It was the usual evening, the Sun was about to hide behind the horizon.
August was returning home to his family—wife and child who were eagerly waiting for him.
He was a tall, middle aged man walking slowly carrying sweets in his hands.
After hard labour the whole day he had finally earned enough money to be able to buy those sweets, his daughter loved so much.
The evening winds were blowing gently as the clouds raged at a distance.
Standing before his house he gave the wooden door a knock. Immediately, the joyful laughter of his daughter reached his ears, making him smile as well.
As the door opened, a child quickly jumped towards him. Picking her up in his arms, he then walked inside and closed the door behind.
"Honey, I'm home."
His voice was filled with joy and warmth.
"Welcome home," a female voice replied as it grew closer. "Freshen up, the dinner is ready."
"Okay," he replied but instead of doing as the female said he sneaked in the kitchen with his daughter in his arms.
Together, father and daughter startled the mother by hugging her from behind.
"Oh.. you almost killed me," the woman—his wife replied, heaving a relieved sigh. "what? Are you a child? Enough with the tricks already."
At her words August and his child both let out a laugh.
Handing over the sweets to his daughter, then August was alone with his wife in the kitchen.
She was still scolding him for his childish behaviour but he in response took her in his embrace.
"What were you saying again?" His tone was full of flirtatious humour.
His wife hugged him back but soon she started to complain again, "You should wash your hands mister."
"Oh really?" He raised a brow. "Don't you like it here, in your husband's arms, my lady?"
"Ah.. please," his wife rested her head on his chest. "I can spend an eternity in here and never get enough of you, my lord."
"However…" she raised her head, her gaze meeting his eyes, "I can't bear to watch my dear husband hungry who works hard for me the whole day."
Tracing his fingers into her unusual coloured hair August smiled. This was the girl he had fallen in love with.
The most beautiful woman there was.
He could never forget the day he first saw her even if he wanted to. She was stunning, magnificent, every word of beauty was but a faded thought before her.
In this world of existence, not any goddess or even the moon could compare to her beauty.
However, this so-called beauty was but a timely thing. What attracted him the most was her kindness, honesty and of course the unconditional love for him.
Well, it wasn't always like that, he was the one who fell for her first.
He used to wait hours at the market only to witness a glimpse of her.
But never dared to speak a word to her. His shyness was his own enemy it seemed.
Being a beauty of the town, every boy had a crush on her. Nor was it unusual for some of the wealthy ones to propose to her directly for marriage.
However, her father was the wealthiest in the town and cared for her like a princess. So, she was always the master of her own life.
She didn't like the young masters of nobility but in the end, took fancy to a commoner like him.
"What is the matter?" His wife spoke, snapping him out of his thoughts. "dear, are you alright?"
August looked back at her and nodded, "Ah… yes I …I am fine. Just thinking how lucky I am to have you by my side. It feels like a dream."
His wife covered her face in embarrassment,
"Oh… what, are you a teenager in love? Why say something like this out of nowhere?"
August gently removed her hands from her face and kissed her warmly on the forehead,
"I am so lucky."
His wife looked above at his face and knitted her brows together in a frown.
"Dear!" Her tone concerned. "Why are you crying?"
His normally dark eyes which hid a hint of red in them now seemed tired and afraid as the rivers of tears flowed down from them.
"What happened, dear?" His wife said in panic. "Tell me. I'm here .. I'm here, with you."
Really, why was he crying?
Honestly, he himself had no idea.
Just at the moment his head started to hurt. A sharp pain pierced his ears making him fall on the floor and suffer in agony.
He gasped for air but only felt more pain.
Suddenly, many voices were to be heard from the outside as someone knocked on a door violently.
From the window he saw the light of flame torches, many of them. It seemed a huge crowd had gathered outside of his home.
August couldn't understand what was happening nor was he in a stable state.
His mind was in disorientation and vision was blurry. Perhaps his wife and child were calling for him but he couldn't hear anything.
He suffered helplessly on the floor as the blood dripped down from his ears.
Suddenly the door broke open with the loud crash and an angry crowd raided his home.
Surprisingly, they didn't lay a finger on his wife and child, only dragged him out.
'Thank gods they are safe.'
In the end, he watched his wife trying to reach him and let out a breath of relief before falling unconscious.
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