He inhaled deeply. He had not allowed himself to expect anything when he had emailed them yesterday. He had simply written to them because it was the only way to be at peace with that chapter in his life and theirs.
Life in this world would always be messy. And people would always make mistakes. Even him. Or Inori.
Their reply to his email was more cautious than brief. They were agreeing to meet him. That was a start, and it was more than enough.
The rest of the emails and messages that required his response were thankfully not as serious. Matt’s latest scans, which wereas good as he had expected, and which he then forwarded to his brother-in-law along with a reminder about their next appointment. A referral from a friend in Jackson Hole. A dinner invitation from the Cannizzaros since Olivio's brother-in-law Aivan, a Formula One legend, was in town with his wife Sienah. The two had made the headlines because of their almost-divorce, but God had seen them through, just like how He had been there for Kazeyuki and Katherine.
Even though over a year had already passed, it still hurt to remember how he had almost lost the girl he loved, and in the span of less than a day at that. One moment, she was spending the night in his arms, they were choosing rings, and then the next moment, she was packing her things to leave him for good.
But it was a pain he forced himself to relive every now and then, just so he would never forget that lies only stole, killed, and destroyed...and at the same time remember who had made it possible for Katherine and him to start fresh.
When the limo cruised to a stop before the hospital doors, Kazeyuki found himself recalling something else. Something older, like the days that Katherine would be at her usual window seat, laptop open, working steadily on whatever campaign she had going while also waiting patiently for him to come through the doors.
It made his chest tighten now, every time he thought about the days that he had been too busy to even look her way, despite knowing she was there and why.
He would never get those days back.
But what he could do now was make sure she never had to wonder again.
As soon as he entered the hospital, his eyes found hers, and his wife...
She had seen the limo pulling up, and so she was already on her feet at her window seat, laptop forgotten, her gaze fixed on the entrance, waiting for him to look her way.
Their eyes met.
Blush.
And there it was. Her cheeks turning pink the moment he smiled at her. One year already married, and she still believed she was "lucky" to have him when the whole world knew it was the other way around.
Her eyes widened when he started walking toward her. This was not their usual routine, and so she was clearly confused even as she got to her feet, her gaze following him as he entered the co-working space—
"K-Kaz? Is s-something—"
Awwww.
The audible, multiple sighs were not from her but from everyone else occupying the same space they did, for to see Stanhope Vancouver's Prince pull his young wife into his arms and kiss her...
Oh goodness, it was like watching someone shoot a romantic film in real life.
The kiss only lasted for a few heartbeats, but when he lifted his head, his wife was looking up at him with dazed eyes that made it seem like the kiss had lasted for an eternity...and yet it still wasn't enough.
Understandable, since that was how he felt, too.
"What was that for?" she whispered.
"A lot of things," he said gravely as he took hold of her hand, and the way her expression turned dreamy as she stared at their clasped hands had Kazeyuki's jaw clenching because...
How in the world had he ended up with the most adorable wife?
And now, she was acting like it was the greatest struggle to pull her gaze away as he walked them out of the co-working space, and she was looking at him as if trying to remember—
"What were we talking about again?"
"You were asking me about why I couldn't resist covering your mouth with—"
She reacted as he expected her to, her cheeks flushing as she hurriedly reached up to cover his mouth. "K-Kaz!"
He captured her hand and had Katherine turning even redder with a gasp as he gave her fingers a little nip.
