Dodging a bullet.

This is my own painting- Ring of Life. I created it in 2018.

“Rose Litiana, do you take this man as your husband? Do you swear to be together in wealth and poverty, in health and illness, till death do you part?” Asked the priest.

“Yes, I do.” Answered the bride.

“Marcus Antonio Castelus, do you take this woman, Rose Litiana, as your bride? Do you swear to be together in wealth and poverty, in health and illness, till death do you part?” Asked the priest.”

Marcus inhaled. For a moment, he looked at Rose, his beautiful bride-to-be. Cold shivers went down his body. He felt that Rose father the Mayor, is watching his every move. Marcus was quite sure that his father-in-law was not gonna shoot him even if he said no to the marriage. Well...at least not during the ceremony anyway. But Mayor was known for his temper issues as well as various connections. He was more than powerful enough to ruin a small businessman like Marcus...Or have him disappear without a trace. So while the Mayor was not holding Marcus at a gunpoint, Marcus still felt that he was in great danger and had to choose his next word very carefully. But marrying Rose seemed just as dangerous as not marrying her and pissing off her mafioso father...

Rose and Marcus met about a year ago at some celebration. Both of them at that point already had a few drinks. So Marcus did not notice in time that they had little in common. He liked dogs, classical music and red wine. She liked cats, club music and cocktails. He liked sports, and she preferred shopping... Still, for a while, they had fun together and even spent a lovely week in Venice.

But the calm fantasy ended as soon as it began. Rose was too fond of clubs and partying. She spent thousands of euros buying things she never used later. A few times, Marcus tried speaking to her about it. But Rose simply claimed that this is not a problem. It is not like they were short on money after all. And should they need money, her daddy Mayor, would be sure to support her.

The worst conflict happened when one time Rose sold part of Marcus postage stamp collection because she wanted to buy a new shoes. She got only a portion of what those postage stamps were worth and threw the shoes away after only wearing them twice. The argument escalated, and Rose called Marcus a greedy, good-for-nothing idiot. It got even worse when the next day Rose claimed that Marcus cares more about his dog than about her... Of course, their relationship was not always bad. They had some beautiful, sunny days together as well. Marcus still remembered those days with a smile. But they were quite rare. Most of the time, he found himself feeling trapped. Too scared to leave. Not happy enough to stay...The old mayor wanted to have grandkids, so he pushed Rose and Marcus to get married as soon as possible. And so they somehow ended here in this wedding ceremony. Two very different people in a really bizarre situation.

Finally, Marcus made a decision.

“No, I will not marry her.” He responded calmly but firmly. At the same time, he thought “whatever happens-happens.”

After that, he walked away from the ceremony with his head held high. A few hours later, Marcus got a text from Rose. Strangely enough, she also seemed happy about how it all ended. “I always preferred dating girls anyway. Bye-bye, Marcus.”

“Well, I guess I dodged some bullets today...” thought Marcus while driving with his dog towards the sunset.