Chapter 10
Noelle found herself standing in a beautiful garden bathed in
soft golden light. Roses of every color surrounded her with their
sweet and intoxicating scent. Suddenly, a gentle breeze carried
the sound of a piano playing in the distance. It was a familiar
melody that tugged at her heart.
She glanced down and gasped softly. She was wearing a
wedding dress–a stunning creation of white lace and silk that
clung to her figure perfectly as its train trailed elegantly behind.
her. Her hands trembled as she reached up to touch the delicate
veil that framed her face. Everything were beautiful.
“Noelle,” a deep voice called out of nowhere that felt somehow
warm and comforting.
The moment she turned, her heart skipped a beat as Adrian
stood before her. He was dressed in a sharp black suit and the
fabric hugged his tall frame impeccably. His amber eyes
softened as they met hers, and a smile graced his lips that held a
tenderness she hadn’t seen in what felt like forever.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
Noelle felt her throat tighten as her heart swelled with an
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inexplicable ache. She wanted to say something, but the words
wouldn’t come. Instead, she stepped closer to him, and he
extended a hand toward her.
“Are you ready?” he asked in a gentle tone with an unwavering
smile.
She hesitated, her gaze flickering to the small crowd seated behind him. Familiar faces blurred together–people she knew, people she didn’t. And at the very front, she spotted Grace, smiling brightly with tears in her eyes.
Noelle swallowed the sudden nervousness she felt and slipped her hand into Adrian’s. “I think so,” she whispered.
The piano music slowly got louder, and Adrian led her toward an archway adorned with flowers. The world seemed to blur and fade away, leaving only the two of them in focus. They stood beneath the arch as the officiant began to speak, but
Noelle couldn’t hear a word. All she could see was Adrian, his
eyes locked onto hers, filled with an emotion she didn’t know
whether to trust or surrender to.
When the time came for vows, Adrian took her hands in his.
“Noelle,” he began, his voice steady yet laced with a raw honesty
that sent shivers down her spine, “you are my home, my calm in
the chaos. I promise to stand by you, to cherish you, and to love
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you every single day. From this moment forward, it’s you and
me.”
Her lips parted, but her voice failed her. Tears pricked her eyes,
and she tried to speak her own vows, but all that came out was a
choked breath. Adrian didn’t seem to mind. He smiled, his
thumb brushing over her knuckles.
“Do you take me as your husband?” he asked softly.
Her lips moved, forming the word “yes,” and as soon as she said
it, Adrian leaned in, cupping her face with both hands. His kiss
was soft, lingering, and impossibly sweet. It felt like a promise, a
tether pulling her closer to him.
But then, as their lips parted, the world around them began to
crumble. The vibrant garden faded into a cold, gray void, the
flowers withering into ash and scattering in the air. The music
distorted into an eerie, echoing hum, before dissolving
completely into silence. Adrian’s touch grew cold and slipped
away like mist through her fingers. His figure blurred, fading
farther and farther into the darkness.
“No, please–Adrian!” Noelle cried, her voice breaking as she
reached out, desperate to keep him close. But no matter how hard she tried, her hands grasped at nothing.
A sudden chill swept over her, and the ground beneath her feet
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disappeared. She fell, plunging into the abyss. Her breath.
caught, and her heart raced as she tumbled through endless
darkness.
But then, Noelle’s eyes flew open as her body jolted upright as
she gasped for air like she had been drowning. Her chest heaved
as she tried to calm the frantic pounding of her heart.
Noelle gripped the edge of the blanket as her hands trembled.
She pressed a palm to her chest, feeling the erratic thrum of her
heartbeat as she struggled to separate dream from reality.
It wasn’t real. It was just a dream–a cruel, beautiful dream that
left her hollow and aching in its wake.
Noelle’s shoulders shook as the tears poured uncontrollably as
each sob ripped through her chest like shards of glass. She
clutched at her chest as if trying to hold herself together, but the
pain was unbearable. It was the kind of hurt that didn’t just
linger–it consumed, leaving her feeling empty.
She curled up on the small bed, burying her face into the pillow
to muffle her cries. The fabric quickly grew damp, but it wasn’t
enough to stifle the ache that reverberated in every part of her
being. Her body trembled as memories of Adrian flooded her
mind. His warm smile, the way his amber eyes softened when
he looked at her, the gentle way he held her like she was his
Chapter 10
entire world, all of it began to shake her resolve.
And yet, those moments were gone. Stolen. Shattered.
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will herself back into the
dream, back into the world where she and Adrian were happy.
“I wish I didn’t wake up,” she whispered. “Why couldn’t I just
stay there? Why couldn’t I have just… stayed?”
Her words faded into the silence of the room, but the pain
remained. The realization that Adrian would never be hers
again cut her deeper than any blade. And the thought of him
building the life they had dreamed of with someone else, was
unbearable. She could see it so clearly in her mind where
Adrian was smiling that same tender smile, but this time, not for
her. His arms wrapped around someone else. His amber eyes
shining with love for another woman.
The image made her choke on a fresh wave of tears. “What am I
supposed to do?” she cried out, hoarsely and trembling. “It
hurts… it hurts like hell…”
Her hands balled into fists, gripping the blanket tightly as if the
pressure would somehow dull the ache in her heart. But it
didn’t. Nothing could. The love she had for Adrian wasn’t
something she could turn off or forget, no matter how much
she wanted to. It was still there, stubborn and unyielding,
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clinging to her even when it only caused her pain.
She wrapped her arms around her knees, rocking herself gently
like a child trying to find comfort in the chaos.
“Adrian,” she whispered his name like a prayer. She hated
herself for it, for still loving him so much, for still yearning for
the impossible. “Why couldn’t I be enough? Why… why wasn’t I
enough?”
But the silence of the room gave her no answers, only the echo
of her own broken heart. She buried her face in her hands as
her tears pooled in the gaps between her fingers. And in that
moment, Noelle felt truly alone. The heavy burden of her love,
her pain, her longing–it was all hers to carry, with no one to
help lighten the load.
It wasn’t fair. None of it was fair. But it was her reality now.
Adrian wasn’t hers, and she wasn’t his. She had chosen to leave
because she thought it would hurt less than staying. But the truth was, the pain followed her, growing heavier with each
passing day. And as much as she wanted to let go of him, she
didn’t know how.
