A hopeless romantic

I stand in front of the door to Ethan's mansion, I'm faced with the fact yet again that I barely know him. I reach out to the door knob but it opens before my hand reaches it.

"Ethan", I'm shocked by the coincidence, or has he been waiting for my arrival?. He smiles and takes my hand, he places a kiss on my knuckles.

I stand, half amused by this act of chivalry, can such a man be dangerous? I ask myself for the second time.

He walks in and I follow behind. "How was your lectures?" He asks

I shrug, "oh you know, the usual boring stuff, history and the rest"

"Dinner has already been set, we'll have it right away". He leads me to the dinning, above it hung a chandelier decorated with gold crystals. It gave everything a royal feel.

He draws the chair out and I sit slowly. Once he sits, maids—and I mean maid(s)— come out of the kitchen with different varieties of dishes, cole slaw, chicken curry, salad, beef stew and rice, grilled salmon etc

I feel my insides twist and my mouth salivate. I gulp as my nose wiggled. Oatmeals, pasta and sometimes quick noddle soup used to be my diet and now, now I can't even tell if I'm dreaming or if this is real.

I look up after hearing him chuckle, "don't just stare, eat up" 

Slowly, I pick up the cutlery and dig in. My entire body tingles as the food comes in contact to my tongue. I look at my meal and glance at Ethan, will I really pass all this off once the month is over?

I clear my throat "you need an heir?", He looks up at me and nods in response

"If at the end of the 30days and I still refuse your advances, what then? Will you still chase after me?" I ask

"Like I said before, I'll let you go. I won't bother chasing or trying to convince you anymore".

Honestly, I'm quite disappointed in his reply 

"I don't get it, what then will become of your lineage without an heir?" 

"My family has a woman prepared for me, a woman of whom I do not love. I need a woman in my life soon, if I can't succeed in making you fall for me I'll settle what what they've prepared" he explains

I understand all these but..... "Marrying me and marrying the woman your family prepared, isn't that the same thing? What I mean is—"

"No" he cuts in, "it's not the same, I love you Isabella"

I stare at him, he has to be kidding "we haven't even met before, I barely know where I am right now, how can you love someone who you've never met?" I throw my inquisition at him

He smiles but doesn't say anything.

Maybe he knows me from somewhere.....there are so many things I need to question but I keep pushing it to the back of my mind.

The rest of dinner was silent. Tomorrow begins a new day, I'm eager to know what he'll do to make me fall for him.

Half an hour later, I'm in bed....with him. Turns out he insists we share a room where we can make physical contact with each other—nothing erotic involved.

I'm laying on my side, facing Ethan and he's doing so too, facing me with his eyes wiiiide open. It's really awkward, he's just staring.

"Sleep" he says

My mind warps, sleep? does he expect me to sleep while he watches? Nevertheless, I shut my eyes slowly. 

I'm not sleeping, I'm waiting. I doubt he's actually intending on watching me sleep, how on earth am I supposed to sleep on command? 

It's been quite a while, I'll check now. I open one of my eyes slowly to take a peek, my heart drops all the way down to my large intestine.

I shut my eyes immediately, he's still staring but why? It's creeping me out in the weirdest way ever.

I consider turning and letting my back face him but the thought of him staring at my back, unwavering irked me even more.

I lay still. The room grows serene and silent, only the sound of the gentle breeze linger. The night becomes cold and I eventually close my eyes in real slumber.

...

My mind becomes conscious and I feel sun rays resting on my eye lids. I wake up, facing the side of the window. I must have turned in my sleep.

I think back to last night and how Ethan tried to watch me while I slept. With him in mind, I turn and freeze.

"Good morning Isabella" Ethan greets with a smile, same position, same..... everything!

Did he even sleep? Or did he spend his night watching the back of my head. Not even a sign of drowsiness or any sleep marks

"Did.....you sleep well?" I ask, my voice laced with worry

"I haven't slept better in five years" he replies

"O...okay" I whisper.

I sit up, and so did he but our backs are facing each other.

I mutter "I have morning lectures um"

"Have your bath, I'll get you new set of clothes". I watch his back exit the room.

Once the door closes, I let out the heavy sigh I kept pent up and fall back to the bed with my arms spread. 

He seems very unlikely, I'll just roll with it.

Minutes later, I step out of the bathroom with a towel around my chest. I inhale deeply and exhale.

My cheeks burn as I notice Ethan standing there in the room, gawking. 

"Um..." I reach out to my ear and pull it down, this damned thing!

"I'll leave these here" he drops the clothes on the bed and walks away.

I tilt my head, I was expecting something... something wild. My mind was already flooded with lewd thoughts only for him to back out. Maybe he's just a hopeless romantic.