"Mademoiselle Bianco Paola, will you take Monsieur Conti Flavio as your husband, love him, cherish him, until death do you part?"

We are finally in the charming town hall that saw us grow up. The best day of my life is today. Everything is perfect, family, friends, the sun and above all... love!

- Yes, I want it!

My hands are sweaty, my teeth are clashing, my heart is drumming in my chest and to reassure myself, I seek the gaze of my future husband. But, he must be even more stressed than me, because he looks at the ground with a downcast look.

— Mister Conti Flavio, would you agree to take, Miss Bianco Paola here, some ai….

— STOP! Stop! Please stop.

My god… wake me up! Make me nightmare my wedding ceremony. I run my wet hands over my face to rub it, to wake me up, to erase this horrible situation. Then, hesitantly, I raise my head and… the same people stand in the room, with one exception, their faces are livid. As for Flavio, he avoids my gaze and big tears roll down his cheeks. What to do at a time like this? I want to scream, to cry and above all to harass my future ex-husband to explain to me why. I have to pull myself together and keep what little dignity I have left.

"Let's get Flavio out now!" Come on, move!

Surprised by my reaction, he executes my directive without saying a word. Walking alongside people dear to our hearts to reach the exit door is a real torture for me, so much so that I dare not meet their eyes. Once outside, I fill my lungs with that gentle spring breeze and muster my courage to question that traitor Flavio. His sheepish and tearful air amplifies the power of the rage that invades my interior.

- Speak ! How ? How could you do such a horrible thing to me? Since when ? Tell me, since when did you plan to humiliate me like this? But speak, damn it!

The crisis of nerves awaits me and I am on the verge of landing a straight line in her supermodel face, not so model as that in this case. And he's whining, sniffling, wiping away his big crocodile tears, but damn it, don't tell me I was going to marry a poor guy like him? Luckily for him, he opens his goofy mouth to give me the explanation he owes me.

"Calm down darling, I...

"So let's be clear from the start. There is no more darling! And above all, don't you ever ask me to calm down again! I get angry if I want! It got into your little asshole head, didn't it?

He must quickly find the magic words to defend his indefensible cause, otherwise, I will lose my patience and plaster him against the wall of this cursed town hall.

— Paola… I didn’t want to make you suffer, I…

- Well done. It succeeded ! But it's not possible, in addition to being a gougea, you're a moron!

Pfff… with him, I got the pompom. I can be awarded the gold medal for the girl who fell in love with the squadron leader of the flying cons.

— Paola… I understand that you are angry… But let me explain myself please.

"That's it, tell me everything and stop talking to me like I'm four years old.

I know that my anger speaks for me and that I can no longer reason as it should, but who could be serene after such an ordeal?

- We have been in a relationship since we were 17, for 10 years therefore.

- Thank you, I know all that and above all, I can count. Give birth!

He's seriously starting to run at me on the bean.

— You lived with your parents until you were 25 and once you signed your contract as a journalist, you agreed to live with me…

- And ?

- Before we moved in, I very often came to see you at your parents' house and I shared a lot of time with your family. I have therefore developed special relationships with many of them, but more particularly with... Sarah...

A screed of lead has just fallen on my head. I remain flabbergasted for a few minutes, unable to say a single word. Flavio, on the other hand, does not take it far and scrutinizes me without daring to add an additional sentence. I guess he lets me digest the information or maybe choke on it.

"Sarah?" You and... my little sister? Flavio, tell me it's not true! I can't believe you two betrayed me.

I lower my arms and let the water level rise in my eyes until the floodgates give way and the flood erupts. My legs also capitulate and abandon me, letting me slide on the ground. My torrent of tears, meanwhile, dilutes the blood stain on my almost wedding dress, most certainly caused by my knees coming into contact with the asphalt too suddenly. Flavio, powerless in the face of my distress, attempts an approach to get me up, but with a wave of my hand, I stop him dead. One question still plagues my mind.

- Why ? Why have you come so far? Why did you ask for my hand, if you loved it?

My curiosity pushes me to ask these questions and yet, my heart already scattered in thousands of pieces does not wish to know more. He can't take any more blows like this.

Curiosity, woe to you for being so powerful in me...

“Nothing ever happened between her and me, I think I suppressed what I felt for her, I managed to convince myself that I appreciated her as a very dear friend. Only, when you told her that we were going to unite, she asked me to meet her at her house, without telling anyone, not even… you. I knew I shouldn't go, but it was stronger than me. When she opened her door, she opened her heart to me. She wanted me to know the love she felt for me from a young age and that if I didn't share the same for her, I could leave. Paola… that evening, I stayed. I… sorry… I…

“Shut up Flavio…Shut up and leave me alone.

I no longer scream, I'm empty, I look like a stranded boat, stripped of all its passengers. That's it, I no longer have a soul... Slowly, I put my arms on the ground, hold my disheveled head in the hollow of them, close my eyes and let my mind go into oblivion. Yes, I empty myself, I don't want to think anymore, cry anymore, just… nothing. However, the thud of a door reaches my ears before the black hole.

A gentle caress warms my cheek. I appreciate it as I slowly lift my heavy, irritated eyelids.

- Where am I ?

My father's reassuring face floats above me.

- At home my darling and your Papou is there to take care of you. Go back to sleep without fear, I'll be there when you wake up.

I smile at him and exhausted, but safe, I fall into a deep sleep. I open my eyes again, but this time I must have a satisfying number of nap hours on the clock. I caress the duvet with both my hands and breathe in the reassuring smell of laundry detergent from my parents' bed. As it is, I have a visceral need to hold on to details from my childhood that bring me comfort. A few minutes later, the bedroom door opens.

- Did you sleep well my heart?

- Yes dad, thank you.

“So come and have a bite to eat, you know I don’t like dining alone.

- But Mom ?

"She's been away for a few days...

I already have too much to think about with my poor life, so I don't ask any questions about my mother's unexpected departure. I am also grateful to my father who talks about everything and nothing during the meal, but especially not about the subject that I have no desire to talk about. I want to take advantage of this homecoming to perk myself up in order to try to overcome the insurmountable.

But the ringing of my cell phone quickly brings me back to the sad reality...

But the ringing of my cell phone quickly brings me back to the sad reality...

"Hello… Monsieur Truffaud?"

— All my best wishes, Madame Conti. Well… my little Paola, I'm not going to take four paths. I'll expect you at the office tomorrow morning first thing in the morning.

- But…

- Taratata! There is no "but" that holds. You enjoy your wedding night serenely and when you wake up, hop to work! Yes Madam, your husband has chosen to spend his life alongside a journalist, he must understand that the scoops do not wait.

- But I do not…

- Until tomorrow ! Early and in a good mood. Don't splurge too much on your body! Ha ha ha...

He hung up ! This idiot, hung up! What to do but cry at a time like this? I walk to the window and close the shutters. Sleep, I want to sleep to forget...

Knock Knock knock

- Come in ! I said, my voice still filled with sleep.

- Hello Sweetie !

- Theo! Come into my arms my darling. I'm so happy to see you!

Theo is my sandbox friend. We are inseparable and very often, people take us for a couple. But, our love is above all that, it is pure and eternal. Anyway, it's impossible for him to fall for a girl like me, because he's a “blonde addict” and unfortunately I'm brunette. He often compliments me on my slender figure, my big green eyes and my tanned skin texture, but he always adds that I lack the essential color that makes him melt. I'm not offended at all, because I find Théo very sexy, very handsome even, but I see him as a friend and only like that. My female work colleagues are in ecstasy in front of his dream plastic, when he comes to pick me up at work. They keep telling me that I'm sick or a lesbian so as not to jump on this handsome brunette with hazel eyes.

- And I therefore ! Tell me what happened. Why did that bastard put you through such an affront?

He lies against me and wraps me in his big protective arms. I rest my head in his neck and inhale his spicy scent.

How his carnal touch reassures me...

I know that nestled in its protective cage, nothing can reach me. So I tell him about the horrible scene that I experienced in front of the town hall in the company of my… ex-boyfriend, but my sentences are regularly interrupted by sobs that constrict my throat. However, the caress of his fingers in my hair, calm me and allow me to tell him everything. Once my last word is spoken, I hug Theo tightly in my arms and drown him in a torrent of tears. His hands then leave my hair to gently massage my back. Then, delicately, he places his hands on my shoulders, frees himself from my suffocating embrace, brushes my cheek with the pads of his fingers, lets them slide like feathers to my chin, seizes it tenderly, raises my head and anchors his gaze into mine.

"Look at me my dear. Wipe your tears, that asshole doesn't deserve you to suffer for him. You are going to be strong, no… you are strong! Tomorrow you are going to get up, look in the mirror, tell yourself how beautiful you are and how many men would like to be in your bed. As soon as you wake up, you will eat life to the fullest. OK baby?