"Miss Francesca." A voice called out to Francesca.
As Francesca opened her eyes she was confused at first, her surroundings were unfamiliar to her. Had she been kidnapped from her apartment? She did as she was trained and checked herself, there were no signs of injuries. She sat up and noticed her phone was next to her, what kind of kidnappers would leave her phone with her.
Then she suddenly remembered, this was Edward's apartment, the one he had assigned to her. She had been confused for a moment, but as she gathered her bearings she recalled that she had moved in that morning.
"Yes Ruth?" Francesca called out as she remembered the maid's name.
"Miss Francesca, lunch is ready." Ruth announced through the door.
"Alright, I'll be right out." Francesca said as she fixed herself in the mirror.
Ruth had prepared a feast for Francesca, there were soups and meats and many were Francesca's favorite dishes.
"How did you know I liked this?" Francesca asked.
"Mr. Edward asked me to cook these for you." Ruth told her. "He seems to care for you a lot Miss Francesca. Please don't hurt him" Ruth informed her.
Francesca was surprised once again at how much effort Edward had placed into making her happy and comfortable with their arrangement.
"How long have you known Edward?" Francesca asked as she placed a portion of food on her plate.
"I've looked after Mr. Edward since he was a child." Ruth said with a smile. "Mr. Edward's mother was very sickly and she died early so I had to take care of him a lot. I was actually surprised when he called me out of retirement to care for you." Ruth said.
"Edward is too kind to me." Francesca said with a sigh.
"Enjoy your lunch Miss. I'll get on with some chores." Ruth said as she excused herself.
Francesca was surprised at how good Ruth's cooking was, it was probably even better than the chefs at the Rocci household.
Francesca spent the rest of the day resting and arranging her things, before she realized Edward was already texting to remind her that he would be picking her up at 7pm.
Francesca quickly took a shower and got ready. At 7pm sharp Francesca walked out of her room to see Edward waiting in the living room. He looked incredibly handsome in his blue suit as he typed away on his laptop.
"You got here early?" Francesca asked as she walked over to him.
"There wasn't much traffic, so I got some work done while waiting for you." Edward said as he turned off his laptop without looking at Francesa.
"Okay, as long as you didn't have to wait for me." Francesca said as she walked over to his side.
"Wow." Edward suddenly said as he looked at Francesca. She decided to wear a casual navy blue dress that matched his. "You look gorgeous. And the coincidence." Edward said with a laugh as he looked at his own suit, it looked like they had planned to wear matching outfits.
"I didn't know." Francesca said as she tried to hide a blush.
Edward stood up and lifted her chin, making her look at him in the eyes. "I would be more than happy to look like we planned our outfits." Edward said with a gentle smile that made Francesca's heart flutter.
"Let's go." Edward said as he held her by the wrist gently and guided her towards the door.
"Where are we going?" Francesca asked as they walked out of the apartment to the hallway.
"It's a surprise." Edward said as he looked back at her and winked.
Francesca was never one for surprises, but with Edward she felt like it would be fine, she was even slightly excited by the idea of a surprise from him.
"Where's your driver?" Francesca asked as Edward opened the front seat door for her.
"I let him go home early tonight. I want this trip to be just the two of us." Edward explained as he helped her into the car.
Edward drove in a safe but fast pace, based on the direction they were headed they were going out of the city and up one of the nearby mountains. Edward eventually stopped in an area halfway up the mountain. He went out and opened the door for Francesca.
"It's quite cold, here." Edward said as he took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. Francesca thanked him meekly, making Edward smile.
"It's beautiful here." Francesca said as Edward offered his arm to her, which she happily held on to.
"It's a secret place. Not a lot of people know about the viewing deck here." Edward explained as they walked down a dimly lit path. "I have something to show you." Edward said as they continued to walk down the path.
"What do you think of the apartment? Oh and of Ruth?" Edward asked as he continued to walk down the path with Francesca.
"It's beautiful and Ruth is the kindest. Isn't this too much Edward?" Francesca asked.
"We're here." Edward said as they reached the end of the path, there were a few picnic tables.It was a romantic setting. "Look at the view." Edward said as they walked close to the edge of the viewing deck.
"Wow, you can see the whole city from here!" Francesca exclaimed as she looked out at the skyscrapers and old architecture that defined the Capital. The lights of the city glistened at a distance, while the sounds of the busy streets were practically non-existent.
"You can't see stars like these in the city." Edward told Francesca, making her look up to the sky. Edward was right, in the city you couldn't see this many stars, it was truly a beautiful scene.
"It's beautiful Edward." Francesca said with a smile.
"Francesca." Edward called out.
Francesca turned to find Edward down on one knee, holding a velvet box.
"Edward." Francesca said with a gasp. "Why? This is just an arrangement." Francesca said as Edward continued to look up at her with the most handsome smile she had ever seen.
"I know it's not real, but I thought, it would be best if I made a real proposal." Edward told her as he snapped open the velvet box to show a diamond ring. "Francesca Rocci, will you do me the honor of being my fake fiance?" Edward asked.
For some reason Francesca felt her heart beating faster and she could feel herself blushing. "Of course." Francesca said with a smile as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. Why was she crying? This was a fake proposal, she shouldn't feel anything about it.
Edward slid the ring onto her finger and stood up. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her forehead.
"I promise to take care of you, I promise to always protect you." Edward said as he held her in his arms.