alexasaintmichaels
Alexa SaintMichaels' stories
My romance stories, christianity, and dark academia aesthetics. If you follow me, write a comment, or just like something, I will follow you back.
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Divine Mercy Chapter 08
The next day Athina was on her way home, when she suddenly ran into her parents at the gate of the school.
"You're going nowhere from here!" her mother said instead of a greeting. "The director has just called us and we have some very serious talk to do."
Then they went into the school and minutes later the director informed Athina's parents about the pregnancy.
Athina's parents were shocked and stared at Athina who looked back bravely, willing herself not to be ashamed of the pregnancy.
"Then you have to abort this child," said her mother finally.
"I won't. It is more than enough that the baby has conceived in sin. I won't commit another sin, so I won't kill my child."
"But we won't pay the cost of its upbringing, so you have no other choice but to abort it," said her mother coldly.
"And who is its father?" asked Athina's father suddenly. "One of the teachers?"
"Sir, be careful what you assume about my teachers," interjected the director.
"He is not a teacher. I won't tell you who the father is, because it doesn't make any difference," said Athina.
"So he knows that you are pregnant, but doesn't want to take responsibility for it. You have made a perfect choice, Athina, at least you should have known better and had safe sex " said her mother.
"You will abort that child, because we won't help with its upbringing, and you are still a minor as well, so you have to obey us," added his father.
"I won't abort it. Then kick me out of home."
Her parents just stared at her with a hard expression on their faces as if it turned to stone. Athina thought that they don't dare to kick her out before the director, but when they got home, they would...
* * *
When Athina got home – her parents did not say a word to her neither on the way home, nor when she went up to her room – she found a feather on the balcony. This reminded her of the feather which Christian stroked her face with and she remembered that he had called her beautiful and the memory made her cry. She spent all of her afternoon sobbing.
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Scandal Chapter 10
June 10, 1950, New York, Adam
Yesterday we agreed with Eve that if any trouble occurred in our relationship then we would try to settle it, instead of breaking up immediately, because that ends in such awful situations such as me kissing Lilith. After we settled that, she began to speak about her religion, about the Holy Trinity and why it was important to follow Jesus' teachings. After discussing these topics I brought up the fact that learning all of this information was in vain, because they would not let us marry each other, but Eve said it would be possible for us to marry abroad.
"Don't blacks get separated from whites abroad?" I asked disbelievingly.
"No, they don't separate them. We could get married easily in Great Britain, or in France."
I was astonished with the news and the fact that Eve took our potential marriage this seriously. It seemed our relationship meant a lot to her. After we finished discussing this topic we hid in a deserted gateway to kiss.
* * *
Today when we met I asked her about her ex-boyfriend, the one who dared to take her hand when we were not a couple.
"And what's up with your ex-boyfriend who is still messing around with you and whom you meet regularly?" I asked.
"He is my student at university. We broke up, when he became my student, to protect my job from a teacher-student relationship because I would have been fired if this had been found out by others. Lately he is trying to warm up the relationship, because he has nobody else to go. His name is Lucifero."
"Lucifero! What a name! Is it not that the Devil also bears this name?"
"You are right, the Devil's name is Lucifer. However there are people around with the first name, Lucifero. What's more, there is a saint whose name was Saint Lucifero."
"Astonishing. But if I meet him, I'll hit him in the face."
"Please, Adam, don't do this. It was my fault that I let him take my hand."
"You couldn't be blamed for it. Lucifero was the snake in this situation who took advantage of the momentary trouble in our relationship. But you have to promise me that you won't meet him anymore."
"But what if I like being with him as a friend...?"
"But he doesn't want to be only your friend."
"I can't promise you yet that I won't meet him anymore."
"Then I'll continue to talk with Lilith."
"Do as you please."
And there was pain in her voice. I didn't understand Eve, not at all.
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Divine Mercy Chapter 07
The next day Christian was in the company of his girlfriend again. Whatever caused the momentary confusion in their relationship, it seemed to completely vanish by now. Athina was praying the Our Father silently when she caught them talking to each other. She stopped praying for a second, but after a moment of hesitation she continued. She thought that by depending on God she could endure anything.
* * *
Athina got sick in PE class. She suddenly felt nauseous and a few seconds later she vomited before her feet. Her classmates stood around her stunned and the teacher escorted her from the gym to the medical room. The doctor was more supportive and took a blood test. He called her back for an appointment that afternoon.
In the afternoon when Athina arrived the doctor greeted her with unexpected news. Although her symptoms was caused by a common gastritis which can be cured by dieting, he found something else: a pregnancy in very early stage.
The room seemed to tilt beneath Athina's feet. In her mind's eye she saw her parents disowning her while Christian took zero responsibility for the whole thing, and a child she had to bring up alone. She felt as if the glooming future was unfolding before her eyes.
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Scandal Chapter 09
June 9, 1950, New York, Eve
It was late in the afternoon when the doorbell rang. I opened my door and it was Lucifero standing there.
"What a surprise... How did you get to know my address?"
"I've told some nice things and flirted around a little at the payroll office of the university, and the lady there looked up for me where do you live."
I stepped out of my apartment, and closed the door behind me.
"I didn't ask you to be here."
"Now, now... Why are you so moody?"
"Why do you think I'm moody?"
"You have never sent me away directly before. But now you accused me of being here despite you not calling me."
"I broke up with my boyfriend."
"Hooray! Then we can go out from now on."
"Don't fool yourself. I won't go out with a man who had ten girlfriends."
"Didn't you mention that the quality of a relationship is not affected by the number of previous relationships a man had?"
"I've changed my opinion. I'm jealous of the previous girlfriends."
Lucifero's lips curled into a sneer.
"Well, you shouldn't be. There is a reason for the fact they became ex-girlfriends. Do you mind coming down and having a walk on the street?"
"I'm not going."
"Then.. What about the cinema? We can watch-"
"I'm not going."
"Would you like to go to the theatre?"
"I'm not going."
"Have an ice-cream?"
"I'm not going."
"Okay, then I let you lick your wounds. When you're ready, I'll come here again." With that he turned, waved his hand and vanished in the bend of the staircase.
* * *
At ten o'clock at night when Adam and I used to date, I began to get dressed. I didn't even know what had gotten into me. I changed from my casual clothes into a dress in two minutes and the next moment I was at the bottom of the staircase.
I went back to the fountain where Adam washed his face from the blood and where we used to date. I was feeling like a little child who had done something wrong.
And... Adam was there.
My heart flipped.
He had a bouquet of red roses with him.
I began to cry.
When he noticed me, he started to hurry to me and when he reached me, he just said:
"I cheated on you with a woman whom I kissed for she promised to explain why you broke up with me."
"I'm sorry... What?"
Adam repeated the exact sentence once more.
"I don't mind," I answered when I finally came to terms with the situation.
"Why not?"
"I met yesterday with my ex-boyfriend and I let him hold my hand."
"Really?! I'll kill that snake!" Adam exclaimed with glowing eyes.
"Forgive me and in return I forgive you for the encounter with that woman."
"Okay. But it must not happen ever again!" he said and pulled me to himself then kissed me in the middle of the street. I just clung onto him and thought that he should be baptized to be able to marry me and that earlier I promised to help him change from a sinner to a righteous man, but I almost completely failed him.
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Divine Mercy Chapter 06
The next day Athina saw Christian talking to his girlfriend. She had the irresistible thought in the back of her mind that they would get together again. At lunch she tried to sit next to Christian, but as she put down her tray, Christian got up, took up his and started out of the cafeteria as he would have finished eating.
In that moment Athina's heart broke.
Now it was clear that Christian lied to her all along and he hadn't broken up with his girlfriend. He just wanted to take away her virginity. Her hands clenched at the thought.
Athina began praying instinctively as always when she felt herself in trouble. She knew that she had sinned against the Lord, but she also knew that the Lord would never left her alone despite the great sin she had committed. She regretted what she did, but she knew that she would confess it, and she vowed to never make the same mistake again. Now she felt that she would never be able to be with someone else anyway. Then she started crying. But despite her tears she never stopped praying.
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Divine Mercy Chapter 05
"Come with me. Let's go to the hill together," said Christian between two kisses to Athina the next day. The hill was at the edge of the city where every couple went watching the stars at least once while they were dating.
"But it's only afternoon," protested Athina.
"It doesn't matter. Will you come with me or not?"
Athina had a bad feeling about it, but she agreed:
"I will."
At first they went to Athina's parents' place. Athina went in the house and said she would go to one of her friends and she would be at home before the evening. Then she went out and got into Christian's car, smiling.
"They've believed me."
"Of course they believed you. You are a good girl."
Christian stepped on the gas and the car began to move faster.
They started to kiss again when they arrived to their destination. Christian's hand suddenly slipped under her blouse. And in the next moment he was taking her clothes off.
"Christian…"
"Don't you love me...?"
"Of course I love you," answered Athina weakly and let him take off all of her clothes. After that they made love. Athina did not feel herself in heaven, but she enjoyed it. After it happened Christian helped her to put the clothes back on, then they went back to the city with the car.
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Antonio Xavier Trindade: The woman washing Christ’s feet
“Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Luke 7:47
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Scandal Chapter 08
June 9, 1950, New York, Adam
As I got on the bus I immediately looked around for Eve. Since we met at the beginning of the week this way, I started to regularly search for her in the crowd. I caught sight of her now: she stood at the end of the place for whites, almost at the place for blacks. I stood next to her, but stayed within my side of the bus.
"Hello! I've found a new job. It is worse than the previous one, but at least they allow me to have a break."
"Hello! I've thought about our relationship and I came to the conclusion that we have to break up."
"What?" The world suddenly turned upside down.
"Our relationship has no future and in the present I can't forgive you for having sex with your first girlfriend. I need a man who is a christian like me and is willing to wait with sex until the marriage."
"But…Eve, please don't do this. My relationship with that woman was serious, but then I got to know her better, and I decided that I didn't want to marry her. Please, don't do this… I spent all my money on getting into your apartment building to find you. I became persecuted at my workplace and I had to change my job so we could be together. Please, don't do this... No one is more important to me than you... Please..."
"I've already made up my mind," said Eve and got off the bus.
* * *
When I got off the bus, the first person I bumped into was Lilith.
I tried to ignore her, but she greeted me and started to follow me.
"What's the matter, handsome? What happened to you? Why are you so sad?"
"Leave me alone."
"Well, if you tell me what's the problem, I won't tell anyone else. And maybe I can help you. Tell me what happened."
"My girlfriend broke up with me. I'm in no mood to talk with you."
"Oh, really? And why did she break up with you? If you would go out with me, I wouldn't break up with you."
"She can't forgive me for sleeping with my first girlfriend."
Lilith burst out laughing.
"Such an innocent little girl who is so much in love…"
"In love? How do you mean that?" I paused and stared at Lilith.
"If you kiss me, I'll tell you. But first the kiss, then the explanation.."
I went up to her and kissed her. Aggressively and demandingly; we kissed at the center of the street. The people had to bypass us and they started to leave a wide, empty circle around us, however in the meantime they were staring at us with wide eyes at the fact that a black man was kissing a white woman.
"Now the explanation." I demanded immediately after we parted. I was still holding Lilith tight in my arms.
"I would say go and find your ex-girlfriend. She is very much in love with you. This is the reason why she can't forgive you sleeping with that other woman."
I suddenly let Lilith go. I realized I made a mistake when I kissed her. What if Eve will be at our place in the evening like nothing had happened and she will regret the break-up? Then how could I tell her that I have cheated on her?
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Divine Mercy Chapter 04
The next day at lunchtime Athina noticed that Christian and his girlfriend were not sitting next to each other. Athina was greatly amused by this fact. She picked up her tray, went up to Christian, greeted him, and put her tray down next to his. But the boy did not react to the greeting and did not even look up from eating his meal. Athina took a glance at the boy's girlfriend who was watching them intently. Athina picked up her tray, left Christian there, and threw the food into the trash can while walking out of the cafeteria.
* * *
After the lessons Athina was packing her books, when Christian stepped in front of her. His girlfriend was nowhere in sight. Athina did not look up to meet his eyes. But Christian reached out his hand and caressed Athina's chin. Athina looked up with big startled eyes. Christian leaned in to kiss her, and they kissed for a long time. When they broke apart Athina asked:
"Why did not you speak to me in the cafeteria?"
"Because I've broken up with Linda and I don't want anybody to blame it on you."
"You have broken up?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure that you are telling the truth?"
"Of course I'm sure honey bunny." Christian caressed her chin again.
Athina smiled at him at last.
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Scandal Chapter 07
June 8, 1950, New York, Eve
From then on I dated Adam. We spent nearly two hours together on a daily basis after darkness fell. When nobody saw us, we walked the streets hand in hand. As a consequence of this I neglected the preparations for my lectures so we had to go today without meeting so that I could prepare for my lectures, and Adam could search for a new job.
I felt sorry for him because of the situation with Janine and at the same time I blessed God for growing up in faith thus I hadn't slept with anybody and I wasn't involved in such messy scenarios. The situation with Lucifero was impossible enough without sex. As I gathered my things, I found a theatre ticket slipped between my books.
I instantly knew that no one else could put it there but Lucifero. Did he really want me to go to the theatre with him? I watched the ticket closely: the play was a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. And suddenly I came to the conclusion that there was no reason why I couldn't go with him to the theatre... Adam slept with his first girlfriend... And I knew I couldn't go to the theatre with him, because they wouldn't let him in. I felt a dull pain in my chest at this thought.
Actually I missed Adam as we couldn't spend this night together, but in spite of this when I got home I put on a blue dress that emphasized my blue eyes, and after I got ready, I headed for the theatre.
* * *
The curtain had been lifted in the theatre by the time Lucifero arrived and sat down next to me. He couldn't help himself but whispered in my ear:
"I thought you wouldn't come and I had to endure the play without a female company."
"It was impossible to resist such a kind invitation..." I whispered back sarcastically before we both fell into silence not to disturb the rest of the audience.
When the play ended and we filed out with the crowd, he suddenly took my hand. I thought of Adam and the fact that he slept with his first girlfriend, and I let Lucifero do so. When we came out of the theatre, he turned to me and said:
"Now we are going for dinner."
"If you don't mind that I'm in a relationship, then we can go," I agreed.
"I don't mind. I said if I got a chance the man wouldn't last more than a few days."
"But why now? Why didn't you come up to me and say you want to give us another chance in the past two years when I wasn't in a relationship?"
"Because I went out with other women in the past two years and it took me some time to realize that there's no one like you."
I burst out laughing.
"I get it. There is no other woman for you to seduce at the moment. How many women have you slept with?"
"I have never counted it. Maybe around ten."
"Ten?!" I asked, and I felt a shock at the revelation that Adam sleeping with his first girlfriend caused a dull pain in my chest, but I felt nothing at the mention of Lucifero sleeping with many other women. Nothing at all.
"Of course, I slept with everybody that I was going out with, except you. This was one of the reasons I realized that you are special. I need a virtuous woman, who won't become unfaithful, with whom I feel safe and know that I won't be deceived."
"I don't think a person sleeping with others and a person deceiving his partner is one and the same thing. See, I'm here with you today where I shouldn't be."
"Shhh," he put his forefinger on my lips. "Don't even mention it... You came with me here to relax and that's all."
"And how should I know if I slept with you then I wouldn't be the eleventh woman you leave after you got what you wanted?"
"Because you are special. And you yourself have said it now that the number of a man's past girlfriends has no significance in the happiness of his present relationship."
I nodded. It was true that I said that. I had myself cornered. We arrived at the restaurant: it was the city's most trendy place where you have to book a table months before arriving.
"How did you get a table in such a short time?"
"I have acquaintances in many places," he said smiling and we went into the restaurant. When we sat down to our places and got our menus, he stroked my arm.
"Hey! Don't do this. I'm in a relationship."
He strained his face muscles and looked me in the eye.
"Next time you will be the one begging me to do it..."
I shook my head resignedly.
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Scandal Chapter 06
June 7, 1950, New York, Adam
It was the third time I told Keith I wanted to go out for a break and he should have taken over the work, but Keith did not even flinch. When he approached, I stopped him.
"Come on, Keith, I have already told you three times that I wanted to have a break."
"You don't have the guts to bring the child up with Janine, instead you're messing around with a new woman," he snapped back.
"Listen, it's not my child!"
"You were the last one who went out with her!"
"But it's still not my child! I don't know how she hooked up with a new boyfriend, but it wasn't me who got her pregnant, I swear to anything."
"You can't go out for a break," replied Keith icily and with that he left.
And I worked till the end of my shift without a break.
When I left the factory and said goodbye to the others, they turned their backs on me, not accepting my farewells.
I realized I had to find a new job.
* * *
"Eve," I called her by her name, when I saw her. I went up to her and kissed her deeply. We kissed for a long time, and that dissolved the stress that stuck with me since I had left the factory.
"Has anything happened?" Eve asked after the kiss, as we began to walk side by side, holding hands. It was nearly midnight.
"It's nothing.. I just have to look for another job... very quickly."
"But what happened at the factory? Till this time you've said the place is good enough, despite it's a physically demanding job."
I squeezed her hand.
"I have already told you about my first girlfriend... Do you remember?" I sighed heavily. I knew I had to tell it then and there. There was no backing out of it now. "Her name is Janine. Right now she is pregnant, and she wants me to break up with you and instead bring up her child with her."
Eve stopped and looked at me.
"Does she know about me?"
"Of course, the whole factory knows about you. They know that I have a girlfriend. That's all they know, only the fact. And now I tell them in vain that I haven't touched Janine in a year and the child is not mine, because they don't believe me."
"They don't believe you, because she lost her virginity to you."
"Yes, but what has it got to do with it?"
"You ought to have got married after having sex."
"But we didn't get married, because I realized I couldn't have lived for forty years with that woman."
"Maybe you should have thought about it before having sex."
"Yes, I should have... but I was young and stupid." I lifted up Eve's hand and blew a kiss on it. "I want to live with you."
But Eve still looked troubled. I panicked.
"Eve? Is something wrong? Is it bad that I want to live with you?"
"It is not bad – it is impossible. You live in a hostel for young workers and you can't come to my apartment because you are banned from the apartment block. And you can't live with me, because my apartment was bought by my parents who wouldn't tolerate me living with a black man. We can't be married because it is against the law. We are not banned from the church, but I don't know if they will approve of our marriage. Practically… our relationship doesn't have a future," she said, her eyes rising up to mine. I looked into the bright blue eyes.
"But I want to be with you, Eve." After her explanation of how we are doomed, it seemed like a childish thing to say.
"Me too," she answered. "Won't you go back to your first girlfriend, will you?"
"I'd rather search for a new job." I squeezed her hand. "I will be baptized and I won't sin anymore. Do you help me with my baptism, Eve?"
"I will help you," she said, and I took her doll-like face in my hands and kissed her. We stayed kissing like this for a long, long time.
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Scandal Chapter 05
June 6, 1950, New York, Eve
While I was packing up after my last lecture, Lucifero came up to me. We were alone in the lecture hall. As he appeared, an alarm went off in my head.
"Eve… What would you say if I told you I would like to get together with you again...? I would like to give us another chance..."
"That's not going to happen."
"But I won't tell a soul about it. Were you afraid of this when you dumped me last time? That I will tell of our relationship to the rector?"
I was silent. Yes, I was afraid of losing my job. There was no need to deny that.
"But I won't betray you... It will remain our secret..." continued Lucifero.
He raised his hand and caressed my lips in a vertical line with his thumb.
"I won't say a word..."
"Please… stop... I have a new relationship."
Lucifero immediately lowered his hand.
"And with whom?" At this a red light flared up in his dark brown eyes. "You know what? Don't answer. I don't care. I don't give it a week and you will throw this man out. We will get back together."
I gaped at his enormous self confidence, but I was not able to reprimand him, because I still liked him on some level.
"Think about it, Eve… Later… I would marry you. Can you imagine… the little Eves and Luciferos as they surround us...?"
"No."
"I will do everything to change this no to a yes. In the past two years I haven't met anyone as beautiful as you. No one kisses so warmly."
I gathered my things into my arms. I had already stayed too long, and we would look suspicious if anybody opened the door and looked in. But still... Lucifero was so cute... How he imagined our children around us... Even if I said no, I was greatly amused by the things he said. And I still liked him…
* * *
That evening I met Adam on Madison Avenue. He was waiting for me with a bouquet of flowers again. I smiled at him and took the red roses from him. As I smelled their scent, I said smiling:
"You must like me so much that you buy me a bouquet of flowers every time we meet."
"I like you very much. I have never met a woman whom I liked this much. You move so gracefully, you have a beautiful face, and you are always so calm."
"Is it important to you? That a woman should be calm?"
"What is most important to me is that she shouldn't be evil. In my first serious relationship I got to know that the girl I went out with managed to get somebody fired from the factory where we worked, because she wasn't sympathetic to her. And later it came to my knowledge this wasn't the first case she had done something like this, but the umpteenth time. So I dumped her, because I realised she was evil."
"Really? You dumped her because of this?"
"I don't like evil people, so yes, I've done exactly that."
Adam hesitated after he said this as though he wanted to say something else.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing."
"All right, then... If you say so..."
"Did you have many boyfriends?"
"I had five. But I didn't have sex with any of them, because I wanted to wait with it until we got married."
"Five boyfriends?" asked Adam, shocked. "How old are you?"
"I'm thirty," I said smiling, because I liked to shock people with my age. "And how old are you?" I asked back.
"I barely got twenty last month."
"Then we have a ten year age gap. With my last boyfriend it was only eight years," I said, still smiling.
His face clouded at the mention of this.
"But you said you did not have sex with any of your boyfriends. I had sex with my first girlfriend."
"You are not religious, are you?"
Adam shook his head.
"But you are baptized surely... or not?"
Adam shook his head again.
"Then if you want to marry me, just saying it hypothetically, you have to be baptized catholic."
"If there is a church where a black man and a white woman can marry each other..." he said dryly and for a while we walked side by side in silence.
Then we started to talk about our workplaces, and later he bought us ice cream from an ice cream stand. He gave me his money, and I made the actual purchase myself. After we ate it, darkness fell so we could stop in a doorway to kiss. He kissed fantastically, and all I could think of is not getting jealous of that first girlfriend.
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13th Century Byzantine Icon
showing the sword-wielding spiritual warrior Archangel St Michael, in gold and enamel with semi-precious stones.
Apparently taken from Constantinople during the 4th century crusade.
Treasury, Basilica di San Marco, Venice
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