The hospital hallway smelled of antiseptic and fear.
The fluorescent lights flickered softly, throwing long shadows across the polished floor.
Lyra's grip on Aurelia's hand was tight, unwavering, as if her friend's strength could hold the fragile life together.
Aurelia lay pale and quiet, the tubes and monitors a cruel reminder of the body that had betrayed her.
Her breaths came shallow, rhythmic, yet each seemed heavier than the last.
Kaelric arrived minutes later, breathless, his expensive shoes echoing loudly in the empty corridor.
He had barely registered the message until it was too late.
The bar, the laughter, the drink—they all seemed to vanish into nothing as the stark reality hit him.
"Where is she?" he demanded, voice sharp, trembling despite himself.
"She's in room 412," Lyra said, eyes flicking toward him.
"You need to hurry."
Kaelric ran, fear finally breaking through his carefully constructed walls.
He burst into the room.
Aurelia was there, eyes half-closed, pale as porcelain, yet faintly smiling when she saw him.
"I… Kaelric…" she whispered, voice thin, barely audible.
"I'm here," he said, words trembling as he knelt beside her bed. "I… I—"
She shook her head slightly, weakly. "Don't. Don't say it now. Not for me."
"But I love you!" he blurted, desperation spilling.
"I should have… I should have loved you before all this—before you were sick—before I—"
Aurelia's lips curved faintly. She coughed, small, wet, then spoke softly, "I know. I always knew. Even when you hurt me, I… I knew somewhere inside you loved me too."
Kaelric's hands shook as he reached for hers, pressing them to his chest.
"I never wanted to show it… I was afraid. I thought if I admitted it, I would be weak… and I—"
Her eyes, full of gentle resignation, met his. "It doesn't matter now… It's my time."
Tears streamed down his face.
He gripped her hands tightly, feeling the warmth fade beneath his fingers.
He whispered apologies, one after another, words he had withheld for years.
Then, with a small sigh that seemed to release all the pain of her body, Aurelia Seraphine Vale's eyes closed, her chest stilled, and the monitors flatlined.
Kaelric felt the world collapse around him. He could not breathe.
He could not speak.
He had waited too long.
The weeks after were silent.
The house felt impossibly empty.
Kaelric visited the cemetery daily, his expensive suits replaced with worn jackets, his hair unkempt, eyes sunken.
He would kneel by her grave for hours, speaking softly, apologizing endlessly to a woman who would never hear him again.
Flowers he once ignored, words he once withheld, now became offerings of regret. He had loved her too late, and the pain of that truth followed him every day.
Kaelric:
I hurt you because I feared myself.
I flirted, I lied, I kept the walls high… all to protect my pride.
But pride cannot bring you back.
Time cannot undo what I took for granted.
Every breath I have now is haunted by the one I lost…
I failed you.
I failed the woman who loved me when I refused to love her.
Aurelia:
(voice remembered in his grief)
Even in his cruelty, I loved him.
Even in silence, I hoped.
And though he learned too late, I forgive him.
Some love is never meant for forever.
But it is still true.