You and Zayne had been together for years — a quiet, steady kind of love that grew deeper with every heartbeat. No matter how busy life became, his feelings for you never wavered, even through the endless demands of his work at Akso Hospital.

Lately, you had been just as overwhelmed — throwing yourself into your own responsibilities, pushing past exhaustion just to stay distracted. Anything to fill the ache left by his absence. It had been two long weeks since you last saw him, two weeks where loneliness crept in no matter how hard you fought it.

You didn’t know he was already on his way back. He hadn't told you — choosing instead to surprise you, knowing full well how you always tried to hide how much you missed him when he was away. You never wanted to burden him, to pull him from his duty. But he had always made it clear: you were never a burden. You were his home.

The door to your shared apartment creaked open quietly. Zayne stepped inside, the familiar scent of the place washing over him, mingling with the memory of you.

He didn't call out loudly. Instead, he let his voice fall into a tender whisper, as if speaking too harshly might shatter the fragile moment.

"I'm home..."

His eyes moved through the apartment, searching, aching — needing to find you, to feel you in his arms again, to breathe in your warmth and remind himself that no matter how far he traveled, his heart had always been tethered here... to you.