WE WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE

Aria Cole was supposed to get married at 3PM. At 2:47 PM, she was hiding on the rooftop of her own wedding venue, crying in a $3,000 wedding dress. Downstairs, 100 guests were waiting. Her fiancé, James, was waiting at the altar in a black tux. Her father was waiting to walk her down the aisle, smiling for the cameras. And upstairs, on the rain-covered rooftop, her first love was leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette like he hadn't disappeared 5 years ago. Theo Mitchell. The boy who left her at 19 without saying goodbye. The boy her father paid $50,000 to leave Port Harcourt and never come back. The boy she never stopped loving, even when she tried. "You look beautiful," he said. His voice was deeper now. He wasn't a boy anymore. He was 25, with a beard and tired eyes and the same brown eyes she remembered. "How did you get in here?" Her voice was shaking. "How did you know I was getting married today?" He took a drag of his cigarette and threw it away. "Your sister told me. Maya. She said if I didn't come today, I would regret it for another 5 years." Aria laughed, but tears were running down her makeup. "You regret? YOU left, Theo. You took my father's money and you left me. You didn't even text me." "I never cashed it," he said quietly. "What?" He pulled a folded, faded check from his back pocket. It was old. Creased from being carried for 5 years. $50,000. From her father's company. Dated 5 years ago. "I kept it in my wallet for 5 years, Aria. I never cashed it. Because if I cashed it, it meant I sold you. And I never sold you. I left because I thought I wasn't good enough for you." Rain started to fall harder on the rooftop. Her dress was getting wet. "Theo, I'm getting married in 13 minutes." "I know." "To James. He is good. He is safe. He loves me." "I know." "Then why are you here?" Theo walked closer. Close enough that she could smell his cologne. The same one from 5 years ago. He tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear, just like he used to. "Because 5 years ago, I left without fighting for you. And I've hated myself every day since. So I'm here to fight now. Even if I'm too late." Downstairs, the wedding planner was calling her name. "Aria! Aria! We're ready for you!" Her father was calling too. "Aria! Where are you, princess?" And James was texting: "Where are you? Everyone is waiting, my love." Theo held out his hand. "Aria, come with me. Right now. We can leave. We can go anywhere. Or... you can walk down those stairs and marry him. And I will walk away forever. No more 5 years. Forever this time." He was giving her a choice. The choice she never had 5 years ago. Her father's voice was closer now, coming up the rooftop stairs. "Aria? Are you up here?" Theo looked panicked. "You have to decide. Now." She looked at his hand. The hand that held hers when she was 19. The hand that never cashed the check. And she heard her father's footsteps on the metal stairs. *TO BE CONTINUED...*