Chapter 45

Two days later, the wedding day finally came. Everyone was drowned in their own business, yet they all were focused on the star of the day, Taria. The maids were giving Taria a dizzy feeling as they were running everywhere around her, taking care of her makeup, hair, as well as the dress and jewelry.

After a while, Taria was ready, with her hair tied as a low bun and covered with her white veil, leaving out two strands of her hair on the sides of her face. Her makeup was soft yet so pretty, and her dress looked perfect on her fit body, however, the only missing thing to complete her perfection was her warm smile.

"Why is our bride sad?" Josephine said, walking into the room with her black dress and the ticking sound of her heels

"Phine, Tian didn't answer my calls or messages, did you see him anywhere?" Taria said with a concerned look in her eyes

"Don't worry, the groom must be super nervous right now. Maybe he don't have his phone with him or something", Josephine said, yet the heavy feeling in Taria's chest didn't fade

"I can't stay here, I will go ask Ve", Taria said, holding her dress so she can walk and getting out of the room

Taria walked through the corridor that she already memorized, and once she reached Ve's office, her heart stopped beating as she heard something she shouldn't have heard

"What do you mean they both got killed? Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, lord Ve, the men are already burying the young lord and master Kai as the family tradition indicates"

Ve was getting out of the room, but once he opened the door, Taria was standing there with her hand outstretched as if she was going to open the door.

"What did you hear?" Ve asked, shaking Taria as she wasn't able to breath

"T..Tian… is.. is he dead?" Taria asked, yet Ve stayed silent

Everyone went to the graveyard, yet everyone was reacting differently. Josephine was already wetting her dress with her tears, aunt Mari was crying with a handkerchief covering her mouth, Ve was standing coldly as a mountain, and Taria was standing beside the grave silently. No tears came out of her eyes, no cries came out of her mouth, and no breath came out of her nose. She was only standing, looking at the grave, and unable to believe that it was holding her groom. Even the white shiny dress she was wearing couldn't light the darkness she fell into, however, a single tear broke that black barrier and got her back to real life.

Taria fell to the ground as her legs weren't able to carry her anymore, and her tears started flowing down, yet before she could open her mouth, she fainted beside the grave. She couldn't feel anything or hear anything, and she was only drowning into a black sea her brain created.

"Tian. Tian. Tian. Tian. TIAN" then a gasp, and the sleeping bride woke up, laying on the hospital bed

"You woke up!" Ve said, but Taria stayed silent

"Did you know about the baby?" Ve said

"... I did, but he didn't", Taria said, trying her best to keep calm, yet her tears weren't listening to her commands at all. She tried to speak but the cries strangled her. Her fists were holding the blanket hard, and her soul was shattering into a million pieces.

"I had to tell him, I had to tell him that he was going to be a father. I had to tell him that I love him more. I had to hug him and kiss him more, but he is gone now", Taria said loudly as if she was talking to herself

"You can, you didn't bed him goodbye yet, he is still waiting for you", Ve said, forcing Taria to finally raise her head and open her wet eyes.

Ve took Taria to the graveyard again, but wearing hospital clothes this time instead of a white dress. She was shedding tears, but she was calmer than expected, then she knelt to the ground beside his grave and touched it with a shaky hand

"You were going to be a father, yet you left so early", she said, then she lost control over herself, feeling her heart aching as if it was being pulled out of her chest, and feeling her blood running towards her brain and making her vision blurred. She murmured a hundred apologies, and she wanted to say more but no words came to her blank mind that was only filled with him

Taria buried herself in her room, not willing to eat or to drink anything, and doing nothing other than laying in bed all day long. She could hear the maids knocking then entering the room, she could hear their steps and the sound of putting new food beside her, yet she didn't even bother seeing what that food was.

"Is she still not eating?" Ve said, and the maids answered "yes" every time.

Taria's condition was getting worse and worse every hour, and the baby inside her was making it harder. She felt pain and exhaustion, yet she kept a steady face as if she wasn't feeling them at all

"May I enter, Taria", Josephine said, but she wasn't expecting Taria to answer so she entered anyway, then she sat on the bed calmly

"Taria… I know it's hard for you. I know how you feel as I'm feeling it too. We lost two of the most important people in our lives, but you are making their sacrifices empty. Tian and Kai died in a mission to keep us safe, they died to keep us alive, and we should move on to honor their memory", Josephine said

"Why?.. Why should I move on if it will always lead to the same ending?" Taria said calmly

"Because if he was here, he would have wanted you to do so", Josephine said

"He is not here, your words are meaningless", Taria said

"You are pregnant, Taria, he might not be here but he left you with the most precious thing he can leave. That baby has a part of him, so get a hold on yourself for his sake if you are not willing to do it for yours", Josephine said, but her words didn't seem to affect Taria at all, just as if her soul was sucked out and sold to the devil himself.

Taria fell asleep again, but this time, Tian finally came to her dreams. He was smiling warmly under the blue sky, and his hair was moving with the wind softly, yet he seemed different than usual. He came running towards her, saying "mom, dad, hello", then another Tian came from behind and carried the first Tian who suddenly became a baby. She finally understood that they were her lover and her son, so she went running towards them. Tian held her hand, carrying their son and smiling brighter than the sunlight, then the three of them walked on the comfy grass happily.

Taria woke up, without any tears unlike the past days. She went to the lake side in the cold night, holding her necklace and staring at the water that copied the night black sky, reminding her of the person she just lost, but this time, rather than screaming and crying, she smiled softly.

A soft jacket was put on her shoulders, and she knew who it was without even looking.

"Feeling better now?" Ve said

"Yeah, I think he gave me some useful support as he always do even though he is not physically here anymore", Taria said, with teary eyes that were sparkling just like the lake, then she looked at Ve and said "your brother will always be a part of my soul, a part that can't get lost even if every other part did"