Chapter 6: Promise of living hell

And what a beautiful hell it is when I don’t know the reason for my punishment and the suffering you gifted me.

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~Ruben~

Broken, shattered? No, a man was not supposed to feel these emotions. These things make him weak, and he implores for the things he wants to soothe his pain.

Beggars cannot be choosers. This is what my father told me when I was a kid. Those words were engraved on my soul as if nothing else mattered, and I promised myself I would always want to be a chooser. Ruben Rodriguez never bowed his head and would never beg for anything.

Some moments of your life would never allow you to have the upper hand, like my brother’s death. The only man I trusted with my life was him. He differed completely from me. He was my protector, my only rock to incline, and a soft-hearted man. But life has to happen. He fell in love with a beautiful woman and gifted me a beautiful niece, Raya.

That little angel brought so much happiness into our life we never imagined. And one day, everything shattered when we found out the three met with an accident, and both my brother and his wife died, leaving Raya.

That two-year-old girl didn’t know what had happened to her.

Her innocent eyes were waiting at the door for her mum and dad to come, but it never happened. Days become months, and months become years.

Her beautiful smile made my day beautiful, and her tears shattered my heart. That innocent girl has become my lifeline, and I never realized when I became her father.

My parents wanted me to look for someone to heal our broken hearts with love and care, but I was scared to fall in love until I met Reile Amor. She is everything I wanted in a wife. She is intelligent, talented, independent, and, most importantly, has a caring heart.

We met a few months ago when I first saw her instructing the designer about the dress. The way she explained the details caught my attention. She was entirely professional regarding work, and I liked it about her. But later that evening, when I saw her again with the same woman sharing the beer, I heard Reile cheer on her success.

She joined our company as an upcoming model, and I was happy to get to know her better. She shook everyone with her presence, and how she grabbed everyone’s attention made a mark on every face in our company. But as we say, when it is right, it is right. You don’t want to waste time, and that was the feeling I felt with Reile.

She surprised me with her intelligence, astonished me with her confidence, and made me fall harder when she cared for me. When she was with me, every eye would turn towards us, and every man regrets why they couldn’t have her. Reile has changed everything about me. Her fashion sense was out of this world, and sure as hell, she, besides me, will take our company to a new level. She has become that missing puzzle that completes my entire being. When we talk about beauty with the brain, Reile was my name.

I wanted her to meet my family, but everything happened so fast that I didn’t get to tell her about Raya and my family. My mom and dad were out of the country when I told them about a girl I liked, and they promised to meet her soon.

The day I proposed to her was the most beautiful day. I was nervous from head to toe, as this would be the first time I would call myself a beggar and Reile as a chooser. I wanted her so much in my life that I had to involve my best friends.

Brayan, Kathrine and Miles. These three were my besties since school. Brayan got Kathrine after years of hard work, making her fall in love, and now they are married and passionately in love. Miles married Roselin; little did anyone know Roseline, and I had a history. She wanted to marry me, but I never felt it right when I knew Miles loved her from the day he landed his eyes on her. I would never mention this thing to Miles. It would never hurt him.

I had been planning this proposal to make it look unique. Reile deserves this. She deserves every happiness in this world. I wanted to be that man who used to wake up every morning, kissing her and wishing for more than a lifetime with her. But everything shattered when I saw someone else under that veil. Reile chose me, and how come this woman stood with me taking wedding vows? My parent’s eyes filled with happy tears when they saw her, but a screech parched through my heart, wanting to tell them this was not the woman I wanted to spend my life with. She was not at all like Reile, not even a bit.

The only emotion I felt at that moment was betrayal, and not to my wonder, I saw the same expression on Miles, Kathrine, and Brayan.

The breath stuck inside, and that happy memorable moment of my life turned into a punishment when I had to accept her with an unfortunate kiss. How could I let my parents’ and family’s reputation let go in vain?

One incident broke them, and this would shatter them badly. I got out of there.

The only thing I wanted to know was Reile.

The woman who came with me as my wife, I don’t even know her name, and how come she agreed to marry a stranger?

Looking out from the penthouse office, the pressure of failure and rejection was as vast as the city lights. Today I was shattered, but I would not allow myself to feel that way. It’s just the anger bubbling inside me to know I was being betrayed by the woman I loved, and the one who took part would be the one who would suffer my wrath.

“Ruben..” Kathrine and Brayan entered my office, watching my senses drown under the depth of the alcohol bottle. Presenting them with a sad smile from my shattered soul, I raised a toast.

“Where is Reile?” Miles entered, followed by Roselin.

Kathrine ran and hugged me, knowing I was being punished and betrayed for a crime I didn’t commit. Was falling in love a bad thing? Why did she betray me? What was going on in her mind when she stepped back from this proposal? Was I not enough for her?

“She left me.” I extended a note given by the watchman, highlighting the reason. She mentioned she was not ready to get married, and everything happened so fast that she didn’t get the courage to tell me. She felt terrible about it, but she didn’t forget to mention she loved me as much as I loved her.

Brayan and Miles settle on the couch, while Kathrine still holds my hand.

“I am sorry, Ruben.”

There was nothing to say, no words to display the pain I was feeling inside. And the only one I could think of pulling my anger at was the woman I left at home. Her face would remind me of the betrayal at every moment of my life. How come she agreed with Reile to betray me?

“Who is she?” Roselin bantered, knowing I knew nothing about her. But Kathrine seems convinced; maybe she knows who the hell she is.

Miles pressed Roselin’s hand to stay quiet and let me sulk over the pain of having an unknown wife. “I don’t know...”

I slid back, pouring another peg for myself, and guzzled it down the throat.

“She is..” Kathrine hesitated. Every eye cocked at her wanting to know the name of the person who supported this disaster. She must have got something in return from Reile to be in this agreement, and I had the itch to know the reason. If it were money, I would pay for everything to get rid of it.

It’s just I couldn’t ask for a divorce; it’s not in our blood. No one in my family or forefathers has ever supported or asked for a divorce. And now I am entirely trapped with a woman who had unfair intentions about my family.

“Tell us the name.” Roseline seemed eager enough to know the name while I was lost in the battle of thoughts.

“She is Arlet Amor. Reile’s cousin.” Well, that justified sister being replaced by another. But I was not interested in knowing anything about her.

“How do you know?” Brayan questioned.

“She is Milo’s friend.”

Milo and Kathrine are cousins; no wonder she knew about Milo and his friends.

“I don’t want to hear anything. Please leave.”

My friends respected my choice, and none wanted to sit and temper me with another bullshit talk. They knew it would not help me even if they stayed.

I stood against the glass, surveying the lights again, letting myself feel the pain, burning the ends of the cigarette, sucking the smoke in my lungs. I heard the latch assuring me the door was closed, but then someone hugged me from the back.

I knew who could have done this, and I despised it.

“I feel sorry for you.” Roselin nudged.

“Please leave.”

“I know how it feels when someone rejects you.” She lingered, ignoring my warning to step back.

“Why don’t you give her a divorce?”

“I can’t; my parents will not accept it.” She stepped in front of me, cupping my face into her hands, and skimmed my eyes.

“Then let her ask for a divorce.” Is that even possible?

“Don’t cry over spilled milk.”

“I am still here for you.” She leaned closer to imprint her lips on mine, but I was not in that much pain to let her win over me and let her spoil my relationship with Miles. I pushed her gently and stepped back.

“Get away, Roselin.” giving her the cold shoulder.

She snorted and fixed her hair before marching out of the office. But the thought she left in the air made me think twice. If I can’t give her a divorce, I will definitely create situations. She will beg for a divorce from me. I would make sure every day of her life from now on would be a living hell.