Beautiful.

Everything was beautiful.

The sky was serene, welcoming a new season with crashing torrents and different emotions. The air was warm like the caress of a gentle lover, a romantic Romeo whose touch would revive a dead Juliette.

The perfect weather for the perfect day. Absolutely fitting, absolutely breathtaking.

It was beautiful. Everything was mesmerizing, from the floral arrangements, which were chosen with a unique style kept in mind, to the tablecloths, which were restricted to follow a minimalist fashion, opting for a calm white that harmonized with the greenery of nature that surrounded the room.

It was idyllic and, in its simplicity, fancy.

Conniving and deceptive, conveying a completely different story from the reality that was hidden behind the fascinating facade - just like your life.

Of course! It would have been out of character if your big day had looked different; it would have lacked something if it had been less extravagant or lacked the touch of perfectionism that would become the talk of the town for years to come. Your big day resembled your marriage; it was so extremely perfect that it seemed fake. Plastic.

Just like the union of the spouses.

You had your mother to thank for taking care of little details and yourself to thank for being in that position. How different would it have been if you had stayed in your little bubble and accepted the misery without being greedy? Well, it would have been so different that you would not have had to marry a man whose confession of love came in the form of threats, nor would you have had to protect the man you actually love by giving in to his threats.

Again...

You let out a sigh of exasperation as the playful breeze stroked the hems of your nightgown. It's been hours since your makeup artist finished modifying your face, your hair was still held in place by curlers to maintain the hairstyle your stylist decided on, and it's been hours since you stood on your porch and pondered life and destiny again.

You've watched the preparations taking place in the backyard of your home with seeming interest. The wedding planners and their assistants ran from one place to another like ants in midsummer, trying their best not to miss any detail for fear of your mother's wrath and the shame that would stain their name if rumors of miserable work made the rounds. Yes, you were watching, but even if it looked like you were watching with interest, in reality, you were watching as if from an outside perspective, as if your soul went out of your body to witness how fate ridiculed you.

When your name was called one more time, you held your wrist in front of your face to check your watch. Your mother was growing impatient, and you knew it would only be a matter of time before she stormed into your room. It was time to get ready and head to church. The garden would be ready to welcome the married couple as soon as the vows were spoken before the priest, who would put a new label on their lives.

There were no tears and no struggle as you slipped into your white dress. The fabric was cold and caused a wave of strong shivers from your head to your toes, making the hairs in your body stand on end. Yet you did not flinch or succumb to the emotions that assaulted you and did their best to make you weak as you looked in the mirror to examine yourself.

How different could it have been if you had had no weakness in your life, if you had kept away from everything that could serve as a pressure point, as your father had always advised? A smile that did not radiate any happiness appeared on your face and made you feel apologetic toward yourself. For the first time, you gave your father credit; he was right: if you really loved Jimin, you would have stayed out of his life.

You took a long look at your ring, and without realizing it, a hurt sneer escaped your lips. You were on the last steps of a staircase you never wanted to take, and now that you were standing in front of the mirror, reality caught up with you one more time, awakening your fight-or-flight instincts that were on high alert, and with them Taehyung's voice lodged in your brain, reminding you of the reasons why your discipline should not leave your side.

When he was a criminal to you, he was dangerous and made you afraid for yourself, but when you realized that he was more than just a petty criminal, that everything he did was to pursue his goals and make sure he stayed on top, you figured that a person like him would never allow anything to jeopardize his future and that he would go to the extreme to possess what refused to be his.

What should have been a story buried years ago in the depths of broken hearts became the pressure point that made you hold your father's arm and stride into the church after exiting the vehicle you had ridden in together. The incoherent shouting silenced the loud ranting that your brain forced upon you, making you analyze every face that looked at you instead of becoming too absorbed in every word Taehyung had said, which repeated in your mind like a broken vinyl.

But it only lasted so long. When you saw him standing at the end of the aisle, his voice and every spoken word penetrated your hearing so that you stared at his standing figure and grasped your father's arm, seeking the protection you knew you would not find.

That was really stupid because you knew you were protecting Jimin from your father, not from Taehyung. Why would you hate someone else when your father was the greatest antagonist in your life? It was really stupid of you to blame someone else when you had yourself and your family to blame.

After all, Taehyung was all about business, unlike your father.

Or maybe like your father, although he was supposed to be different.

"This story is over," you argued.

"I know," Taehyung smirked, "but what if I told your father that it's not over yet? Which is clearly the case."

The walk down the aisle grew longer, and Taehyung's heart beat harder with each step you took. He wished you would resist and run away, taking with you the shame and guilt he did not want to bear. He wished you would flee to a distant land, taking with you the impending separation you imposed on his love life without knowledge. He wished for things he knew you could not do and blamed you for your lack of courage, even though he knew he was the one to be blamed.

Taehyung was right in his assumptions. Your story with Jimin was not over because you never closed that file, never moved on to another. Jimin was the only love you knew, the only person you cherished despite all the adversity and the way you parted ways. When you saw that Taehyung knew the details of a fairy tale that turned into a tragedy, while the protagonists never wanted to talk about it out loud again, your anger grew immeasurable.

The moment you saw Jimin's pictures, you knew the game was a game over. Taehyung had fulfilled his mission and found the strings to play you around like a marionette, and you could not say a single word. Although you were willing to confess your crimes, you were not willing to endanger Jimin's life, no more than what you did.

"Take good care of my daughter, Taehyung," your father urged as he released your arm from his and passed your hand to the one who would vow to hold it forever, "she is the only precious jewel I have in this world."

"Rest assured, Mr. Lee," Taehyung affirmed with a smile, looking deeply into your eyes, "she will not only receive my name but also my protection."

The shouting did not cease, but you stopped hearing the sounds around you as he took your hand and intertwined your arm with his. The rhythms of the piano mingled with your rapid heartbeat and schemed against you, starting a torture that slowly drove you into a state of haziness from the utter disgust you felt.

How could life drive every disgusting, selfish soul into your world like that? Was your father not enough? Wasn't your mother enough? Didn't they take everything you had, what was left behind, to plate for a husband who was no different from a famished beast?

These questions never missed to make their presence known in your head every night; the currency of these escalated with the setting in which you stood so that it was difficult to hear the priest invoking the importance of marriage and its sanctity, rendering it almost impossible to hear Taehyung's whisper until he squeezed your hand with a force that brought you out of the trance. "Don't forget what we talked about, doctor."

You lost yourself again in his deep eyes. They always made you wonder how he could look so innocent when he had so many sins on his shoulders that you were convinced God was building another hell just for him. You lost yourself again in his devious smile and allowed his voice to remind you that he had domesticated you in the grasp of his palm.

"He couldn't even graduate; you have ruined him enough, don't you think? I say, do him a solid and protect what's left of his life if you really love him."

"I'm sorry to break it down for you, but I have nothing to do with him anymore. My family took care of that folder a long time ago; you're putting your hopes on a weak branch. You will drown."

"See, doctor, I admire your steadiness and strength. Really, your stability and calm demeanor struck me the first time we met, but what you lack is humility. What I'm saying is that you constantly think you're smarter than the bunch in the room, which only turns you into a joke."

"Use this file, and let me watch you become the joke."

"Don't leave so soon; we're not done, not yet, and here's the proof."

You would have gone, though not because it had become clear that he was not looking at the same picture as you, but because he sounded rude to your taste, and you could not find it in you to spare him your precious time. But you couldn't, and the reason was his following words:

"I bet your father doesn't know that you've been helping your lover behind his back, even though he made it clear that you were to stay away from each other. I'm sure he will be disappointed when he finds out about your defiance."

"What do you get out of this marriage? I doubt your stubbornness is due to sudden enamourment, Taehyung."

"Kim. Let's keep the boundaries between us, doctor. If not out of respect, then just to remind you and answer your question at the same time. For you, I have no feelings at all. It is pure business, give and take."

Taehyung was right. You kept taking from your bread to give to Jimin, even if behind the curtains so that he would not refuse the help. You had caused him more than financial failure, you were the cause of the greatest disappointment he had ever experienced. Jimin told you plainly that he would not look you in the eye again if you left, that you would become a past he would erase from his mind and heart, that he would pursue a life as you had never been a part of it; yet you glanced over your shoulder at him, grabbed the doorknob, and stepped over the threshold as if his words had never reached your ears.

It was for the best, you reasoned. It was for his well-being.

But you forgot that no one had ever given you the chance to choose in their place. At least Jimin never did. You didn't even have a say in your own life. What makes you think you have a say in what's best for him or not? He has never forgiven you for that, never spoken your name since. And the help you kept sending, his sister kept it a secret only known to you and her; the fact that Taehyung found out about it means that he investigated vigorously to achieve his twisted goals.

"We have gathered here on this blessed day to celebrate the union of two loving hearts, to open a new chapter of their lives, to make their union official before God and their families. We have gathered here to be part of the happiness of two young hearts, Kim Taehyung and Lee Yunjae. Let us help them strengthen their bond and bless them with the approval of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

The sudden change in weather awakened your attention, which wandered into the distant future, into the darkness that lay between its folds, into the images of a life ridden of freedom...ridden of love. You looked around as if intaking the details of the Roman church for the last time before your dismay, as if it were a goodbye to everyone and no one at the same time, as if it were a farewell to your shattered self and lost dreams.

The rumble of the thunderstorm filled the silence that settled over the church like a curse. The splashing of the rain on the mosaic windows was a comfort for some, a cause for alarm for others, and to you, nothing at all.

Taehyung remained stoic, refusing to let his feelings leave the safety of his heart. The priest's words tried their best to hide the sonata of rain, but none of them succeeded in diverting your attention from Taehyung and the direction in which his eyes were projected.

There was no explanation for the look in his eyes; they were emotionless and, without the force of will, caught in the length that brought them to the last row where a few ladies sat in the company of some guards. You failed to get an answer to your uninvited curiosity, which kept you wondering who would think of bringing guards into the house of God.

"Kim Taehyung, do you take Lee Yunjae to be your faithful wife, in happiness and sorrow, in health and sickness, wealth and poverty, until death do you part?"

The priest's words were louder than the storm, which did not take the name of God while crying over the tragedy of separated hearts. The rainstorm grew stronger, hiding the weakness of a man who had lost the battle against a ruthless fate and a woman who had never been allowed to dream.

Taehyung turned his attention to his lap and gazed forlornly at his finger. His lips lifted into a defeated smile that only you could witness due to the closeness of your figures. Thanks to this, you were able to examine his hairstyle. It seemed like he didn't put much effort into it and let the midnight locks fall gracefully on his forehead in a manner that would seem unkept but, at the same time, alluring. His black tuxedo redeemed respect as much as his personality, and you wondered if it was that or his look that imposed uneasiness into your being; you decided on his words after reckoning.

"I do."

Taehyung let his gaze penetrate your soul when he accepted you into his life, when he gave you his name. It was so intense that you closed your eyes when you figured no escape would be found after he secured your hands with unbreakable handcuffs. You ignored the crowd, the chants of happiness that echoed between the old walls of the church, and let your brain take you back to the moment when you signed a contract with the devil.

"What would your father think of a gigolo as a lover for his honorable daughter? I doubt that Mister Lee is that open-minded. Is he now? And I doubt Park Jimin will be happy about how disrespectfully you treated him when you were still together; what do you think, doctor?"

"Don't you dare go down that road, Kim. I may look weak, defeated even, but don't kid yourself, it's only because I thought we were on the same side and both against this lame joke. I could do the worst to you if I open my mouth, and believe me, I don't care how I crumble in the process."

Taehyung's laughter sealed the deal, confirmed that you had lost the piece to a more powerful family at that auction. As you watched him rise from the couch and stride with confident steps to your standing figure, you figured that it would never be you who would bring home the prize home, announcing your loss yet another time.

You loved Jimin so much that you refused to tell him about the many blind dates you went on while in a relationship with him. It wasn't because you were wavering, still considering other options. No, not at all. About your choice, you were confident; he was the man, and no one could ever make you feel the way he did.... his touch, his words. But ignorance was bliss... is bliss in your instance and his.

Jimin suffered greatly from your relationship, just as you suffered from your separation. You didn't want to add to his loss, nor did you want to add more to his hatred.

"No? Wouldn't you suffer the most, though? Words have it that you are the cause of what happened in the hut. Even Mr. Cha claims that you were the one who hurt him. Tell me, doctor, how will you prove otherwise?" Taehyung patted you affectionately on the shoulder, his actions contrasting with every word he spewed, "Don't hurt this Park guy more than you already have; you know what your father is capable of; take my advice and give the man a breather, doctor. And yourself, for that matter."

The silence and anticipation were thick with worry as the guests and the priest waited for your answer, which did not come. Taehyung watched you with great interest, examining the various emotions running through your mind as you looked him straight in the eye. To the unknowing eye, it would look like an appreciative look, but to him, it was clear that you were stabbing him with a dull knife in your mind, that you were choosing the place that would give him a painful, slow death.

"Miss Lee, I will repeat my question. Do you take Kim Taehyung to be your faithful husband, in happiness and sorrow, in health and sickness, wealth and poverty, until death do you part?"

You couldn't feel pity for him as he looked over his shoulder to the left as the priest repeated the question. The back row had his full attention, so you realized that someone sitting among them was as valuable to him as the person he was threatening you with was to you. The knowledge gave you power, helped you to wear the devil's robe that he wore when he forced this marriage on you, and with a confident voice and joyful smile, you answered.

"I do. Until death do us part."

"With the authority vested in me by the City Council and the blessing of God, I pronounce you husband and wife today in the presence of your families and honorable guests. You may exchange rings and kiss the bride, Mr. Kim."

You rejoiced in his sorrows, though they remained invisible and were not allowed to manifest themselves. You questioned your morals when you pretended to beam when he put the solitaire ring on your finger, and with unforeseen enthusiasm, you put his on while giving him a smile that perfectly matched the theme of the wedding ceremony: fake.

"Congratulations, Mr. Kim." You closed the distance between your standing forms so that the words only reached his ears. The whisper seemed affectionate, even domestic, but Taehyung understood the hidden meaning, the subtle revenge.

See, the tables have a habit of turning every now and then and letting it all wash over them. Sometimes it's because of our instability, sometimes, it's simply because someone wanted everything to hit the floor with a loud bang. Maybe to make a point or to express their anger; it depends.

Taehyung definitely wanted to make a point.

Taehyung also wanted to express his anger when he closed the distance between you completely and pressed his body against yours. He knew that he had lost everything he had once fought for, knew that no Kintsugi could repair shattered hearts, broken promises, so he decided to take the hope out of a heart that would only suffer from its presence.

Taehyung wasn't sure if it was you or Katarina standing in front of him. His eyesight was failing him from the ferocity of his heartbeat. He could have sworn that it was Katarina who put the ring on his finger, but as quickly as the image appeared, it disappeared to confront him with the bitter reality. The same thing happened when he breathed in your scent. It was a mixture of jasmine and wild berries, just the way Katarina smelled in his embrace.

He allowed his disappointed chimera to paint the situation pink, to exhibit scenes that did not and will not take place. He let the scent play with his mind to convince him that you are her, even though his eyes ceased the teasing long ago, and amid the jubilant clamor, he pressed his lips hungrily, feverishly, furiously to yours at an unrelenting pace just to make a point.

A/N

If you're familiar with my writing style, you would know that I love to go back and forth between past events and present; I never write past events in italics,  but the tense used is enough to show that we are talking about the continuation of previous events.

So, how are we feeling about the progress so far? any suggestions? Theories?

Comments and votes are appreciated.

Lots of love.