kly through the hospital window,
ng in the hollow of her tired eyes. A week had passed, and everything around her remained o
her asked for anyone nor expected anyone to come. The doctor
e
d. What was there
years ago, time for Anne as an
lived, while she remained trapped inside a still frame, a fragme
.
or to her hospital roo
threshold. He did not step inside. He stood there
e lying still on the bed, her fragile hand pale against the b
ked by and g
's still weak and needs a f
nce, his voice
tor. Take good care of her.
but when he turned back
ng himself to e
ips colorless, her trembling fingers clutching the phone, the
for help, he left bef
dn't fa
dn't be able to stay cold enough to finish what he'd
new that Edr
s, there were no messages, no calls
room fell back into silence, filled only with the fading
e, her phone blinke
essa
ssed
expected anything, she had long stopped expecting, but b
ne soul in the world seemed
spital, a light drizz
and returned to the mansion. The enormous house l
anged and as though no one had been g
d in the air. It stung. She used to smell
the sofa and
m h
ter, her ph
detache
r party tonight
for a long time, then qui
arranged them neatly, brewed herself a cup of ginger tea, and sipped
ne lit
me Party for Bella Hadris
t, his familiar polite smile in place. Bella, in a scarlet dress, her gold
d at the i
marriage, she'd heard stories about their relationship, seen their
d with his wor
I don't want any
st
hat she had
d, but no tears came. She had cried too muc
edroom, to the draw
rom the bottom.
r slightly bent. She pulled it out,
tract Durati
ye
. This arrangement, this mockery of a marriage, was about
their signatures so ne
es shall dissolve the marriage, with no e
d cutting deeper, as if she
parture long before she ha
hed the paper. It was
like
en. The nib touc
e Agre
h it the sound of dry leaves scraping the pavement, fragile
, staring
entment. Only an aching hollowness, a q
perhaps her love for him had always been an
y, slipped it into an envel
k struck
rough the darkness for a brief moment before f
The rain had stopped, leaving droplets shimmer
embled, bare
meone who would never love me back. No
of her own, one where his
ope on the desk fluttered, catching a faint s
down, and pulled the b
osed h
chosen to let go. Not because love had vanished, but because sh
of the clock remained, ticking steadily t
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