“What’s going on?” Stan asked Jay, who was pulling over aside the road.
“We are probably out of gas”, Jay replied with a look of regret.“You’re joking”, Stan replied and broke into hysterical laughter.He returned his gaze to Jay, who stayed still and glared at him with a face that indicated that he was dead serious.“Where’s the nearest gas station?” Stan hurriedly asked as his heartbeat accelerated.“It’s quite far from here. I’m deeply sorry”, Jay apologized and got off the car.Stan stayed perplexed and dazed. He couldn’t ascertain the next thing to do because all his heart told him was how he was at the verge of losing Carissa forever.He jerked up and came off the car, rummaging his hand on his head and pacing around in utmost dilemma.Not only that, but he was unable to pinpoint why out of every other days, the gas chose to get exhausted on this day.“I would quickly send a message to one of your workers. Another car would be brought here”, Jay suggested, while Stan stared at him unbelievably.They just had a ride of over thirty minutes and Jay was proposing that another car be brought? That was definitely ridiculous!“Place an order for a ride, immediately”, Stan yelled impatiently, still pacing around in uncertainty.“An Uber?” Jay asked dumbly but kept mute the moment Stan shot him a dead glare.About three minutes later, their ride arrived and without making any utterance to Jay, Stan hopped into the car and gestured on the driver to hurry.He glanced at his wristwatch and his heart missed a beat. He had never been this worried all his life. He could swear that he would never forgive himself if Carissa ties the knot with someone else.His phone beeped at that point, causing him to shift his gaze to the phone he held in his hand.“Check your phone”, the message said as he hurriedly scrolled through his phone.What he saw caused him to let out a loud scream, startling the driver, who looked back to confirm if he’s okay.“Don’t look back, just drive, please”, he said to the driver who nodded and stepped on the accelerator.Slowly, he returned his eyes back to his phone and almost immediately, he turned cold.He saw a video of Carissa, cladded in a beautiful dress that glittered and shone so bright. She was smiling widely, with a bouquet of flowers in her hands, as she slowly walked down the aisle.“How many more minutes to the location?” Stan asked in a voice that sounded like a whisper.“A minute”, the driver replied, clearly confused as to what was probably wrong with his passenger.“Can you cut it to thirty seconds? I would increase your pay”, Stan said pleadingly.In a split of a second, the car was swiftly moving past a series of cars, ignoring traffic rules and receiving various yells and honks from other cars.“We are here”, the driver announced, while Stan dropped a note in his hands and rushed away as though his life were on the line.***She was a few steps away from her groom. Her groom, Ethan, stood at the far end of the aisle, opposite the priest, who was patiently waiting to join them in holy matrimony.She smiled widely beneath her veil, taking slow and calculative ambles that seemed to rhyme with the sweet, melodious song that was playing to usher her in.At each side of the aisle, she heard giggles from guests who admired how beautiful she looked.“Her dress is so pretty”, she heard someone say from the crowd. She couldn’t help but wish that they knew how sorrowful she was at heart.“Such a beautiful bride”, another guest, gushed out from the right side of the aisle.Lifting her head slowly, she caught a glimpse of Ethan, who was clad in an elegant dark navy suit. He looked handsome as he smiled widely at his bride, who was approaching him.It was a beautiful outdoor wedding scene and such that Carissa always wanted in her dreams and imaginations.The music faded as everyone listened with rapt attention. Carissa had reached her groom and immediately, they faced each other, awaiting the priest to take them through their vows.“Cherished family members and honored guests. It is indeed a great thing to have you all here, waiting to witness the joining of these two individuals in holy matrimony”, the priest started as the speakers carried his sound to every point of the location.“In silence, let us thank the lord for this great event”, he continued as everywhere went into total silence.Carissa stayed still, trying so hard to keep up until the end of the ceremony. Ethan was in elation and at intervals, his eyes met with that of Carissa.He craved to spew out how beautiful and adorable she looked, but he knew that it wasn’t the right time for that.Stan hurriedly walked into the wedding premises, with his head turning around searching for Carissa.He found her at the far end of the aisle, which was decorated with flowers that complimented how beautiful she looked.The attention of everyone present was focused on the couple, who were at the verge of exchanging their vows.“Are you ready for your vows?” The priest asked Ethan, who nodded in affirmation.From the crowd, Stan studied Ethan, who seemed to be some years older than he was.He was handsome, no doubt. Deep down, Stan felt a wave of jealousy flush through him as he glared at the young and handsome billionaire who was about to claim the love of his life.“With you in my life, everything is bright and perfect. Like the sun, you brighten my day and make me feel like the luckiest man on earth. I love you so much and can’t wait to explore what life has; together with you, as my wife and partner. I promise to love you, to cherish you, to build with you, to scream with you, to cry with you, and to celebrate with you; in every situation and circumstances”, Ethan said calmly as some guests wiped the tears off their eyes.Stan smirked as he observed how emotional the guests had turned as a result of the sweet words Ethan had just uttered.He clenched his fists in fury and took a step closer, trying so hard to get the attention of Carissa, whose eyes were lowered to the floor.Carissa pondered over what Ethan had said to her. Her heart sank when she noted that she wasn’t moved by his utterance.“You would grow to love him”, she assured herself, even though the reality of that happening remained blurry.“Are you ready to say your vows?” The priest asked Carissa, causing her to jolt off her thoughts.She smiled calmly and nodded her head in affirmation.Taking a closer look at Ethan, she could see how much he anticipated the words that would come off her mouth.This was a beautiful moment. She could tell it was, with the look of admiration on the faces of the guests, along with the way everywhere remained dead silent.She shifted her gaze to the crowd once again, with a fabricated smile on her lips.“This
Stan got back to his apartment, where he threw his coat to the floor. He couldn’t ascertain the exact way he felt currently, but he was certain he felt a considerable chunk of relief.He gulped down hard as he walked to his wardrobe where a small box laid.He picked it up and stared at the ring intently, recalling how he had gotten her the ring with all his savings, about a year ago.“Is everything okay?” He had asked Carissa, who appeared to be gloomy and lost in thoughts.“I’m not certain that I’m okay!” Carissa had replied, causing him to take his hands off the box that laid in his pocket.“What’s wrong, my love?” He had asked a worried looking Carissa.“My mother, she cried all through yesterday”, Carissa had said to Stan, who gulped down hard and lowered his eyes to the floor.“Her debts are due soon, and she has no idea of how to pay them off”, Carissa had said to Stan, who was blank on what to utter.Back to the present, Stan held the ring and let out loud laughter which transi
Carissa finally decided to put an end to her drama. After what ensued during the wedding, she was rushed to the hospital.All those while, she left her eyes closed, totally aware of everything that was taking place around her.She heard Ethan’s worried voice and then that of her mother, who was sobbing quietly.At several points, she made to jerk up and tell her mother that everything was fake and made up.However, she was certain that would only trigger trouble, which she wasn’t ready for.Finally, she heard a doctor entering the room and running some tests on her.After about two hours, she finally opened her eyes, giving them the intuition that she had just gained consciousness.“Mum, what happened?” She asked pretentiously, peering into the worried eyes of her mother.“You passed out earlier”, Mrs. Williams explained as Carissa lowered her head to see that she was still clad in her wedding dress.“Oh my God! During the wedding?” Carissa asked aloud as she looked at her mother, who
Ethan knew that something was wrong with her. She appeared extremely disturbed and avoided his gaze at intervals. “Look at me”, Ethan said, as he cupped her cheeks into his hands, trying to ascertain what was going through her mind.“I’m fine”, Carissa said immediately, moving backwards until his hands dropped from her face.“I would take you home”, Ethan announced as he stood up and strolled to the door, gesturing for Carissa to come over.Carissa was about to jerk off the bed, but remembered that she should still show a glimpse of weakness.At this, she let out a groan as though she struggled to get off the bed.Mrs. Williams rushed towards her and led her to meet Ethan, who stood by the door.“I will handle her from here”, Ethan said to Mrs. Williams, smiling widely at her.He led Carissa out of the hospital room, with his hands wrapped around her waist and her head bent down to his shoulder.They got to the car and settled in, smiling at each other calmly and running out of words
It was almost an accident…Carissa heaved a massive sigh of relief, not only because they’ve just escaped an accident that would have claimed their lives, but because she didn’t get to reply to him with those words.“Are you okay?” Ethan asked Carissa the moment he recovered from the shock.Carissa nodded her head, not having any words to utter.Ethan heaved a considerable sigh of relief as he continued driving, darting his eyes to Carissa, who was clearly lost in thoughts.“We are here!” Ethan announced as he brought the car to a stop. He quickly got off and rushed to open the door for Carissa.“I can carry you if you don’t mind”, Ethan said in a voice that caused Carissa to blush in embarrassment.“No, thank you”, Carissa said as she smiled and placed her hands into his that was stretched out to her.Holding hands together, they made their way into the house.They got to the living room, where they sat down and glared at each other.Ethan had countless things to say, but currently,
“Oh my God!” Stan groaned as he landed with a thud.He remained still, hoping that the sound he had created didn’t distort the sleep of anyone in the house.After some minutes, he stood up and dusted his trousers, looking around and ensuring that he wasn’t being watched.A massive sigh of relief escaped his lips as he silently trudged towards the window.He glanced around at intervals, trying so hard to remain discreet in other to avoid getting discovered.It was 2:am, some hours after the failed wedding of Carissa and some hours after her return from the hospital.Stan had asked Jay to keep an eye on Carissa and from the information he received from him, there was no space for him to come in at that point.He needed no one to notify him that sneaking in at midnight might be the perfect way to meet with Carissa.At this, he had waited in his car for over three hours, watching the house from a distance and trying to ascertain when they would have retired to bed.At about 12:am, he obse
Carissa’s face was red and her eyes blurry as a result of the tears that had welled up in them.She kept writing, pouring out her heart and narrating her desires.For a while, her journal became her place of rest and peace. She had no one to talk to about her pains and wants because none of them would understand from her perspective.However, her journal was one thing that wouldn’t judge her or debunk her thoughts and opinions.As such, she derived great joy in writing whenever she felt so overwhelmed and deserted.Carissa couldn’t get enough sleep all through the night. She kept tossing on her bed, thinking of Stan and wondering what her life would be like.This caused her to become restless and when she was unable to take it anymore, she picked up her journal and decided to write.“Hey journal, all I want is peace and despite how much I crave it, I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Maybe, I would find peace if I set my eyes on Stan again”, she wrote down on the journal as more tears
Carissa stirred on her bed, rubbing her eyes as the rays of sunshine peeked into her room.She groaned grumpily as she picked up a pillow and placed over her head.Sounds were coming from the living room, and it caused her to finally sit up, with a massive frown on her face.“What’s the noise for?” She asked herself as she glanced at the clock.It was 9:am and the first time in a while she woke up so late.“Oh God!” She yelped as she jerked up and rushed into the bathroom.She had stayed up to the early hours of the morning because of how much she got engrossed with writing in her journal.Staring at the mirror in the bathroom, she couldn’t help but observe how miserable she looked. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was disheveled.Now, she really looked sick.A deep sigh escaped her lips as she strolled back to her room, where she wore a robe and made to head down the stairs.Just then, something struck her and abruptly, she swirled around and stared at the window.Carissa gu