The Irangel | Prequel Story |

Chapter 30 ~ Broken Engagement

The irangels were ecstatic. All except Cole, who sat at the kitchen table staring at Tori in absolute astonishment as she announced her engagement with Justin. Camdren danced around while Elisa jumped giddily and Keith let out cheers and Velo looked surprised but acceptive of what was going on. Eamon brightened, putting everyone in a good mood as he began planning things for the wedding.

All that, however, came to an abrupt halt when Tori went in her office to browse through wedding dresses. After selecting an off-the-shoulder long sleeved lace mermaid-style dress with a train, she looked at Pinterest ideas on how to plan an outdoor wedding; Tori and Justin decided to have their wedding outdoors. Tori picked white flowers for the floral arrangements. She loved white and the color red.

The flowers were the exact same kind she always kept on her bedside table. As she admired them, memories began to appear in her mind: of warm sunny afternoons, of the most amazing mornings, of breezy days and cozy nights.

She looked through men's suits next, enjoying the prospect of picking out a suit for her fiancé. She picked out a nice black suit with a dark grey tie, thinking of how handsome Justin would look in it. She visualized him wearing it, pictured herself slow dancing with him with white flowers and gold lights in the background, imagined how it would feel like to finally wear a wedding dress, to be surrounded by the irangels she created, to live out the dream she always wanted.

There was only one person missing from the picture: Nate.

He was her mate, the person she wanted to marry.

Not Justin.

Tori's tears started to mist as she began to think of Nate, her imaginings of Justin wearing a suit turning into her old fantasies of Nate, the ones she secretly wanted to fulfill deep down but never got the chance to. She wanted to marry him and have children, to build a new generation of alternative humans. To start a legacy she would forever hold to.

Nate simply wanted to be with the woman he loved, ironically mirroring Justin's wants. Though Tori wouldn't admit to herself that she cared deeply for Justin and maybe felt some sort of love towards him too, it was Nate she wanted more than anything. She couldn't let go of him. She wanted him back, and she would do everything in her power to do so.

Her eyes flashed with resolve as she suddenly stood, firmly pushing her chair back as her heels slid on the floor in backward motion, landing to an abrupt stop.

Millian came in the room just then, about to ask her something, when he saw the look on Tori's face. She eyed him evenly, the sun shining down on her cream oatmeal short sleeve cardigan with a ruffled dark purple camisole underneath and olive green pencil skirt, giving her a schoolteacher kind of look. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, not neat and perfect, sorta messy but also elegant at the same time. She looked stunning. No wonder Justin calls her beautiful, Millian thought, taking a few seconds to collect himself before saying, "Uh, Tori – "

"I'm calling off the engagement," Tori announced, her voice cold as she interrupted him. She started to head out of the room, boldly walking past Millian, who followed her wide-eyed, saying, "What! Why?!"

Tori didn't respond, ignoring him as she continued to walk down the hallway. Her entrance brought the irangels' attention, who turned at the sound of Tori's confident heels on the smooth glass-like floor.

"I apologize, Justin," said Tori, her eyes resting on him first. "I've got priorities that take precedence."

"Meaning?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

Eamon noticed Tori didn't sound like herself; she sounded cold, somewhat detached. There was a certain eagerness in her tone, one quickly followed by a hint of desperation. He sensed loss and fear stemmed from tragedy and heartbreak she couldn't get away from.