chapter 9
1146 Words
Chapter 9 – Fragile Promises
Adrian’s POV
The world blurred as I half-carried, half-held Elena through the front door of my apartment. Her weight against me felt both feather-light and unbearably heavy at the same time. Every step she stumbled tore something raw inside my chest.
“Elena—stay with me, love, just… just a little more,” I muttered, though I didn’t even know if she heard me.
Her breathing was shallow, her skin cold. The café, the laughter, the way her fingers had brushed mine only an hour ago—it all felt like it had happened in another life. I placed her carefully on the sofa, crouched down beside her, and brushed damp strands of hair from her forehead.
“Why didn’t you tell me it had gotten this bad?” My voice cracked, anger at her silence mixing with the terror that I might lose her at any moment.
Her lips curved in a faint, tired smile. “Because I wanted today to be perfect, Adrian. Not another reminder that I’m broken.”
“You’re not broken,” I whispered, pressing her hand to my lips. “You’re… you’re everything.”
I wanted to scoop her back up, call an ambulance, drag the entire medical world to her feet if that’s what it took. But she squeezed my hand weakly, shaking her head as if she already knew what I was thinking.
“No hospitals tonight,” she murmured. “Please. I don’t want to spend another night with machines and white walls. Just… stay here. With me.”
I swallowed hard, torn between instinct and her plea. Looking into her eyes, shimmering with a quiet resignation I hated, I knew she wouldn’t forgive me if I turned this moment into another battle with her illness.
So I nodded. “Okay. Here. With you. Always.”
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Elena’s POV
Adrian’s face hovered above mine, every line carved with worry. His eyes—those storm-grey eyes—looked at me like I was both a treasure and a tragedy.
“You’re scaring me,” he whispered. “Do you even realize that?”
I lifted my trembling hand, cupping his cheek. “I’m sorry. I just… wanted to feel alive today. With you. Not as a patient, not as someone to pity. Just your Elena.”
His jaw tightened, but he leaned into my touch. “You’ll always be my Elena. But you don’t get to leave me, do you understand? You don’t get to scare me like this and then smile like nothing happened.”
Tears stung my eyes, though I tried to laugh softly. “You always were bossy.”
“Not bossy,” he said, gripping my hand firmly now. “Desperate.”
Silence wrapped around us, thick and unbreakable. He looked at me like he was memorizing every breath I took, as though afraid it might be the last.
“Promise me something,” I whispered.
His gaze sharpened. “Anything.”
“Don’t let this—my sickness—become our story. Promise me you’ll remember the love, the laughter, the stupid fights over coffee flavors… not just this part.”
I felt his chest heave as he tried to hold back tears. Then he pulled me into his arms, cradling me against him like I was glass but also the most precious thing he owned.
“I can’t promise that,” he said roughly. “Because every part of you, every second with you, is my story. Even this. Especially this.”
And in that moment, my fragile heart broke and healed all at once.
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Adrian’s POV
Hours slipped by. I sat with Elena curled against me, her head on my chest, my fingers stroking her hair. Every time her breathing hitched, I flinched.
“Adrian?” her voice was small.
“Yes, love?”
“Do you ever… imagine a future without me?”
The question gutted me. My grip on her tightened, and I buried my face in her hair. “Don’t. Don’t ever say that again.”
“But you have to,” she whispered. “You’re too full of life, Adrian. Too much fire to be left with ashes.”
I pulled back, forcing her to meet my eyes. “Listen to me. The only future I imagine is with you in it. I don’t care if it’s one year, one month, or one night—I want all of it. Don’t you dare talk about leaving me.”
Her lips trembled, and then she kissed me. Soft, lingering, full of an ache words could never carry. I kissed her back fiercely, like I could steal strength from the universe and pour it into her fragile body.
When we pulled apart, she rested her forehead against mine. “You love me too much,” she said, almost like it was a sin.
“There’s no such thing as too much,” I replied. “There’s only not enough time.”
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Elena’s POV
That night, as the rain tapped softly against the windows, I felt the walls I’d built around my fear begin to crumble.
“I’m scared, Adrian.”
His arms tightened around me instantly. “I know. But I’m here.”
“What if I close my eyes one day and never wake up?” My voice cracked, trembling with the truth I usually buried deep. “What if this is all we get?”
He pressed his lips against my temple, his voice low and fierce. “Then I’ll hold you every second until that day. And I’ll make sure you feel so loved that even death can’t take it away.”
I cried then—silent tears soaking his shirt—as he held me, whispering vows not written in any book, not spoken at any altar, but etched forever in the marrow of my bones.
For the first time in a long while, I let myself lean into his strength, not pretending, not smiling through pain. Just raw and fragile.
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Adrian’s POV
Later, when she finally drifted to sleep, I stayed awake. Her head rested over my heartbeat, her fingers tangled in my shirt as if afraid to let go even in dreams.
I stared at the ceiling, rage and love warring inside me. How could the world be cruel enough to give me her—my Elena—and then threaten to take her away?
No. I wouldn’t let it happen.
I kissed her forehead softly and whispered into the quiet:
“I’ll find a way, Elena. I don’t care what it takes. You’re not leaving me. Not like this.”
The words tasted like a vow and a rebellion.
And for the first time, a dangerous thought sparked in my mind. If fate was against us, then I would fight fate itself.
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- Writer
