Chapter 65: Chapter 65

David’s P.O.V.

I was indeed shocked to see Helena’s silver couple ring, which she threw at me earlier. How I wished that the least probability of finding it, the higher the chance of Helena and I could come back together. But now, it was all impossible. I was breathing heavily because I had nothing to hope for.

Then, I looked at the same silver wedding ring on my left finger. That was what made me sadly reminisce about Helena’s vow and how blissful she said it during our fake wedding celebration. It happened on her birthday three months ago…

“I, Helena Mari Delgado, take you, David Cristoff Rivera, to be my husband, my constant friend, my faithful partner, and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, our family, and friends; I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”

My happiness soared up high that I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I guessed I was still floating on cloud nine until the fake priest said, “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Stunned with overflowing emotions, I felt so tense about thinking where I could possibly kiss Helena. It felt like every nerve surrounding my body was vibrating with too much anticipation.

My trembling hands slowly removed the veil which covered her face, and I looked at her as if it was only the two of us here and no one else was around. I was hoping for the future to come a little bit faster because I wouldn’t want to marry anyone else if it wasn’t Helena.

Now, I didn’t know what to do. As far as I knew, I was always full of confidence, and I didn’t think that a fake event like this would make my bones turned into jelly. God knew how I really wanted to kiss Helena and ravage her sweet lips here before finally announcing to the whole world that she was already my girlfriend.

But I couldn’t. I had to respect Helena’s decision of keeping our relationship a secret. If I would kiss her on the lips here, many would see it. I wanted to keep my promise because I desired to gain her trust until the end.

And because we were getting a lot even more attention now than the start of this feigned wedding, I had decided to solemnly kiss her on the forehead.

The painful memory bursts me into tears more than usual. Then, another scene popped up. Another scene that dreadfully broke my heart…

Helena couldn’t take her eyes off of her delicate finger—particularly on the ring I wore to her earlier. And just like the silver rings on our fingers, her eyes were lambently sparkling too. Her eyes were a kind of green that spoke to the soul of nature—bold and gorgeous.

Fully devoting myself to her, I leniently cupped her jaws. “No matter what happens… don’t take it off, okay? And don’t lose our marriage certificate either. I know that we’re only young right now, Helena… but I promise you that when we both graduate from college and have stable jobs years from now, we will together face the altar. I will marry you no matter what!” I kissed Helena on her forehead before pulling her over a warm hug.

She hugged me in return and buried her face at the crook of my neck before facing me. I could see a glimmer of joy in her eyes, and it was mesmerizing. It could wash all my problems away, making me giddy with infinite excitement.

“Yes… and when that time comes, you have to promise me that you will kiss me on the lips! Are we clear on that?” Helena’s cheeks were even more reddish now.

It looked like she also wanted to kiss me on the lips a while ago, but it wouldn’t be possible for us. Kissing intimately in front of other people wouldn’t be suitable for teenagers who were actually keeping their in-depth relationship with everyone.

I pinched her nose. “You know what? You are so cute! Of course, I’ll kiss you on the lips when that time comes. You can even bet for a French kiss!” Then, I licked my lips.

“Oh… you’re indeed a mischief, lover boy!” Helena laughed. “But kidding aside… thank you so much for respecting me earlier, Cristoff! The truth was… I wanted you to kiss me on the lips during our fake wedding, but I’m afraid that Dad will know everything about it. That celebration might be fake, but what I feel for you is real.”

The rain had gradually subsided, but I cried even harder. Helena removed this ring from her finger because it was clear that she didn’t want to do anything with me anymore. Damn it!

We were so grateful during those memories like nothing seemed to matter, as long as we had each other. But now, those were killing me. Now, it was all gone. Helena and I were gone. How could I continue living my life when in the first place, she already became my life the moment she said ‘yes’ to me?

It was stabbing me that Helena’s feelings for me were fake, just like that bogus wedding. She deceived me like hurting me was only a piece of cake.

I secured the ring using my left hand, but I balled my right fist and relentlessly punched the ground. I had no plans to stop until my knuckles bled with fresh blood. I didn’t feel any pain right now because my emotions were all burnt, and I suddenly became numb.

No matter what, I was sure of one thing. My love for Helena would remain, for I could love her endlessly more than anybody else.

And though we had to move forward in our separate worlds—like two parallel lines that would never meet each other—I hoped that Helena could feel that my love was still hers. That returning this ring would never return the part of me that I already committed with her.

“I hate to see you like this, Dave. You know what, I envied her! When we broke up, I didn’t see you acting this way.” I heard someone said.

Hurt beyond what the word itself means, I looked up and saw Vanessa holding an umbrella. The rain already dampened her stylish blue gown.

“Yes, you’re mad at Drew, and you’ve always wanted to hit him for what we did… yet I never saw you cry like hell. But now, look at you—you looked like you almost wanted to commit suicide because Helena left you. I saw everything, Dave… everything. I heard that Helena was breaking up with you. Please, don’t ruin yourself just because of her.” It was a piece of advice coming from the least person I would have ever wanted to see here.

“What are you doing here? Leave me alone!” I barked. I continued my right fist to hit the cemented ground like it was a punching bag.

Vanessa didn’t pay attention to her umbrella anymore and tried to stop me from the hell I was doing. Both of her hands touched me as she strived to get me to my feet. I intentionally wanted to hurt myself to forget the pain Helena had caused me. I desired to forget everything, but all I could remember was Helena’s green eyes and alluring face.

So, it was too late for me to realize that I terribly pushed Vanessa away from me when she winced in pain with her butt on the ground. She was looking at me with grief in her eyes.

“I’m just here for you, Dave… please, just choose me and be with me again! Helena already dumped you, so let me be an option. Before she came into the picture, we’ve had each other. You used to love me before, don’t you remember? You can do that again. I will make you remember our happy memories together, and I promise that I will never lie to you again. Just choose me,” Vanessa almost begged, the same way I was begging for Helena earlier.

She attempted to get even closer to me for the second time, but I signaled my wounded hand to stop her. I didn’t want to give her any false hopes.

“I’m sorry, Vanessa. Not because Helena left me, it means that she doesn’t love me anymore. I will continue to fight for her. She’s just confused right now, but eventually? We will be okay—we will be together again. And let’s just say that for one percent, maybe you’re right. She dumped me, and she doesn’t love me anymore, but it doesn’t change the fact that I still loved her. She will be mine again, no matter how much it would cost me. Helena is the only one here,” I pointed at my chest desperately, “so I didn’t need you as an option because she is the only one—I would love until the end.”

I saw Vanessa shed some tears after, but I rose to my feet and walked away.