Bitterly Sweetly (Completed)

Chapter Fifty-seven : The Devil's Decree

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"And that is why, my love, I said you should not come back yet." They were still sitting on the dusty, pebble-covered ground near the edge of the cliff, both embracing one another, in silence and then in husky little talks. Their jeweled sun had disappeared below the horizon a while ago, leaving behind twilight across the sky and a jewel on Sofia's ring finger.

"This time I want to have you step into our home and life in the way you deserve... donning a wedding dress, bright with hope and happiness as a bride should be and no shadow of distress anywhere near you," He was caressing the skin around the ring with his thumb as he spoke. "We'll share the joy with both of our families, and I'll get to twirl you around as we perform our first dance."

She pressed her face closer into the crook of his neck, feeling his skin there wet with her tears, he felt it too. Sighing, he grasped her chin and tipped it upwards so that he could look at her eyes.

"I can't stop crying," She gulped down the lump of emotions in her throat. "I've always wanted to get married with all the rituals, as mom did." And then she was shaking with sobs.

Max's face crumpled. With a sharp intake of breath, he hugged her tighter. "I'm so sorry, Sofi, so sorry," his voice was as broken as he looked. "I was a foolish bastard. I would have turned back time and fixed every wrong that I did if I could, but since that's impossible, let me give you the wedding that you deserve. And I promise I would try my best to make it better than what you've dreamt of," he indulged, appeasing hands rubbing her back while chanting sorry so many more times.

She squirmed, making him loosen his hold and wiping her tear-soaked face. She lifted herself up from his embrace. "Stop apologizing," she chastised, her voice contrastingly soft, however. "I've my fair share of mistakes as well. After all, it was me starting the saga of hurting each other in our teen days. I'm sorry, too, for pushing you away from me at that time, for separating us. You're not the only villain in this story, Max, but that is beside the point." She sighed, brushing away the strands of his hair that had swept down to rest on his forehead because of the mighty wind. "It's time we move ahead of our past, and even if we can't forget any of it, we must stop bringing it up to torment ourselves. There's no point in hurting because of all that, over and over again."

"But I..."

She cut him off by softly pressing her lips to his mouth. "No buts. No more of it." When she moved back, his lips had lifted up just this slightly, into a tender smile of affection.

Her dress was spread around her, its cotton-lace material getting increasingly dusty every passing second. The same was the case with his dress pants. But none of them cared about their dusty clothes or the pebbles that were beginning to dig into their behinds. It was easy to forget all the discomfort when they were together, like this especially, and within a moment they knew they would forever remember. Not that any moment they had with one another was forgettable, but still...

"It's getting late," he stated, breaking the silence.

"It is," she replied, not really wanting to end their evening yet.

However, all that starts must end at some point. It's an inevitable pattern of the universe.

Max moved his feet to get up, hoisting up Sofia too with himself in the process.