[73]

Trembling, Alef holds Laras' hand that he can reach now. After a bit of drama that he thinks he deserves, including Kenzo's rejection, he's allowed to sit near this woman labeled as his wife. Although there hasn't been any significant change in Laras, Alef is already so grateful for the chance to be close to her.

Even though he has very little time. Thirty minutes. He'll use it wholeheartedly if these thirty minutes of his time are the best he can value. Truly.

"You... still want to sleep, Ras?" He wants to ask so many things that now only linger at the back of his throat. Everything seems to vanish, and he can only look at Laras with a mournful gaze. "Forgive me, Ras. Forgive me." For the first time, Alef sheds tears. His regrets keep wrestling and piling up on the woman who never complains, no matter what he does to her.

All the memories of his time with Laras at home spin uncontrollably in his mind. The beginning of how they eventually got married. Insults an