Please help nominate my epic fantasy novel SHADOWS OF TIME for A publishing contract! #kindlescout @kuspotlight via @Linkis_com

Please help nominate my epic fantasy novel SHADOWS OF TIME for A publishing contract! #kindlescout @kuspotlight via @Linkis_com: Mesopotamia is a region of kingdoms at war. Demons and shape shifters lurk in the shadows, soothsayers warn of impending danger, and Alamin sits in the eye of the storm.

In...

SHADOWS OF TIME: THE AMULET OF ALAMIN on Kindle Scout

SHADOWS OF TIME: THE AMULET OF ALAMIN on Kindle Scout

Please read the excerpt and if you like the opening nominate it for a publishing contract!

Your participation will be greatly appreciated. After all, you're helping me to realize my dream.

Thank you,

Felix Alexander

New cover design for #TheRomantic!

New book trailer for #TheRomantic!

#TheRomantic on Amazon

Book Review! The Romantic, by Felix Alexander

FREE Kindle Edition Giveaway

The Romantic Kindle edition is FREE this week only as an Amazon giveaway!!!

Download your FREE copy now :-)

http://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Felix-Alexander-ebook/dp/B00MNM3K3M/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442836674&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Romantic+by+Felix+Alexander

Book Review! The Romantic, by Felix Alexander

The Romantic makes Authors Database TOP 10 BOOK LIST this week!!!

The Romantic first Official Book Trailer

The Romantic trailer on YouTube

In the winter of his life, Hadriel Alighieri barters with the Angel of Death to find Sophia Paula, and confess his undying love. Hadriel retraces the steps of his life, beginning at an old abandoned church in Santa Lucia, where he followed her sixty years ago.

Their friendship blossoms in their youth, but when Hadriel confesses his feelings for Sophia, she is unable to reciprocate his affection. Sophia gives him a letter and bids him farewell before her family immigrates to America.

After his military service, Hadriel goes to America, and meets Celeste Williams, but after a night of lingering on the shores of passion, Celeste flees.

Over the years, Hadriel and Sophia maintain a guarded distance from each other. Sophia’s mother tries to rekindle their friendship, but after Hadriel is introduced to Joshua Abrams, who Sophia first met when she came to America, it becomes difficult for him to see Sophia and Joshua together.

Changed. Detached. Alone. Hadriel loses himself to his insatiable appetite for passion. He embarks on a path of meaningless flings to avoid love. For love, he fears will destroy him. He later realizes that the absence of romantic love leads him to become the worst version of himself.

When unemployment looms Hadriel accepts Joshua’s offer to work together, but when Sophia answers the phone instead, they feel something stir inside them both. After the call Sophia wonders why she could not tell Hadriel about her relationship troubles with Joshua.

Each longs to reveal how much they miss their friendship, but neither dares to echo the whispers in their hearts. During their innocent encounters Sophia begins to feel differently for Hadriel. Finally, she decides to distance herself from him, lest she betray Joshua.

Joshua and Sophia resume their engagement despite the absence of romantic love. During Sophia’s absence, Hadriel crosses paths with Celeste. He allows himself to be lured along the path of desire, and she allows herself to be seduced by the hopeless romantic that teaches her about the complexities of love.

A lifetime of longing, and heartbreak, and desire leads Sophia Paula and Hadriel Alighieri on a journey that reveals what is lost in the shadows of silence. Will what they learn help them discover the innermost truths about love and friendship? Readers will find much to enjoy and  much to enlighten in Felix Alexander’s The Romantic.

Creative-minded Responsibility

The Message of a Visionary

I haven't bothered with Hip Hop much over the past decade, aside from underground powerhouse Immortal Technique, b/c in my opinion the tracks of the past 10 years haven't truly made a statement.

My thought has basically been, "I hear you, but what are you saying?"

Quote from the article:

"Originally, rappers emphasized luxurious lifestyles to inspire their listeners. Biggie's long list of toys on "Juicy" offered hope for those who felt trapped by poverty."

Beyond ambition, however, I've always felt strongly about message.

That's what artists do. We impart a message. We observe our world, we analyze it, and we break it down for our audience with the hope they'll gain a better understanding OF our world, and how to go about improving our place in it.

Not by entitlement.

Not by demands.

And certainly not by holding true to hypocritical, archaic, and misguided notions.

Create the moment of success.

Become it.

Seize it.

Not by engaging, or perpetuating criminal activity, but by finding your niche…honing your craft, and fueling your ambition.

The adage: "The world is yours, take it!"

We can only hope that Hip Hop & a new generation are revived by a powerful message & the messenger.

Because let's face it… all these young cats who emulate the tired image of failed rappers-past need to learn that to become your own man, you need to BE your own man, not a photocopy of someone else.

The Romantic, first official book trailer!

The Romantic, a literary romance.

Patriotism or Racism?

Professors say U.S. flag symbolizes racism

I haven't decided if this is illogical, or the start of a paradigm shift in our collective consciousness.

On the one hand, flags have been around for centuries.

It was a means of rallying people around a symbol. It's the reason they exist in religions, too.

Every country, every religion…heck, even family sigils have been a symbol of pride and identity.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the American flag itself symbolizes racism.

People are racist. Not flags. It's an inanimate object for crying out loud!

On the other hand, however, I'm wondering about the future and how it is affected by our actions today.

For example: A long time ago the masses accepted that personal fate, weather, celestial phenomena, etc were affected by "the gods."

Then, something happened.

There was this unprecedented emergence of a new way of thinking.

Monotheism.

Two of the most famous figures in history to pose this new paradigm were Abraham, sometime in the 2nd millennium B.C.E. and later the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten about 700 years later.

Both were met with staunch opposition.

One eventually failed, and his country reverted to its pantheon of mysterious gods.

It serves to note that Akhenaten was married to Nefertiti, and his success was largely predicated on her strong will and support.

Anyhow, it took another 1,300 years before another man rose to prominence with a new way of thinking.

He cast aside teachings such as, "an eye for an eye," and told us to "love thy neighbor."

These were radical ideas in a violent world.

Again, met with fierce opposition.

Especially when he chastised the Jewish priests for taking money from believers, "for God," and threw a fit in the temple, destroying furniture and releasing goats/lambs/etc to be given back to the people. All which resulted in his arrest.

My point is, that every so often we are faced with a choice.

A choice to continue doing things as they have always been done, or to change.

We must weigh those decisions against our conscience and against our understanding of what is the best course of action as we hope to make the world…and leave it better than we found it.

If not for ourselves, but for our progeny.

Leading by example.

Is the age of segregated identity over?

Or will it soon come to an end?

Will the lowering of flags result to collecting them in museums while we shift our thinking?

Will we go from viewing each other as outsiders to seeing each other as brothers and sisters?

Will this be the paradigm shift that ensures our survival?

Because if we aren't fighting over borders and ideologies…and if we aren't being led like sheep into slaughter under the guise of patriotism, then we may actually stand together.

We may stand up for each other instead of against each other.

We may actually change the world.

What do you think? Are you up for it?

If so, then we may have to remove that bit of scripture that reads:

Leviticus 25:44-46 44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.

Having said that, I leave you with an adage from Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world."

The Romantic Available in Paperback!

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Order your copy, today and introduce your friends and family to The Romantic, and the love of his life.

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The Secret of Heaven...section 5...

When Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca had met Sariel in a dream, the first light of dawn peered through the window.

“Lucifer walks among you.” The angel had warned.

The bishop’s gaze fell on the shores of a strange land. A sea of corpses lay scattered about, and the ocean’s swirling waters ran red with blood. The stench of death rose with the tropical heat, and a mysterious figure lingered among the dead.

“He gathers their souls.” Sariel whispered.

“What would you have me do?” The bishop asked, but he could not hear the sound of his own voice.

“God’s will.” Said the angel.

“What is the will of the Lord?” The bishop watched as the Seducer of Souls hovered from one corpse to the next.

“Send warriors in the service of the Lord, armed with sword and scripture, to eradicate the evil in the hearts of savages. It is the only way to save them from eternal damnation, and to locate the secret of Heaven.”

When the bishop woke, he walked over to the window of his bedchamber and gazed at the sky. Though he had organized a series of voyages to the New World, none had procured the location of the Chamber of Spirits.

With Cristoforo Colombo no longer opposing his efforts, however the bishop felt certain that their fortunes would change. After his meal, the palace sentries found him in the cathedral. They escorted a messenger to where the bishop knelt beneath a statue of the Christ above the altar.

After he concluded his prayer, he turned to the messenger and took hold of the scroll he had been sent to deliver. Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca dismissed him with a wave of his hand and read the missive with great interest. His voyagers had not managed to find the Chamber of Spirits, nor had they been able to secure the assistance of the natives to journey through the jungles.

Furthermore, they had confirmed the rumors that Cristoforo Colombo had returned to the New World in search of hidden treasure, and had befriended los Indios he had known from his previous expeditions. Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca’s eyes swirled with the poison of rage, and he stormed out of the cathedral with the fires of Hell ignited in his heart.

He needed unequivocal access to the land across the sea. It was the only way to prevent Lucifer from winning his war against God. The savages needed to be eliminated, and their evil religions needed to be eradicated from the histories of the world. Only one man possessed the fortitude to accomplish this mission.

The bishop summoned him to the palace to appear before Queen Isabella de Castile. They would promise the young man favor in the eyes of God, and an illustrious career in the service of the Crown.

“Send him in.” The queen commanded.

He entered the Golden Hall of the Catholic Monarchs. Despite being born to a family of lesser nobility, he carried himself with dignity. When he knelt before the queen, he confidently introduced himself in a loud and clear voice.

“Are you prepared to do God’s work in the service of the Crown?” Queen Isabella de Castile asked.

“Anything for the glory of the Lord.” The young man said.

After the queen dismissed him, the bishop begged the queen’s leave to speak with him in private. Isabella nodded. Her trust in Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca had been absolute.

Juan Rodriguez approached the young man and invited him to the Bishop’s Palace to discuss his mission in greater detail. The bishop warned him of the challenges he might face, including the presence of Cristoforo Colombo and his alliance with the savages.

The young man vowed to let nothing prevent him from accomplishing his mission. The bishop reminded him that there was more at stake than gold and personal ambitions.

“Indeed there is, but how likely is any man to succeed without some measure of personal incentive.”

“Fair enough.” Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca said. “Would you care to share your personal incentive?”

The young man turned to the bishop with a wicked a smile and said, “When history remembers my deeds, it will be because my name will echo through the ages.”

 Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca studied him momentarily. Though he detested vanity and pride, he felt certain that he had selected the right man to find the secret of Heaven.

He offered a silent prayer, May God have mercy on your soul, Hernán Cortés.

The Secret of Heaven...section 4...

For months they journeyed across the great sea. Planning and re-planning their route, never satisfied with the direction they took.

They followed the sun and charted the stars. The ebb and flow of the ocean enchanted them by day. The black, liquid mirror haunted them at night. Soon they no longer cared about the bishop and his intrigues, for they knew that eventually those worthy of His grace would complete God’s work.

As for their immortality, they felt it would only be secured by more prodigious feats than they were prepared to accomplish, and not from a fountain that spewed some magical elixir.

None had been more certain of this than Asif al-Khidr. He studied the night sky with great interest during their voyage. As the different phases of the moon had passed, he took notes and made precise calculations of the lunar cycle. Immersing himself in his books had been the only way that Asif could distract himself from his pensiveness.

The bishop, patient and secure in Spain, had rid himself of them without much effort, and the reminder of that jarred them from their hopelessness. When, at long last, the three of them solved the conundrum of their endless travels, it was too late for they had been caught in a storm. Though they survived, much of the crew was lost and their ship sustained extensive damage. Colombo soon realized that they were stranded on an island he had visited before.

Assisted by a Spaniard and some natives, the three men found shelter before the Spaniard and the natives paddled a canoe to Hispaniola for assistance. When the governor, Nicolás de Ovando, learned of Colombo’s presence on the neighboring island, he obstructed every effort to rescue him, because he detested Cristoforo, and knew of his fall from grace in Spain.

With their financial resources exhausted, Cristoforo Colombo turned to Asif al-Khidr for assistance. “We need to convince them to provide us with provisions or we will die of thirst or starvation!”

When Asif asked how he could be of service, Amerigo suggested that the young Muslim draw upon his extensive knowledge of the sciences to impress the natives. At first, he could think of nothing, but then he remembered the moon and the stars and the secrets of Heaven.

After he explained to Cristoforo Colombo the phases of the moon, the explorer met with the leader of the tribe. Cristoforo told the Cacique that his God was not pleased with the natives for withholding food and water from Colombo and his friends. He warned the Cacique that the Christian God would cover the moon in blood as a sign of His wrath if they did not continue to provide them with food and water.

When the lunar eclipse appeared as foretold, the natives begged their forgiveness, and provided them with provisions until their departure from the island a few months later.

They continued their journey to the New World, in search of the mainland where the secret of Heaven remained hidden. With no more gold, and only enough food and water to reach the shore, the three men pursued destiny. They were followed by the shadow that had once stalked the Seducer of Souls.

The Secret of Heaven...section 3...

Decades before Cristoforo Colombo had set sail from Spain, bound for the East, by sailing west, Asif al-Khidr had known of the adventures and voyages of heroes in ancient times. From the exploits of Odysseus to the Alexander Romance, tales of forbidden lands and mythical creatures had captured his imagination. As the son of an alchemist, the prospect of journeying in search of wonders had merely been a fantasy.

Then fate intervened.

When the Crown of Castile ordered Muslims in Spain to convert to Catholicism, many had sought passage out of the Iberian Peninsula. Those who could not secure safe passage, due to health or lack of financial resources were forcibly converted, and came to be known as the Moriscos. Among them was Asif’s father, Tariq al-Khidr.

In the twilight of his life, Tariq al-Khidr knew that his failing health prevented him from surviving any voyage. He preferred to die a Muslim on the land where he had been born, rather than to suffer the fate of the sea.

For his son, however he wanted a greater destiny. The chance to see this come to fruition presented itself when the Seducer of Souls came to him in a dream. He promised Tariq that Asif’s journey would be in the service of God.

“You lie!” Tariq said. He recognized the Seducer of Souls as Ilblis.

“I cannot lie.” Ilblis replied. “I am an angel. I am His servant. And everything I do is for the kingdom of Heaven, and the glory of God.”

Tariq refused to believe him until he asked why the Seducer of Souls wanted his son. It was then that Ilblis first spoke of Cristoforo Colombo and Amerigo Vespucci, and their clandestine journey to the New World. He revealed their plan to thwart the Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, who had convinced Queen Isabella de Castile to persecute the Believers.

“What role will Asif play in this endeavor?”

“Everything he has learned in your home about faith and alchemy and legend will serve to aide the explorers.”

“To what end?” Tariq al-Khidr asked.

“To protect the secret of Heaven.”

Tariq al-Khidr woke with a start at dawn. He roused Asif, and together they sought the Italians that Ilblis had mentioned in his dream. They found them at the port as they loaded their ships. Tariq offered them all the gold he possessed to secure his son’s passage.

But gold they did not need, for Amerigo Vespucci had wealth as the head of the most powerful bank in Europe. Tariq asked them to employ Asif so that he may earn his passage, as he was well versed in cartography and navigation and knew the workings of a ship. They had no use for Asif in that regard either, since they were experts in those fields as well.

Dejected, Tariq al-Khidr turned to his son and lowered his eyes. “Come, let us see what fate awaits us at the edge of a sword.”

“Wait.” Cristoforo Colombo stepped off the ship. “What is your trade?”

“Alchemy.” Asif al-Khidr replied.

Cristoforo Colombo smiled. “What do you know of the Philosopher’s Stone?”

“It is an allegory that represents the purification of the human body and soul.” Asif al-Khidr said.

“Then it does not exist?” Cristoforo asked.

“Not in the form that you think.” Asif stepped forward.

“Enlighten us.” Amerigo interjected.

“The stone itself represents the human body. The philosopher represents the soul. Immortality is achieved when a man bathes in and consumes the elixir of life.”

“And where does one find the elixir of life?” Cristoforo Colombo asked.

“It is the water that flows from the river of the underworld and sprouts from a spring in the undiscovered country.” Asif al-Khidr said.

“Do you know where that is?” Amerigo Vespucci could not resist asking.

“Aye,” Asif nodded.

Satisfied with his reply, Amerigo Vespucci and Cristoforo Colombo invited Asif al-Khidr to join them on their journey to the New World. Whereas greed and ambition had fueled the hearts of other men, dreams of immortality and adventure propelled these three on a mission from God.

The Secret of Heaven...section 2...

The port was sighted at dawn. Some crewmen had emerged from the bowels of the ship and saw it materialize out of the mist. When the ship docked, the mariners clambered to perform their duties as they fought against the grogginess of sleep.

A group of soldiers climbed aboard and immediately took hold of the prisoner. Weary from the journey, his wrists and ankles bled from the shackles, but Cristoforo Colombo made every effort to remain upright. They escorted him to the Bishop’s Palace where Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca waited to interrogate him.

Before turning him over to the queen, Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca questioned Cristoforo Colombo about interfering with God’s work. When the bishop had learned from the Children of Heaven that they could not locate the Chamber of Spirits, he had enlisted good Christians to assist in their endeavor. After Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca had convinced the queen to break her agreement with Cristoforo Colombo, the subsequent voyages of other captains had sailed under his orders.

But when they arrived in the New World, their actions were met with opposition. During the inquisition, Cristoforo Colombo contended that voyages to distant lands were to spread the word of God, not to kill in His name. The enraged bishop used his influence over the Spanish crown to strip Cristoforo, and his heirs, of the titles and claims they were due.

After initial victories in litigation, Cristoforo Colombo had fallen from grace. Queen Isabella had ordered that no Spanish gold be utilized to fund his expeditions, and by order of the Holy Office, he be labeled an enemy of the Church.

And so it came to pass that when Cristoforo Colombo’s legacy lingered on the edge of oblivion, an unlikely ally found him hiding in the shadows of society. He haled from the land of Colombo’s father.  He introduced himself as Amerigo, the third son of Anastasio Vespucci.

Amerigo, in the employ of the House of Medici of Florence, arrived in Spain with Donato Niccolini to investigate the suspicious dealings of the Medici Branch in the port city of Cadiz, Spain. They had discovered that the intrigues of Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca threatened to bury the secret of Heaven.

“Accompany me on an expedition to the New World, and let us reveal the bishop’s true motives.” Amerigo Vespucci whispered.

“In case you haven’t noticed, voyages cost money and require a ship. Of which I have neither.” Cristoforo Colombo replied.

Amerigo Vespucci dismissed Colombo’s concern, since the Florentine was more than a merchant and an explorer, but had also been a financier. And so it was that the two explorers prepared to embark on a journey across the ocean to a land that harbored the secret of Heaven, and where destiny waited to forge their legacies.

The Secret of Heaven...intro...

Legend holds that when the Seducer of Souls arrived on the shores of the New World, he had been followed by a shadow that cursed the gods, and stained the souls of men.

In the Age of Discovery, explorers sought wealth and power for their kings. They had brought with them their languages, their customs, their diseases, and their faith. A plague that later decimated the natives In Nomine Dei, and cast a shroud of secrets and corruption over the world of men.

They could be seen from the beaches when their vessels appeared on the horizon. The shadow of a storm that crept across the ocean like an omen of death, for the natives did not understand what was coming and what lay hidden in the land of their ancestors.

The ambitious Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca had convinced the Crown of Castile to commission voyages into the New World in search of gold. But what he sought proved far more valuable to the Holy Office than the greed of men. After years of expedition it had been established that the rumors of the Treasure of Heaven were true, and the labyrinth known as The Chamber of Spirits lied waiting to be discovered.

The shadow that pursued the Seducer of Souls had assured the bishop that he was doing God’s work. He was the angel Sariel, and charged with saving the souls of the dead from the Adversary of Heaven. Now, as the slain fell to the explorers, their bodies cast into pits of fire, the Seducer gathered the souls of those who had not been deceived by the agents of the Cross.

Every day fewer souls remained and more had been convinced to accept a prophet as a god. However, as it had been previously agreed, the former turned out to be the worthy ones and the latter would envy them for eternity.

When the Seducer of Souls arrived in the New World, he found a child—too young to tell his tale—had been left as the last of his tribe. The Fallen Angel cared for him, and reared him in secret, and when he came of age he appointed him as gatekeeper of the Chamber of Spirits.

Over the years they called to him, the Children of Heaven. First Sariel, the shadow that followed the Seducer of Souls; their voices echoed in his dreams. “For God and Heaven, tell us where it is!”

The boy divulged nothing. For he understood that evil had crept into Heaven, and the Message of God had been lost again.

The Romantic on Authonomy from HarperCollins

Plenty of praise and support for The Romantic, a love story on Authonomy from HarperCollins. Holding steady @ #2 on the Weekly Top Rated books!

Please feel free to stop by, offer your feedback and support as I try to make it to the editor's desk.

Writers Helping Writers

I have spent the better part of the past few weeks revising and establishing my presence on the website for writers, Authonomy by Harper Collins.

I invite you to join, share your stories and offer your feedback.

I have uploaded two of my novels, a contemporary romance, The Romantic...and a historical fantasy, Numinous Universe: The Amulet of Alamin.

http://authonomy.com/writing-community/profile/me/

Look forward to connecting with you there!

Authonomy from Harper Collins

Please join me, and other aspiring (and established) writers at Authonomy from Harper Collins.

We share our manuscripts with other writers, who offer feedback and encouragement in our efforts to realize our dreams.

You may read both of my stories and offer feedback…

OR

…share the link with a literary agent whom you believe would be interested in offering representation!

(I believe this is the part where I type: hashtag "I'm just saying.")

The Romantic is a love story about friendship, passion, and the echo of unrequited love.

When the Angel of Death comes for Hadriel Alighieri, the journey begins. From his deathbed, he travels to the day he fell in love with Sophia Paula. He retraces the steps of his life in search of his unrequited love. But what begins as a journey to fulfill a promise turns into a discovery of the only emotion that defines our lives.

http://authonomy.com/books/58542/the-romantic/

Numinous Universe: The Amulet of Alamin is a Historical Fantasy novel of 111,450 words. It is based loosely on Mesopotamian, Jewish, and Hindu mythologies that draws upon historical places, people, and events.

The veil between the heavens and the underworld has fallen.

In the Land Between the Two Rivers, greed and corruption lead to the fall of kings. A usurper condemns his soul for immortality. Supernatural forces converge in search of a mysterious amulet, and two boys embark on divergent paths with their destinies intertwined.

Aos, the Elioud, guides Inanna on a perilous quest across the Ancient World that blurs the boundaries of reality with the realm of myth. The worlds of a boy general, a missing princess, and a demigod collide.

Angels, demons, and gods are at war. Under the guise of divine right, the poor become expendable pawns to distract the world from a looming danger. The fate of existence hangs perilously in the balance as the realm between the heavens and the underworld collapses into chaos.

http://authonomy.com/books/58469/numinous-universe-the-amulet-of-alamin/

Thank you all for your support and input. It is greatly appreciated!

Romantic Musings: The Romantic (pt 11)

When Celeste Williams arrived at the apartment Hadriel Alighieri once shared with Uncle Mauricio Maravilla-Fuentes, there was sadness in her eyes.

Hadriel Alighieri sat beside her and listened. Destiny had pulled back the curtain to reveal the disloyalty she did not deserve. He contemplated divulging his role in maintaining that deception. Would she forgive Hadriel for his role in enabling Nathan’s behavior?

Truth was, Hadriel Alighieri knew he deserved no absolution for his part in that play, and decided he would not hope for a pardon that he had no right to ask for. No longer inhibited by some twisted sense of loyalty, he held Celeste Williams when she shared what she had witnessed.

When the moon lingered highest in the sky, Celeste arrived in Nathan Moore’s apartment, and floated through the halls like a ghost. Celeste Williams entered Nathan’s room and stood at the foot of the bed. The light from the lamp revealed her presence to Nathan when he awakened and looked at her still half asleep. He dismissed her as an apparition of his dreams and turned to a stranger named Abigail, lying beside him, her nakedness exposed to them both.

When Nathan failed to acknowledge her ubiquity—now being privy to not only what she witnessed, but also seemingly having been present during the agonizing copulation that occurred prior to her arrival—her anguished imagination provided her with the heart wrenching details.

Celeste Williams climbed onto the bed, and settled herself between them until Nathan woke with a start. The visit had been brief, and though Nathan later accused Celeste of indecently prying, searching for an answer to a question she didn't know she wanted to ask, her fears met her pain when she met Abigail in Nathan's bed.

Celeste asked Hadriel Alighieri why Nathan had cheated. She could not believe what her first love had become. Hadriel Alighieri, however possessed no insight, but rather confessed the truth of his own actions, and revealed that he too did not deserve her trust. He had decided that the guilt would no longer consume his thoughts, and despite the conflict that tore at the core of his being, he exposed his role in the consuming flames of infidelity. Should anything burn, better it be the lies, and deceit, because by then Hadriel Alighieri knew his fate would be to burn when he died.

Hadriel heard the door to the apartment slam shut with the heaviness of his heart. Celeste Williams fled into the night, taking her tears, and her heartbreak, but leaving Hadriel’s apology behind.

Celeste Williams forgave Nathan Moore, though she was not aware that he dismissed the encounter with laughter, gloating triumphantly about the conquest, and about being caught.

When Hadriel Alighieri asked Nathan how he found a way to keep Celeste Williams in his life, Nathan provided insight into the realities of relationships he had not known.

"I was her first. Plain and simple, and that will give me more leeway than anyone else will ever get. I lied that I passed out during a get-together I hosted, and didn't know Abigail was in the bed with me, because she must have come into my room to pass out drunk when I was asleep."

"And she believed you?" Hadriel asked dumbfounded.

"Of course!" Nathan said with a smirk. He explained that when women are lied to, they want to believe the lie if it appeases their concerns.

On the edge of reason, on the verge of losing the girl that endured his harshest habits, and remorseless deceptions. In the midst of his bouts with controlled chaos, and damage control, Nathan decided to propose to Celeste Williams. It was the only way he could think of to make up for his most recent betrayal.

Rather than accept losing her with humility as punishment for the gravity of his transgressions, Nathan grew determined to keep her despite her disenchantment, and her initial request for him not to propose. Celeste Williams said she had once asked them in advance not to grant his request if that day ever came. But faced with the eagerness of their daughter's first love, it was only fair to say—in their defense— that they did not want to be the bearers of bad news, and obliged his request.

Nathan raced across town hurriedly making last minute preparations. Celeste Williams received a call from her mother that she needed to return home, and be ready to go out to dinner with Nathan. Celeste Williams demanded to know what it was, despite her intuition screaming the obvious.

"Tell me you did not give him permission?" She pled, but her mother divulged nothing.

Nathan, on the other hand, didn't possess the resolve to face losing her, despite the many chances he gambled for cheap thrills, and stolen moments. He waged the blessing bestowed upon him that he should have cherished eternally. Instead of dismissing her virginity as a reason to brag, he waged forever, and her affections, love, loyalty, patience, and not only his happiness, but Celeste Williams' happiness too.

Everything.

He threw it all on the table of treacherous intrigue, and shouted, "double or nothing!" and walked away having it all.

Foolishly however, he squandered it all, and mortgaged his future to recapture the past, for the sake of appearances in the present, but not out of love, because being in love permits no betrayal. No. He did that only to keep her, and maintain possession of the innocence he stole.

The engagement ring eventually proved to be the heirloom of a curse, dooming the commitment that would not last, preventing the marriage that would not be. And the taste of love Hadriel Alighieri longed for remained impossible, except for a whisper that split the seconds, and squeezed a special moment inside of a tiny break in time, a moment that remained a few months away.

Hadriel could hardly bear the intense longing he felt, even then. He needed to share with her the secrets of his soul, and be with her as lovers love, and as stars fall from the sky.

Nathan did not deserve her. Of that he felt absolutely certain. But how would she have felt about being with Hadriel Alighieri? Would she have been capable of surrendering herself to the call of his heart, or did she prefer to adhere to the unwritten rule that forbade love with the friend of an ex? Even if she did choose to disregard a notion that prevented true love from shining, had Hadriel Alighieri ever crossed her mind? Questions abounded across the landscape of love, unimpeded by the mountains of restriction. And when he least expected it, the answers arrived.

Nathan’s behavior leading up to the final break up was poignant, but on that night he proved graceless, and cruel. Hadriel arrived at a reception, fashionably late, and located the table where Celeste Williams sat, silent, alone. He approached, and sat beside her, but before she could speak of the sadness evident in her eyes, Nathan tapped him on the shoulder, and requested that he join him for a drink.

"Don't talk to her right now." Nathan said without meeting his eyes.

"What happened?" Hadriel asked.

"She's on lock-down for behaving like an idiot!" Nathan Moore glared at her.

Hadriel Alighieri watched her heartbreaking beauty. A statue. A Nubian princess shunned from the kingdom that belonged to her. He found it difficult to turn away from her. Celeste Williams was lovely in her reddish-orange dress, her soft shoulders and slender neck calling for a kiss; her hair pulled away from her face, and fell to the small of her back. He traced the contours of her face, statuesque as her gentle eyes scanned the reception hall, perhaps looking for a reason to be happy, but she didn't move an inch, until finally she ran away.

"Just don't talk to her right now. She's not permitted to speak to anyone for the rest of the night." Nathan insisted.

And she didn't.

She sat there whilst her friends stood meters away, huddled together, talking animatedly amongst themselves, but occasionally casting Celeste Williams a compassionate glance.

Hadriel Alighieri circled through the crowds, greeting people he knew, and introducing himself to those that he didn't. Occasionally, he glanced at the table where Celeste Williams remained; trapped within her body, a free spirit forbidden to live.

Within the hour he grew bored with the uninspired conversations, and decided to leave. He turned to look at Celeste Williams once again, but she had vanished. He searched the crowds within the ballroom for her, but only saw nameless faces. He raced out to the corridors; the east wing, the west wing, the north wing, and the south wing, but she remained absent. A phantom lost to an opera that never was. After an hour of searching for her, and Nathan, he relented, and made to return home.

In the cab, he noticed that he had three missed calls from Nathan. When he called him back, however there was no answer. He instructed the cab driver to take him to a different address and upon arriving at Nathan’s apartment, the door stood ajar. When he entered, his eyes fell upon a collection of trash bags filled with clothes. Celeste Williams raced out of the bedroom carrying another one, and plopped it next to the others. Her silence thundered against Nathan's obscenities that echoed through the halls from the living room.

When Hadriel Alighieri asked what happened, she shook her head, rolled her eyes, and returned to the bedroom. Hadriel raced through the kitchen, and stood in the dinning room. Nathan Moore sat on the leather sectional, channel surfing with a drink in his hand. He shouted without looking up, and Hadriel Alighieri knew that he had finally lost it.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I've had it with this worthless bitch!" Nathan Moore declared. "I'm done dealing with her shit. Fuck her! Hey, by the way, you worthless bitch, don't forget to leave the ring on your way out, because you don't deserve it!"

Nathan’s cell phone rang and he answered it. Silence fell on the apartment, save for the soft thud of Celeste Williams' steps, and the ruffle of garbage bags near the door. Nathan talked on his phone when Hadriel Alighieri turned on his heels and headed straight for Celeste Williams.

She threw down another bag, and turned to walk back into the bedroom when Hadriel Alighieri took hold of her hand. She looked at it then met his gaze, but she didn't pull away.

"What happened?" He asked softly.

She shook her head, and looked away. He paused for a moment, but when she didn't look back, he relented his grasp. Celeste Williams disappeared into the room again. He heard Nathan's voice when he talked on the phone, but didn't listen to what was said.

She emerged from the bedroom one last time holding the clock Hadriel gave her for Christmas two years before. It carried the inscription: I’ll remember you forever. He offered to help her take the bags of clothes to her car.

"No thank you," she said. "I should really do this alone."

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