Fated to You

Chapter 43: Love ends, Hope dies, Faith remains

A short background story! One of love, of hate, and of rivalry.

Once upon a time, there lived two very powerful families – the honest and hardworking Armstrong's and the bitter and envious Patchanon. It began with the vying of two young and strong men for the heart of a fair maiden which they desired of so vehemently. Yes, the love of these two strong men decided upon the fate of their descendants for over a century. And from this passionate love triangle, arose the famous rivalry between the two once united and respected families; the rivalry for fortunes, rivalry for sportsmanship, rivalry for knowledge, rivalry for aesthetics and notoriety, rivalry for businesses and entrepreneurships, and the bitter, yet sweet of all, rivalry for the heart and love of a beautiful, fair maiden.

It came to be expected from the two families to quarrel over one sensitive subject that was love. But in time, with so many varying scenarios of the same story, the families vowed to stop crossing paths and settled for arranged marriages to avoid any more conflict of rivalry. Though, alas, no one can set their own fate if not fate itself. So, promised are their hearts to other women, the first-born sons always, in ways they which they could avoid, fall in love with the same women. A woman that the two families would object to because it was promised to result in an unwelcome conflict. But the same story would repeat itself in many variations unexpected by both families and this story would always end in tragedy. But it wasn't so much a rivalry that the women, for whom both families' first-born sons fought over, would lead on. Their hearts always desired one and to the great dismay of the other family, it was always the Armstrong' first-born sons.

History later repeats itself – again. Nothing's changed, this one is just like the others. It also did end in tragedy just like any of the previous ones. An unexpected twist of plot from fate itself, however, is the fruit that resulted from this love affair. This time, it did not bear a first-born son but a first-born daughter. That's about the only difference. This story is that of Hank Armstrong, George Patchanon, and the beautiful Anna. Though, as known, those two-first-born sons' heart were already promised to other women. Hank Armstrong was promised to Farrah, a conning though disguised woman from a noble family. And George Patchanon was promised to Katherine, an innocent-looking though capricious fair lady.

All their friends and colleagues and acquaintances already knew that the story was yet another tale with a tragedy-stricken fate. For George, as well as Hank, both fell in love with Anna. However, Anna had her eyes set upon the charming, and sensitive, adventurous Hank Armstrong to the great dismay of the strict, and intimidating George Patchanon. He would court Anna and pursue for her love against his parents' wishes but the latter would always reject his advances. Anna had eyes only for Hank Armstrong. But their love story could never be, for Hank's father would always oppose their love for he knew George Patchanon, his main nemesis's son, also had eyes for Anna. He suffered the same fate; though in his case, he gave up on his late true love (who tragically died in a fire) and settled with Hank's grandparents' wishes – his wife, and mother of Hank, Victoria.

Victoria never agreed with her husband's wish to marry her first-born son to someone he does not love and much less to Farrah, a woman who was living the same fate that she did. However, that's about where their similarities ended. Victoria never wanted Farrah for her son, based on the sole reason that her smile did not seem genuine enough. And besides, Hank's only true love was Anna, a woman whom Victoria respected and loved. She had not much to her name and social status was very important during that time so it was imperative that both sons of the most respected and noble families marry women of noble statuses. Her ordinary plebeians' family background was one of the reason Hank's father did not want Anna as a daughter-in-law and neither did George Patchanon's father want her as a daughter-in-law, but both sons were stubborn and pursued her regardless.