Chapter 2

Three months had passed since Francine saw his face for the first time—one of those encounters that stays in one’s mind forever. It happened during one of her quick trips to Switzerland. She had stopped at her favoritecafé, needing to kill timebefore meetinga few friends at a restaurant later on that day.

The pretty but simple green dress graciously hugged the contours of her body. A few black pins held part of her dark brown hair against the back of her head, leaving the remaining silky locks brushing the nape of her neck, revealing some shades of red. On her delicate face, plump and colored lips contrasted against the fair tone of her skin. Such a gentle and subtle appearance oftendisguised her strong personality. But if one looked closer, deep into her enigmatic green eyes, they could see the soul of a woman who was filled with passion for everything she believed in and was willing to fight for.

She held a book in her hands while a soothing French song played in the background. The place although small, had a peculiar atmosphere, due to its aged wooden furniture and the metal oil lamps scattered in all corners, revealing a rustic appearance, somewhat similar to a medieval tavern. And it was in that special setting that everything happened.

Like a mysterious instinct, Francine suddenly and without thinking turned her head toward the door. At that exact moment, their eyes met. He was a handsome, blond young man with the most stunning blue eyes she had ever seen.

It all happened in a split second, but that was all it took to capture her attention. She immediately looked back to her book, trying to pretend she hadn’t seen him, but somehow, it felt like the man was still looking at her.

A group of young men sat only two tables away. Just like that, the quiet and peacefulness were over. Not only were they all talking a little loudly, butto Francine’s further aggravation, she quickly realized by their conversation that they were probably Germans. The resentment from WWI never really went away, especially when there was a deep concern aboutanother war to come.

Despite the unexpected interruption, Francine tried to resume her reading. She, of course,couldn’t concentrate after that, no matter how hard she tried. Once in a while, Francine caught herself looking at him again, as if an inexplicable force was pulling her. She tried to stop herself from taking those quick looks but found that she simply couldn’t. It didn’t help that he also kept looking