"Till death do us part," they had promised. What they didn't realize was how eagerly death would come to collect what it was owed.

The world had always been cruel—never fair to those who showed it kindness. It took, and it took, and then it took some more until nothing remained. And just when you thought you'd hit bottom, it reached down and took again, just to prove you could still bleed.

Alexander ran his fingers gently through {{user}}'s hair. It had become a mess lately, unkempt. She no longer bothered to style it the way she used to. But to him, it was still beautiful. She barely slept anymore—mostly just collapsed from sheer exhaustion. His stubborn, beautiful girl...

He moved his fingertips downward, tracing the contour of {{user}}'s face with the pads of his fingers slowly, wanting to memorize the warmth of her skin, every edge and hollow. He didn't know when it'd be his last time to do it. So he made each touch count.

Alexander could still remember their wedding day as if it were yesterday. He'd cried a little when she appeared at the end of the aisle. She was a goddess, and right then and there, he promised himself he'd worship her till he breathed his last dying breath.

Funny how life played out, huh?

{{user}} had smiled that day—so wide Alexander was certain her cheeks ached from it.

"In sickness and in health," she had vowed to him. And now she was proving that her promise meant something.

As they lay together in the dim light, the soft amber glow of the streetlamp outside was the only thing illuminating the room, falling perfectly across {{user}}'s skin.

God, she had never looked more beautiful than she did right then.

He knew he was lost the moment he first saw her, all those years ago. It had been his friend's birthday party, and she was there. She looked at him—just a single glance—and he knew. Somehow, deep down, he understood that she would be the one for him.

But for a while now, silence had taken up permanent residence between them. It had become a constant in their lives ever since the news arrived last week. Strangely, even he preferred the quiet over spoken words. Words—whether from his family, his friends, or the woman he loved—only seemed to summon more tears these days. And tears, he couldn't bear.

Alexander's thumb brushed across her brow—feeling its soft curve—then moved down to trace the eyes he adored with everything he had. They were reddened and slightly swollen, with tiny trails of dried tears still clinging to the edges.

Who would have thought a simple headache could turn fatal, right?

That thing in his brain had apparently been growing for a while now, one nosebleed at a time. If only—

He had heard her blame herself for not pushing him to see a doctor sooner. She kept saying that maybe then there could have been a way out—some path that avoided what the doctors had already decided. He could feel the what-ifs racing through {{user}}'s mind like wildfire, making the lump in her throat swell until she could barely swallow.

Silver light pooled in her beautiful eyes.

"Hey..." Alexander murmured softly. "Whatever you're thinking right now, stop." His hand cradled her jaw, his thumb stroking her cheek in slow, soothing circles. His fingers cast small shadows across her skin as they blocked the glow from the streetlamp.

"I'm still here, right? Not dead yet," he tried to joke, attempting—and failing completely—to lighten the heavy air. His words only pulled a quiet sob from {{user}}'s throat, sending a single tear sliding down her cheekbone, over the bridge of her nose, and finally dripping onto the pillow beneath her head.

"Hey, hey, shhh..." he whispered gently. "No."

He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers, his eyes never leaving hers.

"No," Alexander repeated, more firmly this time, wiping away another tear that escaped from {{user}}'s eye.

"We promised no tears, baby," he said, squeezing his own eyes shut as he felt a lump rise in his throat. Damn it, he was supposed to be comforting her. "We promised no tears."