Her hands were trembling.
Her breath came in broken waves.
The fire crackled, but it wasn't enough—
not when he lay still, barely breathing.
She knelt beside him, wrapped in panic.
Not just because he was a stranger.
Not just because he was him.
But because he had unknowingly held her together for four years—
and now, she was terrified she might lose him in four seconds.
"Please…" she whispered, cradling his face with both hands.
Tears spilled over without permission.
"Please don't leave me too."
And in that moment, a fear she'd buried deep inside rose to the surface:
What if the curse is real?
What if everyone she loves… disappears?
She sobbed harder.
Her body shook as she pulled the blankets tighter around him.
"I won't let it take you too. I won't. I promise."
And then—
he stirred.
Barely.
A flicker.
His lashes fluttered open.
A dazed blink.
His gaze found her—blurred, unsure.
But his voice—soft and hoarse—still made it through.
"…why… are you crying?"
She gasped.
He was awake.
But instead of answering, she cupped his cold cheeks and said with all the strength she had left:
"Because I won't let anything happen to you."
And for the first time in years, her tears weren't just for loss.
They were for love.
For fear.
For hope.
And maybe, just maybe…
the curse had started to break.