Once upon a time there was a heartbroken young girl named Mercedes. She was in love with a man named Edmond but he was taken away from her on their wedding day.

"It’s been a month since Edmond was taken to prison, and I can hardly get through the day sometimes. The only thing that gives me rest is to help his father. But he’s getting worse and I don’t know how to help him. I only want to save what little of Edmond I have left, and it’s fading fast."

Mercedes was distraught for her one connection with Edmond was through his Father but his health was deteriorating. One day she finds him dead and her last connection with Edmond is severed, leaving her broken.

"He was lying on the bed, still and pale and lifeless. A sob tore out of my throat and I stepped forward once, before running forward and weeping. I collapsed next to the bed. The one thing I had left! The last connection to Edmond!"

Mercedes grief overwhelms her and she decides to run, run away from the tragedy that repeatedly strikes upon her.

"Even now, my heart is throbbing and bleeding. The sadness overwhelms me and crushes me like a wave. I’m drowning, drowning in the sorrow. Edmond is gone, his father is gone, and I am left alone in my pain! I can’t stand this anymore. I need to get out of here. I need to leave.  If I don’t, this pain will eat me alive. I’m leaving."

Mercedes leaves Marseilles, her home town, because the grief pushes her to flee from disaster. She goes to another town and finds Fernand.

"I left the town that brings me sorrow. I took a carriage and left as soon as possible. I went to Rome, as far away as I could go, without breaking down. The loss still pings at my heart and the wound is as raw as ever. I was sitting in a old restaurant and who should I run into, but Fernand, my dear cousin!"

She is overjoyed with the presence of her cousin and welcomes him enthusiastically.

"I leaped up and sprinted to him, from across the whole room. I leaped up and wrapped my arms around his neck, my face burying in his shoulder. Before I even knew it tears were soaking his thin shirt and when he had recovered, he realized who I was. He lifted me up and spun me around. I laughed and cried and my face could not be stretched into a bigger smile. As soon as he set me down I kissed him. a kiss you would give a lover. I regret doing so now, for I believe I mislead him. I reacted with joy, for he is the last person I have, but he believed it was a reaction of love."

Mercedes spends time catching up with Fernand while he falls deeper in love everyday. As they are taking their evening stroll he pops the question.

"We spent many days together. Although, he is not my Edmond, I was given the only person left to me. One day while walking on the riverbank, after an eternity of solemn breathing, Fernand spoke up, “I know you have been going through a time of grievance, and that I have asked you this very question many times, but Mercedes, will you marry me?”

Although she had lost everything she was willing to accept Fernand because he was all she had now. All she needed was time.

"The question was like a sudden realization. Although, I had lost a lot of my everything, I had to hold on to the one thing I had been given, Fernand. I was perplexed at my decision. I loved Edmond, he gave me happiness, he gave me a reason to love. He gave me beautiful hopes and dreams. This one person, gave me so much to live for, and now he is not here anymore. I do not even know if he is alive or not anymore. I was stolen of my love. I had lost so much, but pondering upon it now, I had been given one blessing, that blessing I shall accept."

She needed time to reflect, time to cherish her beloved memories of her past life, time to understand her choice.

"I was not ready yet, though, I was not ready to give up my love for Edmond. It felt my heart was being torn in half. I wanted to be happy and Edmond made me happy, and yet I would be expected to bear children with a man I did not love, and I would be forced to pretend I loved him. I want to wait for Edmond. Wait forever! Alas time waits for no man, although I had begged many times. I also did not want to say no and let Fernand down. For if I did, he might have left me forever, and I would have spent eternity alone. I was so conflicted I feared my heart might split in half."

The young lady decided to wait for Edmond for half a year but if her situation remained the same she believed it was best to move on.

"I had made up my mind to mourn for my beloved for another six months. If Edmond did not come back for me then I would have believed it was best for me to have moved on. I must move on. That was the only way for me to have escaped the sorrows of my past, the only hope for me to have lived another life. Yes, this life will have lacked the presence of my true love but it was a life and certainly not a bad one. I was blessed to have had such a loving friend like  Fernand and an opportunity at another chance at this life but I can't help but have wondered if it was possible for Edmond and I to ever be together."

Fernand is overjoyed with her acceptance of his hand and she convinces herself that her choice was not a mistake.

"Of course Fernand received this news joyfully and respectfully promising me to always stay beside me. I had to admit I wished that Edmond was in his place but alas fate did not allow it. I mourned and then went to a place where I was needed. I shall never forget Edmond for he was my first love but Fernand loves me and I shall not let him down."

Mercedes spends her six months traveling the world reminiscing her first steps towards her now consuming love.

Edmond

"I have packed my luggage, and am beginning my final goodbyes for the one I love. Today I am voyaging across the sea, the same sea that my poor Edmond traversed a long while ago. My only destination is my heart.

I have traveled at a speed of 10 knots on the small, creaky, traditional yacht that I call my own. Throughout my journey, I have felt a ping of both sorrow and joy. The wind has carried me across the blue yonder, and towards the Isle of Wight. Oh, this was the place I first met the cause for my aching heart."

The first place she visits is the location of her first meeting with Edmond.

"He was traveling for business, with the single goal of retrieving a letter of admittance for him and his crew. It brings me great discomfort to reflect on this. He had traveled into the city when I caught his glance. From first sight I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. As he was passing my petite house, he caught me staring. He then crossed to me and greeted me with the kindest phrase. The memory is still raw in my heart.

Oh, I miss my Edmond. The kind, sweet, and caring man of my dreams. His absence has brought me into deep thought."