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