[FLASHBACK: 15 YEARS AGO]
Zordan’s POV:
Gabriel Onetti…
It was just a small name that she announced. But to me, the voice resonated more like a sharp dagger that pierced straight into my heart! Jaw-dropped and stunned, for a brief moment I forgot how to breathe!
Before I could get a grasp over the terrible reality, all of a sudden after Lorelia’s announcement, the giant metal doors leading to the grand ceremony hall opened wide inside. Guarded by a few knights from behind, and decked up in a royal blue silhouette suit, Marcus headed in first.
But he was not alone.
Just next to him, a little, petite young girl groomed in a beautiful white silk gown slowly walked inside. Her nervous feet staggered a little when the whole crowd gathered inside the hall applauded them with loud cheering. Her frail white arms were folded and she was wearing a long laced veil to cover her small pretty face. Not to mention, her wavy golden brown hair shimmered under the mild rays of sunlight that drifted inside the hall though the giant glass windows.
There was no doubt left anymore…How could I fail to recognize that petite figure and that pretty hands with small old scratches which she wrapped around my neck while holding me tight, just a month ago?
She was definitely Gabriel…that same Gabriel who stole my heart at the first sight!
My heart suddenly started throbbing hard with a gut-wrenching pain that squirmed my insides. My chest felt tight all of a sudden as if I was suffocating to breathe! Dizziness overwhelmed my mind and like a statue, my eyes only gawked at her when she slowly headed inside.
Her head was leaning down and covered by the veil, it was natural that she won’t notice me. But, my conflicted emotions were getting hard to control. I wanted to rush over to her and hold her hand, claiming her to be mine in front of everyone! A strong gush of flabbergasted emotions rushed through my veins.
I was the one who found her first! I was the one who met her first! I was the one who fell in love with her first!!
Then why the hell it had to be Marcus?
Slowly both of them reached Lorelia at the center of the hall and bowed their heads a little. Soon enough, she patted both of them and turned towards the crowd, declaiming in a joyous voice, “So, here is our star of the celebration and our little couple, Marcus and Gabriel. I hope everyone present here will shower your blessings on their new journey of life from here on.”
“As you wish, Your Highness! Long live Prince Marcus! Congratulations on your betrothal! Congratulations Lady Gabriel! Wish you a happy life together!”
All those cheering applauds of the crowd flared the anger and pain I was barely enduring inside. With my pained gaze, as I gazed at Gabriel from afar, my suffocation increased in my chest. Without realizing it myself, tears had filled the brim of my eyes and I was shivering a bit, unable to stand still anymore.
“Y-Your Grace, are you okay?” Observing my uneasy gestures, Maxim asked me in a low, concerned voice, patting my shoulder a bit.
But my throat was choked dry and I stood numb as if I had lost the ability and senses to utter a word. My bitter emotions formed a roll of tears in my throat and my cheeks started to hurt with the stung sensation.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think why was I feeling so miserable! Even after my mother’s demise, I had held myself strong but now it felt as if I had started to break bit by bit.
But as expected from Maxim, he gasped in shock to see bitter tears dripping down my cheeks. It was the first time he saw me crying in front of others which made him panic as he muttered, “P-Prince Z-Zordan!? Y-You are crying? Why? W-What happened?”
Even I couldn’t find the answer to his question as I chose to stay numb. This miserable feeling that was making my chest stifled with pain, is this what is known as heartbreak? That means…perhaps…my mother had gone through this same pain when my father brought this woman here in the royal castle on her deathbed?
Countless muddled thoughts condensed in my mind made me numb. As a naive little kid, all I could do was blankly gaze at Gabriel when she slowly pushed the shining red diamond ring onto Marcus’s little ring finger and the whole crowd burst into cheering applaud. Beneath her laced veil, my tearful eyes could see a glimpse of a small shy smile on her face as she politely accepted her new journey in life.
I didn’t even remember for how long I was in that dazed state. Tears had run out dry from my wistful eyes and when I got a hold over myself, the betrothal ceremony was already over. Bearing my suffocated emotions inside, before I could walk out of the room, suddenly I felt a small grip on my arm, tugging my suit cuff from behind.
The person who had approached me was no one, other than Marcus! It was the very first time my half-brother came to greet me, but I didn’t want it to be like this!
Over his small bright face, he flashed a cordial smile at me and conveyed, “Greetings, Big Brother. Were you leaving already without congratulating me?”
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