Chapter 3. A Gorgeous Man

Rose’s POV

I wanted to tell my sister that I didn’t want to, but she pulled me up and literally ran to the dance floor. I wondered how she was able to move so fast without tripping on her long, flowing gown. We pushed past so many people that were also at the center of the hall.

I noticed her husband was smiling at us as we approached. I quickly fixed my expression. I prayed silently that she wouldn’t expect me to dance with her husband, whom I barely knew. When we got to where he was standing, he took my hand from my sister and pulled me in for a hug.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you!” he yelled into my ear.

I pulled away almost immediately and smiled at him.

Before I could catch my breath, my sister took my hand again and put it around her waist. “Thanks for coming, Rose. I almost thought you wouldn’t make it.”

I felt a knot in my stomach. I couldn’t even hold her stare. “Yeah… how could I have missed my own sister’s wedding? That would make me a terrible person.” I smiled at her.

Her expression switched immediately from overly excited to barely excited. I didn’t want to do this here.

“Rose… I’m sorry. I’m sure you can understand why I had to leave…”

The music playing in the hall slowly switched to a calmer one, and so the noise had gone down a bit so I could hear her clearly. She took my hands in hers, and we barely moved to the sounds.

“How would I understand? You didn’t say anything.”

“I didn’t have time to think about anything. I needed to leave immediately and…”

Every other thing she said afterward didn’t make sense to me. I could feel the hot tears stinging the back of my eyes. My emotions were everywhere. First off, I didn’t want to attract attention to myself by crying at my sister’s wedding. I also didn’t want her to know how deeply she had hurt me by going away for so long. I thought she had died, and when I wasn’t thinking that, I thought she had left me to fend for myself.

I was so relieved when I saw her walk into the hall earlier on. She had a white veil over her head, and she looked so angelic. She had grown so much now; she wasn’t any taller than the last time I saw her, but she had added a lot of weight. Her skin was glowing as well, and the white diamond-covered peplum wedding gown she had on suited her perfectly.

She walked into the hall with so much grace, and her husband, who was waiting at the other end with the officiating priest, kept sniffing, trying to hold back his tears. She was indeed gorgeous, and for a short while, I forgot about eight years ago and allowed the tears to run down my face as I looked at my sister, full of pride and joy at the moment. My sister was actually getting married. She was alive, and she was fine. Those were all I thought about.

“…Rose… Rose, I promise I will explain everything.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.” I managed to say. “You had every right to leave, and I’m happy for the life you’ve started here. I wish you and your husband happiness.” I barely managed to say.

My voice started to break. I was overcome by all the emotions that filled me. My fingers started to tremble. I needed to leave before I made a mockery of myself. I tried to pry my fingers away from my sister’s, but she held me firmly, still saying a bunch of things to me, but I couldn’t listen now.

I needed to go away and calm down.

I looked around, trying to figure out where the nearest exit was so that the moment my sister was distracted, I could sprint.

That was when I noticed it. Noticed him.

A man, standing at a corner in the hall, barely visible because of how well hidden in the shadows he was. His gaze was fixated on… on me.

I would have looked away and hoped that the man would, too, eventually focus on something or someone else in the party, but I felt like this man was intentionally just observing me. He had on a black suit, too, so he must be a guard on duty at the party.

But his demeanor, his very look, didn’t convince me that he was a guard.

I felt my sister’s hands leave mine at that moment. Some people were speaking to her now, and she turned to face them. I took the opportunity and walked off. I wasn’t sure where the exit was, but all I needed to do was ask one of the waiters to direct me. The closest one was not so far, so I walked towards him. I tapped him on the shoulders gently, and when he turned, I smiled and asked for the entrance.

Luckily for me, he spoke English, so he immediately pointed towards the exit. It was visible now, the doors that were slightly open and would lead me outside this hall. It wasn’t the same door through which I had come in, and because of how huge and unfamiliar the hall was, I wasn’t able to remember the path through which I had come in.

I started walking towards the doors as slowly as possible so I wouldn’t draw attention to myself. I realized that I was going to pass through the same spot where I had noticed the weird man standing and looking at me.

I unintentionally looked towards the area as I passed and saw him again, more clearly this time around. My breath caught for a moment. He was still staring at me, his eyes following me as I made my made to the exit of the hall.

Our eyes locked for a brief moment.

He had a tattoo on his neck and hands, and they stood out prominently on his tan fair skin. His sleek dark hair had been combed backward, revealing a perfectly shaped jawline.

Standing this close to him, I could see he was tall and well-built. He looked like someone who could fight off a hundred men all by himself. He radiated such control and strength as I had never imagined.

His eyes… oh my goodness. They were a perfect brown.

He was gorgeous.