“It was a promise he could never keep, a promise that was broken as soon as he made it”

 

 

~*~*~

 

 

“Love is a promise delivered already broken”

 

 

~*~*~

 

“If you had to choose between the love of your life and your family, which would you choose? He turned to his girlfriend and asked.

 

“My family,” she replied almost instantly.

 

“You don’t even have to think about it?” he asked, disappointment clear in his voice.

 

She looked down. “No.”

 

“Why? If he was the love of your life then-”

 

“Because,” she interrupted, “I’ve seen what happens to a family when someone chooses the love of their life over their family. The whole family seems to fall apart… and I really value my family. Boyfriends can change but your family will always be there for you.” She looked over at her boyfriend and saw his disappointed face. She laughed at his expression and then pulled the corner of his mouth into a smile. “But I hope that I never have to, because I know I’ll be very sad to have to choose. I seem to be falling more and more in love with you everyday.”

 

 

~*~*~

 

 

“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings”

 

 

~*~*~

 

 

“I don’t understand! Why do we have to break up?” he stood up and yelled at her. He was angry. He had prepared so long for this date. He had everything planned out perfectly in order to propose to her. But now she wants to break up.

 

She couldn’t look him in the eye. The tears were b and threatening to fall any moment now. She didn’t want to make this any harder than it already is. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice breaking.

 

“I know that you still love me, so don’t even try to tell me that it’s because you don’t love me anymore. Then could you please explain to me why we have to break up when we are still in love with each other?”

 

“Because our families hate each other!” she stood up and screamed back at him. She was getting frustrated. She didn’t want this to happen. She still loved him. She knew that. She knew that they were in love with each other. She knew that she should be fighting for their love. She knew that if she let him go, her heart would break. She knew all of that. She understood all of that. But that doesn’t change reality. She looked away and took a couple of deep breaths. When she turned back to look at him, she smiled bitterly, “I’ve told you before that if I had to choose between the love of my life and my family, I’d choose my family. Our families hate each other, that’s a fact that we can never change. Even if we do succeed in getting married, we’ll never get their blessing. You know how important my family is to me!” She closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the sky to keep her tears from falling. After a while, she opened her eyes and looked him in the eye. “We both know how much pain it brings to the family when a person chooses their love of their family. A family should only have to go through that once. I don’t want to be the cause of those tears. We both know that they’ll never let us be together. Instead of having them break us up by force, why don’t we just end this relationship ourselves? I don’t want to continue a relationship that I know won’t have a happy ending. If we leave this relationship ourselves, at least we’ll remember the happy memories instead of creating more sad ones.”

 

“Do you really want to do this?” he asked, his voice pained. He was scared to ask. He really was, but he knew he had to. In his mind, he was praying to heaven above that she would tell him ‘No’, or tell him that this was all a joke, that she was just kidding with him. But at the same time, he didn’t want to know her answer. His heart was getting pierced with her every word.

 

She opened and then closed it. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile. She reached up and caressed his face. “I don’t want to make this any harder than it already is. But I can guarantee you one thing: this will be the last time that I’ll interfere with your life. I’ll disappear from your life forever.” With that, she turned to leave. The tears that she’d been holding in had finally escaped and silently rolled down her face.

 

“No.” He couldn’t let her leave, leave him, leave their love. He reached out, grabbed her hand and pulled her back into his arms where he wanted her to remain forever. He was hurting, but he knew that she was in even more pain. This was hurting her even more to have to choose. He knew that she still loved him. Since they still loved each other, why did they have to break up? He could feel her tears soaking up his shirt just like he knew that this moment wasn’t going to last. But they remained there, neither of them wanting to leave, only praying for time to stop, to let them remain together forever. However, that couldn’t happen. Finally, she was able to regain control of her emotions, of herself. She removed herself from his arms as he was forced to let here go. He didn’t want to. He knew that once he let her go, he’ll never be able to get her back. But he knew that if he continued to hold on, she’d only get hurt even more. He didn’t want to see her cry. He didn’t want to see her in pain. Especially if he’s the cause of that pain.

 

“I’m sorry…” she whispered as she turned around and walked slowly away. Leaving him, leaving their love.

 

The moment she turned and walked away, his heart and his world were shattered. The pain in his heart hurt so much that he was beginning to go numb. He couldn’t feel his body. He wanted to run after her, to tell her not to leave him, but he could only stand there and watch her getting farther and farther away from him. He never doubted her, just like he never doubted their love as he knew both were true. He thought that for their love, they could overcome anything and everything. He’d never been so in love with anyone in his life before. But even with all of this, they still couldn’t be together.

 

She had changed him. She melted the ice around his heart. She taught him how to live, how to love. She was the guiding light in this dark world. All the things he thought were true, she would prove them wrong continuously. Even his belief that true love could prevail over all, she proved him wrong yet again. She showed him that no matter how much love was between them, how much they couldn’t live without the other person, they could still never be together. All he could do was let her go, even if it meant breaking his heart. This was where they met. The place where he asked her to be his girlfriend. The place where they told each other ‘I love you’. The place where they went for their first date. The place where they shared their first kiss. The place that was full of their promises. This was where they spent their happiest moments. And now… it was also where they broke up. The place where their hearts broke. The place that used to be filled with laughter now only contains tears.

 

The skies started raining as if crying for their love. He continued to stand there, waiting. Waiting for something that wasn’t going to happen. He wanted to believe in miracles. He couldn’t bring himself to leave. He only hoped for her to suddenly turn around and tell him that she wasn’t leaving him. But he knew that would never happen. She had chosen her family over him. She had chosen to leave him forever. Forever and ever… that was their promise. To love each other. To be together forever and ever. To live happily ever after. They had promised to not let anything get in the way of their love. To stay strong for their love. To persevere over everything for each other.

 

His heart was bleeding. It hurt so much that he couldn’t even cry. He couldn’t bring himself to believe that it was over. That they had broken up. This couldn’t be true…. It wasn’t until his mom called him to remind him to come home for dinner that he finally brought himself to walk away…

 

 

~*~*~

 

 

"There are two tragedies in life, one is to not get your heart’s desires, the other is to get it."

 

 

~*~*~

 

 

He couldn’t believe his eyes. This must be a dream. But if it is, he could only pray to never again wake up. Standing in the doorway, he didn’t know if he should go in or just turn around and leave.

 

But he couldn’t leave. Not now. Not after months of not seeing her.

 

She was sitting right there. Sitting right across from his parents. This was a scene that he could only dream about. Yet, now that it was in front of him, he didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. The love of his life was sitting with her parents right across from his parents. In any other circumstance, this would be perfect. But for him, this could only be either a dream come true or his worst nightmare waiting to happen. Why do you ask? Their families were sworn enemies. Their fathers hated each other’s guts. And now, they’re sitting calmly across from each other as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

 

He didn’t snap out of his reverie until he heard his mom tell him to come sit down. Everyone turned to look at him when they heard his mom call out his name, everyone including her. In the split second their eyes met, he thought he saw the longing in her eyes, but he couldn’t be sure since she averted them almost immediately. He heard his heart break again when he saw her. She looked so much paler, more vulnerable and just tired. She had lost weight. Her eyes were cold and they seemed to have lost their glimmer. Her face lost its radiance. He slowly walked over and sat down across from her, yet she wouldn’t meet his gaze again. He continued to look at her, hoping that she would look into his eyes. Even though she was sitting right there in front of him, close enough for him to reach out and take her hand; it felt like they were oceans apart. It wasn’t until his father cleared his throat that he reluctantly looked away.

 

“So, you all might be wondering why I called all of you here today,” his father started. “I’ve been thinking about the things that have happened lately and I’ve finally figured out that we can’t continue like this. I guess you can call it a – compromise – if you will.”

 

“Compromise?” her father mused. “I guess you can call it that.”

 

“I wonder if we were thinking along the same lines?” his father wondered out loud.

 

“Marriage,” the both said that the same time.

 

All the heads in heads in the room turned to look at the two men, who were now laughing at their compatibility. His and her eyes both bulged at their father’s words. Marriage? What the heck are their fathers thinking? They couldn’t be serious… right? He looked over at her to see what she thought of this idea. In her eyes, he saw shock, then confusion and finally anger. But her face betrayed no emotion. No one else saw this but he was fully aware of her thoughts and emotions. He knew for a fact that this was never going to work.

 

“What?” she asked, her voice cold.

 

“You see,” his mother explained, “after what happened with your sister and my son, we finally sat down and had a well needed talk. We concluded that it was ridiculous of us to be feuding over something we don’t even know the cause of and trying to control who you can and can’t love. We are seeing tears and sorrow when we could be seeing smiles and happiness. We did that once that we don’t want to see history repeat itself. That’s why we want you two to get married. Not only is it because you two truly love each other but also as a – compensation – if you will for things past.”

 

“Isn’t it a little late for that?” the edge in her voice was evident. Her anger was starting to show. “What’s happened has already happened. You had the chance to change things and you didn’t appreciate it and now you want to compensate? How do you even think that by having us get married is in any way compensation?”

 

Her mother put a hand on her. “That’s why we’re doing this. We know we should have done this for your sister and that we could have prevented those things from happening, but we didn’t. That’s precisely why we’re doing this: we don’t want those same things to happen again. We want to see at least one happy ending. We don’t want to continue trying to control who you can and can’t love.”

 

“You should have done this for her, not me. She’s the one that deserves that happy ending. What’s the use of fulfilling my sister’s dream on me? She’s the one that only prayed for your acceptance and you didn’t give it to her. Now, even if you wanted to, you can’t. This marriage isn’t because we love each other; it’s for you to ease your conscience, isn’t it? Because you can’t change the past, you just want this marriage in order for you to not have to go through that pain again. Don’t you think that that’s really selfish of you guys? You clearly know that it’s not us that should be getting married.”

 

“Yes, we know that. That’s why we want to see you two get married. It’s not just for you but also for your sister. Didn’t you promise her that if you got a shot at this happiness, you wouldn’t give it up for any reason?” her mother asked her quietly.

 

She sighed and looked down at her hands, which were now interlocked in her lap. She didn’t have anything to say to that. She did promise. She had said that if she ever got this chance, she would take it immediately. That’s the last thing she promised her sister. She couldn’t break that promise. She could break any other one, but not this one. Not the one to her sister. It was her sister’s last wish.

 

“So, what do you two say?” his father finally asked after a couple of minutes.

 

“I agree,” she replied almost instantly.

 

He was… surprised to say the least. Wasn’t she the one who was just bashing this idea just now? He looked at her, shocked. But she had looked back down at her hands. He didn’t know what to do, how to react.

 

“Since she’s agreed, what do you say, son?” his father turned to him and asked.

 

He looked over at her again, hoping to catch her eye, to tell him what she wanted him to do. His heart was bleeding right now. The love of his life has agreed to marry him, isn’t this what he’s always wanted? Wasn’t this what he could only dream about before? But, this wasn’t what he wanted. He knew, deep down, that she only agreed because of her sister. Not because of him. Not because of their love. But to fulfill her sister’s dream. Now, he just wanted her to tell him whether she wanted him to agree to this or not. However, once again, she denied him that chance. He was on his own in this one. His heart told him to agree, but his mind told him to say “No”. His mind knew that this marriage would be like a lie, it wasn’t a marriage of love but of fulfillment. Yet he dared to believe that she still loved him. That somewhere, deep, deep down in her heart, she still held a place for him. “I agree.”

 

 

~*~*~

 

 

"The truth of the matter is, I still have feelings for you. And no matter how many times I tell myself that I’m better off without you, a part of me just won’t let go."

 

 

~*~*~

 

 

Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. She was getting married to the guy she loves with all her heart despite the fact that their families hate each other. Wasn’t getting married to him something she’s always wanted? Wasn’t marrying the guy you love supposed to make you the happiest girl in the world? Even though their families hate each other, she’s still able to get married to him. Wasn’t that supposed to make her happy? If so, then why isn’t she feeling the happiness that’s supposed to consume her whole being? Why does she feel so sad and lonely?

 

She felt the tears slide down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away and laughed bitterly at herself. “You’re such an idiot. You’re about to get married to the guy you love and you’re here thinking it’s the worst thing in the world! Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? Then why are you here crying and feeling sorry for yourself?”

 

A knock at the door brought her out of her little rampage. Her friend stuck her head in. “Can I come in?” Seeing her nod, her friend walked in and sat down on the couch. “So, are you ready?”

 

“Can I not be?” she laughed weakly. “The wedding’s going to begin in less than an hour.”

 

They were quiet for a moment before her friend spoke again. “Why are you doing this?”

 

“What do you mean?” she asked back, slightly confused.

 

“This marriage, I completely don’t understand it. Why are you getting married?”

 

This was true. Why was she getting married? She smiled bitterly at herself when she thought of her answer. It was actually really simple: her family.

Before, for her family, she broke up with him.

 

And now, because of her family, she’s getting married to him.

 

She sighed. “It’s for my sister. I promised her that if I ever got this chance, I wouldn’t give it up for the world. I can’t break my promise to her.”

 

“So you’re saying that even though you’re agreeing to get married to him, you’re not even going to give him a chance?” her friend asked to clarify.

 

“That’s about it,” she clarified.

 

“Isn't that a little unfair to him?”

 

“I don’t know. I can’t think that much. All I know is that I have to do this for my sister.”

 

“But truly, is this what you really want?”

 

“I-” she bit her lip as she thought about it. Did she really want this? Wasn’t this something she’s always dreamed about since she met him? He was the love of her life. He was her soul mate. She can’t even imagine herself with anyone else. But at the same time, she hates his family. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not someone who goes back on her word. I’ll be fine.”

 

A knock at the door interrupted what her friend was going to say. Her friend stood up and walked over to see who it was. She opened the door slightly and gasped. Her friend turned back to her and said “I’ll let you two talk” before leaving.

 

She was confused by her friend’s actions until she saw who was at the door. The love of her life, the man of her dreams and her husband-to-be. Her mind went blank when she saw him. It always seemed to do that when she sees him. He was everything she could ever dream of in a guy and so much more. but he only had one flaw. That’s right, he only had one: he was the son of the enemy. The only reason that had kept them apart for so long and the only reason why she was now deliberating whether to continue with this marriage or not.

 

He was standing outside the door. Waiting, to see if she would let him in. He was giving her that option of refusing, not wanting to force her. That was another thing she loved about him. She smiled, “Come in.”

 

He smiled as he came in and sat down across from her. He just sat there and watched her, not saying anything. Then, she made the mistake of looking into his eyes. His deep and expressive eyes. The eyes that showed you everything that he was thinking, everything that he was feeling. The eyes that attracted her to him the first time she saw him. The eyes that she wouldn’t mind staring into for the rest of her life. In his eyes, she saw love. His endless love for her. Yet, somewhere deep down in there, there was worry.

 

After what seemed like eternity, she willed herself to look away. “So, did you have something to tell me or did you come in here to just stare at me?”

 

He laughed the laugh she loved the most. His laughter put her at ease and lightened the atmosphere around them. Who knows how long it’s been since they’ve been this way? They both missed this. The silence that told more than words. The quiet laughter that made up their love. “I just wanted to ask you something.” Seeing her nod, he continued, “Are you sure that you want to get married?”

 

That was the last thing she thought he’d ask. The question surprised her and she just stared blankly at him for a moment. In which his forehead creased at her deliberation and his smile started fading. She then tilted her head to the side and. “Yeah, I’m sure. Are you sure you want to get married?”

 

Ah! She shut her eyes almost instantly. Gosh, why did she have to be so impulsive? Did she really want to know the answer to that question? But now that it was out there, she could only wait for his answer. She peeked at him to see his facial expression. It was calm. Seeing it, she hesitantly opened her eyes.

 

It wasn’t until he saw her eyes fully opened that he smiled. It was the smile that had melted her heart and made her go weak in the knees. This was also the smile that had won over legions of girls. This smile gave her the confidence to hope that he wasn’t going to back out. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

 

That was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to her. She beamed and his smile grew knowing she was pleased with his answer.

After another moment of staring into each other’s eyes, he slapped his thigh and stood up. “Okay, it’s time I head back to the church before anyone notices.” He had opened the door before turning back to look at her. “I just wanted to tell you that you look more beautiful today than you normally already do.” She smiled sweetly at him. “I’ll be waiting for you at the end of the alter.” Then he left.

 

As soon as he left, she sunk onto the ground, tears falling free. She could no longer hold in the tears. She hated lying to him. “I’m sorry…. I’m sorry that I’m lying to you. But I don’t know what else to do. I’m sorry that I have to keep lying to you… because if I don’t, I don’t know how to face you. I can’t get over the fact that it was because of your brother that I lost my sister. I’m sorry that I have to break my promise to you. I said I’d never lie to you but I can’t do that anymore. I also said that you’d never see me again, but… I can’t do that. I can’t stand not seeing you. But… I can’t forgive yet. I just can’t. I can’t forgive your brother. I can’t forgive your family. I’m sorry that I’m not getting married to you because of our love but because of my sister… I’m sorry… but this would be so much harder if you knew. You’d make this harder than it already is. I have to keep pretending that I don’t love you anymore. It’s the only way I can continue to stay by your side. But I know that I’ll always love you… I guess that quote is really true. If I never met you, I wouldn’t like you. If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t love you. If I didn’t’ love you, I wouldn’t miss you. But I did, I do and I will…”