A/N: Hi I'm back! Hopefully this update was 'soon' enough for you all:) Once again, thanks for reviewing and even bothering to read this story! InfinityEstel: Hey there! Are you still alive? LOL. Yeah, you mentioned that I had to update soon or you'll die. Hopefully this is 'soon' enough for you? Anyway... Hmmm... nice guess, but I'm not saying anything. You've just gotta wait. And read. To find out. LOL. Enjoy! aj: Thanks:) Hope you like this chapter as well!
Disclaimer: As usual.
Chapter 13
Ian waited patiently.
To a stranger, it may have seemed nice of him to wait patiently, just a normal bridegroom waiting for his beloved bride. But to anyone else who knew Ian, it was not so. Patience was never one of his traits, for his was well-known to be uptight and impatient. Moreover, ever since he had arrived, never once did he even look at his watch for the time. He had been silent, as if mulling over something important.
Well, he had, and he was.
The incident that happened last night was just too… unforgettable. It had triggered off a nerve in him, and anyone who knew him would know that he would never put this matter at the back of his head, not until he got to the bottom of it.
Right now, his whole mind was just focused on this. In fact, throughout this whole day he hadn't been himself at all. He even had to be reminded by Mabel to get ready for his wedding.
Mabel.
He had always wanted to speak to Mabel about it, but somehow, he just couldn't. It was as though something was pulling him back, refraining him from mentioning it to his family.
Family.
Immediately he jolted out of his own thoughts and returned to the real world. For a moment he had actually considered questioning why he was there. Then he remembered.
For the first time that afternoon he looked at his watch. It was already fifteen to eight. Rebecca was more than an hour late and he had just realized it only. And where was Rebecca? It was unlike her to be late. She was always punctual.
Maybe she decided to pull out of it at the very last minute? What if she would not be coming? Ian began to entertain these wild thoughts. Panicking, he dug out his mobile and checked for any new messages or missed calls. Who knows, Rebecca may have tried to contact him while he was in his own world.
Nope. There were none.
Perhaps it's just the traffic, he told himself. Perhaps her car broke down. There were just too many 'perhaps' and 'what ifs'.
Just then, a car honked. He whipped his head around, and saw the most radiant face he had ever seen. And stepping out of the passenger's seat was just a ravishing beauty. He tried his best not to gape, and made his eyes appear smaller.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself." Ian replied, grinning from ear to ear involuntarily. He thought he must look like a fool.
"I'm sorry I'm late." It was the sweetest voice ever heard, or so he thought. "I- I had some... matters to tend to. You aren't mad, are you?"
"No."
"Good. I'll just make it up to you some other time." She breathed down his neck. Her breath smelt like mint.
"A promise?"
"A promise." She smiled flirtatiously.
"So… you came alone? Are your parents coming?" Ian asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Yeah. I told them not to come." She replied. "I told them we wanted some quality time with each other, you know."
"Oh."
"Why? You mean you want them to come?" She seemed a little disappointed.
"Oh, no."
"Good. " She smiled, running her hand over his chest. "So… after this you wanna come over?"
"Uh…how about we talk this later? Let's go in first. It's quite late." Ian suggested uneasily. They were, after all, in public.
"Sure thing." She grinned at him again.
The church was really quiet, except for the voice of the priest. He was reading all the rules and stuff, though considered not really important, but Ian could not listen. His mind was too occupied with personal thoughts.
He knew this was supposed to be an emotional and joyful moment. He knew this was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. (Actually, second happiest day of his life, but it does not matter.) But somehow he just could not relax. He was confused, and he seriously doubted this marriage.
"Ian?" Rebecca's voice jolted him out of his own world.
"Huh? What?"
The priest, irritated, repeated his question all over again. "Do you, Ian Wallace, take Rebecca Hunter as your lawfully-wedded wife, promise to protect her and love her for eternity, and till death do you part?"
"I…"
"Ian? Why are you hesitating?" Rebecca's voice sounded in his ear.
"I…"
"Do you, Ian Wallace, take Rebecca Hunter as your lawfully-wedded wife, promise to protect her and love her for eternity, and till death do you part?"
The voices seemed faraway. There was a loud buzzing noise in his ears, as though they were going to pop any second. His hands flew to his ear immediately, trying to shield them from all the noise.
(Ian…) Do you, Ian Wallace, take Rebecca Hunter as your lawfully-wedded (Ian…) wife, promise to protect her and (Ian…) love her for eternity, and till death do you part? (Ian…)
The sounds were like thunder to his ears. They were loud and jumbled up. He could make no sense out of them. The buzzing noise in this ears grew louder and louder, till he could take no more of it.
"NO!" He bellowed, slamming his fists on to the table. "STOP IT!"
"What? Stop what, Ian?" The voice seemed to be jeering him, taunting him, leading him on.
Ian breathed in a deep breath. Then he stood up, and with his gaze still fixed upon the table in front of him, he said, "I'm sorry, but I do not wish to marry you."
The utter silence was deafening. Ian's sudden declare left all speechless.
Just then, Rebecca laughed forcefully. "Oh Ian, okay, that certainly was funny. It is April's Fools, all right. Now you may sit down. You definitely surprised us all with that joke of yours. Let's continue, shall we?" Her tone was dubious. She didn't have a clue as to what she was feeling.
"It isn't a joke." Ian's voice degenerated into a whisper, but he still managed to say it firmly.
The smile faded from her face. "You're kidding, aren't you?" Her voice was hard and serious now. She had gone all rigid suddenly. "Tell me, tell me that it's just a joke. Come on, tell me!" She demanded.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. His face was still hidden from view , which was a lucky thing. He wouldn't want her to see his tears. Clenching his fists tightly, he hated himself for breaking her heart. He hated himself for playing with her feelings. He hated himself for being so fickle-minded. But he had no choice.
"What do you mean by 'you're sorry'?" She swallowed. Hard. How could he treat her like that? How could he? How dare he? She was not a toy, and she never will be.
"I cannot marry you. I just cannot. I hope you'll understand. It'll be better this way." He told her softly, then turned to run out of the horrifying place.
"Stop right there."
He halted in his footsteps.
"Tell me why. Tell me why you agreed right there that night, and now…"
Without turning around, he said, "I… I couldn't treat you like a substitute for Daphne. I couldn't. I guess you were right after all. This is going a little too fast. Yes, I love you, but until I'm sure of my feelings for you, that I'm certain I love you truly, I cannot hurt you. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want myself to wake up the next day and not love you anymore. I don't want to see you hurt, Rebecca. You must understand. This is best for you, and for me."
"Why." She was crying now.
"Please. You must understand. I'm only doing this all for your sake, and that's because I love you too much to hurt you. I'm really sorry."
Tears flowed down her cheeks, ruining her mascara. How was she ever going to face the world again? She felt humiliated.
After his footsteps died, she got up and ran out too. But she didn't run after him, instead she took a different direction. As she ran, more tears streamed out and she wiped them away. Her pure white gloves were stained now, but she couldn't care less. She could no longer care. There was nothing left in her life. Her love life was ruined, and that meant her whole life was ruined, too. Then what was the point in continuing to live on in this despicable world?
He was speeding along the road. But he couldn't care. He was ridden with guilt.
He had let Rebecca down. He had broken her heart. He could never face her again. But all he did, it was the sake for the both of them, wasn't it so? Or was it only what he thought? Did he think wrong? Did he make the wrong move? He didn't know. But even if he did wrong, so what? "Don't cry over spilt milk", was what they always say. It already happened, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Just then, his vision blurred. Was it a fog? It only took him moments to realize that he was actually shedding tears.
Pulling his car up at the front of his house, he got out immediately of the driver's seat and rushed into the house. His mind was only focused on Rylan now.
"Rylan! Where are you?" He called as he ran up the stairs. He checked every single room but found no sign of his son. Then he entered his own study. He was appalled. His study floor was scattered with feathers. It was unsightly.
Something inside him told him to look at the wastepaper basket. He did, and almost broke down into tears once more when he saw the crumpled drawing. He read the note attached to it too.
Dear Papa,
This is the drawing I drawed in skool today. Miss Roderick said that it is a pawtrayt. (I dont know if I spelled it corectly or not.) I got a A+ for this. I want you to see it.
Love,
Rylan
His hand trembled slightly. He was touched, yet heartbroken.
Then he heard the front door open. He rushed out of the study and ran down the stairs, and was relieved when he saw his dearest flesh-and-blood standing before him, with Mabel. Emotions overtook his usual self, and he hugged his son immediately, sobbing hard. Rylan, shocked, returned his father the embrace.
"Oh Rylan, I'm sorry for everything too." Ian pulled away from him and gripped the boy's shoulders, looking him in the eye.
"Sorry for what? Papa, why are you crying? What happened?" The boy asked, concerned.
Ian shoved the drawing and the paper into the boy's hands. "That," he said, "is a really wonderful drawing. You can draw really well, and I'm sorry that I didn't spare the time to look at this. I was only thinking of work, and Rebecca, and a whole lot of other things, but I just chose to neglect you. I'm really sorry for not taking good care of you. It's all Papa's fault. But don't worry, I promise I'll spend more time with you in the future, starting from this very minute."
"What about Aunt Rebecca?"
"Never mind about her, Rylan. You can forget her. It'll just be the two of us."
"Really?" Rylan smiled. "I didn't like her anyway, so I guess that's good news."
Ian smiled back. "Now can you tell me, how did you manage to draw a picture of your Momma so well when you never saw her before?"
Rylan's smile grew wider. "I did. I saw Momma before. She talked to me when I was sleeping. She said she will protect me. She really talked to me!"
She ran on, and continued running till she reached the roadside. She flagged down a cab and got in.
"Miss, where to?"
"Anywhere," she sniffed.
"But… where is anywhere?"
"Anywhere! I don't care where you take me to!" She yelled. "I don't give a damn about it! Just drive on 'til I tell you to stop!"
"But…"
"No buts. Which part of 'drive on' do you not understand? Or shall I speak in Tamil for you?" She retorted. "You shut your big mouth up and just drive! "
The driver drove on, silent, but seething inside. He knew better than to argue with this… creature. She looks just like a mad woman, and who knows she may be one, or behave like one.
Oblivious to her surroundings, she continued crying, her hair wild and her mascara ran, but like she had said, she could not care.
I know the truth now
I know who you are
And I don't love you anymore
Never was and never will be
You don't know how you betrayed me
And somehow you've got everybody fooled.
- Evanescence
"Then what did Momma say to you?"
"Momma told me to be a good boy, to listen to Papa." The young boy beamed. "And I did. I listened to Momma, and to Papa!"
Ian, in tears again, hugged the boy. "Yes, yes! You are a very good boy, Rylan. And I love you!" He cried.
Rylan patted on his Papa's back as he hugged him. "Don't cry, Papa. You are a good boy too. I love you too."
Ian chortled. He was back. His old self was finally back, reunited with Rylan again. He swore never again to abandon his son just for his work. He promised to spend more time with him in the future. And he planned on keeping his promises, never to break them. It was all well finally. In the end. He smiled.
But the moment of peace was shattered when a piercing scream broke it.
Rylan pulled away from the embrace and staggered backwards, gaping and pointing at him. "Papa… I… you…" The horrified look on his face was unforgettable.
"What, Rylan? What?" Ian was panicking already. What had he done to make Rylan be so terrified of him? Was it his looks? He touched his face involuntarily. No, it wasn't disfigured. He looked at the glass window near him and checked his reflection. No, he looked perfectly okay. But then why was Rylan behaving like that?
And then he saw it. And now he wished he didn't.
TBC...
Oh yes. I'm considering writing a sequel to this story. What do you think? Yes, or no? Do, please, let me know what you think when you review as this story is coming to an end quickly. Yep. Thanks. Hope you all liked the chapter!
