Bride of Adron | ✓

Chapter 4 - Freedom

Noelle did not sleep that night. She had laid in bed for hours, watching the ceiling and following the patterns on it with her eyes. Outside, she heard an owl coo, and the light lapping of rain on the windowsill bugged her awake. Her eyes itched, a stinging pain prominent the longer she kept them open.

"I can't do this," she muttered, slapping her forehead. "I can't do this! The- the wedding is tomorrow and if I don't get out I'm trapped here forever!"

A sob sounded in the room, and it took Noelle a moment to realise it came from her throat. She shoved her palm over her mouth to muffle the sounds, and squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears from spilling on her pillow.

She did not know what she would do if the wedding went ahead. She would live comfortably, but her life would be filled with despair and depression. She would go insane and spiral, and with no one to catch her before she fell... there was nothing to stop her.

Noelle knew she would never love Adron; she doubted he even loved her at all. It was an alarming obsession with a child on his behalf, and Noelle wanted nothing to do with it. She would rather die.

"Any woman would die to be in your place."

Noelle remembered Emanda's words as clear as day. If Adron had so many fine women dreaming of marrying him, why was she chosen? She was a much better candidate than Noelle. Anyone was a better candidate than she!

"Calm the hell down!" she scolded herself, letting out a strained breath. "Think about anything else but that."

. . .

Noelle sat as though in a trance at her desk, her head in her hand as she absentmindedly gazed at the boy sitting in front of her: Abe Abara. He was tall, towering above anyone else in the class, with smooth, dark skin and curly black hair. In her eyes, he was perfect: intelligent, compassionate, handsome, and brave. Abe was part of half a dozen school teams, such as cricket, football, and rugby. Popular and well-liked, he was friends with everyone. All the girls loved him, and all the boys wanted to be like him.

He was her first crush, and later, her first relationship. Back then, she had only looked on from afar, and despite Melanie's encouragement, she never sought to speak to him. Noelle told herself it was only a temporary fascination, and that it would go away soon.

Though it did not help that Abe teased her relentlessly. In class, she often found him staring, and when she met his gaze he would wink and turn away. Randomly, he would approach her and start a conversation, or poke harmless jokes at her.

Ivan preached that it was a sign he reciprocated her crush, and Noelle herself believed it too.

One day, their science teacher, Mr Greyton, sat them together for an experiment. They worked together well, finishing the experiment before anyone else in their class with valid results. Since then, Mr Greyton has sat them together every single day.

And Noelle's feelings thrived. She was sure Abe liked her back, she knew it from the way he moved around her and how he spoke. He always smiled - she loved his smile - and his deep eyes crinkled when he did so.

Noelle asked him for his number, the boldest thing she had ever done. To her joy, he gave her it, and they texted every day. Abe always made sure to text her in the morning and at night. She felt so comfortable when she spoke to him, and a notification from him always brought a smile to her face. She felt like she was on the moon, flying on cloud 9.

Abe: Hey, can we meet up?

Noelle's eyes widened when she saw the message. Her heart skipped a beat in her shock. She had never met up with Abe outside of school before, so what prompted him to ask her? Excitedly, she quickly tapped out her response.