I loved Akari.
But... so did he.
Still, how could I ever intervene?
They were obviously an unequaled match.
And I, I was undeserving.
So pitifully undeserving...
I loved Gill.
But... Gill doesn't seem to care for me. Not anymore.
Why? I'm still trying to figure that out myself.
Luke, obviously, didn't seem to notice.
It was as if he had known this would happen all along.
I love Akari.
That's why things had to be like this.
She and I were meant to be together.
And Gill knew this from the start. He and I had a talk. He stayed away.
...Was this really the right decision?
She proposed.
Ironically enough, I told her where to find the feather.
That girl was even bold enough to invite me to the wedding.
Even after all of the time that had passed. It was, of course, to share her pain.
In short, how could I refuse?
I proposed.
Why? I'm still asking myself that.
After this, it would all be too late. Gill and I would never be together.
I wanted him to be there to feel the pain I would feel.
Thankfully, he seemed to understand that.
She proposed... to me.
But is this what she really wanted?
Did she really love me more than the one she loved first?
Would that feeling ever leave her? No, I knew, it wouldn't.
But Akari had chosen me. I should have been happy.
...Right?
I went to the wedding.
Was Luke shocked?
Of course not. He knew full well what was going on.
The twinge of guilt I felt, however, was short lived.
We had decided this. I only made her upset.
Luke would make her happy.
Like I never could have.
Gill came to the wedding.
I was both pleased, and pained.
Passing him a grimace as I reached the end of the aisle,
it would all be over from there. Luke glanced warily at Gill.
In short, he knew. That Gill and I had been in love.
That we still were.
He came to the wedding.
I nodded at him briefly, guilt flooding my thoughts.
Did I really want to tear them apart?
Akari loved me like I loved her, didn't she?
The answer to this question was only painful to determine.
Finally, it was all over.
They were together. Luke was happy.
She would be happy. She would love him.
Like she couldn't love me.
...It was all over.
We were together. Luke was happy.
I was happy. Really. Luke loved me, I loved him.
Like I could have never loved Gill.
It's finally over.
Akari and I were together. I'm happy.
Akari was actually happy. I loved her, she loved me.
It was all said and done. They couldn't be together. I should have been relieved.
A disconcerting thought, however, would always linger.
.
.
Would she ever love me like she had loved him?
...No. No, she wouldn't.