Aurelia knew the night would come.
She just did not expect it to be so quiet.
The pain woke her past midnight, sharp and unforgiving.
Her chest felt heavy, each breath shallow, as if her lungs were slowly forgetting how to work.
She sat up, pressing a hand against her sternum, waiting for it to pass.
It didn't.
She reached for her phone, fingers trembling.
Kaelric's name hovered on the screen.
She stared at it for a long moment.
Then she locked the phone.
Not him, she thought.
Not like this.
Instead, she called Lyra.
"I think it's time," Aurelia whispered.
Lyra arrived within minutes, panic written across her face.
One look at Aurelia was enough.
They did not argue.
They did not delay.
The ambulance lights cut through the night as Aurelia was rushed to the hospital, her vision fading in and out, the siren sounding like something pulling her farther from the life she had already begun to leave.
Kaelric was at a bar.
The music was loud.
Laughter surrounded him.
A woman's hand rested on his arm, her voice close to his ear.
He smiled when expected to, drank when offered.
His phone buzzed.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Lyra's name flashed on the screen.
He ignored it.
"I'm busy," he muttered, turning the phone face down.
For the first time, something uneasy stirred in his chest.
He drowned it with another drink.
At the hospital, Aurelia lay pale against white sheets, her breathing uneven.
Lyra stood beside her, gripping her hand.
"I'm scared," Lyra whispered.
Aurelia smiled weakly.
"Don't be. This was always going to happen."
Tears slipped down Lyra's face.
"Did you ever love him?" she asked.
Aurelia's eyes fluttered closed briefly.
"Yes," she admitted.
"Even when he made it impossible."
Hours later, Kaelric stepped outside the bar, the cool night air sobering him just enough to check his phone.
Missed calls.
Messages unread.
Then one final message.
Aurelia has been rushed to the hospital.
The world tilted.
Aurelia:
If this is my last night,
I hope he never remembers me as the woman who begged.
Let him remember me as someone who stayed.
Someone who loved quietly.
Someone who did not make her pain his burden.