Third person's POV
It was the end of the year. A beautiful maiden rolled down the window of a roll Royce, probing her head out of the window to take a whiff of the air outside her. To her amazement a gentle winter breeze crazed her beautifully crafted face, making her visibly shiver. " All the best kid! We are here!" her moment of rejoicing was put to halt when the voice of a chirpy man in his mid-fifties brought her back from the world that she was slowly slipping into.
She groaned when she heard him congratulate her. This man who she called uncle Peter with endearment, had worked for a good 20 years for her sophisticated father. He, like anyone else, teased her for what her father had forced her into at the moment. Coming to what she felt at the moment....
Excited? Delighted? Nervous?
Was definitely not what she felt.
Why?
That's for another day to know. Moving on.
Irritated? Distasteful? Annoyed?
Was what she rather felt. She was forced to wear an ocean blue dress that ended just below her knee and she was dolled up for the occasion from head to toe. Her father made sure she reached the place on time by sending her off with his driver.
" Thanks for the congratulations, Uncle. I need all of your blessings for what I am about to do" she shoot him a mischievous grin and hoped out of the car. He shook his head in amusement and she winked in return. " Uhmm...so Uncle...I will manage from here" she said flashing her pearl-like teeth. He crossed his hand over his chest and gave her a knowing look. If he didn't know her, he would have gotten fooled by that innocent smile that she pulled off all too well. However, to her utter disappointment, he saw through her facade. Come on, who was she trying to fool? This man knows her like the back of his hand.
She grunted in annoyance when she finally got the sign that he wasn't going to move an inch until she entered the restaurant. Of course, why did she not see this coming? This was all her dad's precautionary steps. Why you ask? Well, when it comes to his daughter he becomes the teacher of Sherlocks Holmes. He knew all her tricks in and out. So he made sure his most trusted man to not just drop off his daughter but also asked him to make sure that his rebellious daughter had entered the restaurant. Because for all he knew, his daughter would just ditch this meeting and flee to god knows where and return after the storm that she had caused cooled down. So he wasn't ready to take any risks.
She huffed and thanked her uncle Peter before stomping into the restaurant.
After making sure that she had entered the restaurant. Peter pulled away. Minutes later she peeked outside to see whether the coast was clear. " Phew...he left" she sighed and looked at her reflection on the glass. A shriek left her mouth. " Goodness! What a horror! I never that there would be a day where I would see myself like this...dad....I am going to make sure you regret this" she said and looked outside the restaurant. She still couldn't wrap around her mind about her father forcing her to meet the guy that he had chosen for her. What was the need for all these? For god's sake, she was just 20! She cursed her fate and scanned the street in front of her. Her eyes glinted when she spotted a shop that sold clothes. Maybe her luck wasn't that bad after all. She smiled mischievously." Ah uh...time for a makeover" she rubbed her hands excitingly and started strolling into the shop. When she was about to enter the shop someone tugged the hem of her dress.
Startled, she turned to see the culprit to give a piece of her mind. But what she saw in front her made her heart clench. There, stood a little girl clutching the hem of her dress. She kneeled down to the level of the little girl.
" Yes, dear. What are you doing alone wondering on the streets? Where are your parents?" she asked smoothened the little girls hair. The girl started tearing up and that made her to panic in return. " Shh...what happened? Why are you crying dear?" she asked wiping off the girl's tears.
The girl sniffled and pointed towards the woman who was covered in a torn blanket. She grabbed the little girl and walked towards the women. The torn blanket barely covered the women's sleeping form. " Mommy...sick...no....medicine..." girl said between sobs.
She quickly kneeled down and checked the women's temperature. She was having a fever. A high one. " My God, she is burning," she thought and rushed to an opposite stall to buy medicine and warm bread. The girl looked at her in wonder. She helped the women to sit up and made her have some warm soup and bread.
Then she gave her the medicines. The women never spoke a word. She was silent throughout the whole time. After she was a bit stable she talked to the women about her whereabouts. Turns out she is a widower of a husband who had gambled their house which made them end up in the streets. Pathetic scoundrel" she found herself muttering when the women narrated about her husband.
The women sobbed telling about her story and how she had no idea how she was going to bring up her daughter. She didn't complete high school and had no experience in doing any job. All these while she had been an obedient housewife and now she had no one to look for support after her husband's death. She assured her by giving her a card and asked her to come to a place for a job. The women thanked her in return.
Later, Jacqueline Valentina Knight entered the clothing shop and started looking for comfortable clothes. " For god's sake who wears a sleeveless dress during winter. Sometimes my dad is just insane" she muttered and picked a ripped jeans and a plain white tee. She paired it with a black jacket and a beanie. She ditched her heels and got herself a comfortable pair of sneakers.
Before leaving she also bought warm cloths for the pair of daughter and mother. She asked the shop keeper to keep her dress and heels until she sends someone to collect them. She paid the bill and exited the shop. She gave the women the cloths which they were very grateful for. Before leaving she ruffled the girl's hair and gave the women a visiting card to come and see her when she gets cured.
Then she saw the time. It had passed one hour since the time she was supposed to meet her so-called groom. " Well, it's already late. I doubt the guy is still there. Hmm....what shall I do now. Should I just book a cab and go home? But if he already left....my phone would have started blaring with dad's calls....either he is still waiting or he never bothered informing dad....urgghhhh....what am I supposed to do. Hm....ugh screw it...I am just gonna go in....If he is not there then good for me. I get to enjoy the food all by myself. But what if he is still there? Nah...who cares. Worse come to worse he would just reject me with a lecture about being punctual" she said to herself.
Before going in she splashed her face with water and wiped out every once of makeup that her dad forced her to wear. She ruffled her styled hair which took the hairstylist to do for 2 hours without any care. She wore her beanie that she bought and stroller into the restaurant.
But little did she knew that throughout this whole time she wasn't just witnessed by the air, heaven and the trees surrounding her. A pair of silver-grey eyes followed her each and every move from the moment she stood out from the car.