Broken Vows

Chapter Twenty Nine

     ***2 years later***

Yufa

"Here you go, Miss. One bouquet of fresh white roses." The middle-aged woman smiled brightly behind her stall. She sells different colors and kinds of roses. There were red, yellow and pink roses that were freshly delivered to her. There were even blue roses among the baskets which were very rare. I could always choose from the variety of roses she sells. But today, white roses will suit the occasion very well. It's been two years since I lost my baby which means, it's also his death anniversary. A long time may have passed but the pain is still there, waiting to be uncovered. I guess I will never be over with it.

"Thank you!" I paid her before smelling the sweet scent of the roses that wafted into the air, mixing with the smell of bread from the nearby bakery. I left the store with a smile on my face.

Yes, I may have lost my child but the fact that it opened another door for me, helped with easing the pain even for a little bit. His death freed me from my prison and for that, I was beyond thankful. I lost him, but he is still doing me great favor by giving me the best in life.

My family abandoned me, too. None of them had paid me any visit nor any of them came to check if I was doing great or if I'm still alive. I wasn't even permitted to set foot near Beijing. My father hold on to his threat on banishing me. I know him very well that even if one of my family members would dare check on me, he will know it and eventually severe any means of communication. I miss them so much but I caused too much disgrace to his name. He even forbid me to use his last name and honestly, I was sick for weeks crying over that. But still, I am thankful. I'm having the best days of my life.

I lowered the roses onto the cool green grasses behind the tombstone of my little one. I kept my promise to bury him where he can enjoy the sun and rain that I failed to let him experience. There were other flowers that dried up and wilted around which I brought with me when I visited him. I even named him.

"Hello, Johann!" I whispered, crouching down to touch the cool tombstone, caressing it as if it were his head.

I didn't got the chance to know his gender but in my heart, I know he or she will like the name I had chosen. It's among the least things I can do for him. It's better than being nameless.

I talked to him for a couple of minutes, telling him of my adventures and how my day goes. Spending a small time with him gives me the courage to continue living. He had given me a second chance to life and I would use that wisely. My baby wouldn't want to see me in a pitiful state. The chance he gave me is not intended for mourning over his death. Imstead, it is to build my self confidence and making myself happy. That took me nearly a year to realize that his death wasn't the end of everything. The first year was very hard for me. I maybe breathing steadily but my heart is in constant pain, my eyes never dried up of tears and I always had a nervous breakdown. Until one day, I realized my baby is as restless as I was. I couldn't let him go which was very selfish of me. I wasn't the one who's hurting alone, it was my baby because he couldn't move to the next life as I was still holding unto him. I couldn't imagine what it was like for him to linger longer than he should be.

It took me long enough to notice that slid a tear down my cheeks as I reminisce over my misery amd shortcomings. I quickly wiped my tears, not wanting to shed anymore tears. She had promised to her baby that she wouldn't cry anymore. Not unless it was tears of joy. Until then, I don't want to cry in front of his grave.

After my short visit, I went straight to my little shop. I could see my employees taking customers just as I taught them to be through the transparent window. I couldn't help but smile at how my small shop thrived amongst other jewelry shops in one of the busiest streets in Paris. Yes, that's where I was this whole time. The city I'm unlikely to be and the nearest to 'him'. Unlike Spain, Paris gave me the happiness and freedom I longed for. I had few friends here, including my employees that provided me comfort and a sense of family. I treated them as sisters and they returned the same. I couldn't ask for more. Even though I still missed mu family more than ever, they were far from here and these people provided that similar bond I used to have with his sister. Arriane also knew where I was. Out of all the people I knew, there were only two people who actually knew my whereabouts. My father must have known about it the whole but chose ignored it. Arriane never failed to share with me the whereabouts of my ex-husband which is apparently wasting away his life. I didn't want anything that concerns about his life but the woman kept on giving me hints. That's when I learned Nathan had been through rehab three times in just a span of one and a half year. He almost spent all his money on alcohol and drugs. His life was ruined after our divorce which I thought he, himself brought it upon him. Honestly, I was troubled after hearing those news but wise enough not to show an ounce of concern in front of his sister. Between us, it should be him who's likely to be doing fine but it turns out that he wasn't.

Upon entering the small shop, my employees greeted me in french. A court nod was my onlu response along with a smile. Learning French was very hard for me considering English and Chinese was the only language I grew accustomed to. Well, I learned a little Tagalog and Spanish too but I seemed to forgot them now. I tried recalling them but they became a jumble of words mixing together.

"Bonjour, beautiful!" A voice came from behind. The all too familiar velvety voice that I grew being used to, the longer I stay in Paris.

"Hello, Rucio!" I beamed. The other person who knows about my whereabouts was him. In fact he was like a knight in shining suit to me, after my divorce. He offered me a place to stay and a shop to start my life. At times when I was down, he was there to save me. Because both of us shared the same passion for glittering things, we got along very well. The revolting feeling I felt for him before, was gone as soon as I knew who he really was. He was kind and gentle, nothing like what my conscience told me before. But he didn't earned my trust that easily. It took time before I came around and when it did, we became best friends. Being a daughter of a jeweler has it's own perks. Like I've said before, I had a vast collection of vases and books which I already sold, there was one collection that surpasses them which is jewelry. I had rare pieces amidst my collection that sold quite a fortune. Rucio didn't take any of them as a compensation for the place he offered. Instead, he helped me selling them and even he held an auction for those pieces that both of us agreed to have a better price. After getting enough money, I paid him for the shop. He insisted on giving me that place since he had other branches to attend to and well, he didn't need anymore space for his business. But I insisted too. After a long argument, he sold it to me at a very cheap price. Strange for a place that attracts too much customers.

"I won't be around for a week, Beautiful. I'll be flying to Turkey later this afternoon, so please take care." He said, flashing a boyish grin on his face.

"Rucio, cut that petnames. Please. How many times do I have to tell you to call me by name? Thousand time already?" I laughed, not really feeling annoyed but rather amused.

"Why? I like it more than calling you your name." His rich french lilt was playful.

"So, you don't like my name then? You hurt me." I faked a pain on my chest.

"Oh, don't be like that. I like your name too, unique. But, I like 'Beautiful' more." His boyish grin widened.

"Okay, okay!" I laughed. "So Turkey. You keep yourself safe too."

"I will, Beautiful. I will." He said earnestly.

After a small talk, he left the shop promising me gifts when he come back. It's no use telling him 'no', because he is doing it otherwise. And now, I was left in peace watching my emeployess do their work. Strange as it is, people come here for one sole thing and that is rings. Perhaps this why I named this little store as Johann's Wedding Bells since most of the pieces are all related to weddings. It brought joy to my heart to watch all them lovers choose particular rings for their most awaited day. A divorced woman like me naturally feel a little jealous over their happy lives but I wasn't. I find it very comforting knowing these couples are entering matrimony with pure love in their hearts. My experience wasn't pleasant but I take no offense with them showing all their love to each other. I'm just simply happy.

The bell chimed at the door, giving us signal that a customer is here to choose a piece for their love. But I wasn't expecting to see a pair of silver eyes staring back at me.

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A/n

Hello lovies! It took me a while to finish this but here it is.

*grammatical errors, I'm sorry.

Please vote and comment down. Thanks

---Maiah❤