|
Part Four: When
Morning Comes
Never Forget Me
For I Will Love You Always
~~~~~~~~~ Dream ~~~~~~~~~
Theresa saw him the moment she stepped into the arched doorway
of the church. He looked so handsome standing up there in that white black tuxedo, waiting for her, she thought
with a smile. The love in his eyes was clear and bright. He finally knew they were meant to be and today was the
day they would prove it to the world. Today was the day she would become Mrs. Ethan Crane. She had always known
fate would bring them together and it hadn’t let her down. In a few moments, after a lifetime of dreaming, she
would be Ethan’s wife.
The wedding march began to play and she started her walk down the aisle, never taking her eyes off Ethan’s. Just
as she reached the altar and Ethan’s side, the wedding march started over and Ethan turned away from her. She furrowed
her brow in confusion then turned to see what had caught his attention. Her heart stopped beating when she saw
Gwen walking down the aisle toward them. When she got to the altar she took her place by Ethan’s side and Theresa
watched in horror as the man of her dreams married another woman. When it was over, and Father Lonigan had pronounced
Gwen and Ethan husband and wife, Theresa finally realized that her mother and Whitney had been right all along.
Ethan Crane would never marry her.
~~~~~~~~~ End of Dream ~~~~~~~~~
"NOOOO!" Theresa yelled, her scream piercing the morning
breeze.
"Theresa?" Ethan asked immediately wrapping his arms around her. "What’s wrong?"
Tears slid silently down her cheeks as she realized that today could possibly be the day that her nightmare would
come true. Today was Ethan’s wedding day – to Gwen. Dear god, how would she be able to stand at the altar and pretend
her heart wasn’t breaking? How could she stand up in church and watch the man of her dreams, a man she’d made love
to just last night, marry another woman? She should have realized how difficult that would be last night, but she
had been so grief stricken that all she wanted was for Ethan to put his arms around her and block out all the pain
she was feeling inside. She’d just wanted one night to remember and he gave it to her. He’d given her a night she
would never forget.
But now she had to face the light of day. Now she had to face the fact that today Ethan would marry Gwen. All her
dreams were about to come crashing down. In just a few short hours she would watch the man she loved marry another
woman. She knew it would take all the strength she possessed to put on a happy face and pretend her heart wasn’t
shattering into a million tiny pieces. God, why did fate have to be so cruel? Why couldn’t she and Ethan be two
totally different people? Then they would be free to be together. But of course that was just a dream. They were
who they were and no amount of wishing would change that.
"Theresa?" Ethan said turning her around to face him. When he saw her tears, a dull ache shot straight
through his heart. "Please don’t cry, sweetheart. Please don’t cry."
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her head to his chest, wishing he could erase all the pain he was causing
her. He’d give anything to be able to put that light back in her eyes, to put a smile back on her face, but he
knew the only way to do that would be to call off the wedding and he couldn’t do that no matter how much he wanted
to. His family didn’t care about love the way Theresa’s did. They didn’t give a damn about anything but money and
power. They had been planning his wedding to Gwen almost his whole life and he knew if he defied them now, they
would make life a living hell for Theresa. He couldn’t put her through that. He knew what his family - and Gwen’s
family - was capable of. He’d taken off his rose-colored glasses months ago. He knew they would destroy Theresa’s
whole world and he couldn’t let that happen. As crazy as it sounded, the only way to protect Theresa was for him
to marry Gwen.
"I’m trying to be strong." She whispered against his chest. "I’m trying to be brave, but Ethan I
feel like I’m dying inside."
"I know baby. I feel the same way."
She raised her head and looked at him. "But you’re still going to go through with it, aren’t you?"
He wished he could tell her what she wanted to hear, but he couldn’t. He got up, unable to look her in the eyes
a second longer, then pulled on his clothes. "Yes, I have to. I have no choice."
She closed her eyes as more tears trickled down her cheeks then stood and reached for her own clothes. When she
was finished dressing she looked up and met his eyes, he was surprised by the intensity he saw. "You always
have a choice Ethan. You can choose not to marry Gwen. You’re family doesn’t scare me. If I have you, I can handle
anything."
He wished that were true. He wasn’t doubting Theresa’s strength, he knew what a strong woman she was, but he also
knew his family was capable of almost anything. He didn’t want Theresa to have to handle his family. He wanted
them as far away from her as they could possibly be. There was someone else they had to worry about too. "What
about Luis? He would never accept us being together. He hates my family you know that. That’s the whole reason
he and Sheridan aren’t together."
"I can handle Luis, Ethan."
He wasn’t so sure about that. He’d seen her afraid of Luis finding them together on more than one occasion. He
knew Luis would never accept his little sister getting involved with a Crane and he refused to put Theresa in that
position. "I’m sorry, Theresa. But I have no choice. I have to marry Gwen."
Her silence was deafening. He wished she would say something, but then again he wished she wouldn’t. He knew the
longer they stayed here, the harder it was going to be to walk away from each other. "Theresa, I –"
"Don’t." She said raising a hand and closing her eyes. "I don’t need to hear anymore. You made your
choice."
Tears started to fall down her cheeks again, but he didn’t move toward her. He knew if he touched her one more
time, he would never be able to do what he knew he had to do. Evidently, she felt the same way because she stepped
back away from him. When she opened her eyes, the pain in them was almost unbearable. "I have to go. Mama
will be worried about me. I didn’t leave her a note about my coming to the beach. I... I was upset and didn’t think
about it."
She was gone before he could stop her. God, he thought falling to the blanket and burying his face in his hands.
He was such a bastard. He didn’t deserve the precious gift Theresa had given him. He didn’t deserve Theresa’s love…
He didn’t deserve Theresa period. In a few hours, he was going to shatter her heart. He was going to shatter her
dreams, her belief in fate, her belief that love would conquer all. And for that, he would never forgive himself.
Theresa had just stepped onto the porch when her mother threw open the door. "Theresita! Where have you been?
I’ve been so worried about you! Why did you not call me?"
"I’m sorry, Mama. I’ve been at the beach. I needed some time to myself and I ended up falling asleep. I didn’t
mean to worry you."
"Hija, are you all right?"
Theresa nodded. "I’m fine Mama. Don’t worry about me."
"I can’t help, but worry about you. You’re my daughter. Maybe you should stay home today. I can tell them
you’re aren’t feeling well."
Theresa shook her head no. "Mama, I have to go. You know I do. I’m not going to cause a scene. I promise you.
Ethan has made his choice. I accept that."
"Theresa, I don’t want to see you hurt."
"It’s too late for that Mama." Theresa gave her mother a sad smile then walked into her bedroom and shut
the door. The dress she was wearing to the wedding laid on her bed as a reminder of what was going to happen today.
She was going to Ethan’s wedding only she wasn’t going as the bride. She felt the tears start to slip down her
cheeks again, but she reached up to wipe them away. She had to stop this now. She had to block the pain of losing
Ethan out of her mind. At least until after the wedding was over. Once it was, she could make her excuses and then
she could leave. She shook her head and grabbed the dress off her bed then headed into the bathroom to shower and
get ready for the wedding that was never supposed to happen.
Ethan stepped out of the shower and glared at the tux hanging on the back of the door. Today was supposed to be
the happiest day of his life, but in actuality it was the worst. He was about to marry a woman he didn’t love while
the woman he did love stood by and watched. How could he watch Theresa walk down that aisle today knowing she wasn’t
walking down it as his bride? How could he say his vows to Gwen in a church, in front of God and everyone, knowing
it was all a big lie? He didn’t love Gwen. He didn’t want to marry Gwen. He wanted Theresa. But he couldn’t call
off the wedding because by doing so he would be defying his family and ultimately he would be destroying the life
of the woman he loved.
He quickly pulled on his underwear and the black tuxedo pants then turned toward the mirror and wiped away the
steam that had collected on it. He sucked in a deep breath as he saw his reflection in the mirror. He did not look
the part of a happy groom. In fact, he looked like he was about to confront a firing squad at high noon. He shook
his head then picked up his can of shaving cream and began to clean himself up. Once he was done, the only evidence
of his unhappiness was in his eyes. They were tinted with a dull sheen that he knew wouldn’t disappear anytime
soon. He knew he would be seeing that same look in the mirror for the rest of his life. How could he not? Without
Theresa in his life, he would never be happy again.
"Ethan?" His mother called out from his bedroom. "Are you almost ready? We have to leave for the
church soon. You don’t want to be late to your own wedding, do you?"
No, he didn’t want to be late to his own wedding. He just didn’t want to go at all. He quickly finished getting
ready and once he had masked the unhappiness in his eyes, he opened the door and stepped out into the room. His
mother’s smile widened and he somehow managed to return it. He cleared his throat then forced two words he didn’t
mean past his lips. "I’m ready."
to part five
|
