CAN I ESCAPE?

PART 1

"I, Helena Harrison, take you, Edwin Roberts, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy law, and this is my solemn vow", she said with a smile as she looked at the love of her life with eyes full of love.

"I, Edwin Roberts, take you, Helena Harrison, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy law, and this is my solemn vow", he said as his eyes got filled with tears and a beautiful smile formed on his face.

"You both are now married. You may kiss the bride now", the priest said as the couple kissed each other.

Their eyes were filled with love. Pulling apart, they hugged each other and looked at their favorite people, who were all clapping and cheering for them.

"It feels so unreal", said Helena, her eyes filling with tears.

"It indeed does", said Edwin, and kissed her forehead again.

"I feel euphoric, Edwin. Thank you for coming to my life", she said, as a tear rolled down her right eye.

"Hey, hey what did I say about tears? No tears are allowed in my sweetheart's eyes, especially on such a big day", he said, gently rubbing her tears with his thumb.

"Sorry", she said, while looking down.

She was overwhelmed with all of it. It was a massive change in her life. And the best part, he understood it all.

"No need to feel overwhelmed, Doll. I am here with you", he said, pulling her into an assuring embrace once again.

They had a romantic wedding photoshoot afterward and even had a family photoshoot. It was the best day of their lives. The day felt so perfect. It had high hopes and blessings for the newly married couple.

Helena and Edwin had known each other for 2 years. Helena worked as an attorney at a leading law firm in Sweden while Edwin was the CEO of a game development company. They met for the first time two years back when Helena was appointed as the main attorney for a business dispute case of Edwin's company. And they both fell for each other at first sight.

Edwin was fascinated by Helena's beauty, knowledge, and capability. Her competitive nature easily got control over the case, leading to their victory. Helena, on the other hand, was smitten by Edwin's charms. Though she had seen many handsome men, she never fell for anyone in five years. But the case was different when it came to Edwin. His personality and his professional attitude towards work were so unique and rare to find. He was not proud of his looks, and all he cared about was his work. He was a humble guy which was a rare quality in affluent people like him.

But there was something not right about it. Helena had never fallen for anyone in those years no matter how hard she tried to, so it was strange to her when she fell for someone at first sight. Especially after what happened years back.

Seven years back, at the tender age of twenty, when she was studying law, Helena had a boyfriend, Sam. Sam was her first love. He was the kind of guy people would see just in the fiction. They both had just started dating at that time. And surprisingly, they never had any quarrels or misunderstandings between them. Their trust was greater than anything in the world. They both considered their relationship more important than any ego jealousy or hatred. The thought of Sam leaving her would make her cry very easily. She was so attached to him and so was he.

But sometimes, destiny's plans collide with ours and result in smashing our plans, breaking them mercilessly.

One day, while driving to the University, his car collided with a truck and he died on the spot. Helena was informed about this heart-rending news at the University, and she fainted out of shock. Her world ended in front of her eyes.

"I would never leave you alone, Helena."

"I'll stay with you no matter what, even if I have to cheat death."

"Don't cry, sweetie. I will always be with you."

His beautiful smile while saying those words flashed frequently in her mind. She could not sleep for nights. Whenever she got to sleep, she would dream of Sam. She would see him with a peaceful yet sad smile. She would beg for him to come back but he would disappear into thin air all the time. Then she got majorly depressed. She felt like sleeping all the time to escape reality and to stay with Sam forever. She believed that one day he would come back to her saying that it was all a dream, a nightmare. But in reality, he never came back.

The heart that once brimmed with life had turned into a stone. Those lively sunshine eyes turned lifeless in no time. She started to feel that happy endings did not exist in this world. Her heart could never accept another guy. Years went by, and she became an attorney. She was one of the best rookies and was employed by one of the best firms. Everybody thought that her life was perfect, not knowing what sort of tragedy she was dealing with for the past few years.

But then came Edwin, five years after Sam passed away. And, finally, that cold heart of hers fell for a man again. She had fallen for a guy she had just seen for the first time.

Edwin asked her out after the dispute had been solved. She was surprised when he asked her out. She accepted to be his girlfriend. Because of his likable nature, she once again, got attached. Life felt fantastic to them.

They see that time heals everything. They say it right. Slowly, the memories of her bitter past started to fade away. She wanted to be with him forever. They both enjoyed their company all the time. There was no jealousy, no misunderstandings, nothing that would make their relationship grow weak.

But, even after being so close to him, she never told him or anyone about Sam. Only her immediate family, which consisted of her parents and her brother, knew about him. Helena told all her family members to keep this a secret from everybody else. She knew that talking about her ex with her current partner might lead to her relationship being distant, so she never took any risk.

Edwin on the other hand, never had any past relationships. He was into studies and his company all the time. He was social, but never found the right girl. Helena was his first love. He fell in love with her everything. He cherished her a lot. He pampered her and broke down the walls of her stoned heart. Helena loved him, but he loved her more.

She fell for him, but he had fallen harder.

He loved her to the moon and back.

After a year, Helena had the complete intuition that Edwin was the one for her. Without wasting any more time she decided to propose to him on their first anniversary. She proposed to him and he said yes. She introduced him to her parents and brother. There were no objections raised by both of their families as Edwin was her brother's close friend. Both the families were very happy that they were getting married. And after what had happened to Helena years back, her parents had a sense of relief to see her happy and moving on.