The ray of the morning sun entered the window of her room and caused her to wake up from her peaceful deep sleep. She stretched her arms as she thoroughly yawned. When she glanced at her right side, the date slated on her clock is September 17 2012; the date of her birthday. She took her cellphone resting just beside her alarm clock and checked the message she got from her best friend, Ekaterina.
Good morning!
Since we don’t have classes today, let’s meet at our favorite bar and restaurant at 7:00 pm, tonight. We’ll be waiting for you! And, oh! Happy 16th Birthday, Aria!
~ Ekaterina
She smiled, stood from bed and gets her clothes changed. Later on, by the time that her most trusted maid opened her outer room’s door, Cielo, the younger brother of Arco, enthusiastically surprised her with a bouquet of bloomy red roses while saying, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ARIA!!!”
After a gasp of surprise, she blushed, thanked Cielo whilst warmly smiling at him, and took the bouquet. After giving it to her maid and watched it being placed inside a beautiful white porcelain vase, Aria walked with him going to their dining room.
This time, when their butler named Charles, opened the door, the one who surprised Aria with a gorgeous smiled was no other than her own fiancé, Arco. He took her old silver necklace off and replaced with a brand new golden one as he whispered at her ear with a smile saying, “Happy birthday my dear…”
Following the very second when he kissed Aria on her cheek for the very first time, the brothers assisted her to the dining table while seeing her in a state of sudden shock. Up until now, Aria has never dreamt of being kissed by Arco even on her cheek because of the attitude she know Arco has. That why even though she has already sat on her chair beside Arco’s, she still can’t believe on what really happened until Cielo snapped his fingers an inch in front of her eyes while pulling a strand of her hair from her left side to bring her consciousness back to reality.
She gasped and said, “Ah!! Wh-What… What… What happened!?!” and looked around her with a doubtful or questionable reaction. Both of the brothers laughed because of what happened and didn’t answer what she was asking before their parents came in and join their discussion on the table.
…
After a while, the clock stroke at exactly 6:30 pm in the evening. Ekaterina, while standing in front of the bar and restaurant she’s telling, called Aria through her cellphone and asked, “Hey, where are you? Cielo and Arco are already here. Ah! I mean, almost everyone’s here except for you. Do you prefer to have a so called grand entrance or should we all wait for you outside and when you come out of the car, we’ll treat you like a royal princess?”
“What!? Y-You don’t need to do either any of those!” She claimed with shyness and continued, “Just wait for me inside. I’m almost there!”
Ekaterina sighed and replied as she scratches her hear. “Fine, fine… I got it. Be careful alright?”
“Clear.”
She turned her cellphone off and just quietly waited inside as what Aria has asked her to do. And because of getting bored, she tried to order a glass of cocktail and talked to their other class and schoolmates just to kill time. While Arco, who’s sitting alone on the corner of the bar and restaurant, texting silently, and drinking another kind of cocktail, was disturb by Anne who sat just beside him.
She looked at him with a smile and greeted saying, “Hey. How’s it going? ”
He sighed with irritation, ignored her, and continued on texting Aria. But by the time he slouched a bit, Anne, who’s deeply in love with him, holds his cheek with her right hand and looked at him with passionate eyes. He continued to ignore her but this only really pissed her and cut her patience.
Because of her exasperation, she wrapped her arms around him. And within few seconds, when Arco glanced at her with his eyes widened in shock, she hastily kissed her on his lips and didn’t let go. “You’re mine now…” She whispered and continued.
When Arco tried to push her, Aria suddenly came holding a lime colored cocktail and rapidly saw them while talking with Ekaterina through her phone. Her heart hurriedly pumped in sudden frustration of what she has seen. Her eyes quickly widened as her hand accidentally slipped the glass which spilled the cocktail when it broke into pieces on the black tiled floor. Because of seeing Anne kissing Arco, she became speechless and was unable to move. Anne stopped and smiled while Arco looked at Aria’s eyes with a worried and reasonable expression.
When Arco was about to explain everything, tears from Aria’s eyes suddenly fell down one after another. “Aria, what happe-” asked Ekaterina through her phone. Her left arm lifelessly and slowly went down before her left hand, which was holding her phone, pressed the button to drop the call.
Yuan, while talking with their own classmates, heard the noise from the broken glass and looked at where it’s located. The first one that Yuan has seen was Aria’s frustrated face looking at Arco, who’s still being hugged by Anne. This annoyed Yuan. Causing him to go nearer but he paused from doing so when he saw what Aria started to do.
She falsely smiled in front of Arco and gasped by the very time that she felt her tears were falling onto her cheeks. She laughed and started to wipe her tears by the use of her bare hands. Arco pushed Anne and went closer to Aria and worriedly saying, “Hear what I am supposed to say. Please… listen to what I’ll say.”
“Ahaha!” She laughed and continuously wipes her tears while telling him, “My makeup is already messed up. I need to fix it.”
Probably because of being annoyed by what she has told him, Arco tightly grabbed Aria’s wrists and strongly said, “Listen to me!”
“I’m alright! I’m alright!” She exclaimed while falsely smiling and pulling her own hands back.
Arco frowned and suddenly let go. The loneliness and the anger which hastily wrapped his mind are seen through his eyes. Those eyes followed Aria crying as she walking out of the restaurant. He remained speechless, cold, and down.
Cielo, who saw the whole event, rested his drink on the table he’s using and stood up straight while having his eyes with a shocked expression looking at his older brother, Arco. While Ekaterina who’s the girlfriend of Cielo, went near him while also looking at Arco then whispered with a worried tone, “What actually happened?”
As Arco was still spacing out, he evaded the question, grabbed her hand, seriously stared at her eyes, and then touched her cheeks while telling, “Let’s go, okay?”
Because of being blanked minded, she only nodded with her eyes wide open. And as they walk out of the restaurant, she took a glance at Anne who was thoroughly smirking behind the coldness and depression of Arco. Before they could reach the exit, a question popped inside her mind asking, “Why is she still smiling when all of these people are now worried and shocked?”
…
Aria arrived at their mansion while hurriedly running as she covers her mouth with her hands while hardly crying which is then quickly noticed by her mother, Lilia, who’s just chatting with Arco’s mother, Euphemia.
Lilia paused from sipping her tea whilst her eyes were following her daughter until she has already entered her room and locked the door noisily. She turned her gaze at Euphemia and worriedly asked.
“Do you have any idea on what’s going on between the both of them?”
She nodded her head in disbelief and placed her cup of tea on the saucer resting on their glass table. She stared at Lilia and then replied saying, “No. They haven’t told me anything yet but this is the very first time I saw Aria cry that hard. I hope she’ll be alright.”
“Same goes to what I hope as well…” Lilia held as she looked worried and down.
Later on, Arco has arrived before Cielo could. Their maids opened the door of their mansion as he entered with an anguish expression seen on his face whilst his eyes show mixed expressions of anger and sadness. He hurriedly walked on their mansion’s stairs and went in front of Aria’s room’s white door.
When he was about to knock, he heard Aria sobbing and crying behind the door he’s facing. He lowered his hand, became quite and calm for a moment. After few seconds, he suddenly gnawed his lips with irritation as he went to his room while closing his eyes with a worried look plus keeping the pain inside.
… End of Chapter 03…
Sitting alone on the slightly snow-covered wooden bench of their icy frozen quiet garden while drinking a small pack of milk tea, Aria sighed, slouched a bit, and then looked at the blue winter sky. Because of her desire to just be alone only for a little moment, as the wind breeze becomes a little colder, she just embraced her legs which bended upwards and continued drinking while staring at the alluring color of the white snow covering the most areas of their academy’s garden.
It was already a cold snowy start for month of September and you can see students walking to school with their sweaters and coats on. Students of their academy have nothing to do at that very hour so Arco, without knowing that Aria alone is in their garden, walked from their room going to their garden while holding the book he’s always reading and wearing the reading glasses Aria gave to him at the day of his 15th birthday. His expectation that no one else was there vanished at the very second he saw Aria’s cream-colored scarf loosely wrapped around her neck. He thought of going back but he then saw Aria’s frowning face and suddenly heard her sob a bit which made him think of staying and comforting her. She wiped her tears with her plain white handkerchief and noticed that Arco suddenly sat beside her right side and kept quiet for awhile.
“What are you doing here?” She asked with a monotone voice while looking at him and continued drinking.
Arco opened his book at page 567 and adjusted his reading glasses with his bare cold right hand. His eyes started to read and didn’t look at anything as he answered with a whispering-like voice saying, “If you kept on thinking about your father, Uncle Luis, who peacefully died inside of our private hospital, instead of stupidly crying because you missed him, why won’t you just play your flute, play the piano or the harp inside of our academy’s music room, or go sing any song fitted for your feeling anywhere like what you usually do to spend your vacant times?”
Her bangs covered her eyes as she finished drinking her tea and stopped moving for a little moment. Her icy cold hands which are holding the small pack of her milk tea squeezed it and became quite lifeless together with her blue eyes which looked similarly to a lifeless doll’s eyes since the start of the month.
When Arco glanced at her face for a while, he sighed in quite irritation and said, “Here we go again…”
He stretched his left arm and embraced her with his left hand placed on top of her left shoulder. By the time that Arco embraced her, Aria’s head suddenly rested on top of his left shoulder and felt Arco’s warmth even for awhile as her tears fall down to her cheeks. And instead of going anywhere, they just stayed on the bench for a long while and waited for the time to just pass by.
Later on, from a room located at the 4th floor of their 3rd building, was a 3rd year dark brown-haired and almond eyed male student who was secretly watching them sitting on the bench of the garden while finishing a song which he’s writing on his music sheets.
From afar, he was amazed by Aria’s fair beauty which he became very interested with. Because of that, he gazed at only Aria that became the result for him to be caught by one of his fellow classmates, Yuan.
Yuan, while sitting in front of the male student’s table and noticing that he was staring at something located from their academy’s garden, loudly tapped once and asked, “Hey, Allen! What are you staring at? ”
Allen gasped in sudden shock by the time Yuan tapped his table. He rapidly closed the book on his table and looked at him with quite blushing cheeks while adjusting his eye glasses then said, “N-Nothing! It’s just nothing!”
Yuan’s eyes widened while his mouth pouted because of what Allen has told him. He stood up from his chair and looked at were Allen was staring at from the window. Later on, when Yuan noticed that what he was looking at were Aria and Arco so he smiled with a small bluff then asked him with a teasing tone saying, “Nothing huh? ”
He blushed hard and shouted, “C-Could you just s-shut up!?!” as his eyes looked at his left while his right hand holds his eye glasses.
Later on, Section 3- A’s homeroom teacher, Ms. Eula Schoenberg, suddenly opened their classroom’s door and joyfully placed the music sheets she’s bringing on top of the piano located near the room’s window while smiling beautifully in front of them.
“Good morning to all, my dearest students!” She greeted with an energetic and a beautiful voice.
After the very moment she stepped forward from the piano, she noticed that Arco wasn’t on his chair like she’s used to see daily although his bag and music sheets were there. So the smile on her face came up with a confusing one as she asked, “Where did Arco-”
She stopped from continuing her question as her dark blue eyes suddenly looked at the room’s door by the time she heard it crack open. The person who opened the door is no other than Arco who coldly stared at her eye to eye and then silently walk towards his sit. When Arco have finally sat down on his chair, Ms. Eula smiled at him and started to begin their lesson.
At section 2- A’s room…
“Aria! Have you finished recording the song Sir Walker has given you last Monday?” Ekaterina asked while embracing her music sheets loosely and standing beside Aria’s table.
“Eh? Uhmmm… Not yet. They told me that I’ll be recording late-” She paused and glanced at her wrist watched. After a gasped of sudden shock, she stood up smiling while holding the music sheet given to her by Mr. Walker then said, “Guess it’s already time. I’ll be heading now.”
“Hm? Oh sure!” She replied with an energetic voice.
Before Aria’s steps could reach their classroom’s door, Ekaterina patted her shoulder, continued smiling while happily saying, “I hope you still remember our promise so… do your best as always ok?” as she raised her right thumb in front of her.
Aria warmly smiled in return and replied with an energetic tone before heading to their recording room. “You bet I will!”
By the very time she opened the sliding glass door of their recording room and entered, she glance at her left where their instructor or educator, Sir Jeremiah Walker, is sitting. And within a speed of one second, when she smiled at their instructor, she saw one of Arco’s classmates named Michael Stendhal, who is very fond of her whenever Arco’s not around.
She stopped smiling and rapidly entered the second door of the inner room. While Aria’s still putting her headphone on, she noticed that Michael is still staring at her with a smile or smirk which you cannot understand. She already knew what Michael will do to her after she recorded her song but instead of thinking about it, Aria just continued to prepare everything and relaxed.
“Are you ready?” Sir Walker asked with a signal showed by his right hand while his left is touching the controls.
Aria nodded with a beautiful bright smiled while holding the headphone with both hands. The instrumental music has started, and after four beats, Aria has finally sung. A melodramatic yet a soft and alluring voice which is so pleasant in the ears, was being heard by that time. And as usual, Aria’s voice never failed to attract every person’s attention. Her voice is so lovely and so sweet. Just like a perfect pitched angel.
“That’s the voice I wanted you to hear, Michael…” Sir Walker alleged with a smiled printed on his face.
Michael’s eyes looked at Sir Walker and the stared back at Aria. He nodded with a sudden smirk then whispered in reply.
“Very well than expected…”
Her emotions were not only felt from her song, but also, while recording it, Aria projected emotions of loneliness and bliss on her face and hands. While singing it, she felt the song she made which was then rearranged by their instructor before the very day of her recording.
After four and a half straight minutes, the instrumental music has stopped 10 seconds after Aria stopped singing. Sir Walker pressed the one of the control’s button just to refrain from recording the remaining parts after the instrumental music has stopped.
Aria took the headphone off and hung it on the microphone stand as what she usually does. She also took the music sheets and went out of the inner room smiling gleefully at their instructor.
“How was it?” She asked with a polite but excited tone.
Sir Walker smiled warmly at her and gladly said, “Probably… You passed my expectations once again!”
Her eyes and her mouth widened in great delight by the time she heard what their instructor said. She jumped in such happiness and said, “YES! YES!” After that, she bowed thrice in front of their instructor and delightfully exclaimed, “Thank you so much!”
Michael, while Aria was still thanking Sir Walker, hold her wrist tight and slowly raised Aria’s face by placing his left thumb under her chin. Aria’s expression went into a questionable one as her eyes stared and slightly inspected Michael’s gentle and handsome face. Her reaction was like she wanted Michael to release her from holding her wrist and chin so she slowly stepped backwards, one by one…
“Very well done, my Aria. You made me amazed by your alluring voice and astonishing face again.” He held while smiling, touching Aria’s smooth right cheek, and staring at her with his pure wonderful black eyes.
He was about to kiss Aria who kept on stepping backwards whilst distancing her face from him. At the very second that Michael’s lips and Aria’s lips were about to touched one another; a very loud sound (bang!) from the door was heard.
They looked at the door’s location with a shocked expression after a gasp. It was Arco who made the sudden noise. He was standing there while quietly staring at them without any emotions before entering the room. He hold Aria’s waist and pushed Michael 7 inches away from them.
“Can’t you see that she kept on stepping backwards?” he asked with a calm voice.
A sudden bluff from their instructor was heard after Arco held his question. Michael glanced at Sir Walker with an irritation seen on his face. “Tch!” he exclaimed in agitation.
“Well then… If you'll excuse us.” Arco assumed while pulling Aria out of the recording room with him rapidly.
In great agitation to what Arco has done, Michael’s expression went into an anguish one as he told himself in mind, “He’ll pay for this…”
…End of Chapter 02…
Her sight was quite blurry from afar as she then noticed that she was walking on a red carpet with lots of scattered white roses’ petals on. Is it just a dream? But as she looked around her, there were blurry images of people wearing gowns and tuxedos. Was it just her imaginations?
…
Like a normal student, Aria Min Mandeni woke up two hours before arriving at school. But when she rose from bed, she noticed that she had slept in a different room and by the time she looked around, her fiancé, Arco Renvouleitte, was deeply sleeping beside her while wearing a plain white shirt and pants.
Aria remembered their parents’ request to sleep together inside alternate rooms once in two weeks so she sighed in relief but, while seeing her fiancé sleeping beside her with one arm stretched underneath her back, the feeling of being extremely shocked is unavoidable especially in their situation.
She gasped and slightly blushed. She tried to calm down once again and to slowly get off from the bed without disturbing Arco’s sleep but before she could; Arco’s eyes quickly opened and blinked trice just before sitting up. His beautiful cold almond eyes stared at Aria’s for a moment as Aria ties the curtains at the side of the window. By the time that she has opened one side of the curtain, the light of the sun stroke in and blinded Arco’s eyes which made him block a small amount of it with his bare hand.
This scene of sleeping together once in two weeks is only normal for them. Although it felt quite awkward for her to see Arco’s arm lying underneath her back for the very first time, but instead of even a bit, she just kept quiet and went out of the room while softly telling him, “Thank you…” as she glanced at him for a second before closing the white door of his bedroom.
He stayed at his position, sitting on his white bed, keeping quiet. After she has closed the door, he slightly slouched, yawned, and sighed.
Even before, both of them often talk especially when they’re inside their school’s premises. So even though their families has close ties and strong bonds, none of the students from their academy, even though their closest friends doesn’t know that they’re already engaged with each other for the reason that they’re keeping it as a secret to avoid consecutive issues in school.
…
Later on, the bell of their Academy rang. It’s already Sections 3-A’s (Arco’s Class) and 2-A’s (Aria’s Class) recess hour. Everyone went down to their canteen while silently chit-chatting with one another. Arco, despite of going down to their canteen, just read a book quietly while being with his close friends named Matthew Fellusaphire and Nathaniel Weinberg who are already eating their ordered foods.
Aria, together with her best friend named Vanessa Ekaterina Weinberg or Ekaterina, just ate quietly on the table near Arco’s. When Aria slowly stood to return the plates but still, her back accidentally bumped Anne’s arms which caused her hot soup to spill onto her uniform. Anne became quite agitated of what had happened to her so she straightly looked at Aria’s blue eyes with a furious manner.
“You did it on purpose, have you not?” She asked with a calm tone but with quite anguish look.
“No… but… I apologize.” She bowed her head and within a split second, she softly said, “If you won’t mind… please, let me buy you an exchange of it for a mean while…”
“Huff…” As she took the coat of their uniform off, she smiled like nothing happened and just replied with a nice manner while staring at her with hesitations from her grayish eyes. “No… Don’t mind on doing that small thing. I may do that if I wanted and besides, I have bunches of these at home so, don’t worry about anything else, Vice President… Aria Min Mandeni. ”
Aria stood straightly as her eyes follow the leave of Anne. She then sighed and suddenly remembered something important to do. She faced Ekaterina and immediately said with a constant tone, “Ekaterina, I’m sorry but I really have to do something right now. I forgot to save and make a hard copy of the document we’ve been talking about inside the student council’s room for the upcoming Christmas event. So, please forgive me if I’ll be taking my leave now. ”
She paused in drinking her juice, smiled, and said, “It’s alright. I know what it feels to be the vice president of the student council since I’m the one elected for that position last year. Don’t overwork yourself, alright? ”
“Thank you then!” Aria replied with a gentle smile right before she hastily ran beside Arco’s and his classmates’ table, heading to the cafeteria’s exit. While Arco was quietly continuing reading his book, Matthew came up with a small talk saying, “I’ve heard some rumors about the two of you… and as far as what I could see… I often see you and Aria head home together in the same car. Why is that? ”
Nathaniel took a glance at Matthew then immediately continued swallowing the sandwich he’s eating. Arco, instead of answering the question, just didn’t give any interest and ignored it. Because of what Arco has done, Matthew raised his left eyebrow while smiling at him with a pissed look.
“You really have no intention of answering those, don’t you?” He asked with a quite agitated voice.
Later on, while Arco ignored it and continued reading, Nathaniel showed a concerned smiling expression and told Matthew, “I think you have forgotten about, Matthew. But Arco doesn’t answer lame questions like that.”
Matthew gasped for a second after hearing what Nathaniel has said. He then slouched and rolled his greenish eyes while whispering with quite an anguish tone. “Psshh… Whatever…”
After few minutes, Arco suddenly closed his book and took off his reading glasses. He stood up and pushed the chair back and paused while facing the exit. “I’ll be heading…” He told them as he walked towards the other building of their Academy.
…
Aria rushed going to the student council room while running in the empty hallway of their academy’s second building. While turning left at the corner, Aria accidentally bumped a 3rd year male student who is actually in the same class as Arco’s. They both fell on the floor within seconds with their eyes tightly closed.
Aria fell on top of the 3rd year student and as she slowly opens her eyes, she noticed that their faces as well as their lips were almost to touch one another which then made her gasped and quickly get off of the student while blushing a little bit. Seconds after she got off, as the student slowly rises while scratching the back of his head, Aria remembered her childhood friend named Lee Yuan while her stay in China.
While standing beside, she stared at the student and pronounced the name in a quite low tone. “Yu… an?”
The student’s eyes widened a bit then looked at Aria’s. Once he realized that it was no other than his friend, he started to stand up straight, smile and cheerfully said, “Why, it’s Aria! It’s been a while since we last saw each other. You look even more beautiful than you were before in China. How are you been doing all the while? ”
Unexpected for Yuan to say things like that to her, Aria’s eyes suddenly widened as well as her cheeks which blushed a little bit. She smiled while saying, “Thanks. I’m doing great though I’m just quite busy on some stuff. How about you who still don’t look like a Chinese that much? “
“Ermm... I’m good. You seem to be in a hurry. Where are you going anyways? ”
“Just going to the Student Council’s room…” She replied then immediately looked at her wrist watch. After looking at it, she noticed that their meeting was almost to be started. Before waving her hand and continued to run going to the Student Council’s room, she quickly smiled and said, “And... yes I am in a hurry. Sorry for the inconvenience but I needed to go now. Until next time, see you!”
“Okay…” He replied in such a low tone as his dark almond eyes just followed Aria until she vanished in his sight. Later on, when Aria has exactly vanished from his sight, he suddenly smirked and vanished in the hallway as well.
Hiding behind Yuan was Arco who saw his smirk while silently standing and being touched by the light of the sunset which passes through the window of their academy’s hallway. While holding the thick book he’s reading awhile ago together with his reading glasses, his fists closed in such anger as his bluish eyes went into such an anguish look.
… End of Chapter 01 …
