Chapter 10 – I Would Run Away With Who?

Part II of II.

Cole edged his way out of the pew and started walking up to the altar. Steffi stood up, shocked, and tried to make sense of it all. Phil also stood up, but instead of being calm and collected as he could be, chose to blow his top.

"What gives you, some ex-boyfriend of hers, the right to come here and tell me she still loves you?! You left six months ago, and she stayed here with me. What does that tell you, eh?!"

"It shows me that she felt bound to some duty towards you! That she's too sweet and kind to leave you because you asked her to marry you!"

"Well, you're wrong! She stayed because she loves me, not you!" Phil got closer to Cole and looked at him with anger in his eyes. Steffi finally pulled herself together just seconds before a fight began, and stood between the two.

"Did anyone even think to ask what I thought?! Who I want to be with?! No, you frickin' well didn't ask the person who's feelings you're discussing! Jesus…" The congregation, enraptured by the scene unfolding before them, sat motionless as Steffi sat down in front of the altar.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Cole said, crouching next to her. Phil, not to be outdone, crouched on the other side of her. "But I had to see you again; I had to save you from this, this sham of a marriage."

"Watch who you're calling a sham, buddy boy!" Phil snarled.

"This was supposed to be my day," Steffi said, staring at the carpet. "Weddings are supposed to be the happiest days of a girl's life. But look what you're doing to it, to my day! Phil, he's right; I don't love you, not as much as I ought to and not as much as you deserve. I love Cole more than I love anything in this world, even my mom and dad; but I can't be with him." She turned to look at Cole, and touched his cheek gently. "If you don't trust me when I say that I love you and that I can't ever be without you, then I can't be with you. I need trust, and security, and all the other things that women need and crave, but you never gave them to me. At first I wondered if that was my fault, but now I see that it's just the fact that you haven't got them to give. So you see," she said, standing up gracefully, "I can't be with either of you. Neither of you have what I need, and I can't be with a guy who can't have everything I need." With that, she picked up her skirts and fled down the aisle.

Cole was the first person to run after her, easily catching up with her before she had even left the church.

"Steffi, I do have everything you need! That day in the hotel, I didn't say anything because I didn't know you felt that way about me still, after all that time! It's been two years since the baby died," he looked up to the sky a moment, as if in remembrance, "and it's been two years for me which have been filled with regrets. I lost you, I found you, I lost you again… let this be the last time I have to find you."

"So you regretted finding me?" Steffi's brow creased with confusion.

"No. That day I saw you in Tom's office was the happiest day in a long time for me, and those precious few days were the best days I'd ever spent with you. I do love you, and I can't let you go again. It would kill me." Steffi looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Oh God…" she murmured and fell into his arms. Cole kissed her cheeks, and let her sob quietly. Phil, stunned, began striding down the aisle towards them, muttering angrily to himself. Tearing the two apart, he took Steffi by the shoulders.

"Cammy, you know how much I love you. Cole is just using you for some sick and twisted reason; I mean, look how much older he is! What is he, thirty odd?"

"Hundred and twenty, actually." Cole said coldly.

"Shut up! You had your say, now let me have mine. Cam, you're the best thing that ever happened to a guy like me, and I don't want to let you go without you knowing that if you leave, I will travel the world to find you. I promise you that now. When I found out about Cole, I was more upset than I can ever remember being. But I love you so much that I was willing to put him behind us and make a new start. I thought you felt the same – please don't tell me I'm wrong about that." Steffi looked up at Phil and realised this wasn't just a lame attempt at trying to win against Cole; he genuinely loved her. She put a hand on his cheek and tried to smile at him through her tears. He kissed her wrist and put his arms round her, and she gladly nestled into him. Cole felt his heart sinking as she cuddled into Phil, and he began to consider leaving.

"Steffi? If this is your decision, then I'll accept it. But I want you to know that I'm glad I did this today; because you look more beautiful than you've ever looked before, and I'm so happy that this will be my final memory of you." With the most heart-wrenching pain he'd ever felt, Cole turned away and walked out of the church.

When he was halfway down the road, he thought he could hear the clattering of high heels on the pavement. He turned, hopefully, and was disappointed to see that there was no one following him. He was about to walk forward when he stepped on something white and rustling.

"I'll have you know this is a Donna Karan dress," a voice said, panting slightly.

A/N and Disclaimer: Charmed not mine.

Wow she went after him… get the balls on her huh?