The fated night

"You're such a bastard! Don't you want me to look good for you? Why must you be so stingy?" said Rika, after Axel told her to stop her shopping spree. Even if he could afford it, blowing tens of thousands of yen in just a couple of days was daunting, even for him. He was already struggling against his parents, who insisted he marry Yurikawa, the heir to a Fortune Global 500 corporation.

"Rika, you don't need another bag, you just bought a couple yesterday! Can't we just have a normal date? A nice dinner and a peaceful evening at your or my place?" Axel pleaded with Rika, knowing well she wouldn't budge once she had her sights set on something.

"Who are you to say I don't need another one? You're just trying to make me look bad! My friends will laugh at me, I can already hear them mocking me for having just old, out-of-fashion bags and a boyfriend who prides himself on making me unhappy! And what will your friends say when they see how poorly you dress me? Do you want to shame us both?" her loud, ringing voice still repeating in his head.

"You know what? I'm done, this is more than what I am willing to endure. This... we aren't working. Thanks for your time and love, but we must walk separate paths" Axel said in the spur of the moment, with a somewhat flimsy conviction born out of exasperation.

"Are you really ditching me? Really? Over a meagre bag? You know what, fine! Suit yourself" her anger evident, yet nothing could have prepared Axel for her parting words. "You're just a swan in a gilded cage, fated to never know real love, and you deserve it! All you have to give is your wallet and those empty condescending smiles you always gave me!" she said as she stomped her feet, walking away in a hurry.

Yet Axel couldn't help but smile with a bitter satisfaction. Not that her outburst didn't sting; it burned like crazy. But at the fact that as angry as she was, she still took the shopping bags he paid for. He knew deep inside he took the right choice, yet her words struck a nerve inside Axel. A swan in a gilded cage...

"Room service!" said the voice that pulled Axel out of his recollection of earlier in the day. He walked towards the door, intending to just have simple meal and keep mulling over his bad luck with women. But as soon as he opened the door, what waited for him was something, or someone, out of the ordinary. 

Big, round glasses over two shiny, hazel-brown eyes, a neat ponytail that kept her pretty red hair in place, and the biggest service smile he had ever seen. All packed into a simple elegant waitress uniform that completed the neat and tidy image. Yet, her entire apparel was... plain. Sure, Axel did find her gaze mesmerizing and her demeanor charming, but either he saw something beyond the uniform... or he was suffering a heart attack as he felt his pulse going crazy at the sight in front of him, an image that suddenly quelled the ringing echo of Rika's voice that plagued his mind until just a moment ago.

"Sir? Are you okay?" the firm yet polite feminine voice asked with uncertainty, "I've been asking you if you ordered the sushi sampler plate... if you're feeling unwell, I can call the hotel's medical staff," she frowned a bit, worried about the lack of answer. Little did she know, her polite worry would change forever her simple and peaceful world.