I ignored the woman who opposed my marriage, my heart racing as I fought against the storm of emotions churning inside me. After three long years, she would just show up unexpectedly and declare, "I love you"? What was wrong with her? And to what end? To shatter my heart again? No. Never again. I'd been foolish once; I wouldn't let myself be fooled again and accept you in my life.
But why did the echoes of her cries linger in my ears, relentless and haunting? 'Damn it!' I willed myself not to look back at her. She deserved my rejection. She had made her choice three years ago, hadn't she? Why should I, after all this time, reconsider?
Yet, the longer I stood there, the more morose and unsettled I felt. I heard a faint thud—a sign that she'd finally decided to leave, likely to spare us both further pain. Without thinking, my gaze drifted to where she'd been sitting moments before. I nearly ran to her side—like a foolish puppy running to its master.
'Stop.'
I gathered all my strength to root myself in place, reminding myself that she was just an eyesore. Did she ever looked at me when I was kneeling, begging her not to leave? Where had that compassion been in her heart?
But at that moment, as I surveyed the crowd, I realized something alarming: nobody was helping her. Why are they just staring at us? Are there no guards coming to help her? And why is she still sitting there?
"Argos? Argos!" Alice's voice pierced my spiraling thoughts, a tether back to my current reality. "The priest is asking you," she continued, her tone tinged with confusion.
I turned back toward the altar, the priest's gaze unwavering and expectant. "Do you, Argos Felgherra, accept Alice Wilson as your beloved wife?"
I opened my mouth but words escaped me. Alice looked at me, her eyes filled with hope, waiting for the words that should have been easy for me to utter. But my thoughts were consumed by her—by the woman who had just professed her undying love and shattered my world once again.
In a moment of sheer impulse, I left Alice standing at the altar, bewildered and stunned. I strode toward her, my heart pounding like a war drum. As I neared, I could see tears streaming down her face, the crushed look in her eyes igniting something deep within me—a familiar, aching sense of protectiveness.
"Argos!"
Alice, my parents, her parents, my friends all shouted my name but I don't care about them right now. All I know is that, I'm carrying her right now and go to a place where we are just alone.
'What am I doing?'
Carrying her out of the church, I felt as if I were moving on instinct rather than reason. There was nothing logical about this decision, but the urge to make her safe overpowered any semblance of rational thought.
She had managed to evoke the emotions I thought were buried forever beneath layers of heartache.
'I guess I'm still a fool for not letting you go.'