Lianna watched as Jake entered the ballroom with his wife and two kids. They have had their relationship long before he met his wife, they loved each other, but they could never work it enough to be with each other. His marriage did not stop it though; they were still very much involved.
His wife caught her eyes and smiled politely, she nodded back with a knot in her heart. She had always felt like his wife knew, every woman knows when their man is warming other bed, but somehow she was always nice to her, the other woman. Lianna caught Jake’s eyes, and when she knew she got his attention, she turned and started walking away towards an exit. She didn’t look back but she knew he would have followed inconspicuously.
They found an empty dark meeting room. Lianna walked in first and when Jake reached for the light switch behind her, she stopped him. They started kissing and undressing each other in the dark room, keeping their voices down so as not to attract attention. She giggled merrily and reminded him not to spoil her bridesmaid’s dress, the wedding wasn’t over yet.
They did not really have time snuggle after, the reception was still going on and people would start looking for them and wondering. She asked him to zip up her dress and while her back was to him, she mustered all her courage and told him she was engaged.
Everything stopped. It seemed in that seconds that followed her announcement, the world stopped turning and everything else ceased to exist. Jake stopped mid zip, she held her breath, her heart rested and her ears stopped working. There was just silence and stillness.
She was never restricted only to him, she had other lovers and he never minded it. He just never wanted to know about it. But and engagement, upcoming nuptial, was another whole thing. She knew it. No matter how much she prepared to be as casual, the moment she said it, even she lost composure. Thus, the perfect excuse of having her back to him and the perfect timing to announce.
After what seemed like an eternity, Jake cleared his throat and muttered “Congratulations” and continued zipping her up. Her heart started beating again and the party music seeping her ears toher brain. She composed herself and placed a smile on her face and turned to face him.
“I know you would be happy for me” she said, her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.
He smiled back. He felt he did well hiding his true feelings. He loved her, yes! He wanted her to be happy, yes! But he was also obsessed about her to fear of losing her. He didn’t her to know that. He was married and yet they were still secretly together, her wedding would not change that, he was sure.
He was wrong.
Lianna had practiced this next part more than she had fucked him. That did not stop her heart from going 120 beats/min when she placed her hand on his cheek, her eyes on him and said “I will miss you dearly, you know that right?” her voice trembled.
This time, he could not hide his reactions, confused, sadness, anger and surprised. Before he could say anything she walked away slowly from him towards the door. “At least we had this night to end it with,” she said smiling at him as she opened the door, as though to make sure he understood that it was over, and stepped out of the room before he could protest.
Over the few days and weeks that followed he kept trying to reach her, be it messages, e mails and even bumping into her. Every time, it was the same conversations; it always started with him reasoning that his marriage never stopped them, why should hers be a hinder? And it always ended up with him begging her to be with him, bargaining even to leave his family. She had always been firm to refuse it all. She has chosen who she wanted to be with, her betrothed.
The messages became more and more often and gradually threatening. He was always waiting for her everywhere, at any time. He stopped paying attention to his family, his work and everything else. They left him, but he did not care. Lianna was all that mattered.
She had blocked him from all media and started new routes and routines to avoid him. She even left town just to get away from him. Her feeling shifted from love, heartbroken to pity to annoyance to now scared for her life.
When he couldn’t find her, Jake went to her betrothed and told him everything, his relationship with Lianna and how they were very much in love. The groom to be was calm but stern. He said that didn’t matter, he knew all of it even the stalking and Lianna had chosen him, not Jake. He loved her more than Jake ever could and she loved him more than she loved Jake. In fact, if anything was to happen to Lianna, he would go after Jake and so would the police.
That infuriated Jake even more, he trashed around and had a breakdown while the universe crashed all around him. He needed to see her, he wanted to hold her, and this could not be it.
She came to him, against all odds. She did love him and it pained her to see him crumbling, so she went to him. She held him in her arms and told him how much she loved him, but as life goes on, so should he. Life is as such. He begged her for one last night, for all the memories and he would leave her then to her new life. She smiled and they kissed.
The next morning police found her cold dead body hanging from his ceiling and they found him curled up in the closet with a gun in his hand, rocking back and forth crying, muttering “She loves me, She loves me not” over and over again.
He left a love note of how they were to meant to be, if not in this life then maybe in the afterlife. He was to cowardly however, when it came to pulling the trigger on himself.
Whether they sent him to prison or a mental institution, he would be locked up for life.
