Beyond the dark, gloomy clouds, the hustling winds grew stronger by the minute; making it harder to sink in the swirling emotions infiltrating into my senses. Our reunion was soon kept at bay. But my eyes continue to paint a vivid picture of her face for the promise of uncertainty still clings in the air.

A terrible downpour has pushed us to seek shelter.

Drew insisted we eat dinner at his place and wait out the rain. He handed over to me extra clothes and face towels to dry myself. I sat down on the couch and kept my hands warm. He put some firewood over to the furnace and headed to the kitchen.

"You should probably drink something to get rid of the cold. Can I interest you with some coffee? Tea, maybe?" He said, chopping some onions.

"I'm okay, Drew. Thanks anyway," I replied. While Drew got handy in the kitchen, I took some time looking through old photos of Sarah growing up. I can't help but to reminisce and shed a tear for her sudden passing. I was too carried away by my own problems that I forgot she was dealing with so much more, and the worst part is, I haven't been there for her.

The sweet aroma of the roasted chicken lingered all over the house; it was mouth-watering. It drew me to the dining table, looking over him seasoning the side dish. "Hmmm, I always knew you had a gift but I guess I underestimated you. It smells so good, Drew!"

He smirked at my semi-insult. "Why don't you make yourself useful and set the table? Or is it illegal for princesses to put silverware on the table from where you live?" He replied, washing his hands with soap.

"Very funny," I grimaced at his joke, getting clean plates from the cabinet on top of the dishwasher.

Drew got the chicken out of the oven with his kitchen mittens; its succulent scent left me prickling with anticipation. "Are you sure you don't want to stay the night? Trepoissene is quite far from the city. Plus, the storm isn't going to stop anytime soon," he asked, slicing open the chicken in front of him.

"No, I can't stay. Eric is probably going nuts looking for me right now."

Drew scoffed. He took a bite of the juicy, tender  finely bronzed bird and said, "Not that any of it is going to change anything, but what you did was without a doubt the stupidest thing ever."

"Which is? The one where I sent over hookers to the guy that I love so he'd eventually leave me or is it how I married my childhood friend as a key to my faux freedom?"

"Come on, Avery. Don't be too hard on yourself. Everyone has those days. We all make foolish decisions every once in a while," he patted my back and tried his best to conserve the laughter.

I glared my killer eyes at him as a sign to quit the tactless jokes. Having seen my grimace after hearing his banter, he coughed and changed the topic, remembering too late that he should've been more cautious to not hit a nerve. 

"Who was that lady you were talking to at the cemetery?" He asked while pouring himself a glass of iced tea.

"Just some crazy woman who claims we're related by blood," I replied, shoving my second to the last piece of chicken skin into my mouth.

"Well, do you believe her?"

"If I do, does that make me crazier?"

"Maybe, but ignoring the coincidences wouldn't be the ideal route to go as well."

I contemplated what he said whilst wiping my mouth with a napkin. I slowly put the plates on the sink and thanked Drew for the food and hospitality.

Weary of the long day I had, I sighed in relief to be on my front porch, jiggling my keys in the doorknob. I opened the door and suddenly my problems came speeding towards me in nanoseconds. I swallowed my saliva and hoped this conversation wouldn't go off the rails.

"Eric... What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I should be asking you the same question. Shouldn't you be going home to our mansion, Avery?"

"Our mansion?" I scoff. "Our parents aren't here and the media surely have reached their quota today, Eric. It's been a long day and I really wanted to get some sleep. There's no need to act like we're under a microscope."

"Who said I'm acting? Where have you been, anyway? If we're going to want this to work, we should exhaust every possibility to make this as real as it's going to get and cover every feasible loophole. Safety nets, Avery. We can't let them know we're faking it, especially our parents."

"But this is my house, Eric. This is where I live. We'll discuss safety nets tomorrow but tonight, I just want to—"

"Do you want your freedom or not?" He interrupted.

I shut my mouth and submitted myself to him. I believed him when he said he's doing all of this for me.

He brought me to our mansion which was the hugest in Vichtrone Avenue. From where we lived, we were a few miles away from my parents' mansion. Eric had more than I have, more to offer, and more to shower me with.

He was the man of the family. A part of his daily routine was taking phone calls day and night and telling me what to do and what not to. Even for the first few days living here, he reassured me that I have everything I could possibly need in this mansion.

Eric had gone to a meeting with some business associates. I, however, have got nowhere to go, now that everything is being done for me. I am now back to where I started.

My husband was choking me with all these rules. He made being with him such a chore when all this marriage act meant nothing to me. It was only a means, a necessary objective done to be free from my parents' evil pursuits. 

I went through all this trouble, all this sacrifice only to be in the exact same position as before.

Having entered our bedroom, I groomed myself, combed my hair, and wore the best lipstick to feel good about something despite everything that's going on. I needed to remember who I was and what I'm fighting for, otherwise, I'd have to live with the fact that I have lost myself, and will continue to lose myself in this marriage. Pondering, I took a glance at my reflection; tears bleeding for the horizons that will be deprived of me, now that I've placed myself on an even higher pedestal.

A handmaiden knocked on my door and excused herself for intruding. "Excuse me, madam, but Mr. Trevmore wants to see you."

Surprised by the news, I ran downstairs swiftly. I was hesitant to face him at first; afraid he might hate me, or worse. Seeing the man I dreamt of marrying, the man I let go, I gathered enough courage to see way past the regret.

"Nate...How did you know where I live?"

"You'd be impressed with how helpful paparazzi can be. The Internet is a very powerful thing."

"You should see your face right now. A pretty face imperfectly crafted by the poisons of guilt, shame, fear, and never-ending insecurity," said Nathan.

"If you have only come here to smite me, I —"

"Smite you?" He chuckled. "Look, Avery, I'm done. I'm done trying to play nice and do good by you. Clearly, you just can't wait to unleash the devil in me. Isn't that why you keep provoking and pushing me to my limits? So you'd have a reason to leave and make it seem like I'm the bad guy? Ain't that your favorite parlor trick."

"Nate, please, not today. I'm sorry but I had the worst day with Eric and —"

"Not my problem," he replied.

"I promise you and I are going to talk and sort this out and go back to being friends. You have my word, Nate."

"Let me guess. You were too scared to reject me to my face. You've always wanted to be with Eric, to marry the richest bachelor in the city, but perhaps you figured out what better way to get my virginity taken than to have sex with a guy I'm not gonna build a future with," he said.

"That would be tragic, definitely good for publicity. Ah, I'm so smart!" He gasped, imitating my speaking voice. "Is that it? Have I at least covered a fraction of your speech?"

"Hiring a bunch of prostitutes to make it seem like I cheated on you. Now that was a bit desperate, don't you think? You're lucky they were peachy," he added.

"I know what I did was wrong. I — I'm not asking you to forgive me. All I'm saying is —"

"You know what? I'm not even surprised. Because that's what you always do, Avery! You push me away! Every time you feel something that you don't want to feel, you intentionally screw it up so that you wouldn't have to deal with it!"

"You don't understand, Nate. I know you don't trust me right now but even before I already told you the two of us won't end well. Next time, take a hint."

"...But you never gave us a chance. You keep stringing me along like I'm some lost puppy"

"There's nothing I can do. I'm already married to Eric, not to you," I replied.

"Just say it, Avery, say it! Right to my face! Say you love Eric and not me!" He walked closer to me, grasping my arms.

"But I don't love him, Nate! I never have!"

"Well, that's too bad because you brought that on yourself! You're gonna have to," he yelled.

"If you wanna be alone then be alone. One day, you can tell me how great of a kisser your cash will be when you're left with no one but yourself."

He turned around and never looked back. He mumbled underneath his breath in hopes that I wouldn't hear him, "You're gonna wish you hadn't fallen in love with me."

He was wrong.

He slammed the door shut. Silence then ensued. His departure built a void in the room, marking the time and place of a love given up; a love not pursued.