Chapter 4 The encounter

Victoria's pov

I stood at the hotel room window, steering out into the bursting street of Bavaria. This has always been my dream destination, but I had to tuck it back because of Alex's preferences. I could swear I had no intentions of arriving here under such chaos in my life, but here I was, miles away from London, trying to escape the broken pieces of my marriage.

I leaned against the window, savouring every moment as I watched the city come alive beneath me.

Maria sprinted across the room as she let herself land so freely upon the bed, before scrolling through her phone as she made herself comfortable,I felt she was more happy than I was about this trip by the way.

"You should know now that your blood pressure has reduced due to this beautiful scenery" she says with her gaze fixated to her screen.

"You should be grateful to me for dragging you out of your miserable shell which you had yourself embedded in all this while, Bavaria is definitely what you needed, trust me."

I turned to express a quick smile of gratitude before responding to her taunt.

"I know, dear, and I do appreciate it. I just feel really out of place right now. As I am on a vacation while handling a divorce, doesn't that sound weird?"

"Weird!!.." Maria Scoffed, tossing her phone aside before sitting up to face me.

"Out of place?..Victoria, you should try to prioritise your happiness for once. Alex won't do that for you, as for all the damages he has done already. Look at you! You are beautiful. Any man would want you, whereas here you are standing in one of the most luxurious hotels in the world and also a gorgeous city. Why don't you see this as a sign to start over? To rediscover yourself, and trust me, darling, there is no better place to do this than here in Germany."

I let out a quick sigh, with my fingers brushing against the edge of the window.

"It's not that simple, Maria, I built my trust around him for four years. How do I let it go? Right now... everything feels so fresh and raw, I feel I am moving too fast, and I fear I may fall apart once more."

Maria walks up to me,placing her hands on my shoulder before leading me to a chair to sit.

"You have already fallen apart, Vicky, but guess what? You are still here. This describes and says a lot about your strength,and besides that..." she took a quick pause before sending a funny look at me, which made me smile for a while. "You have me, and I would do my best to make sure you have so much fun while we are here."

Maria's phone buzzed up on the nightstand, stopping me on my track of response. She quickly grabbed it as her eyes lit up uncontrollably as she scanned through her screen.

"Oh!"she screamed, her smile widened. "It's Matteo,he just arrived downstairs at the reception"

I quickly had my brows raised out of curiosity.

"Did you really have your fiancé come all the way here to surprise you, and it didn't swipe through your mind to inform me?"

"So much for having fun," I said, darting my head out at her.

Maria shyly swindled her cute eyes as she tried explaining herself.

"It slipped my mind! You know how things have been hectic about my wedding planning. He has been overwhelmed, and honestly, I thought he wasn't going to make it, but he is here now!"

I couldn't help it as I felt my smile enlarge across my face, I was so happy about her excitement. "You should get going," I said, rolling my eyes towards the door. "Go and spend time with your husband-to-be. I'll be fine here."

She tried to hesitate for a moment. "Are you sure you will be fine? I don't want to leave you alone, not even for a moment but what can I do..?" She grumbled her way all through her statement.

"I'm fine", I said, sending a reassuring nod towards her.

"Seriously Maria, you and Matteo deserve some time together, don't you dare worry about me, I'm not a kid"

She leans in, holding me so tight in her hug. "okay,if you say so, I am leaving only because you said you would be fine, but promise me you would not lock yourself inside this room tonight, you would go out there,and explore or maybe flirt with a handsome stranger or maybe two".

I rolled my eyes before assuring her I would do so.

"I'll think about it" I saitss we both let out a giggling laughter.

"Don't think ,Victoria, do it" Maria utters these words before grabbing her bag and jolting out of the room door.

I lingered around the window once more as the sunset made the city beauty even more astonishing.

I finally made up my mind as standing by the window side would do me no good. I was going to enjoy Bavaria even if it was for a short while.

*****

I arrived at the hotel bar, which felt filled with sophisticated affairs, I was just informed by a waiter that it was their annual Friday dinner night. It was filled with a dim ambient lightning. I quietly perched on a nearby empty table at the corner as I nursed the glass of wine given to me by a waiter.

The sound of the piano and that of societal laughter filled the air with the clink of glasses followed suit.

I felt out of place for a while, but the gradual sip of the wine in my glass made me focus on the warm sensation that spread through my chest.

"Is this seat taken?" A deep voice interrupted my thought as I had lingered away so deep. It brought me back to reality.

I had my hands on my chest as I was so startled that I had to take a hard breath through my lungs before responding.

"uh...no it isn't" I said as I gestured towards the empty chair at the table.

I had just regained myself from the shock. I raised my head to a fine, tall, dark-haired man, finding his comfort in the chair beside me.

I proceeded to stare into his piercing blue eyes, which seemed to have paused time for a moment, as a faint hint of a smile played on his beautiful lips.

"You looked like you could use a company," he says, signalling the waiter for a refill as he handles his glass beautifully.

I sat there studying him for a moment, he was perfectly dressed to my taste, his fine tailored suit giving a pointer at his status in society and wealth but he still had a seemingly calm casual Ness to his atmosphere which had me at ease.

"I'm not sure you saw well, by the way" I said in a soft tone measured to that of the dimmed lights.

He let out a soft chuckle, which was pleasant to play all over again in my head.

"well, I guess I have to take my chances with my sight"

The next few minutes had us in a palatable conversation, I found myself more relaxed and unbothered,we both went with the flow as time ticked effortlessly.

"By the way, my name is Sebastian." he says, cutting off my giggles.

"Victoria" my tone still deemed as ever he had my hands in his as he proceeded to plant his beautiful lips on it.

"You look really beautiful,Victoria." he whispers as his gaze traced up to meet mine, sending chills down my spine.

"And you have a beautiful laugh also" he added with his gaze piercing through mine, making my cheeks flush with red.

"Thank you" I murmured as a ray of shyness flooded my soul.

Here I was feeling free and happy, something I haven't felt in four years of my marriage.

"So what brings you down to Bavaria"he asked.

A sudden wind of cold flushed through my body as flashbacks of the events reoccurred, sending my once happy mood into a dim one.

"I'd rather not say," I said, emptying the wine into my mouth.

We both went silent for a while, but as the night wore on, our conversation rekindled, and there I was happily chit-chatting.

I could feel the impact of the wine spread through my body. The crowd began to grow thin as he leaned in towards my ears to whisper some words, which sent my mind flying.

"Do you believe in taking risks, Victoria?" he asked slowly, pulling back into his seat as he watched me hesitate for an answer, which caught me off guard.

"I think I have been playing it safe for too long," I said, allowing the wine to take over my speech.

He steps out of his chair, stretching his hands forward as I read his lips.

"come with me"

I stared at him for a while, my heart pounding so hard, I was so sure he could hear it as every part of me protested it as a bad idea.

Maria's words quickly flooded my reasoning, as I recalled her last words before leaving the room.

"Don't think, Victoria, do it"

I let out a smile as I stared into his eyes, which were begging me not to refuse as it yearned for my approval, but still it made me trust him further, as I slipped my hands into his.