Til Death

6. Blake

"It's not your fault."

"I know, I know, but still-" Her brow stayed furrowed as the door opened again. Blake's heart flourished until he saw Daniel's father, Eitienne appear and Blake's heart crumbled to dust. Eitienne is just as Blake remembered him, the man frozen in time and just as gorgeous as his wife. He wore a black suit with a grey sweater, meant to match his wife.

"Blake!" Etienne walked a little faster, when he spotted him. He practically tackled him into a hug. "It's good to see you. Don't be nervous. Everything is going to be fine." He raised the most unconvincing thumbs up in the world. Blake wanted to throw up all over his shoes in response, but he was too nervous to even vomit.

He wasn't ready. He needed a different suit. He needed more time to prepare.

He needed to have at least one stupid conversation with his fiancé.

"We're going to try to wait a little longer," Adele explained. "But we can't wait forever. The second Daniel gets here, we might just have to throw you both out there. Etienne will go out first and try to stall." She sighed harshly and reached into her husband's pockets, searching and muttering, "We were going to do this during breakfast, but what can we do now?"

She emerged with a small black box and placed it into Blake's hands.

"This is for you, my dear. It's been in our family since the very beginning."

Blake looked at the box. He looked back at her and waited for more information. It wasn't registering quite yet.

The door flung open again and a distressed woman poked her head through, looking at Etienne as if her whole life depended on it. "Your Majesty!" She blurted. "I don't know how much longer I can keep them waiting."

"I'm coming out," Etienne assured her with a sigh.

Grabbing Blake's arm, Adele gave him a little squeeze for encouragement and left with the King. The door clicked shut, leaving Blake alone again. He walked over to the couch and dropped down, staring at the box in his hands, feeling like the weight of the world. His hand trembled as he finally worked up the courage to flip the lid.

Sitting in a bed of velvet sat a ring.

It was a shining golden band, warped to look like two snakes with their mouths wide open and holding two small emeralds. At least, small in comparison to the huge blue sapphire in the middle. The shine from this ring burned Blake's eyes as his soul left his body. Slowly, he took the ring out of the box and his hands moved on their own, sliding it down his ring finger.

A perfect fit.

"Wow," Blake muttered, miserably. "I didn't think I'd have to put on my own engagement ring." He sniffed, keeping the waterworks at bay. Blake was overwhelmed with the day, the place and the heavy ring on his finger. He dropped his face in his hands, feeling so completely alone in the world, he couldn't stand it.

Great. Now, the press was going to get to see his horrible sticky and hot crying face.

From another door, in the back of the room, a tall Asian woman emerged, talking as if she was already in the middle of a conversation. She wore a vintage little black dress that flared out, paired with long white gloves, pearls and a huge wide brim hat as if she was hired as an Audrey Hepburn double for the event. The phone in her hand looked out of place among the old-world décor.

"Well! I have just been notified by Frances that they're on their way so you can say I've saved the day-!" She stopped short, noticing Blake on the coach.

Too much in shock, he stopped crying. Only one more tear slipped down his cheek.

"Who are you?" She asked, tossing her phone in her clutch. "What's going on?"