I HELD the stirring wheel tightly after parking my car in front of the church. Thank God the windows were tinted so nobody from outside could see me. I’d waited for Ingram in my apartment but he never came.
Yet, I still attended the wedding on my own. And now, like a fool, I couldn’t step out of the car. At the same time, I couldn’t leave. I slowly lifted my face when I heard a commotion outside. And there I saw the groom riding his big bike in his white Armani suit. He parked right beside my car.
When it became hard to breathe, I had to pat my chest a number of times. “Stop being a scaredy-cat. You can do this, Bri. You’ve been hurting for a long time. You should be immune to this by now,” I told myself as I tried to hold back my tears. I took a sharp breath before finally stepping out of the car.
All the guests were still outside the church. That’s why they all looked at me the moment I came out. I faintly smiled which disappeared when I met Kristoff’s eyes. He smiled back but it didn’t reach his eyes. I lowered my gaze. Maybe I really shouldn’t have come here.
Not long after and there was another car which stopped in front of us. I heard the guests gasped, especially the females. For sure it was Stella. She must be smiling triumphantly right now. I avoided looking at her direction but I was stunned when I felt a hand that suddenly held mine. My heart pounded as I quickly lifted my face.
“God…” I whispered when I saw Ingram after eight days. He looked dashing in his navy-blue suit. When he smiled, I felt like my ally was back, my neighbor was finally here. This was the first time I was seeing him under the sun that’s why I felt proud. This handsome Prince was by my side again.
“Hello again, darling. Did you miss me?”
“Every single day,” I replied before embracing him. I closed my eyes when I felt him wrap his arms around me.
“Just every day? That’s not fair. Because I’ve missed you every single second, Brianna. I’ve missed being this close to you that I thought I’d die.”
“If that’s the case, then why did you show up only now? Were you mad at me?”
“I could never be mad at you, Brianna. Later, I will explain everything. You can release me for the meantime, darling,” he added in an amused tone. “As much as I want to keep embracing you, your sister’s cheeks are starting to turn bright red. She might think you’re stealing her moment.” He lowered his voice. “And I can’t blame her. Because darling, you’ve captured every man’s attention right now. Heck, you look lovely. And I can’t help but feel proud I’m with you.”
For the first time in eight days, a genuine smile appeared on my lips. I released him and with a newfound courage, I finally turned towards the bride. The bridal car was now parked just a few meters away from us. Mama stood beside it along with the sullen bride. Just like before, Mama had a blank expression but I saw a hint of relief in her eyes that I showed up, although that emotion disappeared right away. The bride on the other hand, glared at me before looking at Ingram.
My whole body tensed when I saw her sweetly smiling at Ingram. Fortunately, the program started right away. But I remained uneasy. I know that look. Stella was like that when she first met Kristoff, too.
You’ve never seen me out of control before, Stella. Try to make a pass at him and I swear, all hell will break loose.

(Ingram)
“FOR MORE than three centuries, I had watched you suffer, Ingram. I thought your suffering would end once you’ve found the doppelganger. I was wrong. Because here you are again. What is wrong with you? If you love her, then tell her. If you don't, then leave her. Why are you making it complicated when it’s just that simple?”
I laughed bitterly after hearing Erasmus’ supposed to be words of wisdom. I jumped from the third floor to the living room in the ground floor and sat beside him on the couch. He was about to drink from the blood bag when I stole it from him. I finished it in just a few seconds.
“You’re right. It’s simple. If I love her, all I need to do is just tell her and voila! We’ll be together. And then we’ll die like what happened to those before us.”
“And what’s wrong with that? For immortals like us, isn’t dying a gift? Dying for a purpose, dying for love, Ingram, isn’t that a privilege?”
“You are aware that seeing the doppelganger was now the sole purpose of my existence. It’s the reason why I’m still alive. If my life was the only one at stake here, then I wouldn’t mind. But what about Brianna’s life? If I do confess things and she happen to accept me, until when will we last? What if she was the first to die, too, just like Levana?” I threw the empty blood bag on the floor out of distress. “I’d heard about the curse many times from you and the Vampires I met but I didn’t believe it.
“I mean, who on Earth could tell whom our hearts will desire? I don’t believe in destiny either. But damn it. I fell for the doppelganger. And I know if I only wanted to, I could have had Brianna that night. If I didn’t leave, then maybe she and I would be in a relationship by now.” My chest constricted. “Because I didn’t believe in the curse, I searched for her. I made a vow to myself that I’d protect her, that I’d make it up to Levana through Brianna."