Chapter 13: Chapter 13

"He who contemplates the depths of Paris is seized with vertigo. Nothing is more fantastic. Nothing is more tragic. Nothing is more sublime."

-Victor Hugo-

***

It took a few hours until they eventually arrived back in Paris. The sky had turned a soft shade of light and medium blue mixed with some purple and white, enhancing the romantic atmosphere of the city of love which at the moment they could only enjoy from the plane's window. Clara placed several of her fingers on the window surface, pretending she was touching the sky.

She could see the famous Eiffel Tower from above, she had always heard about the beauty of Paris, and oddly enough, although she had traveled abroad to countries like Spain and Italy, she had never gone to the capital city of France. She had seen it before in movies and the internet but like everything else in life, there was nothing quite like seeing the beauty of it with your own two eyes.

"It's beautiful...I cannot wait to see what it has to offer." she turned her head at him, flashing a hopeful gaze and smiled. It was the first time she had smiled in a while and perhaps it was a good start to everything. He took her hand and reminded her once more of his promise earlier. Yes, he had promised her they would look around the places when they have settled things down at home. His reasons were quite rational.

Both could agree they were too exhausted to simply go out and explore when they needed to deal with a few, more important things first. Clara still needed to deal with her belongings and there was simply no way she could go out to explore right away. Raphael on the other hand needed to do a quick check in on the company as well as helping her settle down in the new environment.

How thoughtful Raphael was for he had a car ready to pick them up from the airport who was driven by his personal driver. Because when you could have someone else drive for you, unless it's purely for your own entertainment, why bother driving? The man helped her with her belongings and both of them only had to sit down comfortably on the back seat.

Clara did not know much about car, but she could easily tell that the car she was in was a luxury car, since it had some options and features she had never seen in an ordinary car. For the first time in her life she felt like a country bumpkin, although she was raised in an honorable family, there was still so much she needed to learn about the outside world regardless of her age.

While they were driving, she looked outside the car's window and watched the buildings passing by her, in a glimpse, the city region of Paris was indeed as beautiful as she had heard them to be, though initially she was a bit skeptical due to some issues that she had seen from the news, she was a bit worried since she had heard some unfavorable things about the latest condition of the city, but she tried to keep herself neutral regarding the matter. When she was truly paying attention, she could see ranges of cafe and restaurant as well as hotels and shopping stores throughout the road.

Like a kid in a candy shop, she felt like there were so much to see. She had made a mental note of the places she wanted to visit, the park, the shopping centers, historical buildings and the list went on. Yet among all of them, she was the most excited to explore the museums the city has to offer. Paris have been the home for some of the most famous art museums in the world with the finest collection of sculptures and art pieces. As an artist herself, she wanted to absorb everything art related that she could from the city.

Raphael who had been sitting beside Clara in silence could see that she was lost in her own thoughts, her face had looked a bit tired. It has been a simple truth that flights, no matter how short or long, could truly drain one's energy but there was a spark of curiosity and excitement in her eyes, which made him felt slightly relieved, because at least he knew despite everything she had been through, there was still pieces of the old Clara he had remembered her to be.

That bright, innocent and dazzling little girl had never truly disappeared. With this in mind, he slowly moved his hand and took her own in his. Clara was startled by his gesture yet he calmed her down.

"Mon Amour, are you tired? We almost arrive there, please hold on just a little bit more, okay?" he brought her hand close to his lips and kissed it. She had not even remembered when was the last time Marcel kissed her hand like that. She was flattered, yet the gesture was not enough to completely diminish the doubt in her heart. She still could not believe that the man beside her was Raphael, the boy she had a minor crush with from years ago. For her, it sounded like something that came out of a fairy tale.

She was simply afraid of the old phrase that 'if something is too good to be true, chances are it is'. At the same time she was a hopeless romantic, she could not help herself but to be moved by Raphael's adoring gestures, which she had truthfully savored since the beginning.

After what she deemed to be the shortest feeling drive of her life, they finally arrived at his place. Due to his work, he could afford to live in a luxury penthouse on one of the most strategic road in Paris.

It was so much more than what she had imagined it to be. She knew he was wealthy since the beginning, she just had never expected him to be that wealthy. When they were on their way inside, he had told her the reason why he chose the place and the story behind it. Turned out Raphael was a house person. While he enjoyed the view he had, he missed the feeling of truly owning an entire house.

The only reason why he had not bought a house and lived in a penthouse instead was because he had been living on his own, with the exceptions of the housekeeper and the cook who would come daily to serve him. For the most part, he was busy at work, and only spent time there at night and in the morning, a house would be a bit excessive for him before, but of course, now with Clara in picture, he had also planned on searching for a mansion, but everything could wait.

Nothing good is ever rushed.

Once they had arrived at the door, he pulled out his key, which looked like a card and inserted it in to hear a clicking sound. He turned his face to Clara who was clearly nervous at the realization that she was going to live with him from then on. To ease her a bit, he took her hand in his as he led her inside the place and on the first step inside, she was instantly amazed by how modern the whole place had appeared.

She had been living in her father's mansion which was very old fashioned. It was so different from Raphael's white and dark brown dominated space. Almost all interiors follow the same pattern with golden and clear crystal accent here and there. The floor was a mixture of hard wood and white marbles. She had expected someone like him to share more of a baroque taste. Oh, how wrong she was.

Apparently, before they arrived, Raphael had arranged a room to be prepared for Clara. Since she refused to sleep on the same room as him, much to his disappointment, he decided to empty the room right beside his own so he would get easy access to her, as if living in the same house was not an easy access already.

The whole place had four bedrooms, two were master bedrooms with full built in closet, which would be his and Clara's and the other two were guest rooms, which were rarely used.

The housekeeper had cleaned them in advance, so when Clara entered the room, she could just rest in right away.

Her room was decorated in white and gold, it was classic, simple, and chic at the same time. Yet it was extravagant in its own way. It reminded her of the rooms described in romance novels she used to read as a teenager.

"Do you like it, love?" Raphael sneaker up behind her and touched her shoulder gently. Clara murmured a simple yes, it was technically impossible to dislike the place. He must have put so much effort in arranging the room, that, or he had hired the best interior designer to arrange the space for him. Whatever it was, it certainly worked.

"You must be tired, I guess I will leave you alone for now, I will see you for dinner in a few hours, Clara." he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. It felt slightly strange for her having someone other than Marcel kissing her cheek like then. Yet she was not complaining. He was very attentive toward her in such short period of time.

She was starting to wonder if it was reality.

Only time would tell.