Chapter 48 #2
“Maybe.” She shrugged, and this time I caught the emotion behind it. Sadness. Something that didn't make sense—she should already know about the partnership. Zion was her best friend. He would have told her.
I picked up the clipboard beside the bed and looked over the reports.
As I read, I noticed her watching me, so I looked back, expecting a question or something to say.
She just stared at me without a word. Her gaze reminded me of Ampér desert cobras: hypnotic and intelligent.
Not that I'd ever seen one in person—only in photos from research I'd done to better understand Aish culture.
I looked away awkwardly and focused on the reports, trying to escape the unusual interaction.
“The tests are normal, and apparently even the phantom pain hasn't persisted. I think you'll be discharged within two days.” I stood up to leave. “I'm glad to finally meet you, Kaori. I know this wasn't the best occasion, but either way, it's an honor.”
She watched me with a contemplative look, as if studying every inch of my body, my face, my hair.
“You know... I admire your altruism. I think if I were in your place, I wouldn't have been so nice.”
I turned the words over in my mind, a bit confused by all the possible meanings.
“You would have let me die?” I asked, a bit wary, but then laughed at the absurd thought.
“I think I would have considered it, but in the end, I would have dropped the idea.
I found out that most of the doctors and nurses watched the surgery hoping you'd do exactly that.
My father only found out who you were after the operation was over.
He never would have left me in your hands if he'd known.”
She shrugged, and I saw sadness there. Now it was clear. The way she looked at me and gestured, the guarded tone. It wasn't arrogance, pride, or mockery. It was hurt. Everything about Kaori radiated hurt—directed at me.
“Just because I'm a Drutes?”
She laughed as if I'd told a joke.
“Don't be naive, Kyller. We're too old for that.” She looked me up and down and added, “At least, I am.”
That was when I understood there was something much deeper behind her gestures, but she didn't seem to realize I had no idea what she was talking about.
“I... didn't hear about those details. I think they avoided telling me,” I said, careful not to shut down the conversation.
“I'm surprised.”
“About what exactly?” I frowned. With every passing minute, the conversation grew stranger.
“That you're a good person. Years ago, I wanted to believe that the woman who took Zion from me would be someone bad and evil, just so I'd have someone to blame, you know?
But you, Kyller, you're not a bad person.” She scratched her bald head, looking confused and frustrated, somehow even more hurt.
“I don't really know how I feel about that, but I accept that fate works in mysterious ways.
I'm grateful you healed me. If Zion's partner didn't exist, I'd be dead or brain-damaged enough not to remember any of this.”
The gears in my head spun at a dizzying speed until everything clicked into place, leaving me lightheaded but acutely aware of everything around me. I blinked a few times, finally piecing together the puzzle.
“You're Zion's ex-girlfriend,” I whispered, and she looked at me with a frown, hesitating for the first time. My heart seemed to have recovered from the shock, now galloping in my chest hard enough to burst through my ribcage.
“He didn't tell you?” she asked, fidgeting with the sheet. I wavered between responding and just processing what I'd discovered. I couldn't stop staring at her, and my thoughts were starting to race, along with my heart. “Holy shit! He really didn't tell you!”
I didn't know what to say. That hurt in her eyes came from seeing the person who had stolen her romantic future.
She was his best friend, his second-in-command, and also his ex-girlfriend.
Their lives were intertwined in so many ways it was hard to tell where one ended and another began. I didn't even know how to react.
“No,” I stammered, heading toward the door on autopilot. I stopped when something she'd said earlier registered, and I turned to look at her with all the determination I could muster. “But it wouldn't have made a difference, Kaori. I wouldn't let a person die if I could do something about it.”
I said it because it was simply the truth. Still, I couldn't shake the thought. My mind kept circling back to it. When I whispered, it was more to myself than anyone else:
“I don't understand why he didn't tell me if he had a week to do it.”
Kaori also seemed unsure how to react, but I didn't care what she thought of me. I just wanted to get out of there. I turned back toward the door.
“Kyller, wait! I didn't mean for you to find out this way.”
I looked at her one last time. She was holding the hydrangeas so tightly she'd end up crushing them.
“The flowers. Did he bring them?” I asked, feeling numb. She swallowed hard, uncertain whether to answer. “It was him, wasn't it?”
“Yes, but there's nothing romantic about it. It's a Vinturian tradition to bring flowers to the hospital. It's part of our diplomatic culture.”