Page 70 of Scent of Desire
It was a pomegranate.
I craned my neck to peer at the red fruits hanging from the tree branches.
A pomegranate tree.
I tiptoed to pick another fruit, a smile hanging on my lips. I believed in magic. In signs. In Radcliff. He had said this fruit would bind us together, and I believed him.
I would munch the fruit willingly again despite the warning of the tale. I would let its juice spill over me in a reminiscence of the promise Radcliff and I made.
And most certainly, I would not lose faith.
“Eternity,” I whispered.
That’s what awaited us.
“Miss Bellerose?” The voice of a man interrupted me from behind, and I let the pomegranate roll onto the grass.
The marine smell invaded my nostrils with sea notes and seaweed.LaMouette. I reeled around to face him with his badly shaved beard, little glasses, and grayish hair.
“I’m here on Mr. Radcliff’s behalf. He instructed me to deliver this to you,” he continued, handing me a velvet box that he held preciously.
I grabbed it with a frown and a pounding heart. “Radcliff’s timing is as always—” I smiled at LaMouette blanketed by the shade of the tree. “Uncanny. It makes you wonder if he’s doing it on purpose.” As if he had eyes everywhere and an intuition that was beyond our comprehension.
“Timing is always right.” His lips curled into a thin line. “However, sometimes it brings us what we need, not what we expect.”
Inhaling the spring air around me, I unpacked the box, and the reflection of the jewel inside blinded me with its brilliance reflecting on the sun. I recognized it immediately. “Is that the diamond I had chosen?”
LaMouette nodded, and I grazed the necklace with sparkling eyes. My diamond heart was untouched, enclosed by vines in white gold that circled it with micro blooms of lilies and calla lilies—the details were so small and precise. Radcliff had instructed this to be handmade for me. Around the diamond, there were tiny crystals, like particles hanging on the vines that looked like stars in the Milky Way.
“It’s so bright and luminous.”Magic.
“Because it reflects all the light it absorbs. The slightest flash of light forms a spark. This necklace glows in the complete dark,” LaMouette chuckled. “Even though the complete dark doesn’t truly exist.”
My eyes widened—Radcliff did that because of my fear of the dark. On the hook of the necklace, there was engraved: “To my light which sparkles in my darkness.”
“It’s beautiful. He thought of everything and—” I looked up, and LaMouette was already leaving. “Wait! Do you know where Radcliff is?”
LaMouette stopped in the flower field, his gaze observing nature. “If you look closely at the necklace, you’ll have your answer. Have a beautiful, glorious day, Miss Lily.”
He left with a last smile, being as cryptic as the man whose life remained a mystery to all.
My gaze fell on the diamond, and it felt like I was holding Radcliff’s heart in my hands. A breeze blew; the spirits had spoken in their turn. The message was clear.
Radcliff was with me.
For light and dark cannot live without each other.
Neither can exist without the other, just like us.
“Congratulations again for the event, and thank you for your time, Miss Bellerose. Unless I should call you Mrs.…?”
“It’s Miss—I’m not married. But you can call me Lily.” I gave the interviewer a last smile to conclude the interview. “It’s been a pleasure.”
The young journalist bowed his head, and I drifted away to the outside courtyard of the particularly Parisian hotel, otherwise known as a grand town house. I inhaled deeply, my tight sparkling dress with inlaid flowers giving me no room to breathe.
Hugo had surpassed himself for the launch of Obsession. My eyes and my nose marveled. Everything was perfect. The whole event smelled of floral happiness and cheerful colors. The garden was intimate, engulfed by renaissance architectural walls. Ivy climbed them, alongside some garlands of lights like fireflies sparkling in the twilight. A variety of celebrities were invited, from influencers to prestigious newspapers, thanks to Hugo and Patrick DeLange’s elite list.
It was a dream come true. I hid below the stone arch, spying on my guests talking near the appetizers, tasting flower-flavored treats, and indulging in activities such as a photo booth or smelling the strips of Obsession.
