Kapitel 57: Chapter 57 - A Real Emotion

I saw him right as we entered into the breakfast place. His back facing us seemingly attentive to his own devices.

I knew who he was. Families of prominence often had clues of who could be an ally or who could be a threat. His family was on par with Celestes. After Celeste came over last night to share some food with me, I became more curious. As much as I wanted to find every detail about her, I forced myself to wait until she would tell me herself.

Though a quick search on the web showed the two working together as business partners. Even though we are from different countries, even I knew of the feud both families had with one another. 'So why did they work together?' Especially because unlike Celeste whose name was only tied to her business and nothing more. His was another story. Many articles arose of his escapades and the lifestyle he leads. Even his socials did not hide his nature.

Dean Cortez. A wild man who was darker and more dangerous than myself. Unlike others who would hide their real thoughts and emotions. He let his show and run wild like a wild horse. Untamed and unruly.

I was unsure of how those two decided to work together. Celeste whose very nature is best described as demure and gentle, how does she handle even being in the same room as that brute. They were polar opposites.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw him glance in our direction. And though it was only a second I saw very clearly the emotions in his eyes. The love he held in them. And I knew it was not for me. I tucked away that feeling, the gnawing envy I felt that she had more suitors. 'It's fine we are the ones on a date. Not him.'

Breakfast went smoothly until we left. Right outside the diner he called out to her. I could not even process his words properly. All I felt was annoyance at his desperate attempts to pull her away. So I decided to be petty, to limit any interactions between them and have Celeste pull all her attention to me. To keep her eyes on me. I pretended to not know English.

I even felt that what I was doing was stupid but I already started and not continuing would be way worse.

To no surprise she questioned my actions once he was out of sight. "What was that about?" Her face was hard to read, she was very good at masking whatever emotion she was feeling. So I could not tell if she was angry or just confused. Even her tone when talking to him was hard to read.

Dean was clearly into her. Celeste was unknown.

"Ahh please do not misunderstand. I usually try to keep a low profile so a habit I have built from traveling is pretending not to know a language. You will be surprised at what you learn and hear."

Dumb excuses but whether she bought them or not she never let me in on. She just accepted it and we moved on. I have never felt a date go sour so quickly but with how she was acting I was starting to question if it was in my own head.

After shopping around, which seemed to uplift the mood for me at least, we went to her childhood neighborhood to eat lunch.

She asked about my family which brought up the opportunity as to whether she was interested in having a family of her own. As I have gotten older I have felt a larger desire to settle down. I tasked my parents and grandparents to find people whom would be ideal marriage partners. We initially had the list to locals in the country but there was no one quite whom I was satisfied with until it was found out that the only child to the D' Angelo family was single again.

"I heard their only daughter has broken off her engagement." The details surrounding why were tight lipped but it was more than likely she was single. Like wolves other families began to hunt for the chance to marry into her family. Mine too was no exception.

So though both Celeste and I wanted to do things 'normally', there could be no other way to describe what we are doing other than being a marriage agreement.

"I have always wanted a huge family like my parents did in their own families. My father is one of three versus my mother who is one of four. So my cousins to me are like the siblings I wish I had. What about you? Do you want a large family?"

I focused all my attention on her. I wanted to truly see if she would share what she actually felt. She tucked a stray hair from her cheek and gave a small smile. "I have never really thought about it. So I am unsure. I have always lived as a only child and I do not have any cousins so I have never experienced being in a large family."

Her answer was diplomatic and I was slightly disappointed. It was just our first date and I liked her quite a bit. But she still had many walls up. 'Its ok we still have more time. Maybe it is a lot to see future ideals with someone so early on.'

I smiled back but before I could ask more questions our food arrived. "Here is your taco trio plate and here is your fajitas. Let me know if you need a refill."

The waitress left and Celeste nodded for me to start eating.

After a few silent clinks of our utensils hitting the plates I started a new conversation. This time steering clear of anything that may make her uncomfortable.

"How is the art exhibition going? I saw a few promotional content for it online and it looks very impressive." Celeste paused for a second, chewing her food carefully before turning her head to swallow. Her whole expression looked lovely and adorable. "Sorry caught me at a bad second. Hm it is going very well, the art work submitted has received high praise and reviews. As for my foundation, we have gotten quite a large sum of donations so I am very pleased. The children and their families will breathe easier with less of a burden on their shoulders."

Though it was but a glimmer, I saw a real emotion fleetingly in her eyes. She was thrilled.