Cheryl was a girl who had too many heartbreaks than she would like to admit. Then after she was callously dumped on Valentine's Day, she finally had enough and blamed it all on Cupid! But what she never expected was Cupid himself would appear and to...
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"But first," Carolyn looked at the man, "I need to know your name."
"It's Nigel."
"Nice name!" Carolyn smiled approvingly.
"Thanks!" Nigel accepted the compliment with a charming smile.
"So where does this ballet take place?"
"Actually, it's just over there," Nigel pointed at a building not far away.
"Great! Let's go!"
When they arrived at the theater, Carolyn was surprised to find they would be seated in a private box, situated on a side balcony hovering over the rest of the audience. Although she was not a big fan of watching performances, she had always dreamt of sitting in one of those boxes since she saw them in movies as a child. She felt instantly like the same little girl again and her eyes danced with delight.
"Wow~ I didn't expect this. It's seriously cool!" her eyes roaming the luxurious box in appreciation. A luxurious loveseat with thick cushions were placed behind a small coffee table that was facing the front of the balcony. It was completely surrounded by glass, so their view of the stage would not be blocked by anything.
"I'm glad you like it!" Nigel looked back at her in amusement. "It'll certainly be a waste if you didn't come with me."
"Indeed!" Carolyn nodded heavily. "Do you always buy seats in a box?"
"I do whenever it's available. It offers so much more privacy and space." Nigel picked up a house program and handed it to Carolyn. "Here, read the summary first."
Carolyn narrowed her eyes and gently pushed it away. "I think I'm familiar with the story of Romeo and Juliet enough."
"Trust me, it's the key to reduce boredom in watching ballet." Nigel smiled reassuringly.
Carolyn considered for a moment before taking the program and read through the plot silently.
The lights dimmed as a cue for them to take their seats and watch the show.
β β β β β β β β β β β β
During the intermission, they went to the bar to get a drink.
"So what do you think so far? Hate it or love it?" Nigel asked Carolyn curiously.
"Hm...." Carolyn thought for a while, "I don't hate it as much as I thought I would but I'm not sure if I love it." Nigel gestured her to go on. "Well, I've watched a few ballet performances in school before but I never got what they were expressing. But I did today, thanks to you insisting me to read the summary beforehand," Nigel raised his glass with a triumphant smile. "And I guess this performance could not compare to the amateur ones I saw in school. The set, the costumes and the dancers are all magnificent, with the addition of the privacy and clarity of the stage in a private box.... well, I guess I enjoyed watching it a great deal!" she finally concluded.
Nigel gave a wide grin and said, "It's good to hear you've enjoyed it so far since this dance company is one of the most famous ones in Russia and the tickets are extremely hard to get, but I'm disappointed that my company is not one of the reasons you enjoy it." he glanced at her looking slightly hurt.
Carolyn's eyes widened for a moment and a shade of pink formed on her cheeks, but she quickly recovered to her normal self, "Of course your company is appreciated, it's you who brought me here after all. But we can't really talk during the performance and we've just met tonight, so I can't really factor you into the reasons why I enjoy the show, can I?" she said all this in one breath.
"Easy there! I was just joking!" Nigel laughed at her serious manner.
Carolyn crossed her arms to try to pretend she was irritated at first, but then she too broke into laughs. She never laughed so hard with a man before, and not only that, she was laughing at herself with him! Maybe it was because they knew nothing about each other or maybe it was just Nigel, but Carolyn found she could just be herself around him without all the pretense and facades. She could shed the armor she wore for work every day, and behave just like the woman she wanted to be in front of Nigel without worrying about being judged.
"What about you then? Do you hate it?" Carolyn asked.
"Well, I didn't enjoy it as much as you did but it's certainly more tolerable than usual for me tonight." Nigel looked at Carolyn with great intensity and her heartbeat quickened.
The bell signaling the end of the intermission rang, Nigel offered his elbow like a gentleman and Carolyn took it with a timid smile. They continued gazing at each other while returning to their box.
ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ
"Hm.....there's definitely great chemistry between them! I wonder if they'd become a long-term couple!" Cheryl bit her lower lip and smiled.
"Let's find out!" Mrs Fields replied cheerfully as she moved her hands to cast a spell.
Suddenly, lots of pink hearts emerged from center of the Amour until it filled up the whole orb and the sound of fireworks was heard. This startled Cheryl who frantically asked, "What's happening? Did the Amour break down?"
"Of course not, silly!" Mrs Fields giggled. "It means this match is a success! Congrats! You did it!" she pulled Cheryl into her arms and gave her a warm hug.
Cheryl froze in shock for a moment. "What? I made a successful match?" Cheryl pulled back to stare at Mrs Fields. "I really did it? So Carolyn and Nigel will live happily ever after?" her eyes lit up with amazement and delight.
"Unfortunately, happily-ever-after doesn't exist in the human world. The heart explosion in the Amour simply means they'll be in a relationship for at least 10 years. There are too many factors that could change the course of their relationship so there's no guarantee they would stay as a couple forever."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Cheryl's face but she quickly shook it off and cried out in joy, "But I did it! I finally made a successful match!" Cheryl felt so ecstatic that tears almost came to her eyes.
"Yes, you did, but that's just a lucky coincidence!" An authoritative male voice said.
