Sobbing weakly, she managed to whisper, "Please." The excruciating pain was seeping into every fiber of her being. "No, Sage, I can't marry you anymore," Enrique exclaimed, his eyes flashing with anger as he confronted his fiancée lying in the hospital bed. "You've been through so much – broken, used, and tainted by others. How can I possibly consider it when I know you were treated like some object for men to exploit?" Sabrina's voice laced with disbelief, she protested, "Enrique, how can you say that after what she's endured? She was raped!" Enrique shook his head, unable to reconcile his feelings, "It's not my fault, but I can't go through with this. Knowing how much she's been through, I can't bear to look at her. I'm sorry, Sage, but our story must end here." He gazed helplessly at the girl he once loved, drowning in sorrow, before turning away and leaving her behind. As the door closed, their love seemed to have crumbled with it. --- Though love had once weathered any storm, Enrique's foundered under the weight of his decision. Two years later, he returned to their hometown, this time with a different purpose – to marry Sage's sister. The question lingered: would he regret his choice or would it be too late to mend the broken path he had set in motion? Only time would reveal the answer in the pages that followed.
