"I loved Tahari... I still do." Paris wiped his eyes. "She loved me more than anyone could know, and I took that for granted. I really did. To everybody she was a light. And she was so pure...she was always happy, nothing could bring her down. Even if you crossed her, she still wouldn't speak down on you or wish hell on you.

And I know, one day I'll have to let go of her and the pain, but I can't. I can't imagine the day when I'd forget about her. She was my soulmate, maybe I didn't realize it then."

He stopped speaking when his voice cracked. He could hear her family's "That's alright baby" and "It's okay" but it still didn't ease the pain of losing the one person that cared about him most, and the only person. He wasn't ever going to love again, and everyone in the congregation could see it.

In his face. The way he talked. The way he stood. Even in his outfit they could see he was broken and could never be repaired.

"It doesn't sit right with me that Pharaoh and Heiress are gonna grow up without their mother. She was a great mom, they were so attached to her too." He chuckled.

"She was my light in life. The only way I could make it through. Now I have to go on without her, and it hurts. I'm going to try, and have her live through our kids." He finished his speech.

On the verge of breaking down, he picked up their twins, and walked off of the stage.

Death. Death was Aphrodite's biggest fear and now Paris is left to wonder how she's handling it.

He knew for a fact she made it to Heaven. She followed by the rules of God, and when she didn't, she always repented. When she died, it rained when she took her last breath. His mom always told him, "To know if someone made it to Heaven is if it rains after they died" and it did rain. It rained hard when Aphrodite died. She was too pure for this world so God took his angel back. Paris had faith that she was his guardian angel.

It was a tragedy. She was caught in the crossfire.

_____ 4/13/21