The sun illuminated the entire garden as the love of my life, Noah, stood nervously at the altar. His eyes reflected a sense of excitement and apprehension, a whirlwind of emotions became too evident in them. Adjusting his neck-tie, he stole glances at the aisle. The petals of the daisies lined its path.
Shortly, my sister, Anna, adorned in a mesmerizing white gown that flowed like the whispers of the wind, made her way towards the beautiful landscape. Unlike her usual self, she seemed excited and elated to be a part of such an auspicious union.
My sister’s smile painted a joyful atmosphere, something that nobody from the audience could dare escape. As she moved towards the altar, her gaze locked with the groom’s. Consequently, time seemed to freeze for the two of them.
As Anna made her way towards Noah, memories of moments shared between Noah and me began flooding my mind. Echoes of laughter, late-night conversations and heartfelt kisses reverberated within me. The contradictory emotions of satisfaction for their union and bittersweet nostalgia washed over me.
“They both look so beautiful. I know they were meant for each other from the very beginning,” remarked my mother, unsympathetic in her remark, since she was oblivious to my pain.
Vows were exchanged between the groom and the bride, each word resonating with promises of love and commitment, something I had hoped to experience when Noah had told me how much he loved me, a thought that didn’t escape me without painting a pathetic frown on my face.
There is nothing more painful than watching the person you love, holding somebody else’s hands and vowing to take them as their better half. Although I wanted nothing more than to let my pain abandon me in the form of tears, I had to stop myself for the sake of my older sister. She wouldn’t want to see me with tears on her big day.
Just like everyone else, I wanted to appear joyful and agog to bless the couple. The conversation, however, that I had with Noah the other day just couldn’t make it possible for me. Nonetheless, I stood up to walk towards the newly-married couple.
“Oh, Christie,” said my sister, opening her arms to embrace me. “I am so happy that you made it to my wedding.”
As soon as she wrapped her arms around me, the guilt of not being able to be happy for her tormented me even more. I wished I could’ve done something to overcome the disappointment that emerged from seeing her with somebody I had loved for the past ten years, but I couldn’t do anything about it. If anything, the best thing for me could’ve been to disappear.
Pretending to not know the cause of my grief, Noah gazed at my face with false pity before asking me, “Are you alright, sister-in-law?”
Through his deliberate attempt to address me as his sister-in-law rather than by my name, I understood that he was over me and didn’t want to bring up anything about the past. I wanted to seem aloof, but that only made me sadder.
“I am fine, brother,” I responded, even when that’s not what I wanted to say.
My sister finally let go of me and kissed me on both of my cheeks before expressing her gratitude over my ability to join her on her big day, “I don’t even know how our mother would’ve managed everything all by herself. I am so grateful for having you here.”
I nodded before forcing a smile and then retreated without congratulating the groom. His cold eyes, therefore, were fixated on me. It was clear he wasn't pleased to see me. He couldn’t say anything, not in front of all the people watching us.
More than hurt, I felt betrayed. How could he forget all those nights we’d been together, promising to spend the rest of our lives with each other? How could he not remember the promise ring that he had given me? There were so many questions that tormented me, but I knew I wouldn’t be getting any responses.
Frustrated, I turned to the bar and ordered enough drinks to ensure I couldn’t feel anything. Neither the hurt of being abandoned by the man I had loved with all my heart nor the pain of watching him with my own sister, I didn’t want any of it. I drank till I couldn’t bear to even stand anymore.
Before my butt would hit the hard floor, I felt the strong arms of someone grabbing onto me. To register the face of my rescuer, I looked up and found him to be none other than the man who was the cause of my aching heart, my brother-in-law, Noah Rutherford.
“What do you think you’re doing, Christie Jennings?” chided Noah, displeased with my behavior. “Don’t you dare make a scene!”
After rolling my eyes at him, I placed my palms over his chest and pushed him away before demanding to be left alone, something that annoyed the guy and compelled him to drop me on the floor.
“Ow,” I lashed out at the unruly man. “Did you really have to be this harsh?”
“Weren’t you dying to escape my arms?” retorted the man. “I simply fulfilled your wish.”
Being inebriated, it was next to impossible to get back to my feet, which was why I didn’t refuse when a handsome stranger offered his hand to me. By relying on his strength, I managed to get back to my feet, something that painted an unpleasant frown on Noah’s face, something that gave me immense pleasure. It was my mini-revenge.
To ensure Noah could feel the same pain that would seem like being stabbed by a thousand knives at the same time, I wrapped my arms around the stranger and urged him to take me away from the venue. My trick worked a little too well. Noah not only snatched me from the stranger but also gave him a black eye while bellowing, "Stay away from my woman!"
My woman? What? Was I hearing everything right?
As the sun’s rays kissed the horizon, casting a golden warm hue over the translucent curtains, I stirred a little, still very much asleep. Slowly, my eyes fluttered open, greeted by the vastness of the luxurious room I found myself in.The bed, an opulent piece of furniture, provided me with immense comfort with its bouncy mattress and soft covers. With confusion being the only feeling prevalent in my head, I sat up, allowing the sheets to fall to reveal my bare body, which helped uncover the reason for the soreness in my body. There was blood between my thighs and visible bruises and love bites all over my body.Oblivious to what had happened to me the previous night, I looked around me to observe not a single soul, but an empty room adorned with elegant furniture and exquisite paintings. Scanning the breathtaking walls, I mumbled, “Where am I? Who brought me here?”I swung my legs to the left periphery of the bed and then put them down on the floor with the softest rug. When I final
“How silly you must be to think you have what it would take to harm me, baby girl!” mocked Noah, underestimating me as always. “Bear in mind the consequences you will face upon defying me.”Now that I had forsaken everything, I feared nothing. I was prepared to go through any of the heartbreaks. I, therefore, didn’t hesitate to declare my true intentions regarding him, “I will not think twice before reporting you to the authorities. If anything, you must prepare your explanations for what you did to me.”“There wouldn’t be a need for that,” argued Noah, reminding me about my texts from the previous night. “Not only will I show those texts to the authorities in which you begged me to fuck you, but I will also be sending them to your dear sister. Have you wondered how heartbroken she would be once she was to find out about her sister’s plan for wanting to sleep with her husband on her wedding night?”“No, you can’t do that to her. I might’ve texted you because I was too drunk. I am cert
With his hands on the collar of my bathrobe, he brought his face closer to mine. He then delivered a wet and uncomfortable kiss on the cheek before reminding me, “It will be in your greatest interest not to reveal anything about the previous night to your sister if you don’t wish to get thrown out of your house.”Having been reminded of the repercussions that would follow the revelation of this borrowed intimacy, I couldn’t argue with him anymore. Instead, I pushed him away with all my might and rushed towards the door to get away from the rich and spoiled heir, who I knew had nothing but perverted intentions regarding me, something that was clarified by his lascivious gaze.Fortunately, the guy didn’t order anybody to follow me or stop me from leaving the premises, which was why I wasn’t interrupted on my way out of the property. Since the mansion was surrounded by huge patches of grassy land, it took me almost twenty minutes to get to the exit. The discomfort of my journey was multi
As soon as we arrived at Seth's apartment, I was presented with warm water to take a bath and a fresh set of clothes. Since I really needed to clean myself of the evidence from the previous night, I hurried into the bathroom, took a bath and got changed swiftly, only to be invited for breakfast in the dining hall.Sitting, thus, on the dining table, I waited for the food to be served, trying not to look into Seth’s eyes. Nonetheless, the hawk-eyed man didn’t take long to recognize that I hadn’t been truthful to him. Instead of being mad about it, he asked me in a rather kinder manner, “Are you sure you’ve been telling me the truth, Christie?”“Why would I lie to you?” I asked instead of giving him the truth, for I couldn’t afford to do so. It would tarnish my image in front of him, which was why feigning ignorance seemed to be the ideal thing to do.Shortly, the food arrived. I, accordingly, paid heed to the grumbling of my stomach and served myself some warm soup and buttered toasts,
My parents were looking at the pictures that had been taken on the day of my sister’s wedding with noticeable joy on their faces. The two of them confessed that my sister’s marriage was the right decision that they’d made for her, believing she couldn’t have gotten anybody better than Noah Grayson, something that I chose to differ on.“From the day I had gotten to know Noah, I knew he needed to get married to our daughter,” revealed my mother, immersed in bluffing how she made the right decision by bringing them together. “I have never seen Anne look so happy before.”Nodding, my father kept down the newspaper he had been reading and declared, “Now all that’s left to do is to ensure our younger daughter finds conjugal happiness too.”“Since she is a stubborn one, I know it will not be an easy task,” declared my mother, grabbing her head. “Other than that, if people were to find out about her disappearance at her own sister’s wedding, nobody would want to marry her.”“I can’t believe sh
As much as I wanted to avoid it, I was instructed by my parents to join them for dinner. Nonetheless, I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t go until a number of threats were issued against me, which included throwing me out of the house if I failed to show up.Compelled by my ugly circumstances, I thus got ready. Though a meeting with Noah was unavoidable, I feared coming face-to-face with the man. Having been exposed to his capriciousness, I was afraid that he might reveal our previous night’s adventure to my family, something that was guaranteed to get me more than just disownment.“I need to make sure that he doesn’t talk about it. It was an innocent mistake that I am willing to put behind me,” I said, convinced that we could move past it. “If he lets it go, it’ll be like the last night never happened.”Giving myself the necessary assurance about things turning out fine, I zipped the back of my dress and prepared myself to face my family. As soon as I reached the staircase, I heard
Disregarding the instructions given to me by the unruly man, I decided to spend the night at home, something that didn’t go as smoothly as I had planned. I kept receiving calls from Noah, which all went unanswered. I had no intention of getting entangled with him anymore.He, however, wasn’t fine with it. He issued innumerable threats because of my indifference. He promised to not only reveal the truth of my previous night’s sin but also present before my sister the texts that he had received from me in which I was allegedly begging him to sleep with me. I clearly didn't remember texting him. It was perhaps a consequence of my drunkenness.Although I recognized the dangers of resisting him, I stayed firm in my decision to never get involved with Noah again. Burying, thus, my head in my pillow, I hoped my phone would stop buzzing soon. It was indeed my naivety that made me think I could escape the stubborn one like this.No matter how irritated I seemed, the whole day’s affairs had exha
Looking at my empty inbox, my mind couldn’t help but race back to last Valentine's Day. It still seemed like it was just yesterday when Noah and I held each other’s hand, dreamed of spending a lifetime together and promised to take on the world.The last Valentine's was different. I was neither blue nor hopeless. I didn’t hate Noah. He also loved me. Our hearts used to beat at the same rhythm. While his lips adorned my face with kisses, my joys were a consequence of his words.It surely was the happiest time of my life. Life didn’t seem as heavy. The daily challenges weren’t as threatening. It wasn’t hard to wake up the next day, because I knew he would be there to hold me if I were to fall.Now, there was a huge cavity in my chest. It continued to grow bigger with every passing day, reminding me of what I had lost. I kept thinking about how I would never be able to relive those moments again in which I had somebody to tend to my every need.“What’s up with me? Why am I thinking about