Chapter 2 Regret.

As agreed on, the next day, a driver had come to pick up Giselle, taking her to the Heinrich's main residence. On arriving, her jaws had dropped. She never expected the mansion to be an actual mansion.

Giselle had never actually met the Heinrich family. They were always busy or out of town, never really making time to meet up with her. For a while she entertained the thought of them disliking her.

Ever since the age of Fifteen, she had been groomed by her father to be a bride, only once turning twenty did she have the chance to meet her future husband, once. But by then her heart had already been captured by another.

Ezra had patiently waited outside, offering his arm the moment she stepped out of the red Audi and begun approaching.

Once again, his appearance stunned her. Dressed in black pants, white long sleeve turtleneck and a brown coat on top. His chestnut hair was styled casually, left to freely fall on both sides of his face.

Giselle had worn the dress he had sent, which was a green chiffon maxi gown with floral prints and a pair of glass like flats. To finish the look, she held her hair up in a classy messy bun with the floral pin that came along with her outfit, of course she hadn't forgotten to cover up her hickeys with make-up.

Ezra had taste when it came to fasion, Giselle could hand that to him.

“Don’t mess things up.” Ezra had reminded her right before they stepped in, running into an extremely beautiful blonde woman, who Giselle assumed was his mother.

Her assumptions were confirmed the moment she heard the woman’s voice. Although she couldn't place a proper face on her soon to be mother-in-law, she could well remember the voice that had spoken to her several times for long hours.

Unlike the other family members, Mrs. Heinrich loved to keep a low profile, never appearing on interviews or openly flaunting her powers.

'She's just as warm as her voice.' Giselle had thought and gripped the side of her dress, then again, she now knew where Ezra got his good genes from.

“Oh my, Giselle, is that you?” Mrs. Heinrich had politely asked, placing a calming smile on her lips as she turned in the direction of the brunette, taking a glance at her hand wrapped around Ezra's upper one.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you ma'am."

"You've grown to become so pretty."

"Mom, Giselle and I came to finalize our Engagement preparations with dad and you. It's happening in three days; we've already booked the event center and all."

The woman had turned pale with surprise at Ezra’s declaration and her eyes widened in happiness. Ezra's parents were always aware about the fact that their son wanted nothing to do with the arranged marriage they had made, he had insisted several times that it be called off. But hearing this, with Giselle right by his side, it sounded like the beginning of some fairytale.

Before they both knew it, Mrs. Heinrich had begun yelling for her husband.

So here they both sat, discussing the details of their upcoming engagement party with Ezra's parents.

"Giselle darling, you’ve been staring at my face for a while, is there something on it?"

The brunette seemed to snap out of her trans like state once her name was called. ‘Ah, no, not at all. It’s just that...’ she paused, visibly biting down on her lower lip to build the suspense she needed before continuing. "Mrs. Heinrich is so beautiful and kind that it had me wondering if I’m suited enough to be Ezra’s fiancée." She added a carefree laugh at the end of her statement and directed her gaze to the floor.

One third of what she had said wasn’t just some scripted words she had put together. Although she didn’t care if she met Ezra’s standards she fears disappointing the woman in front of her.

"Oh my." Jasmine chirped. "Ezra, hadn’t I told you she was perfect." She said and moved over, placing a careful hand on Giselle shoulder. "Don’t worry my dear, out of all the women this uncultured brat has gotten involved with, you’re the best and that is why we've approved of you ever since the beginning."

*********

Ezra had rolled his eyes at his mother's words, briefly using one of his hands to push away hair that had fallen in his face.

'The best? Talk about being biased.' That was exactly what his mom was doing. To him, she was over praising Giselle.

'Just wait till I replace her.' He thought with a smirk and glanced at Giselle's side profile, instantly freezing as his eyes spotted a moon shaped tattoo on the crook of her neck, something he had failed to notice since they walked in together.

'Impossible.' His gaze hardened. In a matter of seconds, what had transpired three nights before, flashed in his mind.

What were the odds that Giselle was his mystery woman.

Ezra turned his gaze away, he refused to believe whatever his mind was baiting him to believe. 'It's definitely just a coincidence.' For some reason his heart beat had sped up, creating a pounding rhythm in his ear.

"...Just call me mom. In less than a month you’ll be part of our big family." The sound of his mother's laughter distracted him from his thoughts, once again grounding his mind.

Ezra found himself taking another glance at Giselle's tattoo. 'It's just a coincidence.' He tried to convince himself. The thought of Giselle being the woman he had slept with didn’t sit right, for some reason it angered him.

***********

Giselle allowed a smile to play on her lips as she looked up. "Yes Mrs... I mean yes mom." But she felt guilty. Would Jasmine still approve of her if she knew the truth.

Jasmine smiled. "Good."

"That’s done, now we have to get going." Ezra brusquely spoke, getting to his feet the next second. His abrupt action surprised Giselle but she played along and also stood up.

"So soon?" His father asked.

"Giselle has to go for her dress final fitting tomorrow and I have work to complete."

'I do?' Giselle questioned herself and briefly glanced at Ezra. He caught her gaze and avoided it. Giselle silently sighed and brushed it off, it was of no concern to her.

"Speaking of work, Monroe Pharmaceuticals had sent a letter to our main branch, Ethan was hoping to get you to support the latest project he's developing."

Giselle froze. If she could become anymore paler than she already was, she currently did. Her ears seemed to ring for a moment, painful memories replaying in her head in seconds.

Ethan Monroe. That name brought so much pain and regret to her mind each time it was mentioned.

She hated that... she hated Ethan. There was no hiding it. Her hatred for the blonde ran thicker than blood. That was reasonable, after all his betrayal had a hand in the destruction of her once peaceful life.

Unconsciously, her grip tightened around Ezra's arm, her nails digging into his skin. It was painful but Ezra kept quiet, only glancing down briefly to see the displeased look on her face.

"We can always come back some time, mom. Giselle's place is quiet the distance and she needs her rest."

"Why don't you both just move in together already." Mr. Heinrich suggested, glancing between them both.

"We are going to move in together! Just after the engagement ceremony." Giselle blurted.

"Oh, that's great progress." Jasmine giggled. "But Ezra, be sure to keep your hand to yourself until you're both married."

Giselle felt a pang of guilt in her heart but still forced herself to bring forth an embarrassed laugh.

"You won't have to worry about that, Mom." He replied truthfully. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind for a second.

Or had it?

With the last series of goodbyes completed, the couple matched towards the exit. Just when they had exited the main entrance, Ezra pulled Giselle to a stop by her arm.

The brunette was extremely confused but when she noticed the serious look on Ezra's face, she became nervous.

"Is something the matter?" She asked and started playing with her fingers, a habit she repeated each time she felt anxious.

"That..." Ezra stepped forward, pointing in the direction of her tattoo. "The tattoo..." He allowed his words to fall.

"Ah," Giselle brought her fingers up to touch it. She could still feel her tattoo raised. Either the work of her poor healing speed or it was definitely infected. She chose to believe the latter. No way was she admitting it was her body's fault. "I just recently got it. About a month ago. But now I regret it." She lightly laughed at the end.

Giselle actually regretted getting that tattoo. No, not because she thought it was infected and her skin was probably going to rot away if not treated right. She definitely didn't think that. Giselle regretted getting it because it reminded her about her failed relationship and the betrayal that came along with it.

If she could rewind time, she'd change a lot of things.

"Let's go."

By the time Giselle had come around, Ezra had already scaled down half of the entrance stairs. With a huff, Giselle shook her head before joining him to descend the stairs.

One last time, before she entered the car, her hands went to trace her tattoo. It ached a lot, her heart.