CHAPTER ONE
ANTOINE
She's here.I've finally found her.
I told myself I'd just walk around, but deep down inside, I knew what I was looking for: a girl with long, dirty-blond hair, puffy pink lips, and mesmerizing but sad blue eyes.
I've never seen eyes like that before. They are deep blue, like the sky on a bright day, almost navy, ones you look at and can't believe they are real, with long thick lashes like those you see in cartoons belonging to Disney princesses.
She looked at me just once, and it was only a glance, but since then, I couldn't think about anything else but those hypnotic eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes I've seen in my life. And at the same time, her gaze is the saddest I've ever seen.
I was standing there, in the middle of the restaurant, during the workday, and watched her from afar, unable to look away. She was dining at the hotel restaurant with her family. Her mother behaved disgustingly, dusting her down in any way she could go for no exact reason. That's when I thought that maybe her family was the reason for her sadness.
That's the wrong fork for the main course...
You're supposed to tie your hair neater...
Camilla! Look at me when I talk to you!...
Camilla... So that's what her name is, I thought then. The most beautiful girl I've ever seen had the most beautiful name. Yes, her family was annoying, but for some reason, I just knew it was not the only reason for her misery. There was something else; I felt it with my gut.
From the moment I saw them, I knew they weren't local. Yes, they all dressed appropriately, talked correctly, and knew all the first-class restaurants' etiquette. But it was evident that they could barely afford a place like this. Her mother tried too hard to pretend she belonged here and acted as if she was used to places likeL'Eden Resort, but it was all fake.
When people pretend they are not who they are, they always slip up with the details, like double-checking their bill, constantly fixing their hair, and acting irritated when accidentally doing something incorrectly.
Camilla's mother was a classic pretender. Usually, I do not even pay attention to people like that, but this time, it annoyed me. And the reason was that she not only tried to pretend to be someone else, but she also obviously forced her family, especially Camilla, to do the same, steadily trying to validate her.
But she wasn't like that. Camilla didn't care at all what everyone else thought about her. She followed her mother's orders obediently but only because she probably thought she was obliged to do so.
What dazed me the most was that she didn't even pay attention to anyone else around her. She didn't care if there were celebrities, politicians, billionaires, or even royalty dining next to them, which was normal for a place likeL'Eden. She didn't pay attention to others at all.
It was something new to me. I grew up here, in the middle of this rich circus where everyone tries to impress everybody who was wealthier, more successful, more powerful—like animals at the zoo, trying to show who had the more significant power. I found it useless and pathetic.
Until I sawher.It seemed like she lived in her own small universe, which she didn't want to let anyone else into. And that made me start craving to know more about her, about her inner world, that small universe, which, for some reason, I was sure, would lead to amazing discoveries.
I watched Camilla for two days straight, waiting for the opportunity to come closer. It pissed me off that I couldn't do that because her noisy family wouldn't leave her alone for a second, always instructing her with their morals and rules. They left her alone only when they were tanning, which was another thing wealthy French people never do. I noticed that she wasn't with them, but when I searched for her throughout the hotel, I couldn't find her.
Until today. I went around the hotel, looking for her again, after seeing that the rest of her family had left in a taxi. And I finally found her. She is sitting in the garden, straight on the grass, hiding behind a tree with a book, so involved in her reading that she doesn't even notice when I come closer.
I'm standing about ten feet away, staring at her, for I have no idea how long, but she doesn't pay attention. I keep exploring her face, body, and moves like I’ve done a thousand times before. But now she's finally alone, and I'm dying to talk to her, craving to come even closer.
"They will both die at the end," I say, taking a couple of steps closer. Camilla startles in surprise, closing the book abruptly and giving me a terrified look from below. Her eyes seem to become even bigger, if that's possible.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you," I say, trying not to move at all this time.
"You didn't." She shakes her head, obviously lying but trying to sound persuasive. To look more mature, I guess. "And, by the way, everyone knows that Romeo and Juliet die at the end, even those who didn't read the book."
Now she looks intrigued rather than terrified or sad, as I've seen her many times. She quickly recovers, looking at me now as if she’s challenging me to a reading battle or something.
Is she hinting that I didn't read it?I smirk. If so, let the game begin.
"There are much deeper stories with a tragic ending if you want to dive into the world of dismal love stories," I continue, not looking away for a second, diving into those unbelievable eyes, trying to figure out what she's thinking about right now.
"Oh, yeah? Like what?" she immediately asks, checking on me, obviously thinking I know nothing about it, just trying to hit on her, unable to find anything else.That's interesting.
Still, at the same time, her eyes glitter with interest and anticipation of what I'm going to say next, even though she's trying not to show it.
"May I?" I gesture for permission to sit next to her on the grass.