Already Married

002

[Hours later ~ Suicide Bridge]

It was 9 p.m. The heavy droplets of rain hit the ground and splashed as it poured down heavily.

Cars speeding past could barely see the road ahead, their windshield wipers swiping back and forth. Rushing to get home.

Amidst the chaos the rain had created, a man stood at the center of it all, sitting on the rail, with a bottle of alcohol.

He took one heavy gulp from the bottle, and still it didn't get him tipsy.

Even through the blinding rainfall, the emptiness in his eyes was visible.

He looked soulless, like a part of him was dead. Red, watery eyes — not from the rain, but from his own unshed tears.

"Mother," he called in a whisper.

Just as he opened his lips to mutter another word, he was suddenly yanked back, taken by surprise as his back hit the hard concrete ground.

A muffled scream tore through his throat, ready to be let out, his instincts kicking in.

He reached for the foot of the person, but couldn't get a grip.

"The f**k," he spat, annoyed, trying to open his eyes, but the rain kept blocking his vision. Still, he swore it was a woman in a white dress.

"The f**k were you thinking? Huh? Is your life really that useless to you that you think suicide is the only escape? Huh. If suicide was an escape, I would have jumped in front of a moving train in every lifetime to make the people who made my life miserable pay," Tehila said.

The man stood up, staring at Tehila like she was mad. "Lady, what are you even saying," he said, limping back to his feet.

"I saw you, don't even deny it. You were trying to jump off the bridge and I saved you. Do you want to be counted among the people who've committed suicide on this bridge, is that how you want to spend your life — in regret, in hell? Don't you know committing suicide is a sin?" Tehila nagged. Her voice was loud enough for him to hear through the rain.

The man stared at her with pure shock.

"Lady, you are crazy. I wasn't even trying to jump," he said.

"Then what were you trying to do?" Tehila asked, arms on her waist.

"Lady, I came here to mourn my mother, she died at this bridge on this day, years ago," he explained.

"Oh," Tehila muttered.

The rain was beginning to slow down.

"My bad," Tehila said.

"Yeah," the man nodded.

"Tehila," Tehila said, and stretched out her arm.

"Tehila Cassian," she completed.

"Vael Aziel," he said, taking her hand in a handshake.

After they broke the handshake, they both fell into silence. Strangely, not awkward, and not comfortable either.

"Mmhmm, do you wanna grab some drinks and snacks? I mean, I know a spot close by, or you don't hang out with strangers," Tehila shrugged.

"Sure."

[15 minutes later — Rooftop]

The rain had stopped falling some minutes ago, and the night breeze was cold.

Sitting on a bench on the rooftop were Vael and Tehila. They sat side by side eating hamburgers, two bottles of soda between them.

They ate in silence while overlooking the bustling city.

Tehila stole a glance at Vael, then looked away before he could catch her. She stared at her almost-finished hamburger and swallowed an invisible lump in her throat before taking another bite.

"I'm sorry for misunderstanding you at the bridge, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that," Tehila apologized, and looked away.

"Hmm," Vael hummed in reply.

Tehila's head snapped to him, staring at the burger he'd barely taken a bite from.

"You haven't touched your burger," Tehila pointed out.

"I don't eat junk food," Vael answered.

"I noticed," Tehila replied.

"How," Vael asked, drinking from the sugar-free soda.

"I know a rich kid when I see one," Tehila said with a grin.

"I am not a nepo baby," Vael defended.

"I never said you were," Tehila affirmed.

"Rich kid? You were clearly heading there," Vael said.

Tehila chuckled.

"Fine, you caught me." She smiled.

They stayed in total silence for the next few seconds, the wind whistling past. The silence felt comfortable.

Vael glanced at Tehila without turning away; she felt his gaze on her and turned to face him.

Vael nodded at her drenched wedding dress.

"You have a lot going on there," he said, staring at her dress.

"What?" Tehila traced his gaze down to her dress, and sniffed, holding back her tears.

"My ex abandoned me for his adopted sister," Tehila said. The tears in her eyes blurred her vision; she turned her head to the floor.

"Oh," Vael muttered.

As soon as that "oh" left his lips, she couldn't hold it anymore and let all her tears fall.

Her tears dropped into her burger, accompanied by snot rolling down her nose.

Embarrassed, she immediately raised her gown up, burying her face in it while crying out loud like a baby.

Vael stared at her in confusion, not knowing how to comfort her, while she hiccuped and cried into her gown.

He gently tapped her shoulder, and she shook her head, refusing to look up. Then he tapped her again. With tears still streaming down her face, she glanced up from the gown only to be met with a burger to her face.

Crying suddenly felt stupid, and she immediately burst into laughter.

The confusion on Vael's face was evident, his eyes following her closely.

"What's funny?" Vael asked, without moving the burger.

Tehila didn't even hide her laughter; she kept laughing until she couldn't breathe. Seconds passed by and her laugh finally died down.

With a big smile on her face, she turned to Vael.

"You don't know how to console someone, do you?" Tehila said.

Vael rolled his eyes.

"You want the burger or not?" he asked, more like a command.

"I'll take it, mine is ruined anyway," Tehila said, holding back her laugh.

She stared at Vael's face as she took the burger, trying her best not to burst out laughing, and she actually succeeded.

"Thank you," Tehila said.

Vael nodded, drinking his remaining soda.

"You don't usually do this, do you?" Tehila asked after a while.

Vael turned to her, his expression neutral.

"Do what?" Vael questioned.

"Console. Sitting on a rooftop with a total stranger and chatting. You look out of place," Tehila said, while they locked eye contact.

"How sure are you," Vael asked.

"Dude, you're Vael Aziel, the CEO of that tech company — what's it called again?" Tehila said.

"Lock Techs," Vael answered.

"Lock Techs," Tehila repeated.

She glanced away, like a thought had just crossed her mind, before turning back to him.

"Do you want to get married?" Tehila asked, out of the blue.

Vael stared at her like she had two heads.

"I mean, you must be getting pressured to marry, and your portfolio says you're single — I work in a company so I know these things. And I need to get married for my own personal reasons," Tehila said with a shrug.

Vael continued staring at her, thinking through her proposal.

"Okay," Vael agreed.

Tehila raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay?" she asked, to be sure.

"Okay," Vael repeated.

"Then we meet here, by 9 p.m. tomorrow," Tehila said.

"What did you plan to do at the bridge?" Vael suddenly asked.

Tehila's eyes widened.

"I wasn't planning to jump," Tehila defended.

"I never said you were," Vael said, and she bit the inside of her mouth.

"You should go home now, it's late," Vael said, standing.

"No. I want to stay outside a little longer," Tehila insisted.

Vael sighed, and reluctantly sat back down.

"What?" Tehila asked.

"I'll stay with you," Vael answered, looking away.

"Why?" Tehila questioned.

"In case you jump," Vael said.

"I won't," Tehila affirmed.

"I still don't tru

st you," Vael said.

A smile formed on Tehila's lips as she thought of something.

"Caring husband already?" Tehila teased.

Vael turned to her.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Vael said.

Tehila laughed.