The Flashback

—Three months ago—

The soil was still moist from the rain that had fallen throughout the night before, which had only stopped right before the whole ceremony had started as if the weather was giving a chance for people to leave their houses and gather here to give their last worship.

The last goodbye.

I stood between my Mother and other family members who came for support, keeping my eyes staring straight at the casket placed in the middle of the circle of guests all dressed in black, all wearing such dark expressions on their faces with their eyes lowered to lock their gaze on what lies before them. My eyes lingered at the chest made of refined wood finished in glimmering black paint, a silver cross planted on top of it which sparkled even beneath the clouded sky, bouquets of white roses and lilies were scattered around it, with only one of them placed on top.

The voice of the priest reading out passages of discords seemed so far away when I was lost in my own grief. I absentmindedly grazed my thumb over the ring on my finger, and just as I felt the cold metal on my skin, I finally regained my senses back. And it was then that I realized that my hands had been shaking and that my tears had been falling down my cheeks.

I let out a gasp and blinked my eyes to clear the tears that still lingered beneath my eyelids, grazing the back of my hand over my cheeks to wipe the tears away. But as I opened my eyes once more with a much clearer sight, I only had them landed on the framed picture of the man resting inside the wooden casket, held by his sister who was standing right across from me.

I couldn't help but let his face continuously flashing by inside my mind. I still remembered clearly the look of his smile, the sound of his laughs, and the scent of his cologne. My mind replayed the first day he greeted me and introduced himself to me, the first day he asked me out for a date with cheeks blushing in pink, and finally, the night when he lowered himself, knees bent on the floor and one hand raised to place the ring now still circling on my finger as he proposed to me to be his future wife.

My attention was pulled back to the present with a soft gasp escaping my lips when the memory left a stinging pain inside my chest, once again triggering my tears to fall. His sister lifted her gaze suddenly, and as our eyes met, I could see how her eyes were staring at me with deep pain and with tears brimming in the corner of her eyes. Her soft sobs were visible along with the shudders of her shoulders, and I just had to plant my own two legs on the ground only to stop myself from running across and holding her tight.

As the both of us realized how much we needed each other for comfort, we could do nothing but stand there across from one another, exchanging painful stares knowingly until both of our tears subsided.

It was almost an hour later when I found myself holding her in a tight hug. Her sobbing was subsiding while mine had faded away much earlier, once everyone that had joined the burial started to leave one by one without missing a chance to give me their condolences as they passed me by.

"It hurts so much," she said right before I finally let her go and bid my goodbyes. "It hurts too much. I still can't believe he's gone."

"I know," I whispered to her, not trusting my own voice to speak up any louder. "I feel them too. But we need to be strong, you know that, don't you?"

She nodded her head while pulling away. "Please don't be a stranger. You are already so close to being my real sister after all."

"I promise you, I won't."

I watched her as she joined her family, and my supposed-to-be in-laws, to leave the burial. My own family had left much earlier, yet I opted to stay behind, feeling the need to give my goodbyes without their presence. Yet the moment I was surrounded by silence, all I could do was stand there and stare at the wooden casket without saying any words.

"It is a pity. He had such a bright future ahead of him, not to mention the opportunity of starting a family with the woman of his dreams," a voice disturbed my peace, catching my attention away from where my fiancé was now lying down in his peace.

I turned my eyes to the person who was standing next to me, catching his gaze as he was turning to look at me at the same time. His face glittered with grief which was represented by his wary smile.

"Noah."

His smile warmed to my voice before it faded away to his signature cold smile, as he nodded his head after he greeted me. "I didn't want to interrupt you. I figured you needed time to be alone with him. But time is passing by, and the sky is growing darker and darker by the minute, I just felt like I should let you know about my presence while giving you a warning before you are soaked," he spoke out to me with words filled with warmth and comfort. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," I smiled at him in gratitude. "I truly appreciate you for coming."

Even when he told me that he only greeted me to get me away from the rain, I ended up staying there with him, sharing grief while exchanging memories―those of the both of us and of the man who had claimed his final resting place before us.

Noah certainly was not a stranger to me, nor to my family or my late fiancé. We grew up in the same city and had been raised within the same environment. Both of us had even gone to the same school throughout our youth until the years of college came and we had to go our separate ways in order to fulfill our duties as family successors.

He was not the primary heir, but he still went away to study business and all other majors that were necessary for his family's company after all. Especially since he had grown his love and passion for the family's business, and already had a solid purpose in his mind of doing what he could do best for his father's company.

I, on the other hand, was the only child of my family, rendering me to become the sole heir of my family's empire and wealth―though they might not be as big as the Sullivans's―and I loathed the fact.

Not because I hated the responsibility and the title given to me by birth. It was the lack of freedom of choice that I had for my future that I despised most. Even when I did study business, with a minor subject in history and small industries―which were my own choice of subjects―I still couldn't embrace the fact that I was to be given the title of being my father's sole successor. Not when instead of having my interest landed on stocks and technologies, I had my heart and eyes more on―

"Wine?"

"Yes, wine," I nodded with a proud smile on my face, having the pride of sharing the subject I loved most would bring that to my face. "The industry of winery, to be exact. I have had my eyes on this particular land that would be perfect for planting and producing my own brewery for quite some time already, and I only had the chance to start the progress right before I had to start working at my father's company."

He raised his eyebrows to show his interest. "That sounds excellent," he mused. "So the rumors of you not claiming what is already entitled to you was true. What does your family have to say about your choices?"

"Well―"