TILL DEATH DO US APART

-SAGE-

" I love you a lot, Sage but Hades is your future now. As much as I want to carry you down into the hall and make you my bride, I can't because you love him now. You love him, and he loves you. You're perfect in every way, Sage and so is he. And my happiness lies in yours, I guess that's what poets call love." He chuckles, cupping my face, caressing my cheeks with his thumb.

" What about us?" I croak out.

" Us? I don't know what we have but I'm damn sure, it's stronger than the bond you share with that mob boss." he giggles as I sob.

" Now what?" I whisper, looking up at him.

" Now, you'll marry the love of your life and begin a fresh new life. He'll stand by your side, through thick and thin, ups and downs and fulfill all his promises unlike me. You'll have two kids, two bratty kids just like you. A girl and a boy, who throw tantrums all day and never get tired of pranking everyone. And then, one day we'll meet again. Our eyes will talk to each other silently and out hearts will bleed tears but on the outside, we both will have a smile on our face." he whispers, placing a little kiss on my forehead.

I wailed, hearing his words. I don't know how I'm feeling right now but thinking about the day Enrique just described has my heart clenched in pain.

" You're my first love, Enrique. I've loved you a lot, you're the one who has taught me what love is and what that word carries. I'll never forget you, no matter which phase of life I'm in." I sob, slowly touching his face with my fingers.

" You're my first love too, Sage and I've loved you more than anything. I know I'm not your last, but you'll always be my first and last." he mumbles, looking at me with tears pooled in his eyes.

" Don't do this to yourself, Enrique." I sob.

I didn't want him to spend the rest of his life alone while I enjoy mine with Hades. He has the right to live his life.

" I can't, Sage. I can't love anyone except you, my heart does not approve of that. I'll spend this life repenting all my sins so that in the next life, God gives you to me again, without that Hades, Ofcourse." he chuckles at the end.

" What if this is our last life?" I whisper as he chuckles.

" Then, I guess this is the end of our story." he whispers.

I throw myself on him, hugging him tightly until my hands were hurting. I denied to believe that this was the end of our story.

" Sage?" I gasped, when Elena rushed in the room, looking at us with wide eyes.

" Sorry, but the Romano's are here and they're calling for the bride." she shrugs looking at me and her brother, sadly.

I nod at her, she mumbles 'be quick' before walking out. I look back at Enrique to see him smiling at me.

" Goodbye, love." he whispers, kissing my forehead gently.

"I-" I stutter before pulling myself up from the floor, looking down at him.

What am I supposed to say? My mind felt numb so did my heart.

" I love you, Sage. Always have and always will and I'll be the happiest man in the entire universe if you forget about my wrecked heart and move on into your beautiful life ahead." he smiles.

I place my hand on my mouth, muffling my sobs as I ran out of his room. Something was hurting my heart, I couldn't point on it but there was something that made it painful for me to even breathe.

I walked into my room, Josephine and Elena were sitting there waiting for me, I guess. Josephine shoots up from her seat at the sight of me.

" Sage, are you fine?" she gasps, stumbling towards me.

" I'm good." I whisper.

" Whose blood is this?" she gasps.

" Enrique had a little injury." I whisper, in a monotonous voice.

" You've ruined your makeup. Let me fix this and the blood." Elena mumbles.

I nod, sitting on the dressing chair before closing my eyes. I could feel the makeup brushes sliding over my skin that kept reminding me to not shed anymore tears.

" Done." she chirps as I open my eyes.

" Let's go." Josephine smiles, kissing my forehead.

" I'm so happy for you today. I've always considered you my daughter, Sage and I'm so proud of you today, you've seen alot in such a young age and instead of falling back, you've always fought it all." she smiles, wiping my cheeks again and that's when I realized that I was crying again.

There's a knock on the door interrupting our talk. My father walks in, with a proud smile on his face.

" You look gorgeous, my child. Let's go, dad is going to walk you down the aisle." he smiles, offering his hand to me.

I gulp, looking around the room to see Shawn standing near the door, watching us silently.

" I know it's a father's duty to walk this daughter down the aisle but for me, you were never a father. You always paid my bills and gave me shelter but you weren't my father. I want my father to walk me down the aisle, I want Shawn to walk me down the aisle." I whisper, looking at my brother.

Shawn's face immediately broke into a beautiful smile as he marched in the room, offering me his hand.

" Don't do this to me, Sage. I know I've been a terrible father but don't snatch this right from me." my father whispers with tears pooled his eyes.

" I didn't snatch anything from you, Mr Martinez. You lost this right when you suspected of me not being your blood, you lost it when you killed my mother, you lost it when you blamed me for being raped, you lost little pieces of it each time you hit me for God knows what reason." I glared at my father as he stumbled back, sobbing.

" Shall we?" Shawn smiles down at me.

I nod, hooking my hand in his when Elena pulls the veil on my face. Shawn grips my hand tightly as we walk down the stairs, into the hall full of people.

There was my groom, standing all charming and handsome for our big day. A big grin appeared on his face at the sight of us.

I could hear whispers and feel heated gaze on me as we walked to the front of the hall. Shawn places my hand into Hades' hands before leaning down, kissing my forehead.

" She's really precious to me and today, I'm handing her to you. Take care of her, man." Shawn mumbles.

" Don't worry, buddy. I will die a thousand times before letting her get hurt." Hades mutters.

I took a deep breathe, looking down at Hades' shoes the entire time the priest talked.

Warm tears kept sliding down my cheeks as the priest kept chanting something. I was grateful for the veil which kept my face hidden but I know, Hades had felt my trembling hands which were in his hold.

" Do you Hades Romano, take Sage Khai Martinez as your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked.

I sucked in a deep breath again, I could feel my knees threatening to buckle up any moment but Hades kept supporting me by holding my hands into a good grip.

" I do." Hades' voice echoed into the hall, loud and clear.

" Do you Sage Khai Martinez take Hades Romano as your lawfully wedded husband?"

I closed my eyes, preparing to talk when I felt a strong breeze whirling into the room. My head snapped towards the stairs and as expected, Enrique was standing there in a clean suit, smiling at me.

His smile did no help but made me cry more. What was I doing? I had no idea, I felt like my brain is going to burst any moment now.

" Do you Sage Khai Martinez take Hades Romano as your lawfully wedded husband?"

Silence followed the priest's words. I slowly looked back at Hades, he was looking at me with concern.

This is it, Sage. Enrique is right, we can't change a thing that has happened in the past but Hades is your future now.

" I do." I mumble.

The crowd began cheering for us when the priest announced us, husband and wife. I quickly wiped my tears, preparing myself to look at Hades before he pulls up my veil.

" You may kis‐" Hades didn't let the priest finish before he pulled me in his arms, pulling my veil up.

" Till death do us apart?" he whispers, looking down at me with his beautiful dark eyes.

" Till death do us apart," I whisper.

He places his lips on mine, kissing me softly and passionately. I could feel butterflies flying all around my tummy, adrenaline pumping into my veins as I tried to cherish this moment.

I tried to capture this feeling to keep it in my heart forever and ever.

Till death do us apart.