"I have been waiting for you for almost an hour now, Christabel," Nicholas' eyes were sad. "Why did you come late?"
Christabel brushed her hair gently with one of her fingers. "I am sorry that I disappointed you, sir. I was trying to see if I could get a job somewhere so I could earn some money for myself."
Nicholas sighed. It was a sigh of disappointment. "So, money is the reason why you kept me waiting?"
"Yes. Money is the reason why I kept you waiting," Christabel nodded, afraid to deny the real reason behind her delay.
Nicholas sat back and relaxed. "How much money do you need? A hundred dollars? A thousand dollars?" He asked in frustration.
"No, sir," Christabel's voice was obedient as always. "I don't need you to give me money. I can work for money on my own. I was just trying to be honest with you when I told you money was the real reason why I kept you waiting. I don't need any money from you. I can take care of myself."
Nicholas sighed again. He was still finding it hard to believe that he had to wait for Christabel Bloom to meet him because she was trying to work for money. He was still finding it hard to believe that he was sitting close to someone who was willing to choose money over him. He wondered what was going on in Christabel's mind as she exhaled and tried to relax. He wondered if she was thinking about him. Or, if she was thinking about herself.
"How did it go?" He asked. "How did your work go?"
Christabel blinked her eyes quickly as if she was not seeing clearly. "It didn't go as planned. I had to stand with some other women while we watched a misogynist talk trash against the female gender. It was hard to deal with his attitude. But, I had to manage since I was looking for work."
"Did he hurt you?" Nicholas tried to sound caring.
"No!" Christabel replied. "He didn't hurt me. I am fine."
Nicholas looked at her eyes as he thought of what next he was going to say to her that was going to make her smile. He looked at her eyes, searching for beautiful colors inside it that he was going to use to inform her about her importance on the surface of the earth. Slowly, he smiled.
"You are beautiful," he said to her. "When I look at you I see stars in the sky. You are one of a kind Christabel Bloom. Why don't you tell me the secret behind your beauty?"
Christabel smiled as soon as he was done expressing himself. She didn't know what else to say. She didn't know what else to do. There was so much intensity in his voice that when he spoke, he spoke with a spirit filled with joy. She brushed her hair gently behind, trying to make sure the little strands that was trying to cover her pretty face returned back to the position they were meant to be, behind her, away from her face and away from the conversation she was having with Nicholas Wild.
"Thank you for your wonderful compliments," Christabel appreciated Nicholas. "Thank you for trying your best to make me smile even when you know I am down. Honestly, I really appreciate you and I am grateful to know you care about me."
"I do care about you," Nicholas responded immediately, assuring her that what he felt for her was genuine and she had no reason to doubt his feelings. "If I didn't care for you, I wouldn't be sitting here with you today and talking to you about life. There is so much you are yet to know about me. And, I am more than willing to make you understand me if you are patient enough to get to know me. You see, I am one of a kind. And, I try my best to make people understand the kind of person I am. Although it can be hard to express myself to people, I still try my best to do that."
Christabel looked at his face as he stopped talking. She wondered what was going on in his mind. She wondered if there was so much he had to say to her that he was still keeping in his heart because of the period of time they had known each other.
"We just met," Christabel informed him. "It hasn't been too long since we have known each other. I am aware you are interested in me because I can see it in your eyes when you talk to me. There is so much you want to say. There is so much you want to make me understand. Yet, you take your time to express yourself to me because you don't want to end up ruining our relationship. I understand, Nicholas Wild. You don't have to make it clear to me because I do understand. You are new to my life. I am new to your life. You run. I run. You are from an extremely wealthy family. I am from an extremely middle-class family. There is so much differences between us—"
"Yet, we are connected in a way we can't explain," Nicholas interrupted her before throwing his face away from her and lowering his head. There is something he had to show her now. Something he knew would surprise her. But, he had no choice than to show her in order to avoid a situation where she would find out the information from someone else. He opened a black bag that was close to him and brought out a newspaper. He turned to the tenth page of the newspaper and stopped. Then, he turned and faced her.
"This is me. This is her," he stopped.
Christabel took the newspaper from him and stared at the pictures of him and Jessica Bolton in shock. She couldn't believe her eyes. Nicholas Wild is getting married! She frowned as she turned and faced him. The next set of words that came out from her mouth was sharp and straight to the point.
"Who is she?" She asked.