City of Angels Book 2

Chapter 7: Random Encounters

There she was.

Nam and I had been ambling around the mall trying to decide on which party favours would be the best for the wedding. Clearly my heart was not in it and Nam had to tug me back to reality several times. I honestly did not care one bit for this ceremony that humans were set on performing everytime two people decided to spend their lives together.

To the contrary, I did not understand any of it. Why the circus performance? Why the fancy clothes? Why on earth a contract set in pen and paper? These things seemed so trivial, so breakable. The way I understood true love is the coming together of two souls that were inevitably made for each other by Source. There was no way to avoid it. And if you could not find your soulmate in one lifetime, there would be another.

There was only one for each of us, and this I knew from my divine teachings. This is why there was so much mistrust and unhappiness in these... Marriages, as humans called them. People were forced, or felt forced, or thought they were with someone they should be with. It just wasn't enough, even though love might sometimes feel like enough. It cannot replace that red string of fate.

We each only have one matching soul, and no matter what kind of pomp and circumstance these humans displayed, that fact was not going to change. And I knew for a fact that Non was not the one for me.

In fact, the one I knew was for me was standing a mere twenty feet away from me, staring through the window of a clothing shop.

"Hey, isn't that Miss Chankimha?" Nam piped up next to me before I could stop her. Freen heard her name and quickly glanced over to see the two of us slowly approaching. Her small smile spread into the most gorgeous Cheshire grin as she saw me and I simply forgot to breathe. She gave a small wave as she took a few steps towards us.

"Fancy seeing you here Becca, and Nam of course." She greeted politely. She looked like a goddess even in her casual wear of grey slacks and a black hoodie. The way she ran her hand back through her hair had me transfixed on every movement and how every strand fell into its place. "What are you two up to?"

Before I could say anything Nam already piped up and filled her in. I sighed desperately inside as I didn't want her to know. I didn't want her to know anything about the wedding. It sat like a mountain between us, though everything inside of me told me I was willing to scale it just for her. She simply nodded without barely breaking that disarming smile as she glanced at me. I thought I might melt into a helpless puddle just there.

I had to take some sort of action.

"Nam, why don't you go ahead. I need a small break, and Miss Chankimha and I actually have some business to discuss, so we're just going to have some coffee over here, okay?" Nam nodded enthusiastically and hopped off. She loved this wedding kind of stuff and I couldn't possibly keep her from the simple joys in life.

"Oh, we do?" Freen raised a brow at me as we moved to one of the small tables of a nearby coffee shop and I pulled a chair out for her. "Gentlewoman as well, huh?" She joked.

"Well I thought that since we are about to possibly enter into a rather large business contract, maybe we should get to know each other a little better." I came up with the excuse simply to spend more time within her radiating aura of light.

The little white lies stung the tip of my tongue, but I would push them back as it was all I could do or think of doing just to get another minute of two with my fate mate.

The waitress arrived and I ordered us each a creamy cappuccino after checking with Freen, then struggled to not stare wordlessly at her like an idiot. "So tell me about the lucky guy...or girl..." She smirked at me, but I could sense the tiniest bit of jealousy in her voice and it delighted me to no end.

"Ummm, his name is Non. We grew up together. He's an heir to a massive publishing company and my father thought that it'd be good for business." Well that was the short and long of it anyway

Freen had deep creases in her brow and her lips pulled into a thin line. "So you don't even love him?" I shrugged my shoulders, acutely aware of her dismay at the words. "Only in a platonic way, though he is in love with me."

"Beck, that's no way to live your life! You're being unfair, not only to him but also to yourself. Don't you wish for that undeniably, scorching, fireworks and trumpets sort of love?" Freen asked with conviction as she leaned over the small table and gripped my hands in her soft pair. I was so transfixed on the feel of her soft skin that I could barely pay attention to anything else. I wasn't even sure what she had been asking me, so I simply nodded.

"Then it's settled. Just one night, you take that ring off and you come out with me and my friends. Feel free to bring Nam as well." She said with a certain insistence that I could not counter. "Let's do it tonight before you lose your nerve, Miss Armstrong." I smiled softly and considered the offer. Maybe she felt the electricity between us the same as I did that she longed for a night of freedom with me. She slowly pulled her hands back self-consciously as a beautiful rosy blush spread across her cheeks. She cleared her throat and tapped her fingers against the tabletop.

"I'm sorry." She said softly then. "I'm not implying that you should be unfaithful or anything. I just think you should see what it's like out there before jumping head first into a contract that your hearts not really in, you know?" She tried to explain when she didn't mean to as I already understood. She wanted me to feel the excitement without the collar and leash, even if I did nothing with it. I knew it was worth the effort.

With her anything and everything was worth the effort..