Many hours later, Adeline lay on a hospital bed, unconscious. Her world was still black. But the weight of her disappointment pressed heavily on her. Everything played out in her mind. She was still at the altar, watching as the ring which would have stuck to her finger bounced off the marble floor. The witchy grin on Julian's face just before he abandoned her in shame.
"Ade," Sarah called her name. "Adeline, please, wake up. Follow my voice."
Sarah had been seated beside her for hours waiting for the moment when she would flip those eyes open.
In that moment, tears began to trickle down the cheeks of Adeline. She sobbed in her unconscious state. The agony pushed through.
"Julian," she muttered almost inaudibly.
"Adeline." Sarah had no intention of giving up on her friend. "You have to wake up."
Just then, those eyelids snapped open. The arched domes of the cathedral had disappeared completely, replaced by fluorescent lights of a private hospital room. The scent of flowers was a sharp contrast to the sterile smell of bleach and drugs that invaded her nostrils.
She coughed hard and sobbed deeply.
"He's..gone," she stuttered sorrowfully. "Julian left me."
She broke down. Tears rolled down her eyes like a fountain. Sarah could not hold herself either. They had thought of this moment all the time— what it would be like and Sarah having to be her chief bridesmaid. But it was a disaster.
"I know. I know," Sarah croaked calmly and drew closer.
She moved Adeline's head and hugged it tightly with her arm.
"Why did he do that?" Adeline sobbed further.
"Shhhh. It's not your fault, sweetheart. We will get to the root of this, okay?"
Sarah took a few more minutes to console her friend till she stopped crying.
"Ade, I will get the doctor now, okay? I have to let him know you are now awake."
Adeline responded with a simple nod, that it was okay.
"By the way, would you love to eat anything, anything at all?"
Adeline shook her head. "I'm okay, Sarah."
Sarah got up and left. The door slammed shut and sent an overwhelming silence into the room. Adeline was pulled into her thoughts. Viktor had warned her. How could he have known about this?
Perhaps, he was the architect of all this. He was probably unhappy about her not choosing him in the first place. This could be his revenge plot. After all, he had Mafia blood coursing through his body. It didn't matter how well he tried to push it down.
While she lay down with her eyes shut and her mind doing the work, the door creaked open. At first, she thought it was the nurse…or maybe the doctor. Sarah had gone to inform him that she was awake.
The silence of the room was broken by slow but solid footsteps. Adeline turned her head. A man stood at the foot of her bed. Viktor Constantino.
"Hello, Adeline," he said with a silent smile across his chiseled jawline.
A sense of curiosity enveloped her. She tried to get up.
"No, no, no," be said politely and sat beside her while making her to lay back.
"Why are you here?" She asked him. The answer was obvious enough. He loved her.
"Is that the question you really want to ask?" He clicked his tongue.
She winced. "The note."
"If you had listened to me, you wouldn't be here by now. I tried to warn you."
Adeline was struggling to get her pieces together.
"Julian would never hurt me."
"But he did," Viktor added.
Adeline looked at him. "Did you.. make him do it?"
Viktor smirked. "I may want you for myself, but I also want you to be safe and happy. I'm not a devil, Adeline. Maybe I am, but not to you. Your prince charming isn't who you think he is."
Adeline shook her head. She was still in disbelief. "What…are you talking about?"
He produced a magazine from his pocket and dropped it on her lap. Adeline pushed herself up into a sitting position. Then, she grabbed the magazine. One look and her world was spinning again.
The headline read, "THE CURSED BRIDE."
She was on the cover page. Her head was beginning to spin again and her heart wanted to explode.
"How…can this be?" She muttered.
"You see, my dear, you were never a top priority for him. You were simply a piece in the game he has been planning. Julian never loved you."
Adeline shook her head. "That's not possible. We have been together for three years."
"Yet, he abandoned you on the altar."
Sadly, that was true.
"Julian isn't who you think he is."
Viktor placed his hand on her leg and pressed gently.
"Adeline, let me help you."
She looked at him. He meant it. "How do you intend to do that?"
"Hmm," he exhaled heavily and caressed his jaw. "I will give you wealth and protection. I will help you stand against Julian and keep you safe from him."
"And in return?" She asked him sensitively.
Viktor was mute for a moment. He stood up and slid his hands into his pockets. Then, he said, "Become a Constantino."
The statement resounded in her head. He was asking her to marry him.
"What?"
Viktor heaved a sigh. "I know how this sounds. But—"
Adeline cut him short. "No, you don't," she objected. "I was abandoned at the altar hours ago."
"If you had listened to me, this wouldn't have happened. All I'm asking for is a chance."
Adeline was mute for a while. She thought about it.
Viktor's words sounded strange to her ears. She knew Julian long enough to not want to believe any of it was true.
"Give me a little time to think about this."
Viktor smiled mildly. "I will be here, waiting for you."
He slid his card from his chest pocket and dropped it on her lap. Then, he disappeared the same way he had appeared.