upon his return to champigné, raphael had found himself on a quest to revisit everything again, to make sure that it was all as he remembered it & create some new good memories. it was relaxing, peaceful, walking through parts of the city alone, a welcome break from his otherwise slightly hectic reintroduction to society here. he’d chosen part of the theater district for the night’s wanderings, his suit coat carefully folded over one arm & his free hand tucked in his pockets, a slight smile on his face.
eventually, that was how he found his way to the vineyard, thinking that a meal & a glass of good wine would do him some good. when he stepped through the door & started to walk into the building to find his formerly regular seat, he was only momentarily distracted by a notification on his phone ( something about work, he could respond to it later ) but that moment was enough.
by the time he looked back up, he was too late to avoid coming face - to - face with her.
his ex-fiancée, the reason he’d left champigné in the first place, the woman who had broken his heart - the woman that he still found beautiful, even despite that, even despite all of the years & how hard he had fought to forget her. maybe he didn’t love her anymore, couldn’t love her anymore when he didn’t trust her, but he had certainly never forgotten. you could never really forget a thing like that, he thought.
“ hello, giselle, “ raphael replied, doing his best to keep his tone light, though he couldn’t quite manage to force a polite smile onto his face. “ i’m not surprised, i only got back a few days ago. “
She inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself or at least regain enough of her composure to carry on a conversation with him. A thing she’d imagined doing countless times since she’d called off the wedding. Since she’d done the thing her mother so loved to remind her was her greatest mistake. And at her lowest moments, Giselle found herself believing just that. And for good reason as Raphael had never done anything to deserve how she’d treated him in the end.
“For business,” she inquired curiously, her brow arching ever so slightly. “Or are you home for good?” Her tone was hopeful, that much she knew, but she didn’t know if he’d even be able to tolerate her presence any longer than he had so far. Not that she’d blame him. How could she?
Her mouth opened, knowing what she needed to say, part of her wanting more than anything to tell him, but there was another part of her that wouldn’t let her. That refused to let herself be so vulnerable, not when he had so much power to hurt her without even knowing it. Or perhaps he did know it and he’d simply chosen not to act on it. He’d always been so much better than her in that way. And in every way, she mused to herself. All part of why she loved him so. “How’ve you been?” she asked sincerely, a ghost of a smile dancing on her lips.
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