Prince Charming meets the Witch

The airport lounge was half-way crowded when they finally checked in their luggage and made their way into the departure area.

She saw her immediately as did him. She was easy to remember since she stood out like a towering rose bush, prickly but so beautiful it needed almost super human strength not to go and pluck her bloom.

She had seen her outside the airport when the taxi they were in earlier was about to park. She had seen her and was mesmerized. Truly beautiful. Like a goddess who came down to earth simply to mock mere mortals for their averageness.

Then she realized that he had also seen her. She walked past them and she saw their eyes met. She could feel him suddenly tense beside her, his tall strong body stiffening as if he had been struck by lightning.

The eye contact lasted for seconds but it was as if something cold suddenly squeezed at her heart. She felt the freeze cover her body from head to toe. She staggered where she stood. He glanced at her, his eyes still imprinted with the image of the beauty so that it was as if he forgot she was even there.

"Are you alright?" he asked, frowning.

She nodded quietly and forced her lips to smile. He didn't notice. He took her bag and walked forward, clearly expecting her to follow.

She followed him as he walked behind the beautiful young girl.

The girl was ahead of them checking in. When she was done, she brushed past them again. This time, she saw him look her squarely in the eye. She saw the faint blush suffused the girl's clear, perfect skin. She bent her beautiful head bashfully, like she had been caught stealing cookies in a bin. The girl passed them by, leaving behind the scent of roses and spring. Fear gripped her cold heart again.

When she returned to the lounge after going to the restroom, she saw the girl take the empty seat, her seat, beside him. He seemed surprised but she was already there, sitting naturally beside him. She saw him look around as if looking for someone but the girl was already talking to him, offering him the Starbucks coffee she held in one hand.

She did not go to him nor interrupt them. The lounge by then had filled up with passengers flying to the island. There was a steady flow of contained chaos inside. Kids were pressing their faces against the glass staring at the planes on the tarmac. College students were giggling while talking and texting on their cellphones.

The chaos, however, seemed not to bother the young man and the young girl still talking animatedly to each other.

They have, in fact, become the focus of much curiosity and interest among the waiting passengers. The girl was eye catching but so was the young man beside her.

Like the girl, he will always catch the attention of anyone in the crowd because of his stunning good looks. He was tall and fair, his eyes clear and intelligent. He was dressed casually in a simple white t-shirt and jeans but even so, he exuded glamour that instantly drew the eye.

She watched them from where she was standing, cutting a lonely figure on her own. Really an average looking girl, with average looks, average height, average everything.

After that initial attempt to search for her, the young man settled in his chair and continued his conversation with the young and beautiful girl. She saw him smile. She saw him laugh. It seemed he had already forgotten about her.

The call came for passengers to board the plane. She walked towards him and he saw her, finally. The girl beside him also turned around to look at her, her red lips still carrying the traces of the teasing she had shared with him.

"There you are," he greeted. "I was looking for you. Where did you get off to?" the young man said, taking the bag in her hand.

"I had to make a phone call," she said without elaborating. She smiled at the girl but didn't meet her eyes.

"Phone call? To whom?" he asked, his eyes searching her face.

"We'd better go," she said without answering. "The line is getting shorter."

But she didn't move so he impatiently hefted the bag in his hand and walked forward, taking his place at the end of the line. The girl followed after him until their footsteps aligned perfectly. Only then did she follow after him, her eyes troubled.

They were booked first class, a gift from his parents. The airline stewardess helped them to get settled, the girl's eyes unblinking on the young man's face. He moved so she could sit on the aisle. He knew she didn't like to be crowded so he folded his long legs and watched as she strapped the safety belt around her slim waist.

"Did you remember to take your pill?" he asked, referring to the anxiety pills his mother gave her before they left.

"Yes. Don't fuzz. I'm alright," she said, closing her eyes.

He didn't say anything any more, merely taking her hand and holding it in his. She slept after that and when she woke up she was alone. She had a momentary sense of impending panic but then she heard his voice. He was seated a few seats ahead, talking to someone. It was the same girl. She could tell because she recognized the shiny, reddish hair peeking on top of the seat she was leaning against.

She felt too fuzzy to care so she slept again. The stewardess served dinner. He came back to tell her that the girl they met before turned out to be his best friend's younger cousin. The best friend now lives in America so he was glad to catch up. She didn't mind if he sits over there and continues to chat, did she?

She must have said something because she saw him leave, saw the girl glance back, saw her gave her an innocent smile. The young man took the empty chair beside her again. After a while, she saw the two heads -- one red, the other black -- sit close together, almost touching and exchanging strands.

He came back when the pilot announced that the plane was about to land. He helped her with her seat belt, tightened his own strap, then held her hand.

The sound of the plane accelerating to land prevented any conversation between them. He said something to her which she didn't understand. She shook her head, indicating she couldn't hear him because of the noise. He frowned and opened his mouth to speak but the plane was diving, readying for a touch down and she was gripping his hand in hers.

The sun was already up when they finally left the plane. She felt an unaccountable weariness grip her. It was so strange to be walking down this road with him. It felt very strange.

"Are you alright?" he asked, frowning as he looked at her damp face.

"Just hot," she said, offering a wan smile.

The girl was inside the waiting lounge when they came out. She smiled when she saw him. She was obviously waiting for him. And him...a huge smile split his handsome face when he saw her.

"I thought you'd already gone," he greeted, unclasping his hand from hers. She watched him walked towards the girl, pleasure beaming on his face.

"Can you take care of the luggage?" he asked turning to her as if he had just remembered. Then not waiting for an answer, he turned back, took the girl's arm and the two of them walked off together.

She followed them after a while, her mind totally blank. She saw them enter Starbucks. She saw them sit close together in a booth. She saw them laugh. She saw him take her phone, his hand lingering on the soft skin of her hand. She saw him punched numbers on the phone then hand it back to her. She saw their heads close together.

She saw all these and she just wanted to die.

She continued to watch them, her heart breaking into tiny pieces.

She was wheeling her luggage when her phone buzzed.

"Waiting outside with taxi." The text read.

She looked at the words, weighing their meaning, then she made her decision and continued to the ticket counter. The girl was very helpful. There was a flight back to M City in 45 minutes. She paid the ticket, carried her bag in one hand and found herself on another lounge waiting for her flight back home.

She hadn't even stayed on the island for the entirety of her honeymoon.

The text came after an hour interval.

"Went ahead to the hotel. Lovely view. Where are you?"

She was already on the plane, flying back home with her luggage. She deliberated whether to text him that but in the end the anxiety pill was stronger than her conscience. She slept the entire two-hour flight and exited the plane with a splitting headache.

She spent another hour loitering inside the airport lounge, wondering what to tell her father. In the end, she called him. He was already frantic. The young man had called the family and told them she was missing. Her father feared the worst and drove to the airport to meet her without telling her in-laws.

Father and daughter stared at each other in the near empty lounge. She didn't speak, merely gave a resigned shrug and flew into his loving arms as the tears finally flowed. He held her in his embrace as she sobbed. She was incoherent, talking about her new husband and the beautiful girl he met on this very airport on the way to their honeymoon.

"Are you sure you're not making a mountain out of a little molehill?" he asked, unwilling to believe her. "He did say she was related to his best friend. Maybe..."

"Dad, I'm not blind, you know," she said, smiling through her tears.

Her father was silent.

"What do you plan to do next?"

"Get a divorce. Move to our old house. Get back to the business of living. In that order," she said, drying her tears with her hands.

"Madi," he said, an unhappy look on his face.

"I don't want to go back there, dad," she said, sniffing. "I don't want to disappoint the old folks. I know I've already disappointed you."

"That's not true," he protested, tenderly cupping her cheek. "You will never disappoint me, Madi. Never. I am just worried about this abrupt decision of yours. You haven't talked it over with him, you assume he likes that girl, and now you're talking about a divorce. Have you forgotten that you spent nearly half your life hounding this poor guy to death and now that you've finally caught him, you're suddenly thinking of divorcing him? I think you're moving too fast on this. Think about it some more. Talk it over with him."

He could tell she was not interested in pursuing such a solution. Her mind was already made up. For her, the optics were clear. Her not-even-a-day-old husband met another girl on their way to their honeymoon. He spent the entire flight talking and flirting with her. Then when the plane landed, he chose to ran off with her for a coffee break in Starbucks. Not exactly the action of a man eager to spend time with his new wife on their honeymoon.

And he drove off with the girl to his and his wife's hotel. Did that mean she was staying in the same hotel, too?

In the end, father and daughter drove to their old house in silence. It was not actually an old house but a reconstruction of an old building that was destroyed during a 7.5 earthquake. That earthquake not only destroyed their house but changed their lives, especially Madi's.

The house smelt of newly cut wood and polish. It smelt like home. It was not as big as her in-laws' house but it was cozy, nestled among trees at the end of a long driveway.

The phone rang. It had never stopped ringing even when she was airborne. Nor the texting and questions. Where are you? Why are you not answering my calls? Where are you, Madi?

Please answer me.

She didn't sleep well that night. She felt ashamed and conflicted. Ashamed because she knew she had disappointed everyone, especially her dad. And conflicted because the doubts had finally surfaced, further undermining that short burst of courage she had desperately held onto during her return flight home.

She wanted to call him, listen to the sound of his voice...explain. About what? She had always been weak when it comes to him. He knows it...he knows her.

Her mother-in-law tried to contact her. She called, then texted, then finally came to the house. Her dad took care of it all.

The pain and heartbreak had finally caught up with her then. She lay on her bed sobbing quietly. She felt as if she had been split apart, never to be whole again. She didn't leave her room for a week. He called again. Their mutual friends called and texted. All were wondering what had happened, where she was, why she's not with him.

Her dad protected her from the onslaught anyway he could. He went to her in-laws' house and explained. He didn't meet her husband. It seemed he had extended his vacation to the island for another week. After dropping off his bombshell, her father left. That was the last time he saw her in-laws, great friends of his from his college years.

The decision to divorce came after the twelfth day. She and her father drove to the city and talked to their lawyer.

The lawyer was very kind. He was a friend of her father's and had known her when she was small. He listened to her story, noted the behavior of the husband with the other girl and in the end asked her what she wants.

"What do you mean?" she asked, very puzzled.

"Divorce means a splitting of your lives and that includes all assets that you might have together. I understand that this young man has money. Then under the law, as his wife, you are entitled to some of it. Let me finish, please," he said as she was about to interrupt. "Even though....even though the marriage is unconsummated and lasted for only two weeks. Now, do you want to pursue this line of thinking?"

"I don't want his money," she said angrily.

The lawyer sighed.

"Now, this is where I come in as a friend of your father's and as your adviser. And my advice to you is, ask for financial support. Hear me out, please," he said when she was about to interrupt him again. "You are still very young and even though you might think of yourself as a failure now because of this failed marriage, and in fact, judge yourself because of it, this will pass, as everything passes in life. Life will continue for you, Madi. As well as him. But you have an opportunity, here and now, to at least grease your path forward with a little help. I'm not saying you take him out for all you can get but at least take him out for something that might help in your future recovery."

She was quiet, thinking.

"Ask him for a million. That sounds a nice good number," she said, smirking. She finds it really funny that he is now obligated by law to take care of her, even with the threat of divorce between them. Her grease monkey. She laughed inwardly. But then sobered up. She didn't want his money but the lawyer was right. She was owed something because she put her faith in him and he showed how little he thought of that faith by crushing her like a bug.

Her dad didn't say anything but he nodded, satisfied.

The divorce papers was finalized and sent to its destination. A text followed not long after.

"Why?"

She thought for a bit, reading and re-reading the simple message.

Why? Because she had loved him for years and he broke her heart.

Why? Because if he loved her, he would come after her, wouldn't he?

Why? Because, she is making a big mistake and she wants him to stop her.

Why? Because if he doesn't stop her, then it would mean he really likes the other girl.

Why? Because....

In the end, she sent him a message that encapsulated her hopes for the future and her tacit understanding that he never loved her not like she loved him, with all her heart and soul.

"Because I love myself more." The message read simply.