake off no matter how she tried to conceal it.
Engaged to the dashing billionaire, Damien Radcliffe, to whom her mother had practically sold her to, to pay the debt she incurred in one of his casinos.
Esme’s heart felt heavy with the weight of expectation and duty.
The pressure to live up to the image of the perfect high society bride threatened to suffocate her, and as the classical music kept playing, she felt like a bird trapped in a cage for the sole purpose of amusement and which was destined to not live a life of her own.
She looked around sadly, as if waiting for someone to come save her from this hellhole that was calling for her with open hands, yearning for a love that matched the splendor of the occasion, which was this engagement party.
As the clock struck midnight the grand ballroom door swung open dramatically making a loud creaking sound, a hush fell around the room.
In walked Damien, his presence commanding and his eyes cold and calculating. The whispered rumors of his dangerous reputation and the iron grip he had on the city’s underworld seemed to materialize in the dark glint of his eyes as they locked into Esme’s eyes as if daring her to run.
And in that moment, Esme knew deep down in her heart that she couldn’t go through with the wedding, and that her life with Damien would be a prison she would be trapped in and can’t escape from.
With a boldness she didn’t know she had, she made a mental note of her escape plan to run away, she would run from the wedding hall, run from the life that was not her own, and from a future that felt like a slow death of her soul.
But, in order for her to survive through this night, she put on a bright smile as Damien approached her, his eyes focused and never leaving hers even as the guests greeted him, it was as if he was looking at a prey.
“Hello beautiful”, he said, his deep yet sultry voice sending a reaction of goosebumps down her arms and the hairs on her arms rising in fear.
“Focus, Esme focus”, she said to herself.
“Hello Damien,” she said, smiling tightly.
“Would you care for a dance?” he asked while stretching out his arm, an invitation for her to take up on his offer.
Not daring to say no, she picked up her champagne flute and downed the remaining drink in it, because if she was to do this she knew she needed some liquid courage.
“Why yes of course, how could I refuse” she replied with a subtle hint of sarcasm, linking her arm in his.
Hand in hand they both walk together to the middle of the ballroom, other couples taking that as a cue to follow suit.
He pushes her towards him, and they start slow dancing.
“Hmmm, this is the first time I’ve seen you this close and you look even more stunning compared to your pictures”, Damien said looking straight into her eyes.
“Look at me”, he said, using his index finger to pull her face up and towards him. Looking at him, Esme realized that Damien was a very beautiful man, his chestnut hair and hazel eyes complemented his dark skin.
His chiseled jawline was sharp enough to cut through ice.
Even the cologne he wore was inviting but that was not enough to derail her from her plans as the phrase her best friend always told her rang in her head, “looks can be very deceiving Esme, even the devil is beautiful”.
She looked at the time and saw that barely ten minutes had passed for what felt like eternity, not wanting to be in the same space with him, she used the excuse of going to the restroom.
On getting to the restroom, she leaned against the washbowl, taking in a deep breath to bring her heart rate back to normal. She hadn’t realized how scared she was of him till now.
Even more resolved, she knew that she had to leave no matter what or even die trying.
She texted her best friend Miki to come pick her up from the party.
She put her hands under the hand dryer. After her hands got hot she placed them on her face and neck. She did it a few more times till her body was hot, satisfied she walked out back into the ballroom.
“I think I am getting sick. I need to go home and lie down”, she said while coughing.
He looked at her suspiciously and touched her forehead, she had to force herself to not flinch at his touch, realizing her body was hot, he offered to take her home and she politely declined.
“Someone has to be here to entertain our guests since they came to celebrate us”, she said while fake coughing.
“I’ll be fine, my best friend is here to take me home, don't worry” she said while taking her purse on the well dressed table.
“Goodbye” she said, giving him a slight nod walking towards the exit doors.
Her phone chimed with a message from miki telling her that she was out front. She looked for her car only to hear a honk, her best friend in the driver’s seat of the car
“Just in time”, she said as she entered the car, “any more minutes spent with him and I swear I would have fainted due to the exhaustion from pretending for so long”.
“God that man is scary and intimidating, I couldn’t catch my breath when I was with him all this while, I had to run to the restroom”.
“I don’t know how I going to put up with him when I can't breathe properly around him”
“You mean Damien your husband-to-be, is he as bad as the rumors say?”, she asked.
“Please take me home, I don’t want to talk about him anymore, I’ll tell you later”, Esme cried while putting on her seat belt.
“Your wish is my command,” Miki said, driving off smiling.
She laid her head against the headrest and fell asleep in no time.
- Writer
