Chapter 1
The party chatters filled the air, creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere. Butlers walked around serving drinks, nobility drank and chatted, and Alexia Lenon stood out a balcony, staring over at the skylines.
Smoking her expensive tobacco, she breathed out an exasperated sigh, hanging her head low with the blowing wind. A finely-dressed lady in a black slim dress with a shawl wasn't someone you'd think was burnt out.
"Smoking?" A male voice came from behind her. Soothing yet irritating to her as she was smoking away her worries. "You're one to talk. Are you a doctor or something, monsieur?"
"Yes, madame."
Silence hung through the air for a moment before the doctor walked over to the balcony, leaning his back against it with his arms crossed over his chest. Xia disliked people interrupting her.
After a brief moment of silence, she glanced at him with a blank expression. Curly dark brown hair, hooded hazel eyes, a white shirt paired with a vest and cravat which his a slim build. But she mostly focused on his hands, noticing small cuts.
"Glass?"
"Mhm."
The room was once again suffocated in silence, the two of them not even facing each other as they talked. "You seem quite alone. Did your partner ditch you?" He asked jokingly.
"Anyone who'd ditch me is crazy."
"You're crazy, madame."
"Insolent."
The doctor chuckled lightly at her insult, surprised by how quick she was. Turning his gaze towards her, she seemed familiar. Was it the dull blonde hair, baby blue eyes, or simply her love for tobacco?
"You should choose something else to ease your worries," the doctor spoke after a while, "perhaps sketching or taking photos. You should be rich seeing how you're smoking that tobacco."
"..."
"Angry?"
"I don't have a camera."
The doctor hummed softly in acknowledgement, tilting his head back to adjust his glasses as he looked up at the sky. "I don't blame you. New inventions are expensive."
"Tobacco isn't new."
"Cigars are."
Once again unsurprisingly, dead silence. The two of them were uninterested in the other, simply quarreling over minimal things like children. The doctor let out a soft sigh before standing up properly.
"Take my advice. I'm going to find my friend now. Arthur's one to forget about me at times when he's overwhelmed with conversations."
"Arthur?"
"You know him?"
She nodded her head in response, getting a suspicious glance from the doctor before he left. His footsteps faded away as did the smoke from her cigar. She bit her bottom lip in silence before letting out another sigh as the party noises continued.
