The Heartbreaking Love Story of Bella Hargrove

Emilia had written the first letter a month back. She enquired about a man Esther knew a very long time ago. It was not that she wan not willing to tell her about him because she wished to cover that chapter of life, no, it was more of a fear. Esther has always feared the man in question. She has feared that he would return someday. If not in her friend's life, perhaps her, or someone dear to her.

And that has happened. He has entered her granddaughter's life. Esther could not point it out, but it was there. The anticipation of something terrible to take place.

Because that was what he did. David, the beautiful man who always brought destruction and fire with him, and Esther knew the worst part of it. She could not stop Emilia if she'd already came under his influence.

After five emails. seventeen text messages, and numerous phone calls Esther finally decided to tell the story to Emilia, with hopes the story would show satisfy Emilia's curiosity.

Carefully, Esther tried to put the words together.

"Dearest Emilia,

I hope this letter finds you well. I received your package. The books were lovely, thank you so very much, dear. You did not need to do that.

And now, to answer your questions about my friend, yes, she did have one mesmerising romance. Although it baffles me what would grab your interest in this particular story, I will write whatever I remember. However, I must confess, I know what Bella shared with me; what went behind the curtains of their privacy, that was a mystery for me. They still are, such as the reason why he left her on their wedding day.

I shall start from the beginning.

I met Bella when my father was working with an American organisation. My father, as you are already aware of, was a doctor who served during many wars as a volunteer. He came across Dr. Hargrove during those days, and was amazed to find a fellow doctor with similar ethics. Soon, they became close friends, and in turn we, I and Bella Hargrove became best friends. The difference in our ethnicities was probably what brought us closer, as we finally had means to know about each other's cultures. Looking back, I feel I was infatuated with Bella. She was such a charming young soul. Beautiful, kind, surprised by almost anything and everything; there were multiple occasions when I was attracted to her. I believe, now at the age of eighty eight I could share my scandalous past with my granddaughter.

But this is not my story. This is the story of Bella and David, of how they met. You would think it was one of those beautiful, romantic moments that you see in the movies, where the hero and heroine feel a magical pull towards each other, but it was no such thing. David came to my father looking for a job. One fine morning, Bella found him working in the local hospital. Instantly she felt a tremor. A shiver left her blood cold. That night she told me she was scared. The gooseflesh in her skin was not caused by teenage attraction towards opposite sex, but terror. Do you know what David felt like? He was repulsed. Like a reflexive reaction, he was repelled by her.

It took them almost eleven months to come to talking terms. One day when David did not shy away from Bella, she asked him, "Are you not afraid of me anymore?"

The man replied without blinking, "I was never afraid of you. I loathed you."

"Are you not anymore?" she persisted. It was then a matter of her ego. She had started to fall for the most handsome man she had met and it was her right to understand what made him loathe her. I wished I hadn't had to witness that exchange, because I could feel the tension between them. I could also feel how Bella was, without being aware of it, falling for his charm. It appeared as David himself was unaware of his effect on Bella, or perhaps it was his ruse to bring her closer. He simply answered, "You reminded me of someone else. But I realised it was wrong of me to punish you for a crime you haven't committed."

That was the beginning of their romance. It was not a whirlwind romance. It was the fire that secretly burnt in their hearts. He was making rapid improvements in his work. He had started his own business under the guidance of Dr. Hargrove and my father, his beauty was growing, and he was getting happier. He would smile more, sing more often, play violin when he had time. She was becoming prettier, often I found her glowing. They would meet secretly, each night after the entire hospital compound fell asleep. They would evade the night guards, the patrolling police officers and army men, and at times even me.

One morning when I went to see Bella in her quarters, I saw them in each other's arms, passionately kissing, to the extent of devouring each other. That morning I decided to make distance from the two of them. I still do not understand what made me make that decision that morning. I was only eighteen, so was Bella, and it somehow felt wrong. I never consider that as a sin, as my father had always taught me that religion should never stifle the voice of life or love. It could have been the fact that David was older than her, probably in his mid twenties, but it was not as uncommon as it is in this era. I simply felt that they were not compatible, not made for each other.

A couple of weeks later Bella whispered a secret in my ears. She had given herself to David, completely. "We are going to get married, and have many children. Boys, handsome like him. Girls, pretty and sweet like me. Well, are you going mute? Why don't you say anything? What do you think?"

I couldn't tell her what I actually thought. That he was not meant for her. That she was better off without him. How could I? How could I ruin the sweet dreams of my best friend, who could have become more than friend, without any concrete evidence?

All I could do was to ask, "Is it okay to be so intimate with him? You are still unwed and we do not want any indiscretion."

She said, "It was only last night. He wanted to, so badly that my heart broke to refuse. He said that he wanted to taste my skin. That he wanted to feel me. What could I have said? You tell me, what would you do if you were in position?" She kept her promise and never did it with him again. She gave him the condition that if he wanted more of her, he must marry her. And then the unthinkable happened. After a few weeks, he was seen in the local brothel with an infamous blonde.

To my utter surprise, Bella forgave him. "He must be suffering the pain of not having me." She said to me weeping.

"Is that what he told you?" I could not believe my eyes and ears. Bella was never too bright, but was she that clueless?

"He said that he could not bear the pain. He needed to have his lover." This went on for another couple of months, until another night I found her weeping in my bedroom. "He says nothing can satiate him. He says his heart is breaking everyday to be away from his love. What should I do?"

I had no answer or consolation for her. I did not make any assumption; I knew her father would not approve of the man who had no family background to name, no religion, and no surname to use. I also knew how each night David was seen with different women, and sometimes even men. I had no heart to tell her to forget about him, because she had already given her mind, her body and her heart to that rascal. I had grown to hate him.

I would have hated him more, if he had not done what he did the next night. The fire broke out from nowhere. It was utter chaos. While fleeing from my quarters I remembered Bella and ran towards her quarters. There I saw a breathtaking scene, like in the movies. I saw David carrying Bella out of her burnt quarters. His body was on fire, but he walked tall and proud carrying the damsel in distress on his arms. He saw me staring at him, and said something I had only imagined before. "Tell her that I am sorry. I loved her, even though I wronged her in many ways, I did love her. And tell her that I died in the fire."

"Are you leaving her?" I asked him. That was the first time I had spoken to him. I was overwhelmed with mixed emotions‑-partly relieved and partly sad.

"Do I deserve her?"

"No!" I was happy to be able to say that out loud. "You never deserved her, and never will."

'If I stay, she will never let me go. That will bring more misfortune and heartbreaks." I remembered the time he came to the hospital on his first day, looking for a job, and the state he was in. A human version of Adonis, torn and partially burnt clothes, bloodshot eyes, soot on his face. I wondered what misfortune had led him to our direction.

I never saw him again. They found seven corpses, but it was hard to tell which one was David. His business was taken over by a local man, his friend and partner, Chen. That fire burnt every existence of his, leaving a single photograph in my personal album. It was shot on Bella's birthday, I was the one who suggested it. I have put that photograph inside this envelope. I hope you will be able to make out his face from it.

I have always believed that every love story has its own element. Even though Bella Hargrove's love story did not follow the textbook of romance, it was a beautiful story. For the one year Bella had him, was the best time of her life. For a long time I stayed angry at him for not loving Bella as he should have, however as I grew older, I understood what he meant when he claimed to have loved her. You see, love is not always the pink of the roses, it may also be the thorns. And, who knows what pain the man bore in his heart. For one thing, he never shared anything about his past life. We never knew who he was, where did he come from, or where did he go.

I hope this long letter will answer your questions. Let me repeat this, I am still at a loss. What would make my granddaughter ask me about an incident that took place seventy years ago?

With all the love from the world,

Your grandma Esther.

…

Esther Liu has a secretary who helps her with sending emails, sharing photographs and everything else that requires the involvement of the internet. Today, however, she wanted to relive the old days, feel the touch of the paper and fountain pen once again in her feeble fingers. It was not a story to be dictated and typed on that lifeless machine, or shared through the internet like a school girl's fantasy romance. It was a story very close to her heart, one she had grown accustomed to love and hate simultaneously.

She opened her cabinet to find an age old album. People nowadays use digital frames, where all the photographs keep changing like fleeting moments. She still has the leather bound album where the fleeting moments of her life were caught in rectangles. One after another, she browsed through the pages, until she found the photograph she was searching for. Two young girls, one European and another Asian, were beaming towards the camera, while a very handsome man stood behind them, wearing a sad, depressed smile on his face.