Cursed Vows

“I hate you.” Ethan mouthed throwing his hands up at the sky. No expression on his face. He dropped his arms to his sides. They fell into the cool grass where he lay. There was a slight breeze and the night sky was moonless. He counted down in his head and wasn’t disappointed when it came.

“I HATE YOU!” Shrieked the voice from the large house behind him. There was a soft glow there from the windows. Then the sound of shattering glass. He moved his hands so they were behind his head. Like he was getting more comfortable for a nap, or to view the night sky. This was nothing new to him but he was tired of it.

“I wish you were dead.” He mouthed this time. As if on cue her voice sounded shrill and annoying.

“I WISH YOU WERE DEAD!” There was a tightening in his throat as she shouted the words though this conversation had happened many times. He also felt that burn in his eyes but refused to shed tears. What for? He didn’t really care about her. He was forced to, manipulated just as with all the others before her. He was never able to control it and he hated every minute of it.

He felt the tug on him. The pull to go to her where she was smashing items in his house. She’d never once cared about him or why he was the way he was, which was fine. He couldn’t tell her either, but lucky for her, her time in hell was limited. His seemed indefinite. Ethan really wished she’d stop destroying things in his house, however.

“I’m starting to wish I was dead too.” He admitted sitting up and then moving to stand. He could no longer resist her shouts and screams. He was driven to do things that she didn’t want him to do. To push himself on her so that she would be pushed to hate him. Even as he craved the need for her acceptance. However the moment she might start accepting him, he would end up doing something to make her hate him. Fucking curse, and oh the hate for the one that did this to him grew every day.

He raised his gaze from the ground and stopped walking looking at the woman standing there suddenly. However, it wasn’t the one from the house. The feminine voice shouting inside continued. The sound of things smashing came to them as they looked at each other for a moment. His true tormentor.

“It seems this one has run her course,” Morgan said. She had dark hair and brown eyes. His green-gold gaze met hers. He pulled back on his hate so that she wouldn’t do something worse.

“I believe we’ve caused enough pain to each other.” His tone was dark and he didn’t want to talk to her. But as long as his curse hung over him, she’d keep showing up. When would she get it? All this time, how could she still want to do this with him?

“Oh, Ethan.” She said it like it pained her. Morgan clasped her hands tighter. She was as gorgeous as a woman could be. Full lips and hair. Her black pants hugged her as did the purple top. He just stared at her face. He wanted nothing from this malicious harpy, a gorgeous soulless woman. Fake, unreal, and had deadly gifts. He'd always seen through her bullshit but didn't seem to phase her at all.

“I just want you to understand how I feel. Why won’t you accept me? I could love you where they don’t.” She couldn’t be serious. He kept telling her no, year after year. When would she get it? He wasn’t going to break.

“No Morgan you can’t. That’s why I never asked you to be my wife. Not that it matters anymore. You felt scorned and I never wanted you in the first place. This is just a game to you. You could never understand what I feel every time you do this to me. How it makes me turn from you even more.” Ethan's anger burned in his eyes.

“I don’t think you get it yet. After all these years. How many will it take? How do you not see my pain?” She had cursed him in an endless loop of tormented matrimony. All with women to purposely emotionally degrade him. There was no term for what was wrong with Morgan honestly. That she had cursed him to this fate, to make his other half hate him. To say and do all the wrong things but yearn for their acceptance.

“Do you think doing this will win my favor?” It wasn’t, he wanted to see her burn in hell.

“Just say you want me, just pick me and you’ll never have to deal with any of them again. They’ll never love you. No one else ever will, only I will. Only I can Ethan.”

“I don’t want them. I don’t want you!” He snarled, she was fucking dense. As crazy as they came. Ethan felt like tearing the hair out of his head. Why did she keep tormenting him? All he’d wanted so many years ago was a simple life. A family, now he just wanted to drink himself into a coma.

“Until you come to your senses and learn your lesson,” She snapped her fingers and the house went silent. The woman was now gone as she couldn’t cause him any more pain than she already did. Clearly, he needed a new one now to start over and torment him. This one was not doing the trick anymore, Ethan had gone numb. Time to reset.

“You will deal with your punishment.” He wiped a hand over his face.

“Just admit it Morgan, just admit it to yourself. Let me live out my mortal life. I’d happily die alone with no one. I’d swear in blood to never take another and die celibate. Never marry, never lay with another woman.” He would too, Morgan Celine was a powerful witch. Maybe a sorceress was a better word. Why did she have to pick him? Why him?

She stepped forward and touched the side of his face. He jerked away from her and shoved her hand down. Her touch disgusted him. He felt nothing but a gut-churning sickness at her touch. She wasn’t the only one that was special. Unfortunately, Ethan had his abilities locked away for the most part due to the curse.

“You love me. Deep down I know you do. Like before. I would give you everything. Think of the power.” His expression changed to a rather sad pleading one. How many times did they have to play this over and over until it sank in? How many times did he have to say the words!

“Please Morgan, please just let me go.” He sounded defeated even to his own ears.

“Choose me and I will.” She said. For a moment he thought that maybe. Maybe, he should. It would stop, wouldn’t it? He then narrowed his gaze feeling the flow from her. Manipulative bitch.

“This is why I never could.” He said feeling the touch of her magic. Trying to persuade him. However, he was a magic wielder too. He was stuck like this because she had tricked him into it, back when he hadn’t known his capabilities.

“You tricked me once, never again. I feel nothing for you.” His gaze went dark.

“Fine.” She snapped darkly. He wondered if he was going to be miserable alone or with someone. With the curse on him, there wasn’t much he could do. She was probably going to make him choose again. She liked invoking the curse that way best.

“I give you life, eternal life, and all I ask is you care for me. Yet you would rather have one that will grow to hate and despise you.”

“You gave me eternal life. So I wouldn’t die on you. So I couldn’t defeat you with my no.” Ethan clarified.

Morgan looked at the man that she had wanted since she was but a girl. She’d grown up with him desiring him. He’d never looked at her like the others. Was never affected by her magic. She’d learned it all to impress him, to have him. She killed others for defying her. She couldn’t kill him because then he would win and she never lost.

“Go on Ethan. Find the next woman that you have to crave. Know what it’s like to need their love, but make them hate you at the same time.” It was ingenious really her curse. So long as he refused her it would stay in place.

He was driven to find someone to be with him. Someone he could love but his actions would cause them to hate him. So he could feel Morgan’s pain at his rejection of her. So he would know what it felt like to crave a person but never say or do the right thing with them.

“Go find your next ex-wife.” She said with a laugh knowing how it would pain him. The curse making him desire the woman, yet drive her away at the same time. He’d need to keep her with him, and yet push her to spite. That just like Morgan, he would crave something he could seemingly never have.

Ethan clenched his fists as she disappeared. How he wanted to hit her. He gave a pissed sound, his incisors sharper than before. He marched up to the house and grabbed a cement figure that was the size of his forearm and tossed it through the back window.

“Fuck!” He shouted picking up a brick and doing it again.