NO WEDDING BELLS - FINAL CHAPTER

The car lurches to a sudden stop, jolting me awake with a soft moan. My eyelids flutter, and I groan, disoriented. Slowly, I open my weak eyes, only to be met with an impenetrable darkness. Panic grips me as I struggle to make sense of my surroundings. The silence is deafening, broken only by the faint hum of the idling engine.

Blinking rapidly, I strain to see beyond the confines of the car. A foreboding sight emerges from the shadows — a dilapidated building, its decaying fa?ade is a testament to years of abandonment. Jagged edges of broken windows glint in the moonlight, and tendrils of ivy crawls up the walls like nature’s reclaiming embrace. A shiver runs down my spine as I try to comprehend where Edward has brought me.

"Where are we?" I ask

With a deliberate click and silence, Edward unlocks the car door and steps out onto the gravel path. His figure cast long, ominous shadows against the forgotten edifice. I hesitate, torn between reluctance and curiosity.

Where is this place? I mutter, my voice betraying a mixture of awe and apprehension.

"Just a place you and I should be right now."

Edward turns toward me, his eyes gleaming with a mix of mischief and anticipation. He gestures toward the abandoned building, an enigmatic smile playing upon his lips.

"We have arrived," he whispers, his voice barely audible above the hushed stillness of the night.

Cautiously, he walks around the car, making his way to my side. He extends a hand toward me, offering assistance, but I can’t bring myself to accept it. My heart pounds, a blend of distrust and uncertainty coursing through my veins. Slapping his hand away, I step out of the car, my gaze fixed upon the foreboding structure ahead.

As Edward retreats a few steps, he chuckles softly, his amusement apparent as he was seemingly amused by my defiance. It was a familiar reaction — an intricate dance of push and pull between us. I couldn’t help but feel a mixture of anger and fascination in his presence.

With measured steps, he leads the way, his figure swallowed by the encroaching darkness, leaving me to follow, both eager and wary of the surprise that awaits within the abandoned building. I have a gut feeling this is not a pleasant surprise.

The heavy door slams shut, its echoing thud seals me within a suffocating darkness. Silence hangs in the air, broken only by faint, muffled sounds emanating from a dimly lit corner of the room. As my eyes strains to adjust, a flicker of fear courses through me, amplifying the pounding of my heart.

"?mo I don fuck up… What have I gotten myself into tonight?" I muse

With a sudden burst of light, the room illuminates, revealing the unsettling scene before me. There, struggling to rise, stood an aged man dressed in a priest’s robe. His weathered face is etching with lines of trepidation, clutching his bible and a tarnished rosary in his trembling hands. The flickering light cast eerie shadows across his frail features.

As my gaze sweeps the room, it lands upon another figure — a man bound to a chair, his head bowed, obscuring his face beneath layers of tightly wound duct tape. The air grows heavy with tension, and a sickening realization dawns upon me. The plaster beneath the right knee of the bound man mirrors the exact placement of the one I had carefully applied to Sam’s injury earlier that day. My mind rebels against the truth, refusing to accept the unthinkable.

Eyes brimming with tears, I turn to Edward, my voice a tremor of desperation and confusion.

"Edward, please tell me that’s not Sam," I implore, my words hanging in the charged atmosphere, hoping against hope that he gives me a different answer.

Edward’s smile twists, a macabre expression of satisfaction.

"Oh, you guessed right, and He is going to watch us get married tonight." he hisses loudly, revelling in the torment he is inflicting upon me.

"I promised you a surprise, didn’t I?" With deliberate steps, he closes the distance between himself and the trembling priest, his intentions veils in malevolence.

" Are you ready Priest?" He adds with a derisive laugh

" What do you mean?" I exclaim in clear shock

Driven by a surge of love and panic, I surge forward, falling to my knees beside the bound man — Sam, the man I cherish, the man I am supposed to wed just a few hours from now.

" Is he alive?"

Tears stream down my face as I plead with him, my voice a desperate whisper amidst the growing chaos.

" Sam… my love… It’s me. Stay with me" , I murmured, my words a fragile lifeline in the darkness.

With each breath, the weight of the situation presses upon me, fuelling my anguish. I turn my tear-stained eyes towards Edward, my voice trembling with a mix of rage and sorrow.

" Why, Edward? What do you want from me? What do you want from us?" I cried out, my pain reverberating through the dimly lit room.

In the midst of the turmoil, a feeble voice pierces the air, as if emerging from the depths of Sam’s battered consciousness. His voice, weak and strained, whispers a single word, a plea for help. And in that fragile moment, hope flickers amidst the despair, driving me to fight against my enemy,?EDWARD.

Edward’s words cut through the air like a blade, his anger reverberating in every syllable. He pulls out a pistol glinting ominously in his hand, its presence is accompanied by a chilling reminder of the danger that looms.

My heart pounds in my chest as his accusations pierces my soul. Memories of our past love, tainted by pain and unfulfilled promises, floods my mind. The fear in Edward’s voice struck a chord within me. I remember the hurt he had suffered when I first revealed my love for Sam, but I had hoped he had found some semblance of acceptance. My voice trembles as I desperately try to diffuse the situation.

" Eddy, please, lower the gun. Let’s talk about this. I have not stopped loving you and I never will." I plead, my words laced with desperation.

But his rage burns like wildfire, consuming reason and compassion. He raged against the betrayal he perceives, holding me responsible for his shattered dreams. His maniacal laughter fills the room, blending with the heaviness of the moment.

My pleas fall on deaf ears as he brandishes the pistol, his grip tightening. Desperation washes over me, threatening to drown me in a sea of helplessness. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing Sam, the man I love so much, the man whose life hangs in the balance.

His words, filled with possessiveness and delusion, cut through the air.

" Marry me My Love… Marry me tonight, My Love. You look so beautiful, " he whispers, his voice teetering on the edge of obsession.

Confusion and disgust mingles with my fear, but my resolve remains firm. I would not succumb to his twisted desires. My eyes lock with Sam’s, his pain mirroring my own. His whisper’s plea urges me to escape this nightmare, to find a way out. But I refuse to abandon him, my love and loyalty steadfast in the face of danger. Even though I am not sure if Sam would have chosen me if the case were reversed, I choose him, I choose to stay with him because I love him.

As Eddy’s attention shifts, I confront him, defiance burning in my eyes.

" This is madness, Eddy. You’re delusional to think I’ll marry you," I declare, a surge of courage fuelling my words. I turn to the priest, seeking confirmation of the coercion that looms over this macabre ceremony.

" Did he threaten you too? Did he force you into this?"

Eddy’s anger flares at my resistance, the pistol shaking in his hand. In a moment of impulsive fury, he pulls the trigger, the deafening sound echoing through the room. Relief washes over me as the bullet found its mark in Sam’s shoulder, narrowly avoiding a fatal outcome. But the pain upon Sam’s face tears at my heart, an unbearable reminder of the stakes at hand.

A cry escapes my lips as I rush to Sam’s side, falling to my knees beside him. Blood stains his clothing, his body weakened by the gunshot wound. Desperation consumes me as I plead with Eddy, tears streaming down my face.

" Eddy, in the name of all that is good, we need to take him to the hospital. Please, this madness must end," I implore, my voice trembles with a mix of grief and determination.

" Did you bring the rings?" He ask the Priest who nods affirmatively

I turn my gaze to Eddy, seeking a flicker of humanity within his distorted gaze.

" You claim to love me, Eddy. If that’s true, you have to stop this now," I beseech him, hoping that somewhere within him, reason would prevail.

In a moment of apparent resignation, Eddy extends his hand, a twisted symbol of his warped affection.

Eddy’s distorting gaze on me is unwavering and the silence is painful.

I glance at Sam one last time, his silent plea resonating with my very core. With a steel resolve, I rise to my feet, clutching tightly in my hand a shard of glass I found nearby on the floor. I can feel the pain of the glass piercing through my soft palm flesh but it’s not to be compared to the thoughts of the consequence and regrets I silently have in my heart as I approach Eddy, my every step is heavy, deliberate and purposeful. Tonight would forever change us all, leaving scars that could never be erased.

As I closely approach Eddy, I give him my hand which he gladly takes, still suspending the other behind me which he fails to notice. He kisses me, I don’t want to fight him anymore so I kiss him too. Tears stream down my face, my heart is broken.

As the Priest begins to recite the marital rite, with a sudden surge of strength, I make my move. In a swift, calculated motion, I lung forward, the shard of glass aimed at Eddy’s throat. Time seems to suspend as the glass connected with his flesh, causing him to wince in pain and drop the pistol.

A moment of silence envelops the room as Eddy cradles his injured throat, for the first time ever I see Eddy’s tears roll down his cheek as he falls to the ground, the power he once held slips away. The struggle for his life was not long enough before he stopped moving. Fresh uncontrolled tears escape my eyes again as I remember all the beautiful memories we shared together in the past. Eddy is one of the sweetest human I have ever known and I wish I knew a better way to stop him.

Taking advantage of the chaos, I rush to Sam’s side, untie and comfort him as he fights to stay conscious. With every passing moment, the urgency to get him to safety intensifies. I turn to the priest, a silent observer of the harrowing events.

" Father, please forgive me for I have sinned , please help us," I plead, my voice tinges with desperation.

" We need to get Sam to a hospital. His life is at stake."

The priest does the sign of the cross quickly and nods, his expression a mix of concern and determination. Together, we swiftly carried him out of the building, escaping the suffocating grasp of that forsaken room. Every passing second is a testament to our resilience, our will to survive against all odds.

As we make our way through the dimly lit path outside towards the car, I can only think of the weight of scars that this night has left on our lives forever.

~THE END~

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