The Mafia Bride

42.

After our trip to the bookshop, Emily and I came across a bakery and the aroma of freshly baked goods was too delicious to pass this opportunity up. We brought some almond croissants, since we were told it is a speciality. We had our croissants packed so that we could take it to outside and pretend we were having a picnic. Emily led us to the nearby lake where we sat at the grass and had our croissants. Emily handed me a cup of coffee. I didn't know she'd brought coffee from the neighbourhood cafe when I was taking our parcelled croissants.

We stared at the beautiful lake as the gentle winds and the warm sunlight caressed our skin. The fresh green smell of the grass, the slight humidity of the lake and the aroma of the fresh almond the rich, warm, sugary sweetness melt in my mouth. I sipped coffee and the tinge of bitterness balanced the sweetness. If heaven was real, this would definitely be it.

"Have I ever told you that Pride and Prejudice is my favourite book?" Emily said, glancing at the hardbound book on my lap. "I read it in high school for the first time and I swear I loved Lizze and Mr. Darcy's relationship so much."

"Yeah it's pretty cool." I said gulping some coffee. "The only thing I hated about the book was Mr. Wickham. He reminds me of all the players and cheaters I've dated."

Emily laughed " He was a total ass." She took a bite of her croissant. "You know what I loved the most about the book? The fact that Elizabeth and Darcy don't fall in love with each other at the first sight. He is arrogant and proud. She is judgemental and prejudiced. He snubs her and she judges him poorly. They start by disliking each other to gradually liking each other. I love that because it shows that two people can start by hating each other but end up loving each other as they get to know the other one better."

"That is so not true."

"It is." Emily said. "Think of it in this way. Lizzie hated Darcy yet she grew to love him, why? Because she got to know him better and realised his sincerity. The same goes for him. He did not love Lizzie just for her looks but he loved her when he started noticing her witty side. This is a strong love because the two love the real person not what they appear to be. Love at first sight is shallow because it is just attraction and chemistry binding two people together. But, a love that grows is so much deeper and stronger because it is meaningful."

Wait, that made sense. Maybe, I was wrong to be angry at Leo for hating me at the first sight. I hated him too. I thought he was an asshole. Both of us did not start out on good terms but did it matter now? At this point things are lovely between us. I wonder, how did we go from hating each other to loving each other? Emily's explanation makes sense. The more we knew each other, the more our hate disappeared. The love between Leo and I is strong because it has grown over time. We left our prejudices towards each other and allowed ourselves to be vulnerable. We both choose love over hatred and here we were. I've been focusing on the wrong things. I focused so much on the negative that I missed out the important point. Leo started by hating me, true. But somewhere he started loving me. It means something about me or my personality, something deeper than my looks, fascinated him and made him fall in love with me. It means that he never loved me just because I'm pretty, he loves me because he saw something loveable in my personality.

I choked Emily in a sudden hug, almost scaring her.

"You are such a genius. What will I ever do without you?"

We resumed our picnic and brainstormed for ideas regarding our next project. The fresh and unpolluted winds of the countryside was just what Emily and I needed to invigorate ourselves.

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