In this beautiful life that he has lived for twenty years where he was loved by everyone and has achieved many unbelievable feats, he didn't know why, but he was always cold, even in this warmth. He didn't communicate much with others except his family and ignored all those that tried to approach him.
But that all changed when he saw her for the first time.
In his college, right at the beginning of his third year, when he was on his way towards the cafe after finishing the first day of studies, he saw her.
With the sunlight casting a warming glow and the wind gently blowing her hair, she was breathtakingly beautiful, and when she put her hair, blowing by the wind behind her ear, his heart skipped a beat and his eyes were fixed on her. But this was not what truly attracted him towards her. Instead, out of nowhere, he had a vision, a really very strange vision that he was sure was related to her.
It was brief, but he knew what was in the vision. Before him was a little girl around four or five years old with big eyes and brown hair tied in pigtails. She was crying while holding her knee. He then suddenly moved towards her and said something that he couldn't understand since no sound came out of his lips. However, listening to me, she raised her head as she looked towards me with her big eyes that were on the verge of letting out more tears. And then the vision ended.
Before he could understand what happened to him and if the girl really was her, he saw that the girl has disappear from his view. He didn't know where she went to or which direction she took. Panic surged in his heart as the colour of his face drained when he didn't find her in his sight. Unable to calm himself down from this growing panic and the increasing urge to search for her, he did as his heart told and began searching for her, but unfortunately, he didn't find her.
*sigh*
After searching for a while more, with a helpless sigh and regretful eyes he walked towards the cafe that he was initially going to, while walking he whispered to himself to settle his rapidly beating heart," She's gone..... and I couldn't find her even when I searched."
"Maybe..... that was our first and last meeting.", he spoke disappointment palpable in his voice. He didn't think that he would lose the first girl that he would ever take an interest in, let alone the girl that felt like was his first love.
With unhappy eyes, he continued his way towards the cafe. His neutral mood has turned gloomy and colder than usual. However, when he reached the cafe, a surprised expression replaced his unhappiness as he saw the woman that made his heart skip a beat in the cafe sitting near the window eating something.
Unknown to him, as he looked at her eating her food with shining eyes and a very happy and excited face, slowly a small smile replaced his cold and stiff face.
This was a sight that he saw every day and it looked no different from it has always been but he didn't know why but when he looked at her covering her food as she looked at him with caution and a bit of hostility, he found it quite cute.
Wait?!
She was looking at him with caution and a bit of hostility, but why?
Bittu couldn't quite understand what was going on. He looked to his left and right and saw the people inside the cafe were all watching them both at the moment. It took a moment for Bittu to realise what was going on.
He has somehow walked and ended up before her without even knowing it himself and she was currently looking at him while still covering her food.
'Is she thinking that I am going to snatch her food?' Bittu thought with wonder and surprise. Seeing her up close, he found her even cuter acting like this.
'Too cute.', he thought as an urge to pet this girl who was acting like a cat protecting her food, grew in his heart.
As he looked at her for a few seconds, he noticed how she too had brown hair like the girl in the vision and also had the same face as the girl, just it's mature version. Now, he was sure that she was the same girl as in the vision.
Suddenly, a smile reaching his eyes covered his face as he looked at her affectionately and said with a voice filled with a tenderness which he only ever used with his mother before, "I like you. Will you marry me?"
".....", Olivia that was looking at Bittu as if he was a thief who was going to steal her food or a bad guy that would take away her food from how cold and unfriendly he seemed, was dumbfounded as she opened her small mouth in shock. She truly didn't expect to hear something like that. Furthermore, who would ask to marry right after confessing their love in this day and age?
Not only her, but everyone in the cafe had their eyebrows raised and mouth opened with shock. Olivia might not know, but how could they not as to who the one confessing to her was?
He was a legend, a living legend, be it in academics, in sports, in literature, in music, in arts, in dance, or anything else. He was at the top by a large margin. No one could hope to break his record. He was the most handsome guy in this whole university and countless female try to approach him at all times but he ignored all of them, not showing even a hint of interest in anyone of them.
But, here he was purposing on a girl himself with a wide smile and a warm, filled voice. Until now, none of them has even seen him smile. Let alone hear such a tender voice coming out of his mouth.
All those looking had varying reaction. Some girls even fainted unable to handle the handsome Bittu smiling while others fainted seeing their crush proposing to someone else.
Bittu ignored all of them and just focused his eyes on Olivia, waiting for her answer.
Olivia no longer had that ferocious look on her face. Instead, blush has covered her face so much that it looked like it was about to explode from the rapid rush of blood.
Earlier, Olivia was already captivated by this handsome man that approached her. She has never come before a man as handsome but when she saw his cold and indifferent look, her good impression of his vanished and she felt like he was here to take away her food, like those bullies at her old school.
But now, when he purposed to her with a genuine smile and such an affectionate voice, she could not stop herself from blushing and looking away from him after her initial surprise.
She, with her complexion still rosy, looked at the man that approached her and said, "M-Marriage, you say?"
"Yes. Will you marry me?", asked Bittu once again as he looked her hoping that she would agree since even though he appeared calm and confident, for the first time in his life he was nervous and not sure that she would agree because he has never been this reckless in doing anything.
'Did I do the right thing?'
'... Was I too hasty?'
'Maybe I should have taken a different approach.'
'..Ugh... And why the hell did I even confess in the first place?'
'Damn, I don't like how this is going.'
"I... I... I.... ", Olivia didn't know what to say at the moment. No one has ever come before her and said this so directly and moreover said by such a handsome man.
Seeing her unable to come up with an answer at the moment, Bittu smiled and then took out a rose that was in the vase and gave it to her and said, "You don't have to answer now. You can tell me later."
With that, he turned around and started to walk away, his demeanor changing once again into that cold and aloof man. However, when he took four steps, he suddenly stopped and said with the earlier tenderness and warmth, "And don't worry, I won't take away your food. No one will...." His last words were said with a stretch as he glanced towards the owner of the cafe. Seeing him nod he once again looked at her and continued, "So, just enjoy your food."
He then turned around and was about to move, but he stopped and chuckled as he thought, 'I really am nervous to keep on forgetting things.'
He turned around, gazed at her once again and said, "I forgot to ask your name?" in his tender voice.
Olivia, who was too stunned to speak, was brought back to reality listening to his question as she said shuttering, "It's O-Olivia."
"Olivia"
"A beautiful name. My name is Bittu. I hope you will give me your answer soon.", he said as be turned around and walked away for real this time.
Everyone in the cafe finally released a breath of relief that they had been holding until now as they started to whisper and gossip among themselves about the hottest topic of the year, "The ice prince falls in love."
Meanwhile, Olivia was still trying to figure out if what happened was real or was she was imagining things.
....
A smile found its way on his face when he remembered how adorable she looked when he confessed to her and how panicked he was.
That made him remember the night she came to him to ask for help and the day they got married because of a ploy by his siblings. He still felt bitter that he had to do it that way.