Kaelric Nocturne Virex began to notice the silence before he noticed her absence.
It was subtle at first.
The house felt quieter than usual.
The meals were still prepared, the rooms still clean, yet something essential was missing. Aurelia no longer waited by the door when he came home late.
She no longer asked questions.
She no longer looked at him with that careful hope he had grown used to ignoring.
Instead, she smiled.
It unsettled him.
"You've changed," he said one evening, breaking the quiet.
"Have I?" she asked gently.
"You don't argue anymore."
She shrugged lightly. "I'm tired."
He scoffed. "You always are."
But this time, the words felt hollow even to him.
Kaelric still went out.
Still drank.
Still let women lean close and laugh at his jokes.
But something had shifted.
The excitement felt dull.
The conversations felt empty.
One night at a bar, surrounded by music and laughter, he found himself staring at his phone, waiting for a message that never came.
Where are you?
Why aren't you asking?
The realization annoyed him.
At home, Aurelia moved through her days carefully.
Her body weakened faster now.
She woke with pain she could no longer ignore.
She rested often, hands pressed against her chest, breathing through the ache.
Kaelric noticed the way she held herself.
"You should see a doctor again," he muttered once.
"I already have," she replied.
He frowned. "Then why do you look like that?"
She met his eyes briefly. "Some things don't get better."
The words lingered longer than they should have.
One evening, Kaelric returned home earlier than usual.
Aurelia was in the kitchen, humming softly as she prepared soup.
The sound stopped him in his tracks. He had never heard her hum before.
"You're in a good mood," he said.
She smiled faintly. "I'm at peace."
The phrase unsettled him deeply.
That night, he stood in the doorway of her room longer than necessary, watching her sleep.
Her breathing was shallow.
Her face looked too thin.
A tightness formed in his chest.
Why does this bother me? he thought.
Kaelric:
I tell myself I don't care.
I tell myself this marriage means nothing.
Then why does the thought of her disappearing feel unbearable?
Why does her silence scare me more than her tears ever did?