"They say that rain on your wedding day is good luck," James said as he watched Elizabeth stand by the doorway of their room in her wedding dress, her veil covering her face. He even had the time to fix her some fresh flowers.
It was cold and raining really hard, huge droplets of rain fell from the grey black sky.
In the living room James had prepared a small table with wine and bread, he covered the floor with flower petals so that she would feel as though she were walking down an aisle to him.
Today would be the day he takes his lovely bride as his wife.
Elizabeth was covered head to toe, in the the long sleeved dress up to her neck, it was heavy and dragged a bit across the floor; the thick veil hid her face.
She was shaking, and not just because of the coldness of the day but because of what the rest of her days would look like after she married.
She walked towards him and the table slowly, one step at a time taking in deep breaths, but each breath she inhaled through her nose was exhausting.
James took hold of her hand realizing that Elizabeth was trembling, her eyes were wide underneath her veil. More than sorrow, she was terrified as to what was to come...at night. Their first night as husband and wife.
James prepared the wine and bread, blessing it as he had done for so many masses.
He gave the cup to his bride to drink from it first, she sipped the wine through her veil. The bitterness of the alcohol made her throat burn. He did the same with the bread and once they had finished he took hold of both her hands and began his vows.
"Elizabeth Satti...I take you...as my wife. From this day forward...for all the days of my life....I will love, honor and cherish you...as God as my witness. In the name of the Father...Son...and Holy Spirit...amen."
He took a small plain silver ring and slid it onto her tiny finger. It fit perfectly, Elizabeth looked at it her heart felt like shattering when she remembered the ring Zach had gotten her. How much it meant to both of them, the innocent love they shared together.
She never saw it again.
Now on her finger was anothers ring, with another promise.
"Elizabeth, now before God accept me as your husband. From this day forward, for all the days of your life."
His eyes peered into her face, although the thick veil kept her face slightly hidden he could still see her worried face, her green eyes wavered as though she was holding back from falling to pieces.
"Elizabeth..." James repeated her name, tantalizing her. He leaned closer to her timid face. He took hold of her chin and lifted it up towards him, his gaze burned into her.
She couldn't tell if he was smirking, or serious or angry. But the way his eyes penetrated her was frightening. He had already threatened her, and his life along with the house, if she did not agree.
There was no way out of it.
Through her teeth she accepted, "I...accept you."
"Before God," James corrected her.
Elizabeth swallowed hard but her mouth felt dry," I ..accept you... as my husband....before God."
"Through the power of the priesthood imbedded in me, I consecrate our marriage. As God as our witness, our souls now belong to each other Elizabeth..." James lifted her veil, he was smirking.
His beautiful eyes glowed even in the candle lit room making him appear dreamy.
A deceitfully handsome man with sinister intentions. But handsome man, nonetheless.
The rain was picking up, through the window Elizabeth could spot lighting in the corner of her eye.
He wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her close before sealing their marriage with a kiss.
His lips tugged with hers, his kiss was slow and gentle and he tried to pour as much love into it as possible. James could feel how much Elizabeth was shaking; she tried to keep her lips tight to prevent his probing tongue but his hand pinched at her cheeks forcing her to allow his tongue entrance. Yet his tongue lapped with hers in a soothing manner, suddenly he felt her shaking diminish. He pulled away, watching as her eyelids slowly opened.
She hated every second of how easily her body reacted to his sexual advances, she hated herself for being seduced by him.
If only the ugliness inside him was manifested in his physical appearance. But instead it was as though a beautiful angel stood before her dressed in black, looking back at her passionately.
You are nothing but a demon posing as an angel...Elizabeth contemplated.
He could never get enough of the gorgeous green eyes that had captivated him since that warm July. He was their prisoner.
Inside her eyes, he could see himself...burning.
The corners of his mouth lifted happily. His hands found both of hers and laced his fingers.
He began to hum a hymn to her, the vibrations of the song made her heart's pace quiet down. James began to slow dance with her in the living room, holding her body close to his he maneuvered his new young wife, spinning her around watching how the lovely dress had fit her.
My little doll...he thought, his hands trailed down her back to her hips, gripping them tightly. James was ecstatic, his face came closer to hers but instead of kissing her again his nose rubbed against her neck as he took in her scent.
His mind thought of nothing but how she would feel once he'd finally have her. It was all he could think about. For so long since he met her, since he decided on his path towards hell, that he would claim her body and soul as his.
He began to chuckle, his shoulders shrugged from his laugh.
"Father?" Elizabeth mutter to which he placed a finger over her lips.
"No," he shook his head slowly, his smile still played on his lips, "You are to call me James or address me as your husband only."
Elizabeth avoided his striking gaze as he spoke, her body felt weak. James had restricted her diet once again worried that the dress would not fit her the way he intended, worried that she would try and run off again before the ceremony.
As James made her twirl around once again, Elizabeth came into his chest, gripping onto his jacket and laying her head against his chest. His hands patted her veil covered hair.
"J-James...I'm dizzy." she whispered his name hesitantly, his name was so foreign to her.
"Alright, we can dance later. Are you hungry?"
"Yes."
James took her hand and pulled a chair for her at the kitchen table, "Tonight, I will not restrict your food intake. You may eat as much as you'd like."
Her eyes sparkled at the table he had prepared with so much food, it could easily feed a family of four. Her mouth immediately began to salivate as she took a plate and added meats, potatoes and vegetables.
Before she got to eat the feast he had prepared, James handed her a full glass of wine, "A toast,"
He tapped his glass with hers, "to our marriage." he smiled.
"...I'm not old enough.." she reminded him with blushing cheeks, Elizabeth didn't know exactly how old he was but knew that he was much older. She wanted to ask him, to somehow use it as an advantage on convincing him to let her go. But the fear of his retaliation if she mentioned it scared her stiff.
"You are my wife Elizabeth, and what I say is law. The outside worlds laws do not apply here, drink with me."
Hesitantly she put her lips to the glass and sipped on the red wine. She was in no way used to alcohol and it burned her more than the wine used during mass.
This one was much stronger.
His face was serious, in order to appease him she forced a smile, "It's delicious, thank you."
Her compliments worked so he sat down on the other side of the table and put his hands together to say grace.
Elizabeth bowed her head and listened to her new husbands prayer before finally getting her first taste food in over 12 hours.
******
Mr. Satti ravaged through his brothers home office for money. Although, Rohan agreed to pay his brothers flight back home and an additional $5,000 for what he called "damages" Mr. Satti was not satisfied. He knew he could have gotten more from the suitor that he promised his daughter to.
As a last resort he broke into his Brothers home office and began to stuff any valuables into his luggage.
He opened a closet and dipped his hands in all the pockets of his brothers pants and blazers, finding loose change and even an expensive watch.
Suddenly his eyes caught a large grey box.
He reached for it at the top of the shelf, but underestimated how heavy it was.
The box fell forward and the top spilled all the contents. He was hoping to find money but instead photos spewed out.
He crouched to get a better look and flipped over the photos.
One of them, shook his whole body.
It was a photo of his late wife.
He was still. Motionless. His heart felt as though someone was squeezing it tightly.
For so long, he had forgotten what she looked like since she passed. He had sworn to himself never to look back , it was too painful and he couldn't handle the grief. The only thing that took away his pain was alcohol.
She was so young in the picture, her green eyes stared at him much like the first time he laid eyes on her. Behind that one photo, was another.
One more recent.
It was the last photo taken of his daughter. Rohan had tucked it away, looking at it was almost unbearable.
Mr. Satti's eyes pooled with tears, for the first time in many years, he wished he could hold his daughter one last time.
He never realized how much she looked like her mother, his late wife.
The same green eyes, the same sweet caramel skin, the same long black hair.
The ground felt as though it was opening up for him, although his eyes were cloudy with tears, he could see now. He could perfectly see how wrong he was to have abandoned Elizabeth.
She was like a duplicate of his wife, the woman he cherished most in the entire world, and he had abandoned her, he had tortured her, mistreated and neglected her.
Now all he had from both were everlasting smiles trapped in photographs, the smiles would forever burn in his mind, forever haunt him.
His fingers could no longer hold onto the two photos. He dropped them and fell to the floor in shock.
How could he not have seen it?
How could he have been so blind?
Causing Elizabeth pain all those years was equivalent to betraying his wife, betraying her love and her life. He had not realized that inside Elizabeth, was the embodiment of all the love that his wife had left for him.
To cast aside Elizabeth, was to have cast aside and rejected his wife.
Now, his world had opened, now his sight was gained back to him. But with his only daughter, gone, missing and probably for forever....he could not make amends. He could not beg her for forgiveness.
So what did he have left?
The guilt, pain and heartache gripped him, like a snake coiled around his body, squeezing the life out of him.
His daughter, his wife. Gone forever.
What did he have to go back home to? Without his family, without his girls...did he even have a home?
Rohan came back to his house after a long day. Purposely he stayed after hours at work so that he would not run into his brother. He had arranged for a ride to take him to the airport that day, it was not in his intention to see him off.
Rohan walked to his kitchen in the dark, too depressed and upset to turn on his lights he brewed himself a single cup of coffee before proceeding up the stairs to his master.
That's when he noticed the door to his office was open.
Slowly, he walked towards it bracing himself for the possible disaster that his brother might have caused just before leaving.
The room was clean, but in the corner he noticed still sat his his brothers luggage bag.
"What the-?" Rohan muttered as he stepped further into the room, his eyes landed on an unspeakable sight.
There, in his closet, his one and only brother had hanged himself with one of his ties, at the bottom of his dangling feet were the photos of his precious wife and daughter.