Winter Swan

Silje wasn’t surprised when Kail cried out in pain.

He started to throw anything he could grab against the walls and roared angrily.

“Dammit! No! It can’t be!”

He was clearly suffering, but Silje just watched him emotionlessly like the goddess of revenge.

This was necessary for their relationship to finally end.

Silje knew he must’ve already known about what happened, but hearing it from her lips had to be more shocking than ever. To confirm his worst fear… It had to be horrifying.

Silje understood the pain, but she desperately needed him to leave.

Silje slowly continued, “It’s the truth, but I am not telling you this to get back at you, Kail. All the years I spent here in New York by myself… I have learned that retaliation is pointless. All I want is to never see you or any of your family members again. I don’t want to be associated with any of the Bruntlands. So Kail, just leave. I am begging you, take pity on me. It was so hard for me to survive the pain… Please… If you care for me at all, please leave me alone. Get out of my life. I don’t want you or your family.”

Kail’s face was pale and his hands were clenched while Silje looked at him. When he couldn’t say anything, Silje added, “Leaving me alone… That is the only thing you can do for me, Kail. Do you not understand? Your stepmother took me to her doctor friend and pulled out my baby from between my legs… An innocent baby… It was our baby, but you weren’t there for me. When I woke up from the anesthetics, I found myself alone surrounded by the white hospital walls. YOU weren’t there. I was all alone, and immediately after, I was exiled to New York. My own family abandoned me. I left Norway, a country that caused me so much pain, so please leave me alone. Let me be. Get lost!”

Silje was gasping for breath, but her eyes were dry.

No tears.

After sighing deeply, she closed her eyes shut.

When will this ever end?

Please…

She was suffering. She was barely surviving.

Silje was too proud to show any tears, but the pain she felt was too much.

She bit her lips and begged him. He needed to leave now.

How long could they keep doing this? Keep hurting each other?

How long?

She clenched her hands hard until they turned white.

Please, Kail…

The brutal truth and Silje’s bitterness… She wondered if Kail would lose his mind. She thought that she wouldn’t be surprised even if he strangled her right now.

“…”

The silence seemed to go on forever. Kail’s eyes turned empty as he finally asked, “Is that what you really want? To leave you forever? Would that be enough of a compensation for what you went through?”

“Yes. That would be enough for me, so please go. Return to Oslo today. That is what I truly want.”

Silje didn’t hesitate. She was furious at him. She didn’t know what to do with all the hatred she felt.

The way she fell for him five years ago was bad enough. How could she fall in love with him again after what happened? She couldn’t acknowledge her feelings for him, or else, Silje knew she would lose herself again. Her instinct warned her that it would be the end of her.

She had to take this chance to sever this hurtful bond.

Silje closed her eyes and screamed, “Just leave! Disappear from my life. I don’t ever want to see you again. Please! I beg you!”

She knew she was hurting him as well as herself with these words, but this had to happen because…

She loved him.

She had fallen in love with him again.

And Silje feared that she was so close to begging him to stay with her.

“Get lost!”

She screamed and as her angry voice echoed throughout the room.

“…”

The desperation and hopelessness on his face… Silje thought she could never forget it. She bit her lips and turned away from him as her heart felt a sharp stab.

In an astonishingly quiet voice, Kail asked, “So I just have to leave you? Is that it? Oh, I see… So that is all I can do for you.”

His voice became quieter and quieter, but Silje heard every word. She nodded and replied, “Yes… Please…”

“Alright. I will leave right now. Goodbye, Silje.”

To her shock, Kail smiled softly. He looked so empty that she was afraid he might disappear into nothing.

As she stared, Kail left the penthouse calmly and he never looked back.

When the door closed behind him, Silje finally let go. She started to sob uncontrollably.

She was all alone again.

Silje expected to feel freed after he left. She thought she would feel better.

But why… Why did it feel like her heart was being stabbed by knives? Why did she feel so cold like she was in the middle of a snowstorm?

Hot tears rolled down from her eyes and she cried out in pain.

Kail…

Kail stood still, alone in his other penthouse. He couldn’t move as if he was frozen in time. He felt empty like the old ruins.

When Silje finally brought up the forbidden subject, Kail had no choice but to admit that it really happened.

“…”

His mind was wandering around the dark ruins.

Silje was gone.

Their baby and the love of his life were lost forever to him.

Kail clenched his hands, realizing that it was all his fault. A moment of carelessness made him lose everything. He knew he didn’t deserve peace or forgiveness, but he still prayed for them.

For Silje’s forgiveness. For her love.

Her love was his salvation. If he only he could get her love, everything could be saved. Kail knew he didn’t have the right to ask for her forgiveness, but still, he craved for her love.

But was there going to be no miracle in his life?

Kail smiled bitterly.

“…Silje.”

He went through hell for the past five years and when he came back to her, Kail begged for her love.

But it wasn’t meant to be. Silje ended up piercing his heart and he was falling.

Falling back into the dark hell.

“Silje!”

He loved her.

He loved her with everything he had.

Kail knew he would love her forever.

Until his last breath.