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Most of the doctors in the area had been killed, and the hospital was in ruins. The treatment conditions were grim, and I was swamped every day, trying to help as many as I could. It had been nearly a month since I thought about Gary, except when I checked the live broadcasts on my phone.
Then, during a gunfight, I saw him again. The evil that had ravaged the land refused to release its grip. As I was evacuating with the main group, I spotted a child left
behind. Without thinking, I rushed to her side, but a stray bullet shot toward me. Instinctively, I shielded the child, but someone grabbed me in their arms. The familiar scent hit me like a wave, and I froze for a second.
It was Gary. But now wasn’t the time to reminisce. Even though his shoulder was injured, he seemed oblivious to the pain, his eyes never leaving me. He was like a
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man who had just found the one thing he thought he lost forever.
I snapped myself out of the moment, quickly pulling him along to catch up with the group. Despite his injury, he was determined to stay close, watching me as though I might disappear at any moment.
I carefully administered the medication and stayed by his side, watching him struggle with the fever. His body was trembling, and his words were barely coherent as he muttered apologies, his face wet with tears. It was a side of Gary I had never seen before–vulnerable and broken. For years, he had been the one protecting me, always the strong and confident man, and now here he was, reduced to this state of helplessness.
His fever spiked again, and he reached for me with a desperate look in his eyes. “Mary, I’m sorry… I’m sorry for everything,” he whispered, his voice shaky.
I couldn’t find the words to respond. The
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weight of the past, all the pain and betrayal, hung heavy between us. Yet, seeing him in this fragile state, I couldn’t bring myself to be angry. Instead, I just held his hand and tried to comfort him, even if I didn’t know if it was for his sake or mine.
It was difficult to reconcile this man–the one who had caused so much pain–with the man lying before me, so broken and remorseful. And as his fever slowly broke, I realized I wasn’t sure where this would all lead.
Gary stood there for a long time, his hands twitching as if he wanted to reach out but didn’t dare. The silence between us felt heavier than anything I had experienced in all these years. I didn’t need to say a word for him to understand that the distance between us now wasn’t just physical. It was something deeper–something that had been building for years.
Finally, he spoke, his voice soft and
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broken: “Mary, I’m sorry. For everything. I know it means nothing now, but I need you to know that I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to make you feel like… like I didn’t care. You were always my stars. I just—” His words faltered, and he clenched his fists at his sides.
I stayed quiet, watching him struggle to find the right words. Part of me wanted to forgive him, to let him in again. But another part of me knew that forgiveness wasn’t enough to erase the scars of the past.
When he finally lifted his eyes to meet mine, there was something different in them–guilt, regret, and a hint of
desperation. But the truth was, I couldn’t be the one to fix this. Not anymore.
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