Engaged to the Heartless Heartbreaker ✔

Chapter 1 - Engagement

~~~ CHAPTER 1 - ENGAGEMENT ~~~

In all the years of my stay in The Fields, I knew I found the perfect place to settle for the rest of my life. Who would not love this place when all we could see was a place of perfect serenity and beauty? The Fields which I came to love all these years was the vast estate owned by my foster mother, Mommy Carol, who adopted me, though not legally, after I lost my parents to a car accident when I was eight. The Fields, located just outside the country village called La Carlota, was the name given to the wide tract of land where Mommy Carol's ranch; flower plantation; mango, pineapple, sugarcane and coconut plantations; the forest garden; and the Sarmiento River were settled. And in the middle of that very wide estate stood the magnificent mansion of Mommy Carol which was more popularly known in La Carlota as Palacio de Sarmiento.

Why had I loved this place very much? Aside from its beauty, there I found everything... I found silence, I found new life, I found dreams, I found love...

I found Mommy Carol who became my second mother. From her, I received full attention and love from a real mother. She gave me everything --- a bedroom fit only for a princess, nice clothes, extravagant accessories, private schooling, a prodigious allowance... name it, I had practically everything, anything any girl from La Carlota would ever dream to have. And to top it all, Mommy Carol was even willing to grant me what my heart truly desired --- her son, Nigel.

Yes, Nigel.

His name meant Noble. It really suited him for he was the king of my heart.

When I first came to The Fields, and when I first saw him, I knew right away he was special. I was only eight at that time but, young as I was, I already felt that admiration for him... He was actually five years my senior. He was a dashing teenager at that time and had lots of admirers in his school. Many girls went gaga over him; many boys longed to become his friends. He was indeed noble. My feelings for him started as a little girl's infatuation until it developed into something strong and powerful. Spontaneously, I went head-over-heels in love with him!

But he was an aloof teenager. He often spent time alone. Every afternoon after school, he would always go to the Forest Garden, his private space, where nobody was allowed to interfere with him there while sketching or painting. So, you see, aside from his being perfectly handsome, he was at the same time, a gifted painter.

Among all others, he was the greatest treasure I found in The Fields.

That was why I loved this place very much. I got everything here.

The problem was, however, Nigel's treatment to me. He was totally apathetic to me --- as in totally, totally uncaring, indifferent, and cold to me. It was obfuscating at first but now it became crystal clear to me that he never liked my presence in The Fields. He rarely talked to me and never set his eyes on me except during those times when I would follow him, or should I say, stalk him to the Forest Garden where he would often turn to me with a glare and reprimand me to go away. In the mansion, he made it clear that we should keep a distance between the two of us. He really hated me and I couldn't figure out why.