Chapter I

The weather was slightly warm when she landed in Paris and as soon as the breeze hit her, she knew that she had made the right decision coming here. Ever since she made the decision to retire she needed to get away, to find herself before deciding what the next step in her life should be and what better way to find herself than exploring a city she had once dreamt of visiting. Richard was so on board with the idea that he had made all the travel arrangements himself and had sent her a list of activities she could do whilst there, it's either he wanted to send her away so bad or he was tired of the thought of her sitting in her apartment all day, every day without seeing the light of day. Evident with the tears he had shed when she was leaving, she concluded that it was the latter.

His girlfriend, Melanie who had learnt in Paris on a student exchange program had helped her with her French and had informed her buddies that they should keep her company which she wasn't grateful for. Melanie was the only girlfriend Richard ever had that Tori was fond of, they had bonded over talk of literature, fine arts and classical music and Tori had realized that Melanie's mind worked like her own, always observing and analyzing everything. The only difference she had with the red haired, green eyed Melanie was the fact that Melanie was normal, she had a very active social life, very good fashion sense and the ability to fall in love with idiots like Richard. Compared to her, Tori was the grim reaper. She hauled her suitcase towards the exit looking for a sign with her name on it, she was staying with Melanie's friends who had gladly agreed to let them stay with her for some reason or the other. She would have declined the offer but thought it would be easier to stay there with people who knew the place and Melanie had sweet talked her into it.

"Oh you'll just love Paris, it's simply beautiful!" Melanie had cooed her eyes dreamily looking out of the café window.

"Just stay safe, okay?" Richard sternly ordered and Tori had just rolled her eyes in response and leaned back on the chair.

"My friends are really excited to meet you, especially Marie who read one of your articles and just couldn't believe I was dating your brother. Please be nice to her, she's kind of sensitive."

She finally caught sight of her name and the one holding the sign up was a delicate girl with brown eyes and hair that was put in glistening curls, she was very beautiful and made the simple floral dress she was wearing look really eye catching. She must've been one of those popular girls who had everyone kneeling at their feet back in high school and when Tori had approached her, she looked confused.

"Êtes-vous Chisai Tori Harper?" She asked, her accent was sharp and Tori nodded in response.

"I'm sorry for my obvious confusion, I just thought you were American not Asian." Marie nervously lowered her sign.

She's more insensitive than sensitive, Tori thought and immediately started regretting her decision. She didn't have the energy to correct her but instead gave her a sour look. Marie's eyes widened when she realized her mistake.

"I sincerely apologize; I don't know where that came from. That was so insensitive of me." She quickly said and Tori had never seen someone become so flustered before, she could tell that she really didn't mean it and smiled to ease her nerves.

"That's fine, you must be Marie, Melanie has told me so much about you." She said and her smile seemed to really calm her down. Why was she so nervous? Melanie had said she was a fan but she didn't think she had an impact on people like this? With the way this girl looked, she was the one who should've felt inferior.

"Yes, I'm Marie. I am just such a big fan, shall we? You must be exhausted from the flight." Marie ordered the man next to her to carry Tori's bags and they followed him to the car where he opened the car door for them before loading the luggage. They drove off  and sat in silence before Marie broke it.

"So…Chisai Tori..."

"You can call me Tori."

"Oh, right. You don't mind if we stop by the bakery, I have to get something for dinner tonight."

"I don't mind at all."

"Perfect." She smiled. "You are going to love it here, and lucky for you, you have the best guide Paris could offer. Me."

"Well, best guide in Paris, I am all yours." Tori smiled back and that was the start of a beautiful friendship.

When they got to the Bakery, the sun was setting and the street lights had turned on. The scent of fresh pastry filled the street and it was very alluring. The doorbell rang as they entered through the door.

"Bonsoir Marie!" The baker hurriedly approached as he came to greet them, he gave Marie a kiss on each cheek. He was a slim man with streaks of grey hairs in his hair and moustache.

"Bonsoir Gabriel!" Marie cooed. "Ça va?"

"Très bien, et toi?"

"Ça va. Gabriel, this is my friend, Tori Harper, she just flew here from New York."

Gabriel kissed Tori on both cheeks which took her by surprise but she smiled anyway.

"Tori, welcome to Paris!" He's French accent was strong and he took her hands and squeezed them, she was surprised at how warm and soft they were. "It is a pleasure to meet you, welcome to my humble bakery."

There was nothing humble about he's bakery, there were golden brown pastry neatly lined, the cupcakes were beautifully decorated and multiple baskets boasted a bouquet of freshly baked baguettes.

"Everything looks delicious." Tori said looking around.

"Here, have a croissant, fresh from the oven. It's...how you say...on the house." He went behind the counter got a serviette and used it to grab a croissant for her.  She gladly took it because not only was she tired, she was also dying of hunger.

"Marie, you must be here for the garlic bread. I saw the date today and made a special batch just for you."

"Merci Gabriel, you didn't have to…"

Tori took a bite of the croissant and almost melted, it was so delicious and when they saw her facial expression, the burst in laughter.

"I think you've have a new fan of your baking Gabriel." Marie giggled.

"It seems so, why don't you have a look around the bakery, maybe you can find something else you'd like to try and it's all free." Gabriel offered and Tori accepted silently, nodding a thank you because her mouth was full, she could hear their laughter as she walked off, her face red.

Everything looked good, she couldn't choose what to pick, deep in thought someone bumped into her .

"Excusé moi."

The man's voice sounded annoyed and when she turned around blue eyes looked down at her, she had to tilt her head to look up at the tall figure. His dark hair slightly covered his eyes and they stared intensely at her. There was something in his eyes that made her forget the spark of anger that he had ignited, he continued to stand in front her till she realized that he wanted something behind her. She moved aside and he grabbed the warm garlic bread then went to the register to go pay, all this time Tori's eyes couldn't help but follow him till he left the bakery with the door bell ringing behind him. On the other side of the bakery, she could hear Marie calling for her, her eyes followed the man's silhouette as he passed the store window and their eyes met again, this time she was sure, that was sadness in his eyes.

"Hey Tori,  are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost." Marie asked as she tapped her slightly on the shoulder.

"Oh no, I'm fine, I just can't choose what to get."

"I know, get the macarons. They are simply delicious."

"Good idea, I think I'll just get that."

"Come on now, let's say our goodbyes to Gabriel so we can be on our way." She smiled, pulling Tori by the arm.

Marie's place was beautiful; it was a beautiful mansion that had Tori gawking the second she saw it. The car stopped in front it and the chauffeur opened the car door for them once more. The large red oak doors opened and a house help quickly came out to take Tori's luggage up to her room.

"He's going to show you to your room, it's right next to mine and I prepared it for you myself. I can't accompany you because I have to hurry with the garlic bread to the kitchen and see how the chefs are doing." Marie said as they entered. "Just freshen up and I'll come get you when dinner's ready."

Tori loved her room the second she entered it, she could already see herself getting lost in a book on the window seat and everything else was just perfect, the chandelier, the study desk. She couldn't believe Marie had gone out of her way to make sure Tori was happy with the room, she was just so sweet! She freshened up in the bathroom and not sure what to put on, she put on a simple white dress even though she really just wanted to put on some sweats and a large t shirt. She grabbed her phone from her bag and wondered why her worry wart of a brother hadn't blown up her phone yet. She hadn't turned off the aero plane mode that's why and the moment she did, she found the 47 messages her brother had sent waiting for her. She smiled then called him.

"Finally! What took you so long?!" Richard shouted.

"I got busy. What's up?"

"I'm switching to FaceTime."

Richard's annoyed face appeared on the screen.

"You should've called the minute you got off the flight or a text at least." He complained.

"Fine, I'm sorry."

"You should be, anyway, how's it going in the city of love? "

"Not bad, the pastry here is to die for."

"Is that Tori?" Melanie's voice asked in the background and a second later she appeared on the screen.

"Hey Tori, How's Paris?"

"Hey Melanie, it's sounds like you're in a loud place. Where are you?"

"Oh, just an amusement park."

"Celebrating me leaving the country, you guys are so sweet." Tori said sarcastically.

"Oh no, nothing like that. I just wanted to have a good time with your brother. Where's Marie? Is she there with you?"

"No. She's busy with something."

"Sooo, how is she?"

"She's an absolute sweetheart! She's done so much for me and it hasn't even been a day since I got here."

"See I told you you'd like her. Wait till you meet my other friends, Ouhh babe let's go ride the Ferris wheel."

"But I want to talk to Tori." Richard whined.

"Tori needs to rest; you'll talk to her tomorrow. Bye Tori."

"No don't cut-."

Just then there was a knock at the door and Marie popped her head in.

"How are you loving the new room?" She asked.

"It's perfect I love it! Thank you so much." Tori said giving her a hug.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it. Come on, dinner's ready."

Marie led her to the dining room and at the head of it sat a man with a very powerful aura, Marie sat at the table and beckoned Tori to sit next to her.

"Dad, this is the guest I told you about, Tori Harper."

"Oh Tori Harper, I have heard so much about you. Welcome."  The man greeted.

"Thank you sir. You have a beautiful home." Tori smiled.

"Thank you and call me William."

"Shall we begin dad?" Marie asked.

"We can't begin without your brother; he should be here soon."

The door opened.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Tori's eyes met a familiar set of blue eyes and she saw a bit of surprise in them, he definitely recognized her but didn't say anything as he sat down at the table right opposite her.

"Xavier, I thought you wouldn't be able to make it?" Marie seemed happy to see him.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." He replied, his eyes meeting Tori's again giving her goosebumps.

"Tori, my family and I have this dinner in honor of my late mother who passed on this very day.  We are about to have spaghetti Bolognese with cheesy garlic bread." Marie's voice became a bit emotional as she explained so she took a breath. "It used to be her favorite, so we made it a tradition to have this dinner on this day every year. We miss you every day Maman. Now without further ado, let's dig in."

The food was delicious, they conversed throughout the whole dinner, Xavier wasn't exactly the chatty type but still managed to chip in here and there.

"Chisai Tori..." William said after taking a hearty sip of wine. "What language is that?"

"It's Japanese, it means-…"

"Small bird." Xavier finished her sentence.

"What a peculiar name." William said taking another sip of his wine

"Yes." She agreed meeting Xavier's eyes again. Somewhere deep inside her, she knew those eyes were going to be the death of her and she didn't know how right she was.