As her voice rang into the air, it settled his nerves a little bit. The only thing he had been worried about (besides the blaring obvious fact that there was no way he could love this woman with his entire being) was that his parents just picked a person in a line up of Latina women. But Carmen at least seemed like she was a good person. That was all he could have asked for considering that he couldnât have much of a say in who she was. âIt is very nice to meet you,â he nodded. See wanted this to be anything but formal, yet still it was hard to try and approach this any other way. He had only learned of this whole thing the night before. The timing could not have been more off considering Safiya had just come back into his life. It always seemed that the pair of them came together and his parents held the reins of his life that always steered him away from her. If he had been a stronger person, he would learn to pull away from his parentâs guidance, but he wasnât. He was the dutiful eldest son, that was always going to be the path he was on. It would be senseless to turn away from that all now.
There was a brief moment where their parents continued to exchange words, he wasnât sure if he had ever really seen his mother this happy. In fact, she was almost glowing. Her already eccentric personality was bubbling from her being with every interaction they had. He felt his heart become a little heavier knowing that if he ever called this whole arrangement off that hers would break and he would hurt the family. That was the absolute last thing he had wanted to do, it always had been. So he would swallow his pride and try to be the best for everyone in the situation. There was still a lot of pressure that was hanging in the air. Nervously, he wiped his hands against his pant legs before speaking up again. âDo you mind if we go for a walk?â he asked his betrothed, but took her hand before she could even answer. He just needed to get out of there.
âSorry,â he briefly spoke as they made their way out of the mansion and into the courtyard of the estate. Letting go of her hand, he drew in the fresh air, filling his lungs before he spoke again. âEverything going on in there felt so formal,â the word he had been clinging to for the majority of the day. There was no denying that it was though. He was under the impression that things should have occurred naturally, that if his parents would have just listened to him ten years ago that maybe they would have had grandkids by now and their eldest son wouldnât be lurking around the estate with nothing better to do. âI just donât want everything to be so rigid. Weâre to spend our whole lives with one another, you know? We still should get to ease into it without the pressure of knowing that weâre ending up together,â he told her. They began walking around the estate together, through their gardens filled with many flowers and plants. It was one of his favorite places to escape besides his student, so he figured he could share it with his betrothed. âAre you nervous?â he asked her, wanting to know her feelings regarding the whole situation. Of course it was still slightly awkward for a natural conversation to form, they had only just met each other. âWhat is it that you do? You know, to keep your mind sane I suppose.â
Carmen had opened her mouth to answer but before she could even get a sound out, Sebastian had taken her hand and was leading her out of the mansion and into the courtyard. The moment Sebastian took her hand, Carmen felt sparks travel up the length of her arm. Glancing briefly at Sebastian's face, Carmen was unsure if he had felt them as well. Once the pair had entered the courtyard and Sebastian had released her hand, Carmen felt a strange sense of loss at the lack of contact. Carmen, you just met him. Please don't make this more awkward that it already is. She thought to herself, pushing the weird sensations from her mind.
"Don't apologize. It was getting stuffy in there anyway," she assured him lightheartedly, noticing that her form had relaxed the moment they had disappeared from their parents sight. "There's no need to rush things, we have more than enough time to get to know one another." Carmen agreed, following in step with Sebastian as he lead her through the garden's around the estate.
âI would be lying if I said I wasnât nervous,â Carmen answered honestly, glancing around at the brilliantly colored flora surrounding them. âBut I think nerves are a good thing in this situation. I mean, I would hope youâd be at least a little bit nervous when meeting the person youâre suppose to spend your life with.â She added with a soft laugh, turning back to smile reassuringly at Sebastian. The awkwardness between them was completely understandable considering they had quite literally only met moments ago but the pressure of their union still hung heavily in the atmosphere around them.
âWell, firstly I think sanity is a relative term.â Carmen joked, determined to break the discomfort of their first meeting or to at least get a smile out of him. âBut music really helps me reign in my thoughts when things get overwhelming. It helps me escape everything, even if only for a few moments,â she answered, her smile turning bashful as a blush crept up her neck. âWhat do you do?â She asked, watching him curiously. âTo keep yourself grounded.â