A Love to Last Ch. 09

"I missed these." He moaned. "But now they're we're getting married, they're gonna be all mine. I promise that you won't ever regret this decision. I'll be the best husband anybody can ever ask for."

David didn't even respond. He just kept on staring at Jim, wondering how someone could be so evil. If only he had the power and the will, he'd have done something that would have had him arrested. But he was helpless. The only thing that was at the back of his mind was the survival of his love.

"David?"

David froze when he heard that voice, a voice that he had missed so much. When he turned, he found his sister staring at him like she'd seen a ghost. She was so emotional that she couldn't help but shed tears.

"David?"

She rushed to him and hugged him tightly. When his arms wrapped themselves around her, she confirmed that what was happening wasn't a dream. It was all so real. She sobbed on his chest, fearing that if she let him go, she was gonna realize that it was all a dream.

"David!" She sobbed. "Is this really you? Oh my God, I can't believe it. You're finally here."

"Amber." David said weakly, pulling away from the hug. "You look so beautiful. I can't believe I am holding you right now. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." She chuckled in her tears. "But you left and you didn't even say anything to me. No calls or replies to the texts that I sent you. I looked everywhere for you. Didn't you miss us at all?"

David nodded. "I missed you more than you could ever imagine. But I couldn't do anything. I had to keep quiet because it was easier for me. Forgive your brother and understand him."

Amber smiled as David rubbed her tears. "How could I stay mad at you? You know how much I love you and I understood why you kept quiet. You had to protect Ben. But now, I am so happy that you're back."

"And he's not leaving." Claudia chimed in, staring at her children. "He's gonna stay with us forever. And you're just in time too because we have a wedding to prepare in three days."

"What?" Amber frowned, confused at her mother's words. "A wedding? Really? That's good news. I knew that your return must have been so important. But where's Ben? I know you brought him. Where's the other groom?"

Amber scanned the entire room but she couldn't see him.

"Come on!" She hit her brother slightly on the chest. "Don't tell you're gonna do the whole you shouldn't see your groom before the wedding thing. It's so old fashioned. Besides, I missed my best friend and you two were living together, isn't that, right?"

David remained silent. He just stared at her with tears in his eyes.

"Oh, you're so excited." She added, laughing at the top of her voice. "Your dream is coming true. Okay!" She raised her hands as if she was surrendering. "Just tell me where he is. I'll go and see him."

Claudia raised an eyebrow and wore an evil grin. "Well, dear, you have got the whole thing wrong. David is getting married but not to that boy. David is getting married to the beautiful boy beside him in three days, Jim!"

Amber took a glance at Jim who was blushing like a virgin bride on her wedding night and then at her brother and Jim again. Then she burst into laughter. She laughed so hard that tears began coming out of her eyes. But her laughter started fading as she realized that no one was laughing with her. A frown appeared on her face as she glared at her brother who couldn't keep eye contact with her.

"Tell me this is a joke?" She said, shaking her head. "You're marrying, Jim? How's that possible? This joke is expensive."

David nodded slowly.

"No!" She snapped, letting go of his hand. "How? Why? And Ben, what happens to him? You're in love with Ben and you left because of him. I know you love him so much and..." She angrily pointed at Jim. "...you're marrying this excuse of a guy? No!"

"Excuse me!" Jim snapped.

"You shut up!" She barked, breathing like she was in labor. "What's going on here? Where's Ben? Why are you marrying this boy?"

"He... he..."

"He's not important!" Claudia chimed in, gripping her son's arm. She put him closer to her. "David just realized that all this time, he has been in love with Jim. He couldn't stay away from him, especially after realizing that the good for nothing boy had cast a spell on him. True love wins."

Amber couldn't control her tears. She felt so much pain as she stared at her brother. She could tell that something was wrong. His eyes were red and swollen. He was obviously hiding something and Claudia knew about it.

"But..." She couldn't say a word anymore.

"Your brother is getting married in three days and he doesn't wanna talk about that boy. I forbid his name to be mentioned in this house." She turned to her son and beamed. "Let's go, baby, we have a lot of things to do."

Claudia took her son and Jim, leaving Amber standing there like a statue. She had thought that she was gonna be happy once her brother returned home. Now all he had brought to her was worry.

"What's going on?" She whispered.

***

True to her word, the next day, preparations for the grand wedding started. There were posts in magazines, newspapers, on social media platforms and everyone knew about the upcoming wedding of David and Jim.

It was gonna be the wedding of the decade since the union was gonna be between two sons from very powerful families. Everyone was talking about it. There were interviews being done, photos being taken of the couple.

There was so much to be done and so very little time. But Claudia and Elena were making sure that everything was perfect. They hired the best photographers, chefs, musicians. Many people were invited to the wedding, friends, family, politicians and even celebrities. They didn't want anyone important to miss the union.

But here he was, the groom that was so worried about his soulmate. He hadn't seen him or heard anything from him and it was killing him slowly on the inside. He kept on wondering how the boy was doing... if he had eaten... if he was still being sedated... if his condition was improving or getting worse. But with all the questions that he had, he couldn't find anyone to answer him.

David couldn't tell Amber anything as his mother had forbidden him to tell her the truth. According to him, he wanted to marry Jim on his own will. She could tell that he wasn't happy but no matter what she did, she couldn't get the answer she was looking for.

Jim on the other hand had never been so happy in his entire life. He was getting married to the only man that he wanted, the only man that he had ever loved. It seemed too good to be true but it was happening. Oh, how he wished Ben was seeing how happy he was and getting his happily ever after. His mother was being super helpful. She helped with organizing his wedding suit, makeup and hairstylists. He couldn't believe in a few days, he was finally gonna marry David.

Seconds were turning to minutes, minutes to hours and hours to days. David was getting closer to his nightmare. He knew that his life was never gonna be the same. But at the expense of his happiness, he knew that Ben was gonna be alive.

'I hope one day you'll understand me, Ben. I am doing this so that you can live. Maybe in future, very soon our destinies are gonna be aligned. All I know is that there's a place for us. We will be together.'

***

Ben slowly opened his eyes after what felt like months. He felt dizzy and nauseous at the same time. He was welcome by a terrible headache. The world was spinning and he wanted to vomit, but yeah, he was okay. He couldn't remember the last time he set his eyes on David and it was making him worry.

He took a deep breath and tried to get up but his strength couldn't allow him. He was so weak as he had only been surviving on intravenous fluids for the last five days. He tried to get up again but his body failed him and he dropped to the bed again, breathing harshly.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" A voice spoke, a very familiar and feminine voice.

Ben scanned the room to see where the voice was coming from and he saw seated on the couch with her legs crossed, looking like a boss and grinning at him. She was looking so beautiful that he wondered if she had come to celebrate his death before he actually died.

She wore a red, flashy dress that looked like it was dipped in diamonds. The dress showed off her beautiful curves and it had a slit all the way from the thighs and as usual, her cleavage was sticking out. She had silver high heels on her feet that sparkled and seemed to hurt his eyes. Her hair was curled and then let loose and her makeup was just to die for. Someone would have mistaken her for a queen of England.

But Ben was too shocked or rather scared to admire because if she was there, it could only mean one thing and that was trouble.

"I was starting to wonder if you were gonna wake up at all." She moaned, rising from the couch. "Not that I wouldn't like that but I wanted to tell you something you were gonna like."

"What are you doing here?" Ben's voice was shaky. "How did you find me? Where's David? David!" He called although his voice was weak. "David!"

"You're just wasting your time and energy, my dear step-son." Elena mocked as she slowly walked towards him. "David isn't here, but don't worry, I will keep you company for a few minutes."

"Are you gonna hurt me?" Ben couldn't mask his fear. His heart beat so fast he thought he was gonna have a heart attack.

"I would have loved to do that, my dear boy..." She chirped as she got nearer. "...but what I have for you is enough to hurt you, maybe even kill you. Not that you are not dying anyways." She laughed at the top of her voice.

"Please, go away."

"You know when you left and stole my son's man, I wanted to hunt you and kill you. God knows I searched for you and I never stopped." She said, rubbing sexily on her temple. "My son was left heartbroken. I used to watch him cry each day and it was because of you. Do you know what that reminded me of?"

She got closer and leaned slightly, staring into his eyes. Ben couldn't help but groan in fear.

"It reminded me of what that whore did to me 19 years ago." She seethed, shaking her fist in his face. "It killed me inside knowing that there was a bastard growing in her womb and it was my husband's. God knows I tried everything to kill you before you were born but you still survived but here we are. You became a villain in my son's love, a thorn."

Ben slightly closed his eyes for fear of what she was gonna do to him.

"But like they say, villains do not get their happy endings." She laughed, crossing her arms. "My son finally got to be the one happy after all. He's getting married, did you know that? He's getting married to the man he deserves, someone that loves him and someone that's gonna make him happy. Isn't this the perfect ending to any story."

Ben opened his eyes and looked at her. "Is that what you came to tell me? You came to tell me that I am dying while he's gonna get his happy ending? It must be the happiest day of your life. But please... just leave before David comes back here."

"Oh, David!" She gasped, chirping at him. "I actually have a letter from him right here." She held out a small paper, smiling like a villain from a Disney movie. "He's also part of the reason why I am here. I had to be a good person and deliver the message myself."

"What?" Ben gasped, shaking his head.

"Don't waste your energy. I will read it for you."

She cleared her throat and put on a very beautiful smile. She was gonna read it to him nice and slow.

"Ben, I wrote to inform you that I want to end our relationship and I don't want anything to do with you anymore."

To say Ben was shocked would be an understatement. His eyes abruptly moved to look at her, wondering what she was up to. He frowned and clenched his fists. He couldn't believe she would stoop to that level. There was no way David would write that to him.

"It is important that..."

"Stop it!" Ben snapped, feeling his headache intensify. "Until when will you stop trying to hurt me? Do you think I am stupid? I know that David did not..."

"Oh come on," Elena threw her hand, raising her eyebrow. "We're just getting to the interesting part. So... shhh..." She whispered as her eyes landed on the piece of paper again. "...it is important that you know the truth. I do not love you and I do not think I ever loved you before. What I felt was infatuation and it started fading some months ago while we're together. I was merely pretending to love you."

Although Ben knew that the letter was a fake, it was still painful. Tears built in his eyes and he didn't even bother hiding them. He kept staring at her.

"After the news I got about your health, I couldn't take it anymore." She continued. "I didn't bargain for this and that's why I left. I went back to the boy I truly love, Jim. I cannot watch him suffer because it is hurting me too. He's the one I love and not you. I love Jim so much and I wish you all the best in your life. David!"

She folded the paper and just stared at him.

"That is not true!" Ben shook his head as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "David would never say that to me. He loves me so much and he said he was gonna be with me to the very end."

"You don't wanna believe it?" She gasped, holding her chest. "You want some proof?"

She her bag from the chair and got out some pictures that she threw at him. Ben sighed and slowly took the pictures. Once his eyes landed on the pictures, he felt something go through his body, something really cold and painful. His heart broke to pieces right there and he began trembling, his breaths becoming harsher by the second.

The pictures were all heartbreaking and he didn't wanna believe what he was seeing. The picture he was looking at, David and Jim were facing each other, their foreheads pressed against each other. David had his hand on Jim's cheek and they seemed really happy.

He looked at another and David was behind Jim with his arms wrapped around him tightly while Jim looked slightly backwards. There was something in the way they looked at each other, something that broke Ben's heart to shreds. He didn't even know if his heart was beating anymore.

When he looked at another, his entire strength left him. They were kissing and he couldn't see anymore. Hopeless, he let go of the pictures and they dropped to the floor.

Elena could hear him silently screaming, suffocating with each breath he took.

"You poor, poor boy..." She chirped, running her fingers through his hair. "...it must hurt knowing that everything you believed in was all a lie."

"No!" He sobbed uncontrollably, chocking on his air. "No! You're lying. David cannot do this. He loves me so much."

"Really?" She laughed. "Then where is he? Why hasn't he been here the last three days? Why hasn't he called you? I will tell you." She called closer. "That's because he doesn't love you. Right now, he is with the love of his life, my son. Those pictures were taken on their engagement that happened two days ago."

"No!" Ben shook his head. "There is no truth to what you're saying. You're just toying with me."

"Oh!" She gasped. "Even when the truth is right in front of you, you still choose to deny it?"

She took an envelope from her bag and threw it to him.

"That's the invitation to David and my son's wedding." She said with so much excitement. "They are getting married today and I am sure right now, they're on their way to the chapel. You should see them, so happy and being lovey dovey. They are just so cute together, aren't they?"

Ben opened the envelope and looked at the invitation card. Once that first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream. He let out a gut-wrenching wail, his tears due to sorrow falling like rain as he tried to get up.

"You know, I want to feel pity for you but honestly, I enjoy seeing you suffer." She said slowly and sweetly. "I am sorry to say but only the heavens show pity. And sad to say, I only look the part but I am no goddess. But look on the brighter side, you're gonna die in a few days and you won't feel the pain anymore. You'll be reunited with that whore. So, this is a blessing in disguise."

Electrifying pain coursed through him, contorting his body. Every heartbeat sent a surge of pain, as if his chest was being torn apart. He couldn't think properly... he couldn't talk, except for the tears wetting his face that were able to speak for him.

"I would have loved to stay but..." She paused and laughed, picking up her handbag. "...I have a flight to catch. Wouldn't wanna keep my son waiting. Like David said, have a nice life or rather, death."

With a wink, she left the room. He could hear her laugh outside.

No. He couldn't be gone. Not when he promised him he'd fight for them, Ben thought. The pain that was coursing through his body was from out of his world. He forced himself to get up from the bed although he was very weak. He pulled out the cannulas on his body and hissed a breath through the clenched teeth. But the strength left him, even as he attempted to stand.

His throat held back something between a sob and a shout. He had to see him. With so much difficulty, he managed to change from the hospital robe into his clothes. Through the blur of motion and color, he got out of the room and managed to get out of the hospital.

It didn't take him long before he found a taxi that had to take him to the capital. He still had the card so he was gonna confirm if it was true or not. He had about 2 hours to go but he told the driver to hurry it up. He knew that Elena had been lying to him because there was no way David would hurt him like that.

***

The huge chapel was decorated with expensive flowers at every corner, gold and diamond decors hang in the ceiling, making the whole place lively. People, the high and mighty were seated, watching the union of the two handsome men. Elena was in the front, watching the whole thing with her husband who was equally very happy.

On the other row was Claudia who was dressed in a white expensive gown that made her look like a goddess. She was seated with her daughter who although dressed like a princess wasn't happy at all.

And here they were, the two grooms that stole the spotlight. David wore a black designer suit that made him look like a prince with a white shirt inside and a black bowtie and black shoes. His hair was made into a pompadour that showed off his handsome face. He was facing Jim and God knows he didn't know what he felt, he wasn't even sure if his heart was beating at all. He had tears in his eyes and the only thing that was in his mind was Ben.

Jim on the other hand was in ecstasy, staring at his husband to be with so much love. He looked yummy in a white designer suit with a white shirt and white shoes. There was a long train that made him look like a beautiful royal bride. He had his hair tied in a bun with his face graced with makeup. No one could deny that he looked gorgeous with a golden crown on his head. He couldn't believe the day he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

"Do you take David Paola to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The officiating minister asked.

"Yes!" Jim answered without a second thought.

"And do you, David, take Jim Henandez to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

A cold wave embalmed David as the hairs rose on the back of his neck and his mouth ran dry. A feeling of dread crept up from the pit of his stomach. He had never been so scared before or experienced such pain in his entire life. Images of his life with Ben began playing at the back of his mind and his pain intensified.

'You know I love you so much. No one has ever showed me so much love. I love you so much, David.'

Meanwhile, outside the chapel, Ben's taxi arrived and before it even parked properly, he opened the door and let himself out. He began running up the steps but collapsed as all his energy seemed to have diminished. He struggled back to his feet, but almost immediately fell over.