Broken

Rejection

The wedding was to be in a few hours and Ashley was restless. She was already in her mothers dress and her hair had been  curled to perfection. Now, it was the endless wait until her doom. Her lips lifted slightly as she chided herself. The situation was not dire and she need not think of it so badly, but she knew that her days of freedom were over.

No longer would she be able to cavort around her father's estate whenever she wanted to. She had lost her sense of freedom. She would have to abide to her husband's every wish, whether it be honourable or not. 

"  Ashley, it is time to make our way to the church. Are you prepared?" asked her father. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she had not heard him enter her room. 

" Is it really time, father?' she questioned, hoping that anytime now he would start laughing and way the whole situation was a jest.

"Yes, it certainly is. Get ready and we will leave in a few minutes." her father responded happily. Perchance when they got to the church, her father would then start laughing, but Ashley knew that it was not a jest and that she was destined to be married in less that two hours. Sighing, she gracefully walked out of her room, sweeping a glance over it for the last time before departing for the carriage.

The ride was unusually calm and the carriage did not jerk around as it usually did, but Ashley still felt like she was going to be sick. Her clammy hands were gripped tightly on the chair as if she were clinging on for dear life. The ride was long and she was extremely grateful for that fact, because she would arrive later and have more time to still her jumping nerves. The scenery outside was bland and did not distract her from the food that was churning around in her stomach. If this continued any longer, she was going to vomit.

Her father sat to the side of her, staring out of the window. She found it ironic that by tonight, she would be trapped while her father would be free from any worries. Grimacing, she tried to think of anything that could get her mind off the suject of marriage and the fact that she was to be married soon. Unsuccessfully she stared out the window again, her mind jumping oce again to what married life would be like. Would her husband be kind? Or would he be a complete boor?

Over-thinking the situation, Ashley soon found herself tired and watched the scenery before her vision became dimmer and dimmer and she finally fell asleep.

" My lady, we are here." said the servant while shaking Ashley.

Blearily opening her eyes, she immediately saw the large structure in front of her that was the church. The nerves returned again as she wiped her sweaty palms on the seat of the coach. Realising that the servant was expecting an answer she muttered some incoherable words and stepped down onto the ground.

Her father walked to the right of her and took her arm. Together, they approached the magnificent building and waited at the entrance. Her breaths now came out in short gasps as she realised what she was about to do. Clenching her teeth together, she stood rigidly upright,tall and proud. She was determined not to to let her fear or anxiety show. The boom of the organ sounded in the entrance and the doors opened, revealing thousands of faces staring at the bride in wonder.

Suddenly, Ashley felt claustrophobic. There were thousands of people all crammed into the  church. Ignoring her sudden fear, she raised her eyes and glanced towards the front of  the hall. She let out a sharp breath and moved her eyes to where the groom was standing. Looking up, she saw the back of his head. Slightly disappointed, she stared at the priest.

Felix stood at the front of the church, purposely not turning around to look at the bride. He had a slightly sadistic gleam in his eyes as he thought about what he was about to do. He had decided that he would not look ar her. She was probably a whore and she didn't deserve his attention anyway. What use was it meeting another clingy woman that he didn't want to know?

The music faded as she approached and he felt a presence at his side. He had heard the sharp intake of breaths as the doors had opened. That would mean that she was either beautiful or extremely ugly, he thought, mentally snickering at the thought. She was obviously ugly and the gasps had been of horror. A horror movie began to play out in his mind, an ugly bride walking into to thousands of people fainting from seeing how ugly she was. Biting back a laugh, he tuned in to what the priest was saying.

"........do you Lady Ashley, daughter of the Earl of Wiltshire, take Lord Felix, Duke of Manchester to be your lawfully wedded husband.?"

Felix held his breath in anticipation of what he was about to do.

" I do.' Felix's heart stopped for a moment as he heard a sweet musical voice says the words. It was a voice that he could listen to all day. He shook himself out of the daze and smiled sinisterly, waiting for his moment to shine, but there was a niggling doubt in his mind that he was doing the wrong thing. Ignoring the thought, he waited for the priest to stop talking.

" ...take Lady Ashley to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

" I do....NOT" Felix stated calmly.

The whole church went quiet, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Ashley was in shock. She had never heard of anyone who had rejected their wedding vows. She looked up to see her betrothed walk out of the church victoriously. She was still in shock, no one had ever done that before! It was starting to sink in when everything went black and she fell to the floor.

Felix continued to walk out of the church with a spring in his step. He couldn't have been happier. He had refused to take the wedding vows and now his father could not force him to settle down and marry some whore. But, the voice of his betrothed still rang in his mind. The sweet melodic voice with a slight lilt to it echoed in his head as the words I do played over and over again.

NO! She was probably the town whore and he would not have second thoughts abotu what he had done. All the same, he could nto help but wonder what she looked like. Disgusted at his thoughts, he walked to his carriage and waited to arrive back home.

Ashley woke up to find herself snuggled into her bed at home. What had happened? Glancing around the room, she saw a servant standing at the foot of the bed.

"What happened?" she asked groggily.

The servant looked up at her and blushed. " My lady, you were at the wedding and you were exchanging vows with your betrothed when he.......refusedtotaketheweddingvows." the servant uttered quickly.

Her memories all came back to her in a rush as she felt her lungs constricting again. Deep breaths.......deep breaths, she told herself. How dare he reject her like she was a whore! How dare he embarrass and disgrace her in front of so many people! He was a complete monster! Her temper soared as she pictured her face in his mind. He was extremely handsome and looked like an angel....his deep blue eyes that seemed to lull her in ---  NO! She would not think about his appearance, no doubt it was something that he took pride in.

He was a selfish boor of a man! He had disgraced her and now she definitely had not future in society. There would be gossiping and rumours flying behind her back. She was probably the first woman to ever be rejected by a betrothed! The embarrassment of being not good enough for her betrothed hit her hard.

She was humiliated and hurt by a stranger. How was that even possible? Because of his selfishness, she was destined to a future of disgrace. 

But........in the anger and embarrassment she faced, there was also a tiny feeling of relief. Relief because she didn't have to be married to this selfish, humiliating boor of a man. And for that, she was grateful.