Twisting Expectations

Samantha Manson refused to be married off by her parents to the rich Daniel Masters. She expected him to be arrogant and annoying. What she didn't expect, however, was that not only was he flirtatious, he was also mysterious and irresistibly charming.

Chapter 5

"You! Un... Hand... Me... Now!" Sam exclaimed, trying to pry her wrist from Daniel's iron-locked fist. She grunted a few more times, pulling back at each try while her companion merely chuckled at her struggle. A few people passing by glanced at them with amusement.

"As you wish, Princess." He smirked at her before letting go, causing the girl to accidentally fling herself backwards.

"Your wish is my command ... Princess."

His pet-name for her caused Sam to recall the events back at the Masters Mansion. She was mortified by the memory of Daniel Masters carrying her like some helpless maiden to the dining room, and now, here he was laughing at her as she fell to the ground and landed on her bottom. The Manson heiress picked herself up with as much dignity as she could muster, ignoring Daniel's proffered hand as he let out his last few chuckles. She glared daggers at him, hoping that karma would come sooner or later and serve some justice.

Picking up the pace and muttering a string of curses to herself, Sam tried to make a narrow escape from her captor. Unfortunately, her fiancé easily kept up with his long strides and before she could even realize her mistake, Daniel had managed to corner her into the shopping mall.

"Sammy, I didn't realize you were so eager to come here. And here I was, thinking that you would hate this place, but you clearly just had to rush over."

His words were laced with mockery as Sam's last strings of patience snapped. She quickly spun around and stopped in front of the young man suddenly, jabbing her finger into his chest as she exclaimed,

"Why you little -"

Daniel took this chance to clasp his hand around hers once again with a tight grip. Caught off guard, she was pulled into him as he began leading them throughout the crowds of people.

Resistance is futile, the young woman realized as she felt herself being dragged along. She noted their difference in strength, for although Sam was rather proud of her own physical power, she was clearly outmatched by the deceivingly lean but muscular man leading her. Not wanting to make another spectacle of herself, she fought the urge to run away and started to glance at the various types of merchandise behind each window has they passed multiple stores.

One store, in particular, caught her interest with its gothic line of jewelry displayed at the entrance. Samantha couldn't help but eye a black and silver necklace that just beckoned her with its unique design and amethyst-encrusted pendent. She unconsciously let out a small 'oh' as she glanced at it again before turning her head in the other direction to hide her interest in actually buying something. The quiet utterance did not go unnoticed by Daniel, however, and he made a mental note to come back later, smirking to himself at his new found discovery.

"Excuse me!"

Hand-in-hand, the two came to a stop and turned around as they heard a shout behind them.

"Yes, you, the couple! Our cafe is currently having a happy hour with half-off all drinks and pastries! If you have the time, you should come on in!" the young employee exclaimed, hoping to lure customers into the cafe with great deals and low prices.

"Sorry, we're not a cou-"

"We'd love to come in, sir. Thank you." Daniel cut her off as he began to enter the cafe. She gaped at him and then closed her mouth, for she didn't want him to make another off-handed comment about how it is rude to stare.

It was a quaint little cafe. The lighting was dim to produce a more intimate ambiance while the walls were painted brown and beige in a resemblance of coffee and cream. There were people scattered at multiple tables, and the jazz music playing overhead could be faintly heard over the low voices of the customers. The smell of fresh pastries permeated through the air.

For Sam, it was hard to imagine that such a nice little cafe would be placed right in the center of a bustling shopping center, but she couldn't help but love it. She could just imagine herself coming here after class one day and perhaps read a book in this relaxing setting. The lavender-eyed girl found herself gravitating toward the line of baked goods behind the counter, unaware of the fact that she was the one leading Daniel this time.

There were several different types of pastries, from cookies to muffins, from macarons to brownies, they had it all. Sam, always appreciative of the sweet yet bitter taste of dark chocolate, eyed the slices of dark chocolate fudge cake. Always observant, her male companion noticed her chocolate preference, letting go of her hand to allow her to approach the payment counter.

"I'd like to order a slice of the dark chocolate fudge cake and an expresso macchiato please," she told the cashier.

"Would that be for here or to go?"

"For here." Loving the setting of the cafe, Sam decided that she would much rather enjoy her food and drink here. As she made her purchase and took the number indicating her order, she heard the voice of Daniel behind her. It was only then that she realized to her dismay that dining in would result in her having to share a table with the one and only son of Vlad Masters. The goth quickly sat in an open booth and slunk into her seat, hoping that her arranged fiancé would not see her.

"What would you like sir?"

"I'll have the double chocolate chip cookie and a cup of black coffee."

"That'll be $5.75."

At the sound of the cash register closing, Samantha tried to hide her face and stared down at her lap, praying for the blue-eyed man to somehow overlook her and sit somewhere else. When she couldn't hear any footsteps, she looked up, thinking the coast was clear. Instead, she was met with the smiling face of Daniel Masters sitting across from her on the other side of the booth.

Oh no.

I apologize for the long wait. Two years? Man it's been a long time. Unfortunately, life had other plans for me instead of working on this story.

To be honest, my original draft for this chapter was a mess, with a lot more arguing and a lot less humor. Hopefully this chapter is up to your expectations!

Please review to let me know what you think. Any comments, ideas, and criticism are always welcomed.

- Octtipus