“A big shout out to all the people who took their time to attend this event. In life, we get to moments where we have to make tough decisions, and we can be like, ‘We only live once! I’ve got to do this or that." This union was born from something similar to the expression. This oneness emerged from a world of courage. I propose a toast to courage and to living once!”
As Mark concluded his toast, the audience responded in unison, “To living once!” Victoria’s face was as red as an apple, not because of anger but because she was blushing all over. She wasn’t surprised that Mark delivered a good speech; she was just happy and a bit emotional about their love journey. “Who could believe that Mark would be my husband?” She said to herself.
Mark and Kyle are good friends. Like a fish and a river, they often couldn’t move around without each other. Apart from being in the same class at the university, they also graduated from the same high school.
Like a parrot, Kyle was outspoken, while Mark was more of a reserved person. At their university, there were several gangs and secret cults with dangerous members. Just like every group has its leader, the secret groups have their top controllers, who instruct and command the whole fraternity. As of then, Walker was their king.
Like a villain in a movie, Walker was a brutal being known for his notorious acts. Everyone, including lecturers at the university, always avoids his troubles. He once attempted to harass a lecturer’s wife, who came to visit her husband. “Hey, my dear, we only live once. Why not dine with me? I can keep your company until your man arrives. You'll never get this opportunity again.”
Walker always had his ways of enticing women, but before he could make his move, like a lion protecting his lioness, the lecturer, Mr. Hakin, appeared. Only that he begged to let him and his wife go in peace, which Walker later allowed.
As unruly as Walker was, he is from a very good home. Like dark water in a clean river, Walker is the only stubborn child in his family. The others are well-mannered, including Victoria, his younger sister. Victoria often tries to disassociate herself from Walker, but her brother is always good at making sure that doesn’t happen. In fact, he always threatens to kill any man he sees with her.
At some point, Victoria wanted to change her school, but her mother wouldn’t allow it. She believes no one could look after Victoria better than her brother. Victoria is well-mannered and always exercises the intelligence to turn down men coming her way as she is focused on her studies. She believes her brother’s excessiveness is not needed.
Walker has repeated a number of classes, and that has affected his education. When Victoria was in her finals, Walker still had about a year before he could finish his university degree. “It’s possible they add more years. With your attitude, you may never graduate from this university!” Victoria is always stressed by her brother’s behavior.
She always expresses her frustration every time they get to talk. Although Walker is known for his notoriety, he has a soft spot for his sister and always allows her harsh remarks. “Don’t worry, bunny sis, I love you still, and trust me, I’ll bag this degree.” Walker never gets angry at Victoria; like cold water poured on fire, he always finds a way to calm her down.
As a reserved person, Mark had always liked Victoria, who was in her class, but couldn’t approach her due to the fear of losing his life. Walker had already warned everyone to stay away from his sister, and the last time Kyle tried to use his outspoken personality to Mark’s advantage, he left with a swollen cheek.
“I saw you approaching a married woman, telling her you only live once. How about I approach your sister and tell her the same?” Like a bold rat in the presence of cats, Kyle thought he was going to be David in the midst of Walker and the other Goliaths. But he got the beating of his life on that fateful day. “I have always told you to watch your mouth. Walker is the last person you want to mess with on this campus,” Mark said as he helped Kyle take care of his wounds.
“Thank God you are even alive,” he added. Kyle gave him a disgusting look, and Mark understood everything that meant. “If you could talk now, I know you would still say you could have beaten all of them." Mark was sorry for his friend; he couldn’t understand the reason for his suicidal courage. Even he wasn’t willing to lose his life for the lady he had always loved. Thankfully, Kyle recovered in a few weeks and was back with his parrotic mouth.
“What happened? Why are you sweating so profusely? Did you have a bad dream?” Kyle couldn’t understand his friend. As bunk mates, they stay in the same hostel, and he had never seen Mark wake up in such a disturbed manner. “We only live once! I have to see her!” Mark said as he got his shirts and left. Kyle couldn’t understand what was going on; he took his clothes and followed Mark. Mark had a dream where Kyle got married to Victoria, and he knew he had to act fast before the dream became reality.
“Hello Vicki, I have always wanted to approach you, but I won’t lie, everyone knows your brother won’t allow any guy around you. All the same...” As Mark was making his intentions known to Victoria, she couldn’t believe that her crush would approach her. She had always admired Mark from afar, but like Mark said, her brother was the barrier. With the new development, which is Mark’s bold move, she believes they both can find a way to bypass her brother’s threats.
“...I would love to start a journey towards marriage with you.” Although Victoria was lost in thought, she got Mark’s message clearly, especially from his last statement. She felt so awkward and couldn’t hide her feelings. Although it was their first meeting, it seemed as if they had met before.
Normally, just like other men, Victoria would have turned him down, but she didn’t know what got over her as she threw her arms across Mark’s shoulder. Mark was so shocked too, but he embraced her. Unknown to both lovers, Kyle was at the scene, and Walker was there too. He was about to arrange some beatings for Mark, but with what he saw, he was shocked and could feel the true bond between them.
As Walker approached Mark, Kyle was watching from afar. “Oh no, he’s dead meat,” Kyle said. As Walker and his gang walked up to Mark, Victoria was already standing in front of Mark to prevent him from any harm. Walker smiled and signaled to his crew, while only he went past his sister and walked up to Mark.
He placed his mouth in his ears and whispered, “We only live once, right? Nice move, brother. But if I see you with any other lady, it’ll be the last day you live. You have my blessings.” Mark couldn’t believe he just had two major achievements in one day. First his dream girl, and now the blessing of her notorious brother.
It’s been three years since Victoria and Mark left school, and they have decided to tie the knot. Even Mr. and Mrs. Hakin attended their wedding. Mark smiled at his bride. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said to himself.