A week had passed since that night. The world around them had returned to its usual rhythm, the routine of daily life almost mocking the ache that lingered beneath the surface.

Yet for Alice, nothing felt normal.

She never got the chance to see Lily again. The memory of that night, the one where Lily and her mother vanished, haunted her every waking moment.

Alice had never imagined such a loss, especially not after everything they'd been through. She couldn't help but blame herself.

If she had been there… if her struggles hadn’t consumed her so completely, maybe Lily wouldn’t have vanished into the night.

Her chest ached with the bitter thought that, if only she had stopped them, this torment might never have become her reality.

But now, she had to face the truth: the void they left behind could never be filled, and it was her fault they’d slipped away.

Yet that was not the only problem she had to face.

Arthur discovered something crucial; something that she had kept hidden from everyone else.

She was carrying a deadly disease that was slowly ending her life.

When Arthur brought her to the clinic, the doctor examined her and delivered the devastating news: She had leukemia.

Surprisingly, she felt no shock.

Deep down, she had already known all along that this disease had been with her from the start.

In the middle of the afternoon, Alice stood at the kitchen counter, washing vegetables and preparing food for lunch.

But suddenly, her body betrayed her.

Her breath came in shallow, ragged gasp, and her once-steady hands shook violently, struggling to hold the knife.

Every movement felt monumental, her vision swimming as she fought to stay focused. Though only a few minutes had passed, exhaustion washed over her, stealing the strength she had once taken for granted.

But she pushed herself, forcing her body to comply.

This simple act of cooking, something she had always excelled at, now felt like an insurmountable task slipping further and further from her grasp.

The air inside the house grew thick, pressing against her chest, making it harder to breathe.

The door creaked open, and Arthur stepped inside, his arms laden with a pile of medicines from the clinic.

He paused in the doorway, his eyes immediately catching the paleness of her face and the forced brightness of her smile.

“Welcome back, Arthur!” she said, her voice light but strained with effort.

He frowned, biting his lip to hold back the wave of worry that threatened to surface.

Forcing a smile, he replied, “I’m home.”

Without hesitation, he strode to her side. Gently, he placed a hand at her waist to steady her and covered her trembling hand with his.

His gaze locked onto hers, intense and filled with concern.

Her eyes widened at the sudden intimacy. He had not done this to her like this in months, and the proximity left her flustered. A faint blush warmed her pale cheeks.

“Let me handle this. You need to rest,” he said, his voice calm but edged with unmistakable worry.

She shook her head, a determined yet fragile smile on her lips.

“It’s my job to cook for you, isn’t it?” she replied softly, easing her hand from his grip to resume slicing the vegetables.

But Arthur wasn’t having it. He caught her hand again, stilling her movements.

“Now is not the time for that. You’re pushing yourself too hard,” he said, his hand trembling slightly as his gaze bore into hers.

Her expression faltered, her eyes lowering slightly as she whispered,

“Am I not needed anymore?”

Her words cut through the room like a blade, the tension thickening in an instant.

Arthur’s eyes widened, his breath hitching as disbelief washed over him.

His lips pressed into a tight line before he stepped closer, resting his forehead against her shoulder. His arms wrapped around her in a desperate embrace.

“Don’t say that” he murmured, his voice low and trembling.

“It hurts me when you think that way.” He paused, tightening his hold as if afraid she might slip away.

“I don’t want you to go somewhere I can’t follow. Somewhere I can’t reach you.”

Alice blinked, her heart squeezing at the raw emotion in his voice.

Slowly, she raised a hand to his head, brushing her fingers through his hair.

She pressed a soft kiss on his head and whispered,

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay with you for as long as I can.”

Her voice remained steady, imbued with warmth and sincerity. Arthur’s shoulders eased slightly, but the tight coil of tension in his body lingered, refusing to ease.

Alice settled on the sofa, legs tucked beneath her, watching Arthur bustle around the kitchen. The clatter of pots and the sizzle of food filled the room, yet it all felt almost surreal.

Their roles had reversed, and she couldn’t help but let a faint, amused smile curve her lips at the sight.

It was a strange but comforting moment, a small pocket of normalcy amidst the storm that loomed over them both.

When they finished eating lunch, Alice noticed Arthur’s gaze lingering on her, intense and thoughtful.

She could feel his curiosity, sharp and probing, like a thread winding through her.

Though he didn’t say a word, the question was written in his furrowed brow, in the way he sat straighter than usual.

She set down her cup, meeting his gaze with her own, a flicker of light danced in her tired eyes.

“Are you curious about my past, Arthur?” she asked softly, her voice steady but tinged with an unspoken weight.

Arthur’s expression shifted. He hesitated, lowering his eyes and pressing his lips together, his hands clasped tightly on the table.

“If it’s not hard for you to share, I’ll listen,” he said, his voice measured but uneven. “But if it hurts you... You don’t have to.”

Alice studied him for a moment. His words were kind, but the stiffness in his jaw betrayed his true feelings.

She let out a faint smile, barely touching her lips.

“Do you remember why the war between the great nations started?”

Arthur blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in conversation. He nodded, though his curiosity deepened.

Alice clasped her hands in her lap, her expression darkening.

“It happened so quickly,” she began, her voice distant, as if recalling a memory from another life. “The sky was clear that day, a perfect shade of blue. My younger siblings laughed, chasing each other through the fields, their voices like music. The scent of wildflowers filled the air.” She let out a faint smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“For a moment, it felt as though the world couldn’t be more perfect.”

She paused, her gaze dropping to the table.

“And then… it changed. The explosion… it was blinding. A massive atomic bomb hit near our house. The shockwave obliterated everything.” Her voice trembled, each word struggling to escape.

“My parents… they were gone in an instant. My siblings—” She stopped abruptly, biting her lip until it whitened.

“They didn’t survive either. They were… blown away. The house… everything… gone. My family… gone. The fire spread, clawing from house to house.”

Arthur’s hands tightened into fists. He wanted to speak, to tell her she didn’t need to continue, but the words stuck in his throat, trapped by the weight of her pain.

Alice drew a trembling breath, forcing herself to continue.

“Foreign soldiers came next, their faces hidden in the mist. They raided what remained of my country, turning it into a battlefield. Smoke and blood filled the air, and my people—my friends and neighbors—died without mercy. It was as if hell itself had descended upon the earth.”

Arthur’s eyes widened, his expression frozen in disbelief.

“Hatred burned in my heart,” Alice admitted, her voice hardening.

“I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. I volunteered to help our soldiers, to fight however I could.” She clenched her fist tightly.

“Years passed, but no matter what we did, the enemy always had the upper hand.” Her eyes widened when the memories flashed through her mind.

“Then they dropped another atomic bomb on our military base… and everything was gone in an instant.”

She stopped, her breath catching as her hands trembled in her lap.

“The ashes… the smoke… it covered everything. There was no escape. I remember breathing it in, choking on it, fighting just to survive. I kept going… until one day, I collapsed. When I woke up, the doctor told me…” Her voice cracked, but she forced herself onward.

“He told me I had leukemia. From the radiation. From the smoke. From surviving not one… but two bombs. My body couldn’t take it anymore.”

Arthur’s lips parted, but no sound came. His hands gripped the edge of the table, as if trying to anchor himself against the weight of her words.

Alice wiped away a single tear that had escaped her eye, her voice softening.

“That was when I realized… all I had ever seen was cruelty. Pain. The worst of humanity. So I made a choice. If my time were limited, I wouldn’t let hatred consume me. I would try to see the beauty in the world instead.”

She looked at him then, a genuine smile spreading across her face, warm and radiant.

“And I did. I saw people laughing, smiling, and helping one another. I realized how beautiful this world could be, even after everything.”

Arthur’s expression softened, the heaviness in his eyes easing as he watched her. Her smile was contagious, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he returned it.

“That sounds just like you,” he said, his voice low but warm, carrying a quiet admiration that hung in the space between them.

After Alice fell asleep on the sofa, Arthur’s frown deepened. His gaze lingered on her pale face, heavy with thought. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, face buried in his hands, as if offering a silent prayer for her.

“I’m sorry, Alice,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “I was the one who ordered the bombing of your country. And I was the one who led the soldiers who raided it.”

His words lingered in the air, heavy and suffocating. His hands trembled as he clenched them together, tears slipping silently down his cheeks.

He stifled his sobs, careful not to disturb her sleep, but the guilt inside him gnawed at his chest, growing with every passing second.