Staring out at the ocean can result in a relaxing meditative state and can even change the frequency of the brain waves to match that of the sea, putting you really in touch with nature.
And that's what Aria Smith, a 23 year old American first grade teacher needed.
While donning a simple off the shoulder top and tiny blue shorts, she stood at the rail- side walking, in a cruise ship her hands resting on the taffrail as she quietly gazed at the vast sea listening to the soothing sounds of waves crashing onto the rocks.
It gave her a feeling of being relaxed and satisfied.
The decision to take a 2 weeks cruise trip from USA to England during the summer break came after she had lost her dad in an accident a month ago just 5 months after she had broken up with her long time high school sweetheart.
They broke up after almost a decade in a relationship.
She wasn't aware of what went wrong, whether she wasn't enough for him or he was just a serial cheater.
He claimed that he grew out of love.
In a span of 6 months, too much had happened in Aria's life that she felt like she needed a change and time to get rid of all the sadness and negative feelings in her mind.
And what was better than to escape the busy New York City and hop on a cruise to England?
Watching the rising sea waves in the night after a hefty meal felt so rejuvenating and refreshing.
It was so until a man and a woman exited the bar arguing or rather the woman screaming at the composed man.
" Xander you can't do this to me! You are not allowed to do this. We are supposed to get engaged after this trip but you keep on giving me the cold shoulder, why are you doing this?! "
The young woman dressed in a body hugging red gown snapped at the man. She seemed a bit tipsy.
She was fair & tall and her skin which was as white as milk was brightly shinning.
The couple seemed to be from an affluent background.
Aria Smith stood a few meters away from them, frowning at the sudden disturbance.
' Why couldn't they find another place to take their fight? '
She rolled her eyes thinking about how stupid the woman was, to not realize that the aloof dude wasn't even paying attention to her rants.
Why force herself to a man who clearly didn't love her?
She had gone through the same thing thus she knew how painful and humiliating it felt.
The man who also seemed to be in his late twenties was dressed in a black custom made suit & a white shirt, his hands tucked in his pant's pockets.
His expression seemed a little off. His brows were furrowed and his jaw a little stiffened. He twitched his lips as he glanced at her.
" Go back to your room, I have something to do. "
" No you can't keep on doing this to me! I'm going to call your parents and let's see how this goes. What do you think they're going to do when they hear that you're clearly violating the palace rules? "
The woman was now literally shouting, tightly clinging on his arm like a kid. Her eyes welled up due to anger, frustration and resentment.
What palace rules, in what century are we?
" What a fool! "
Aria tsked shifting her concentration from the annoying couple back to the vast sea in the darkness.
She wasn't that interested in their argument, they could jump into the sea for all she cared.
" Eavesdropping is rude, you know that? "
Feeling sleepy, Aria was about to retreat to her cabin when a cold and manly voice suddenly rang in her ears sending shivers down her spine.
Something discomforting crept into her thoughts in a sudden.
That voice...
Suddenly turning her head, she was astonished to see the same man she had seen earlier looking calm and composed. He was mildly smiling and was elegantly standing in front of her, both hands still placed in his pockets.
' What's he doing here? '
His teasing voice was hoarse and sexy like it could conduct electricity. She could feel the current flowing from her forehead to her earlobes since he was closely leaning towards her.
It made her numb from her ears to the neck and she shivered and turned red on the face not sure whether it was because of embarrassment or being seduced by the voice.