The Assignment

Chapter 3: Unwilling

Emmaline's POV  

   I felt myself being pulled up from the plush love seat on which I had been seated. I was still shocked from the announcement, the name that was not Haden's. Now, I searched even more desperately for him. And when my eyes met his, I saw how deeply saddened he was, more upset than I had ever seem him.

   I quickly averted my eyes. Shaking me out of my daze, the announcer told me to shake hands with Christopher. Now that he was up here on the stage, I could see who I was being Assigned to.

   Christopher had shaggy brown hair, a pale complexion and soft, hazel eyes. As I shook his hand, I looked into his eyes, and I saw my fear and hesitation reflected in them.

   I let go of his hand and wipe off the sheen of sweat that had developed on my palm. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the announcer smile and chuckle quietly.

   "A true match ladies and gentlemen! Now, the vowing cerimony for Christopher and Emmaline will begin." At his words, a priest clad in all white stepped foward from his seat beside the podium.

   "Christopher, do you have your prepared vows?" The man asked in a gravelly, ancient voice. Christopher nodded, and with shaking fingers he took out a sharply folded paper from his breast pocket.

   He was unfolding the paper when I decided that I was ready to face Haden again. I looked back at hjm, biting my lip and hoping that he wasn't too angry that this was happening. But in his eyes I saw the truth. Under that same promise burning in them, was his anger that he was trying so hard to hide from me.

   Christopher kept looking at me, then the paper, over and over. I was wondering what he was doing, but then I knew. I heard the collective gasps from the crowd as he took his paper and ripped it in two. I saw the announcers eyes nearly bulge out of his head.

But then Christopher began speaking.

   "Dearest Emmaline, I don't need any stupid prepared vows to know what I'm going to promise you." He started. "You are the most beautiful creature that I have ever laid my eyes upon. And your eyes tell me that you are beautiful on the inside, as well."

   "Upon seeing this, I solely vow to be your Assigned, for better or for worse, to love you, to hold you and to be there for you as long as I shall live." He promised, loudly and clearly, strong and bold.

   Even though I don't know you yet, I will make it my number one priority to get to know you."

   The crowd burst into a smattering round of applause, but it quickly became drowned out by the sound of tears threatening to spill over. I risked a glance at Haden, and once I found him, his sadness and anger had been multiplied... And it broke my heart even more.

   And as I was being led away by the terrible counselor that was supposed to be helping me, the tears spilled over at long last. For the fourth time in the last twenty-four hours, my heart broke.

~~~~~

  Screaming, screaming... the pain was to strong. The iron strong wrists that were made of steel, the mind that was made of the thickest glass, was now something else. The wrists were made of paper and the mind was made of ice.
Broken they become.
Broken they become.

   I was led to a generic black car, where a chauffer opened the drivers side back door for me. I slid in, having no choice but so sit next to Christopher behind a tinted partition.

   As we get driven towards our destination, Christopher attempts to make small talk with me, but I ignore him. There was a tight string of tension between us, and he was painfully aware of that.

   "You can call me Chris if you want. It's what all of my friends and family call me." He had said in attempt to break the ice. "And you can call me Miss Marshall." I had said, letting him clearly see that I wanted nothing to do with him. After that, he nodded stiffly and sat as far away from me as the back seat would allow.

   "Did you love someone? Like for real. Before any of this happened." Christopher asked suddenly.

"Yes, I did. And I still do."

"Me too."

I whipped around suddenly to face him. "You loved someone?"

"Yes, I did. At least I thought, but we were never together. It would've been to painful in the end. But everything changed when I saw you walk up to the front of that stage."

   "You looked so scared, so nervous, but yet so beautiful all at the same time. I was hoping and praying that someone very nice would be Assigned to you, maybe even someone that I knew. And when my name was called, I was excited beyond words. This mornkng, I didn't believe in love at first sight. But now I do, after seeing you, and being Assigned to you, and getting the pleasure to get to know you. I love you, Emmaline, and even if you don't return the favor, it's still true."

   The words continued to come out of his mouth, sounding like the sweetest music to my ears. I couldn't pay much attention, though. It was all too much. The Assignment, having to leave Haden, and now this.

   What I did was think about Haden. All of the sweet memories, the nights that he spent with me, all of it flooded my mind like my life was about to end. It wasn't, though. My life was beginning to enter another chapter, one where I was considered grown-up.

   Haden was just a memory now, and even though he still existed, he was far away from me. Maybe a life with Chris would be better than even an eternity with Haden. But I had a long while to decide that. Haden wouldn't come for a long time.

   The name that had been a constant in my mind for years, now began to slip away. I took a long, shuddering breath, and it began to all fade away from me.

"Haden..."

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