STEEL (The Aurum Trilogy Book 1)

Chapter 33

THIRTHY THREE

Lauren

I was surprised when no watchman came to pick me up and capture me. I stood there frozen, in the middle of it all. Lilith’s smile was wide and gleaming. Jonathan’s expression wasn’t easy to read.

“You may now kiss the bride.” The priest uttered, spreading his arms wide, happily ignoring my presence.

Lilith and Jonathan stared at one another in awkwardness for a moment. I willed myself to look away but I couldn’t. My eyes were focused on them, observing their every move. I was locked in time and I had dropped my keys down a deep abyss of darkness.

I watched Jonathan's hand caress Lilith's face as he pulled her closer to kiss her. Their lips brushed against each other and Lilith’s cheeks flushed. She finally got what she wanted. Jonathan’s other hand wrapped around her waist and he pulled her closer to him. I watched as their lips parted and Lilith leaned closer to Jonathan, savoring the moment of their first kiss. Authorized press and official photographers started towards the altar. Cameras flashed everywhere, taking snapshots of the newlywed couple. I walked away, faltering with each step.

He kissed me like that, once. Once when we were on the run, back in Division 37. I remembered his arms wrapped around me, the way he entangled his fingers with my hair, the way he tasted and breathed in my mouth, the way he gently brushed my lips with his, the way he teased me of being jealous.

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO THIS, JONATHAN?

WHY?

The memory of our last kiss made my heart ache. I should be the one he was saying ‘I DO’ to. I should be the one in his arms right now. I should be the one he was kissing, he was caressing, he was holding. I came all the way here. I came all the way to bring him back, to tell him that I love him. I did, only he didn’t love me back anymore.

I wish I could turn back the hands of time, back to when I was in Jonathan’s arms in Division 37 or back when I was injured and lying in bed with his hand in mine and our fingers entwined. I wish I could go back and kiss him again, change the course of fate and tell him that YES, I WOULD RUN AWAY WITH HIM and YES, I LOVE HIM. But I couldn’t turn back time. No matter how advanced the technology was here in Division 1, there was no time machine. No matter how rich the citizens were in here, the people couldn’t buy time. No scientist has ever invented the machine that can cause one to go back to the past and reverse it. And no businessman or billionaire has ever tried to give up his or her possession just for a little bit of time travel. One can only choose to live in the present and change his or her future.

I walked out of the Cathedral and blended with the cheering crowd. The ladies were clapping their hands in a demure and gracious manner, keeping their poise and posture. The gentlemen were noisier than the women with their huger hands applauding in a slightly informal manner. The people inside the Cathedral gave out a standing ovation. I looked back and saw President Knoxx approach his daughter and wrap her in a tight hug. Lilith was in tears causing her father’s shoulder to go damp. Jonas Kress, Jonathan’s father, extended a hand to him and Jonathan shook it as if his father was welcoming him to becoming a fulfilled citizen of Aurum. He patted his son’s back and smiled at him. Jonathan’s lips formed a smile and I felt my heart race. But I have to forget that feeling. Jonathan was no longer mine. He belonged with Lilith. He was back to his old life, a life that excluded me.