KAIZA'S POV :-
"She's not in her room," Akki said.
I couldn't think properly.
"We just went out for a minute, and she wasn't ther-"
"She might be in the bathroom!" I said, almost hoping it was true.
She shook her head.
No.
I ran to the room myself.
Empty.
I searched everywhere. Every corridor. Every room. Every corner of the hospital.
She was nowhere.
I had barely stepped outside when my phone rang.
I ignored it.
I was already inside my car when I opened my phone to call Kris.
Then I saw it.
A missed call.
From Ash.
My heart dropped.
I called back instantly.
No answer.
A few minutes later, a notification appeared.
An address and Nothing else.
I kept calling her, but every time, the line was busy.
I didn't think twice.
I rushed to the location, driving through the traffic without caring about the speed.
Behind me, Jaff was following with my younger brother, who had just returned from LA.
My phone kept ringing.
Jaff was calling continuously.
I didn't answer.
As soon as I reached the location, I saw it.
An old factory.
It was Abandoned.
Trees surrounded it from every side, and smoke rose from somewhere inside.
"Let's go together. We'll bring her back," Jaff said.
I didn't reply and instantly ran inside.
There was no proper entrance. The only door was already burning.
I grabbed a wooden log lying nearby and pushed against it.
The door finally gave way.
A burst of heat hit me.
Smoke filled the entire building. I could barely see a thing.
"Ash!"
I searched every corner, screaming her name, waiting for even the slightest sound.
She was strong.
Strong enough to wait for me.
I would get to her.
"Ash!"
Nothing.
There was only one place left.
The terrace.
I ran up the stairs.
A burning piece of wood blocked the door at the top.
I tried pushing it away.
It wouldn't move.
There was only one way.
I jumped over it.
The door was burning hot, but I forced it open.
And then-
There she was.
Lying on the floor.
"Ash!"
I ran to her and pulled her into my arms.
"Ash! Please! I'm here. Let's get out of here."
I patted her cheeks, desperately trying to bring her back to consciousness.
"Kai…"
Her voice was barely a whisper.
She was awake.
Relief rushed through me.
I won't let anything happen to her.
"Kai… wait…"
She struggled to breathe.
"It ended."
Ended?
"He… died."
She smiled bitterly.
Died.
A loud thud came from somewhere below.
"Stop talking. Let's get out of he-"
I tried to lift her.
She stopped me.
"Kai… I can't."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
No.
I knew what she was thinking.
"You have to… No. You can't do this to me."
I tried lifting her again.
"Raise… our Akai well."
Her trembling hand touched my cheek.
"No. We'll raise him together. Nothing is going to happen to you!"
I finally lifted her into my arms.
Jaff reached us soon after.
The sirens were getting louder below.
I ran.
I ran until we reached the ambulance.
"Everything will be alright. Please."
It was the only thing I could say.
The moment we reached the hospital, they took her inside.
I held onto her hand for as long as I could before the doors closed between us.
She was inside the emergency room.
Doctors moved from one side to another.
Nurses rushed around with equipment.
Everything around me slowly blurred.
I collapsed into a chair.
Jaff tried to hold me together.
The pain in my hand was getting worse, but I barely noticed.
I knew she would live.
She had to.
For us.
For our child.
He was waiting for her.
The doctor finally walked out.
I stood up immediately.
"What happened? She's alright, right?"
He looked at me.
"…Her condition is getting worse. We can't promise anything."
My heart sank.
"What do you mean you can't promise anything? You have to save her! No matter what!"
"We're doing everything we can."
"Then do more!"
The doctor hesitated.
"But… she has no will left."
I froze.
"She's given up."
Given up?
No.
"She's lost too much blood and her condition is critical. We're still trying our best."
But somewhere inside, I already knew.
I just refused to believe it.
----------------------------------------
FIVE YEARS LATER
That day still lives in my memory.
Forever.
I found myself sitting on the same chair, staring out of the window.
The seat beside me was still there.
But the person who used to sit on it wasn't.
Her coffee mug was still on the shelf.
Untouched.
Unused for five years.
That day took everything from me.
At the dining table, there was always one empty seat.
"Papa!"
I turned around.
A little boy ran towards me.
Our child.
"Papa, what was she like?"
He looked at me with curiosity.
"Was she pretty?"
"I saw her photo!"
He smiled.
I smiled too.
"She might not have been the prettiest person in the world…"
I looked at the photograph in my hands.
"…but I could never take my eyes off her."
Her picture still stayed close to my heart.
"She was…"
The doorbell rang.
Akai immediately ran towards the door, where his friends were waiting for him.
I watched him go.
Five years ago, I had promised her that I would raise him.
Together.
And somehow…
We did.
She wasn't here.
But her presence was everywhere.
In his smile.
In the coffee mug.
In the empty seat beside mine.
In every little thing I had left.
"Look at him," I whispered.
"He's growing just fine, right?"
For the first time in years, I smiled without forcing it.
Because that was the one thing she had asked of me.
And I kept my promise.
------------------------------------------
In the end, it was only him, raising their only child.
He was never meant to live without her.
But some promises are stronger than grief.
She was never truly gone.
Not from his heart.
Not from their child.
Not from the lives she had touched.
Her story didn't end that day.
It simply continued through the people she left behind.
And somewhere beyond the silence, she remained-
watching them become everything they were meant to be.
It all ended with one truth:
She died for him.
And he lived for her.