Capítulo 17: WEDDING BELLS
Antonio turned away from the window and collapsed onto his
bed, the exhaustion of the day and of the past few months finally catching up
with him. He lay there in the darkness, his mind racing with thoughts of
Rachel, of the wedding, of the future he couldn't escape.
And as he closed his eyes, he made a silent vow to himself:
no matter what happened, no matter how far Rachel was, he would never stop
searching for her. She was the only one who had ever truly mattered, and in his
heart, she always would.
The next few days passed in a blur for Antonio. The
preparations for the wedding moved forward with a momentum that seemed
unstoppable, like a boulder rolling downhill. He found himself swept up in the
tidal wave of plans and decisions, each one bringing him closer to a future he
didn't want.
Every morning, Antonio awoke with the faint, lingering hope
that somehow, Rachel would return that she would appear at his door, her face
lighting up with that familiar smile, and tell him that everything would be
alright. But each morning, that hope was met with the cold reality of her
continued absence. With no sign of Rachel, Antonio felt as though he were
moving through a dream, disconnected from the world around him.
Olivia, meanwhile, was in her element. She took charge of
the wedding preparations with a level of detail and precision that left no room
for error. She selected the flowers, white roses and lilies, symbols of purity
and renewal. She chose the music, a string quartet that would play softly as
she walked down the aisle. She even decided on the menu for the reception, exquisite
dishes that would satisfy even the most discerning guests.
And through it all, Olivia carried herself with an air of
calm confidence, as if this were the natural course of things, as if her
destiny was unfolding exactly as it should. But behind her composed exterior,
there was a tension in her eyes, a flicker of doubt that only Antonio seemed to
notice.
The night before the wedding, the mansion was filled with an
almost electric anticipation. Guests had begun to arrive, their laughter and
conversation echoing through the grand halls. The pack members who had traveled
from other territories greeted each other warmly, their spirits lifted by the
prospect of a new union, a new beginning. The elders, too, moved through the
crowd with satisfied smiles, confident that their plan was coming to fruition.
But as Antonio stood at the top of the staircase, looking
down at the scene below, he felt nothing but a deep, overwhelming sadness. The
joy that radiated from the pack was like a foreign language to him, something
he couldn't understand or share. He was supposed to be the happiest man in the
room, the Alpha, about to marry his Luna. Instead, he felt like a ghost,
haunting his own life.
Antonio retreated to his room, shutting the door against the
noise and the light. The room was dimly lit, the shadows long and deep. He
moved to the window, staring out at the darkened landscape beyond. The moon
hung low in the sky, casting a silvery light over the trees, the fields, the
distant mountains. It was beautiful, but it felt like a world apart from him,
unreachable.
With a heavy sigh, Antonio turned away from the window and
sank onto the bed. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, each one more painful
than the last. He could still hear the faint echoes of the voices from
downstairs, muffled by the walls, but they only served to heighten his sense of
isolation.
He reached for his phone, the one lifeline he still had to
Rachel. He knew it was pointless, that she wouldn't answer, but he couldn't
help himself. He dialed her number, listening to the ringing tone with a
mixture of hope and dread.
As expected, the call went unanswered. Antonio let out a
breath he didn't realize he had been holding, his heart sinking even further.
He listened to the automated message, the cold, impersonal voice telling him
what he already knew: Rachel was gone, out of reach.
He dropped the phone onto the bed beside him, his hand
trembling slightly. The reality of what was about to happen, the finality of
it, began to settle in. Tomorrow, he would marry Olivia, and there would be no
turning back. The thought was like a knife twisting in his gut, but he didn't
see a way out.
In that moment, Antonio felt more alone than he ever had in
his life. The weight of his responsibilities, the expectations of the pack, the
absence of the woman he loved; it was all too much. He felt as though he were
drowning, the pressure of it all dragging him down into a darkness he couldn't
escape.
As the hours slipped by, the sounds from the mansion began
to fade. The guests retreated to their rooms, the lights dimmed, and the night
grew still. But Antonio remained awake, lying on his bed, staring up at the
ceiling, lost in his thoughts.
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