1 SOMETHING HARD BUT NOT

It was a calm evening. The faint breeze in the air dispels the heat of the day. The sun was slowly vanishing from the sky, the twilight giving way to the purple of the night, and the first evening of the stars were sparkling above the young night sky.

Even though the surroundings made it impossible not to get distracted and admire the beauty, Vilian, the girl sitting on the window pane, was wearing a beautiful smile on her mesmerizing face while reading her favorite contemporary romantic novel.

Her golden hair cascaded down to her curvy waist. Brown eyes like the warmth of an everlasting hearth, as if they were the wood that could burn with the golden flame like her hair.

Vilian would giggle and gasp now and then as she read the storyline, which was so much to her liking. The feeling of giddiness that she had made her feel like she had gone back to her teenage years.

The only things that lightened her mundane life were the books that she read and the imaginary world that she had been living.

She was unlike the girls of her age who'd tattle and tale behind their lover boys. Her life was more like a puppet show, and her parents were her masters, who'd monitor her and cast her to whomever they wanted.

She was so engulfed in her fantasy world that she didn't realize she was on the edge of the window pane. If she were to lean slightly to her left, she'd lose her balance and fall down for sure. If so, breaking one or two bones or fracturing her leg would come out as a consequence of it, and it wasn't something to be doubted.

She felt something tingling down her toe. It had her looking down.

"OH MY GOSH!" She screamed and wiggled her feet.

The little cockroach flew away from her bare feet, but before she realized it, she dropped the book from her hand in panic.

On realizing it, she screamed with disappointment, "Oh no! My sweet book," and cursed the poor little cockroach who knew nothing of it, "You. Damn. Cockroach!" She sulked, her face melting like a melted pie.

"Uhh… Now how am I supposed to go down and take my sweetie? Mother warned me not to step out of the room until the guests leave the house," she mumbled as she bit her lips nervously.

'Hmm, I better get out of the window pane. After all, who is going to pay a visit to the garden at this hour when the guests are present? Everyone must be busy in the drawing room and the dining hall,' thought Vilian in her mind, and she got down from the window pane.

When she was about to reach the floor, the hem of her skirt got hooked onto the window nail.

She cursed her long skirt under her breath. She never liked wearing long skirts or being dolled up like the other girls, who were her age.

Her attempt at trying to unhook the navy blue skirt sadly tore it apart. This was the girl's least concern. All her focus was on her sweet little book.

She got down from the tall stone wall, dusted off her dusty hands, and turned around.

"Ouch…"

She winced a bit.

It turned out she had bumped into something hard, but not like the wall, which was now behind her.

Squinting her eyes and rubbing her bumped forehead, she looked forward only to see a pair of squeaky clean black formal wear shoes, which she followed up to see who it was.

A man.

A man with such a strong torso

'Did I just bump into his torso? Gosh, why?' thought Vilian.

The man glanced at her, then at the window, and then again at her.

"Looks like someone's up to cat and mouse play," he said with a smirk on his godly-looking face.

'Man, is he for real?'

She didn't expect his voice to be like that—she was speechless.

He was so handsome, from the depth of his ocean blue eyes to the gentle amused expressions of his voice.

Vilian remembered the very purpose for which she came down here, only to get lost in his handsomeness and forget the reason why she came here.

Now that she remembered it, she looked for it on the meadow-like grass of her garden, but—

"Looking for this, little Kitty?"

The deep voice that reverberated behind her had her still for a moment before she turned around.

Her book.

He had it in his hand.

She stepped ahead and went to reach for it, but he shifted the book from his left hand to his right and read the title out louder,

"BARBARA CARTLAND."

"LOVE ME FOREVER."

"Hmm... sounds romantic. I suppose this belongs to you," he questioned, tilting the book up and down as he gazed at the thickly covered book.

"I'll give it to you, but in exchange, let me know what you were doing crawling on the wall."

"Practicing the role play of Spider-Man?" The sarcastic words rolled out of his sinful lips.

Vilian felt her patience running thin. He wasn't giving her the book, and—

Suddenly they heard a pair of footsteps approaching, getting their attention.

Vilian gazed in the direction of the approaching footsteps, as did the stranger. In a split second, she held onto his shirt, stood on her tiptoes, and tried to snatch the book from his grasp.

But the man was too quick in his reflexes. He shifted the book away, only to have her fail in her attempt to take hold of her book.

Having no choice, she dashed in the opposite direction before the guy whose footsteps they heard could come into their sight.

She internally cursed and mumbled sadly.

But if it were for her mother, she didn't like the idea of getting caught in such a state, for she surely would have gotten an earful of warnings from her mother for not behaving as an elite girl should.

Ughhh!!! Such a tiring thing it is, thought Vilian as she ran away.