CHAPTER 2: Her Mistake

Emiko shifted her imagination at 8:00 AM; the ship buzzed with activity as the wedding preparations reached their peak.

William's mother approached Emiko in the rushed hallway, and her concern was evident. "Is the bride ready?"

Emiko stood tall and managed a small smile formed on her lips, her fingers clasped tightly in her dress. "Yeah... I think she is."

William's (Groom) mother looks at her up and down, a skeptical arch to her brows, "What she is... What do you mean?"

Oh! Shit! I almost forgot to tell you. Serena… she wants to get ready by herself. She didn't want to bother anyone." Emiko leaned closer to her face, lowering her voice. "She said... she wanted to surprise William. Don't tell him."

William's mother nodded, eyes widened, mouth opened slightly. "Really... she's so thoughtful. It makes me more eager... how she looks in a bride dress." Then, she hurried off while talking to someone on the phone.

Emiko exhaled a relieved breath. "Shit, I have unlocked a new talent!" she murmured, a spark igniting in her chest. "I think I'm good at acting now! I want to go audition!" But the second thought crashed down like a bucket of ice water: her smile faded, her brows narrowed, Audition...or jail? Emiko thought, the two words echoing in her mind.

"Emiko...." Damien's voice cut through her thoughts.

"This man is my problem; even I can't daydream." "Tawagoto..."

The morning illusion shattered when Damien burst into anger, his voice raw with disbelief. "She's gone," he growled. "What the f*ck did she do?"

The clang of metal on metal made Emiko jump. Damien had punched the door hard in rage. His knuckles were slowly bleeding from where he'd punched the steel door.

"Dami!" she cries out, tears flowing down her cheeks, her heart pounding against her rib. "What are you doing, Dami? You're hurting yourself! Please stop doing this... She grabbed his injured hand, but he flinched away.

Then, he paused to process everything, he turned to her side, his jaw clenched, his eyes blazing in fury. He gripped her neck towards the wall, lifting her upwards. Her toes brushed the floor. She struggled against his hold, her eyes wide with fear.

"How let this happen? You're the one who is always with her."

"Tell me, Emiko..." he shouted, looking at her face, his neck veins popping out while he talked.

"Dami... Please...."

"Do you know about this already? Right? You seem suspicious from the start."

His hand tightened on her neck, another hand balanced on the wall. "You two already planned everything, right?"

 "Dami…" she strangled against his grip, her voice barely a whisper. The pressure was intense, her throat tighter, and everything was starting to blur.

"Dami…please… I can't breathe...." Her vision blurred, his anger merging with the throbbing pain in her head. 

Suddenly, there was another shrewd voice, "What the hell are you doing?!"

Damien's came to reality, his grip loosened slowly, his fingers trembling. He pulled his hand away from Emiko's throat, his eyes widening in horror as he looked at the marks he had left on Emiko's neck. "What…what the fuck...did I just do?" he stammered.

 Emiko coughed too heavily, struggling to regain her breath.

 Blackwood's voice crashed through the room, cutting through the silence. "For your sister's sake, you're going to kill your wife?!" He glared at Damien, his face contorted with rage. 

"Dad....." Damien ran a hand through his hair, "How can I explain this to James? The bride just ran away through the damn window!" His voice was wobbly.

"How could she betray her own family?" 

The sound of footsteps broke the silence in the hallway as William's parents arrived, their faces filled with concern. Damien and Blackwood stood frozen, hearing William's voice from outside, but he didn't express it.

Emiko's mind reeled. William's parents…they're coming. The thought sent a shiver of fear down her spine. How could I face them? How could Dami face them? Tears welled in her eyes. I'm so sorry, Dami. I've failed as a wife. I'm the reason for all of this. The weight of her mistake pressed down on her, suffocating her inside.

William's mother looked around the room nervously and asked, "Where's the bride? Everyone is waiting."

The room remains silent, with no expression on their faces.

Blackwood stepped forward, holding a folded piece of paper he'd found on the mirror table. "There's a letter," he said quietly glancing at everyone, unfolding it.

"A letter?" James repeated, his voice tight.

Everyone fell silent as he opened it and began reading. 

Dami, 

This is Serena. I hope you're the one who finds this, Dami.

I can't marry William. Even though I respect him and his family, my heart belongs to someone else. I'm in love with your friend, Ethan. I… I'm already six weeks pregnant. I know you'll understand my situation, and I apologize for doing this to you and everyone. Please don't try to find me, because I left last night.

— Serena

William's mother gasped, her eyes welling with tears. "What... Pregnant? "With Ethan's child?" She breathed heavily, her voice shaking with shock.

James' face became scarlet as his rage blew up. "You guys are kidding me, how did no one notice she was gone?!" 

Blackwood stepped forward, his face pale, and he opened his mouth. "I am sorry, James, we didn't expect this to... But... we can..."

Before saying another word, James crumpled the letter from his hand. He grabbed Blackwood's shirt collar. "What the hell is this, Blackwood?" he roared. 

"We planned this marriage with her permission! Right? She also agreed to it! Then... what is this nonsense?!" He shouted very loudly, his voice rocking the room.

Before Blackwood could answer, Damien stepped forward and yanked James' hand from his father's collar. "Show some respect! James," Damien snapped, his voice severing the tension like a blade.

James's anger was a living thing, radiating from him in waves. "Respect????????"

"You guys are asking for fucking respect from me, uh..."

"Your daughter humiliated me and my son. How can I explain to my son? How can he accept this shit? He loves her..." His hand moved to his jacket; James pulled out a gun. His grip was tight, pointed at everyone in the room, his eyes wild with fury. "Damien, your family going to pay for what your bitch sister did."

Everyone in the room froze, their faces pale with shock as they caught sight of the gun in James's hands.

Damien's thoughts raced to watch a gun in James' hand.  Shit!! Things are totally out of control; he won't hesitate to pull the trigger. Do something, Dami.

Even James's wife, standing a few steps away, trembled with fear, her eyes wide and filled with doubtfulness at her husband's actions. "Honey..., it's okay, don't do anything wrong… she doesn't deserve our son. It's made even worse, if you do something wrong."

 

Emiko standing off to the side, in shock immediately covered her mouth with her hands. "Please, James, stop! It's not the way! Simply put down the rifle." Her voice shakes with urgency as she begs.

Tension enveloped the whole room, stretching the silence to a breaking point, and each moment seemed to drag on forever.

"James, please stop! We can fix this. I know.... my daughter made a huge mistake, but this is not helping us..." Blackwood pleaded, his hand outstretched.

Damien intended to attempt to obtain the weapon of his choice. He moved closer to James.

"You think this is just about humiliation?" James's finger tightened on the trigger as he growled. "It's about justice for my son!"

Every sound remained silent when the air was hit by the thundering crack of a gunshot, which echoed like a bomb.

 Damien's mind struggled to process what had happened. His gaze was drawn to the smoking gun in James's hand. A high-pitched whine filled his ears, drowning out everything else. He saw the spreading pool of blood, a dark red stain creeping across the wooden floor. 

Now the smell of sea air mingled with blood and gunpowder.