Jo Anne Zùñiga-Banks
Romance writing sample
Thunder rang out as Darcy walked down the aisle in her heirloom wedding dress. She had feared rainy weather and it had happened. A big thunderstorm was due to hit any minute. They couldn’t cancel the wedding but they could hurry it up. With the rain pending, the wedding guests clutched umbrellas that Darcy’s wedding planner had distributed.
As she walked down the aisle, Darcy kept her eyes locked onto her groom. She felt a twinge in her heart and her breath was coming in small anxious spurts. There were beads of sweat forming on her forehead because of the humidity in the air. Perspiration rolled down her bare back. Yet she kept walking down the aisle, matching the rhythm of Pachelbel’s canon.
The string quartet finished playing at the exact moment that Darcy reached the magnificent wedding canopy made special for her wedding. John, her groom, took her hand and squeezed it. The minister began to talk and Darcy felt her chest tighten and she couldn’t catch her breath.
“Darcy!” a voice shouted from behind the guest seating. Darcy closed her eyes and felt faint. She knew without looking that it was Max. It was as if she had willed him to appear.
She felt John’s steady hands on her shoulder. She wanted to delete everything that was about to happen. But when she opened her eyes. Max was standing before her. John began to pull her towards him.
“Darcy don’t do this, “ said John.
Darcy couldn’t speak. Her heart was on fire. She couldn’t believe Max was standing right in front of her on the day of her wedding. She hadn’t seen him in two years but there he was. His azure eyes looking into hers.
“Darcy, I love you tenderly, totally, tragically *” whispered Max. He stepped in close so that she could hear.
Darcy swallowed hard. Her heart was on fire but her mind was a blank. She turned around to face John. He was shaking his head. There was fury in his eyes. Darcy wanted to reach out to John but her heart was in charge now. For two years, her heart had ached for Max and Max only. However, It was her intellect that had taken charge and accepted John’s love and compassion.
“Darcy, please look at me, “ said Max. Against her better judgement, Darcy turned to face the man who had shattered her heart. Max reached for Darcy’s hands and said, “We belong together, you and me. I don’t work without you . . .”
“What? You disappear and come back now? ” Darcy managed to say, Her intellect had come back online. “ What are you doing here? I’m getting married. Go away please.” Darcy begged
Max took a step closer to Darcy and pulled her away from John’s grasp. He slowly bent his head down to kiss Darcy. Darcy tried to pull away but there was a magnetism she could not fight. Darcy’s lips touched Max’s and she felt an incredible electricity. Fighting against her will, she opened her lips and touched her tongue to Max’s . The passion, that had escaped her being the day Max disappeared, returned with a vengeance. As if she willed the thunder, it rang out and the electricity of the crashing clouds charged the air. Darcy stopped the kiss and pulled away.
“How dare you come back into my life Maximillian Martinez! You broke my heart into a million pieces and this good man put it back together. Go away and let me be married.”
“I love you Darcy. I can explain everything. I’m not going to leave you ever again. Just don’t get married. Give us a chance please.”
The heavens let loose and the rain fell. The wedding guests stood up and opened their umbrellas. They moved forward towards the wedding canopy, unable to stop watching the compelling drama.
Darcy felt rage and anger. She felt shocked and confused. She felt more passion than she had felt in two years. Before her she saw faithful John and an impossible Max. Darcy threw her bouquet to the ground, pulled off the wreath of fresh flowers and ribbons from her head. She lifted her dress to take off her shoes and then she stepped off the wedding canopy and ran down the aisle pushing wedding guests out of the way.
The rain mixed in with the tears streaming down her face. She didn’t know where she was going. Her mind was on overload and her heart was in her throat. In the course of ten minutes, the love of her life had returned and vanquished the life she had so carefully arranged.
She knew not who she loved best nor who she loved most. So, she ran with a ferocity she did not recognize and a turmoil of spirit that only physical exertion could mute.
· *Quote by Alberto Moravia
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