Ryan
I knew it. I just knew it. I knew I shouldn’t have fallen in love.
Love was stupid, annoying, gross, vile, filthy, and every other bad words it could be called. I fell in love at thirty, and almost at the age of thirty two, the love betrayed me. This had always been my fear. A fear that came to reality.
This hurt. So much.
Why would Serene do this to me? Our love felt so real. Day by day, I fell in love with her even more. In the best ways, I made her feel special. People said it wasn’t only about buying gifts and spending money on one’s lover, so I tried my best to always make her feel special.
Why would she deceive me? Why would she ditch me? Couldn’t she have given me a second chance? What else did she want? I had tried my best, hadn’t I?
Walking into my kitchen, feeling so frustrated, I grabbed a bottle of alcoholic wine from the fridge. It had been almost three years since I had drunk alcohol. Right now, I just wanted to be drunk. I was tired of everything going on in my life. I grabbed a glass as well, settling to sit on one of the high stools beside the counter.
Pouring myself a drink, I took a shot of it. Once again, I saw her face. My love for her was starting to haunt me. It made me feel stupid.
Why in the world did this always have to happen to me? Why did I always have to get betrayed? Was it a crime to finally fall in love with someone? To finally become loyal to one person? Why me? Why would Serene do this? Why?
I loved her too much. I was so crazy for her. What had I done to her?
Extremely upset and perplexed, I knocked my forehead against the counter, and sighed. What would I do now? Who would help me out of this?
About taking another shot of my drink, the doorbell rang. I rolled my eyes, squeezed my face in irritation, knowing that it was Sherri. I also didn’t want to see her. I was pretty sure that she was one of the reasons Serene abandoned me.
Grumpily, I walked to the door. Inserting its pin code, it opened up immediately. Seeing Vicki, and Serene’s friend, Praise, I felt queasy. What were they doing here?
“You?” I stepped backwards. Doing that, they stepped in, and the door automatically closed.
Oh. I should have known that it wasn’t Sherri. Sherri wouldn’t ring the doorbell.
Vicki was always cheerful, but, right now, she looked so exhausted. Dark circles were around her eyes, her face quite pale.
“Ryan, how’re you doing?” she asked.
I looked away. “What do you guys want? To see me looking this bad? Cause, y’all have been playing games?”
“That’s not it,” Praise defended. She stepped close, putting her hands behind her. “I see that you’re not looking good. We know what’s going on.”
“Ryan,” Vicki called in a low voice. I turned to her, my lips pursed, my jaw clenched. I was furious. I wasn’t sure why. I shouldn’t be upset with them. After all, they weren’t the betrayal. “Please, you’ll have to listen to us. You’re the only one who can help us right now.”
“Vicki, we used to chat a lot, you know?” I put my hands in the pocket of my sweatpants, frowning a little. “You used to say a lot of things to me. But, why did you never tell me that your sister’s a gamer? Why were y’all playing with my emotions?”
“No, it’s not that.” Once again, Praise defended. She sighed. “No one was actually playing with your feelings. I understand—”
“Please, don’t defend her.” I shunned her immediately.
Vicki sighed. “Ryan, we aren’t defending her. In fact, we both think she’s being stupid.”
I scoffed. “Yeah right. I see. See, guys, I’m not ready to say anything about it. I’m very furious. It’s better if you leave. I’m done with her. She asked for the break up, not me.”
“Okay. We’ll leave,” Praise said. “But, did you know that your woman has been planning to get married, even before you broke up?”
I furrowed my eyes at her. “What do you mean? Get married to who?”
“That’s why we’re here,” Vicki continued. “See, I know she’s being dumb, but I’ll appreciate it if you find it in your heart to forgive her. She had to do it in order to save our parents.”
“She’ll be paid to get married.” Praise pulled something from the pocket of her pants, handling it to me. “When she asked you for some money, it was to pay her parents’ hospital bills. They’re dying. They need to undergo their surgical operation tonight.”
I moved my lips, but I was unable to say anything. I looked at the envelope she had given to me, feeling so, so puzzled. “What’s this?” I asked her.
“It’s her wedding invitation,” she replied.
“What? Are you for… real?” I whispered. I was shocked, more infuriated, abruptly sorrowful, and heartbroken to the extreme. How could she think of getting married to someone because of money? Wasn’t I capable enough to help her out? Hadn’t she been my responsibility?
“We’re sorry about this.” Vicki sighed. “I promise, I wanted to tell you, but she asked us not to. We had to come here immediately, because this is our last chance. See, you don’t need to do anything for us. All we need is for you to stop the wedding.”
I opened the envelope. With so much fear racing in my heart, I checked the names on the invitation card. Not only had Serene betrayed me, James too? James was getting married to her. My friend was the one who took my girlfriend.
I held back my pain. Angered, I squeezed the invitation card in my hand, frowning so much, breathing slowly. The last time I felt this way had been when I had lost my mother. This was exactly how pained I had been.
“James,” I bit out, my eyes glued to the door as if no one was in front of me. “Where’s the wedding venue?” I demanded.
“A famous church along Dilla’s road. St. Jude Catholic Church. It’s close to the Elevation National Market. You can check the invitation card if you want to,” Praise explained.
I stormed to the couch in my living room, grabbed my car keys, and hurried back to them. “Let’s go,” I commanded.
“If you wanna get there early, we’ll have to take another route. Dilla’s road is completely blocked,” Vicki announced.
Dug in anger, I hurried out of the condo. Though I didn’t know how I would get rid of this betrayal, I just had to leave first.
***
It took a while for us to get to the church. But, thank goodness, I was finally at my destination. I hopped out of the car, leaving Vicki and Praise behind. Immediately, I ran into the church. Stepping in, a couple of people were muttering one thing or another. It seemed like something was going on.
Slowly, being hesitant for some reason, I moved my eyes to the altar. The moment I spotted Serene, my heart fell to my stomach. She was really doing this? All for money? Why had she not asked for my help? Why had she not trusted me with this problem of hers?
“Yes, I… I do,” she stated.
My fingers tightened in a terribly, hard fist. If I wasn’t careful, I would end up murdering someone. James dared to take my woman?
As I boiled in anger, they exchanged their rings. I knew I was supposed to stop it already, but I was in shock. How could she do this? The Serene I knew?
The priest cleared his throat. “With the power vested in me, I now—”
“Shut up!” I cried at the top of my voice. Swiftly, Serene snapped her neck in my direction. I didn’t even care to look at her. I just stormed towards the altar. Like the lunatic I presently felt like, I grabbed the priest, and pulled the old man towards me.
Breathing hard like an angry Lion, I stated, “No one has the right to join them. Only God can. She belongs to me.”
“Ryan.” I heard Serene call my name, but I ignored her. She had better not piss me off than I already was.
Saying that, I threw the priest off me, so hard that the oldie fell to the floor. Even more flustered, I faced James. I didn’t think twice before pulling his shirt’s collar, and giving him a hard slap on the face. When he fell to the floor, I grabbed him again. As if something was pushing my hands, I hit him continuously. Literally, I began throwing punches at him.
“Ryan, please, stop.” Serene attempted to hold my arm, but I turned to her immediately. I glared, pointing a finger at her. “Don’t. Don’t you dare. If you stop me, I might end up killing you as well. I’m dealing with him, not you.”
She blinked, probably because there were tears in her eyes, seeming so scared. Well, I wasn’t feeling those tears. I was too hurt.
Even more angry to know that she was defending him, I grabbed him again. I hit him in the face, and he just chuckled.
“You fool!” He spat out, a sinister smile pulling to the corner of his lips. “For how long will you hit me? I didn’t force her to get married to me, did I? She did it on her own will. You’re just not enough for her. You don’t have enough money to give her. She needs a man who’s able to grant her desire, not an idiot like you.”
“James!” I cried. Unable to control my wrath, I threw another punch against his face. This time around, his nose and lips bled. He was a mommy’s boy, so I didn’t think he could fight back.
In a rush, his men came over to us. They pulled me from him, ensuring that I wasn’t able to hit him any longer.
“Ryan, what’s going on?” His dad, Sebastian, walked to the altar, stood in front of me, acting like a frightened dog.
As I panted, I glared at the innocent man who looked so confused. “Sebastian, your son’s such a traitor. He’s really never going to change. Do you know that Serene is my girlfriend? She’s the woman I planned to spend the rest of my life with. She’s my future wife.”
He gaped. For a while, he moved his lips, but no words left his mouth. “Your girlfriend?” He said those in a whisper.
I nodded.
I stormed to Serene. Violently, I pulled the veil off her head. She gasped and winced, but I kept glaring. This wasn’t the time to feel her physical pain. I was so angry at her.
“You can do something as dangerous as this?” I scoffed. “Do I even know you? The Serene I know doesn’t have the heart to do such a thing.”
“I-I’m sorry.” She quivered.
“We’ll discuss that later.” I gripped her wrist, pulled her to Sebastian, and declared, “I’m taking her with me. I don’t care if she gets married to someone else. But, if anyone, your son shouldn’t be the one. He’s not a human. He knows nothing about how to treat a woman. I may never forgive Serene for this, but I definitely don’t want to see her stay under his legacy. Goodnight.”
Like one of those Hollywood movies where the hero saved the heroine, I walked past him, pulled Serene behind me, heading out of the hall with so much ego hovering on my shoulders. I ignored the mumbles and gossips from the crowd, being so determined to leave here with my woman. Who cared if the media was recording the whole scenario? Definitely not me.
About stepping out, a bunch of people rushed into the church. I clinged Serene to me, sensing that something wasn’t right. Noticing they were the police, I felt a bit uneasy. Had they come to arrest me or something?
“Miss Alan!” A woman cried. She tucked some strands of her hair behind her ear, hurrying over to us. She sighed when she reached us. “Oh, I’m glad you’re here. I see that you’re the bride. I’m so sorry for the interruption, but this might be our last chance ”
“What’s going on?” I squeezed my face, confused and a bit terrified.
The officer turned to me. She raised her ID to my face, wearing a stern look. “I’m officer Rita Cowell,” she said, and turned to Serene. “Miss Alan, we’ve found the culprit who tried to murder your parents. I’m sorry if this breaks your heart, but this person is actually your friend or family member.”
I stared blankly at her. I was quite scared. She glimpsed at me, cleared her throat, and stepped backwards.
“Wh-Who’s the person?” Serene asked, her hand shuddering in mine. She was obviously tense.
*