From hate to love (BxB) COMPLETED √

Chapter 4 - Enough

~ Five years ago ~

It was a hot day. The sun was shining bright and there wasn't a breath of wind. Kristof searched for a place in the shade. Right now he wondered why he decided to visit the town's market on a day like this, with these high temperatures.

He enjoyed visiting the market. It was something he used to do as a little boy with his parents.

He had wrapped up a thin cloth around half of his face. People could think it was for protection, because of the scorching sun, so this was a pretty handy disguise to cover up his scar.

A large tree provided a good place to have some rest. He sat down and rested his back against the lumpy tree trunk. He was sitting in the dry dirt, but he didn't mind. Happily, he looked at the people and the busy market life. Some people were bargaining, carriages drove around, farmers and merchants sold their goods. He could smell the different scents of leather, spices, horse poo, and whatnot. Children played, old people talked together, and young people laughed.

Then, suddenly, his eyes and ears were drawn to a young man near the fountain. Maybe he was still a boy, and not a man yet.

"What are you gonna do?" Another boy asked the object of his interest.

"I'm hot. I need to cool off."

While the boy said it, he jumped shamelessly in the fountain basin. Just like that! The puddle was small, and he could barely sit in it.

"Klaus, Bright, Peter, Timo, haha, come here, you guys!"

The others ran around the fountain and the boy began splashing around. He was aiming at one of his friends when he accidentally splashed a handful of water in the face of an old man!

"Well, you! Young man, I will teach you some!"

"Armin, look out! Haha." One of his friends laughed.

The old grandpa started hitting the boy with his cane. But the boy only laughed while apologizing. His friends laughed as well and even the grandpa began to chuckle as he chased another boy while waving his cane in the air, pretending to be angry. But he couldn't hold in his laughter anymore. He probably enjoyed the cooling splash on that hot day.

Kristof watched the scene with a smile on his face. The young boy had such energy. Such liveliness. His smile. Kristof felt something inside him. As if someone grabbed his heart tight and squeezed it. Armin. That was his name.

Kristof will never forget his name.

He watched the grandpa sit on the edge of the fountain, all out of breath, while the other boys gathered around him and Armin laid on his belly in the fountain, his crossed elbows hanging over the edge, and his head resting on his arms. Legs dangled all over the edge because he was just too tall to fit in.

They talked together for a while and laughed. Kristof saw the little dimples in Armin's cheeks when he smiled.

He watched them for at least an hour, until the boys ran away, playfully chasing after each other. The boy with the name Armin had never left Kristof's mind since then.

~~~~ present time ~~~~

Kristof has had a restless night, he barely slept. All he could do was ponder about the situation. Sometimes falling asleep for what felt like a minute or two and then wake up again, only to keep thinking about Armin, his father, and their marriage.

The horrible night seemed to last forever. He couldn't get the events of the previous day out of his head.

All those things that Armin had said to him. He knew he had said those things because he was upset at the predicament he had found himself in. Because Armin's father had basically sold his hand in marriage, Armin was angry at his father, and by association, angry at him too. Kristof knew it would be easier for Armin to take out all his anger on him, instead of his father, so it was fine with him being the one that was at the receiving end of that anger. He'd gladly sacrifice himself for Armin's feelings.