Whatever stress there had been since almost being run over by a truck, it all ebbed away the moment Kate walked into the orphanage ground.

It was a sunny day and the lawn before Mary's Home shone with even sunnier faces of the sisters and volunteers who were doing the last minute preparations, some older kids of the Home helping them in anyway they could. In front of the makeshift stage, chairs were put in the shadows of the four humongous oak trees across the lawn, one of those - the oldest oak tree in the entire Asthel city.

As Kate moved forward with Victor and Ellie with her, she admired not for the first time - the Victorian-style orphanage building. It was worn out in places and looked ancient, but never in a haunted way. With many innocent souls and their selfless saviors gracing the building, it gave more the impression of a nirvana instead.

Through the front doors, as they walked into the hall, a crowd of children dressed in their best clothes hurtled towards them.

"Aren't you all looking gorgeous!" Ellie grinned, holding up her camera. "Now put on your best smiles. Say Cake!"

All the children lined up and screamed "Cake".

While Kate laughed, Mimi - a four-year-old girl came up to her while stealing shy glances at Victor. Mimi had donned her favorite Elsa frock, however, Kate noticed a few buttons behind her dress were open. Before she could kneel down to button up her dress properly, Victor beat her to it.

"Hi, there," he drawled while moving Mimi so that her back faced him. "You look so pretty today," he said buttoning up her dress.

Mimi turned around and Kate gasped seeing the girl's face turning red. "Thank you. You've cleaned up nicely as well," there was her ever-so-shy tone towards Victor.

Ellie bounded towards Mimi then and dragged the little girl away saying she needed to have a braid like Elsa as well. Kate and Victor watched as Ellie sat on a stool with a boxful of different combs while little girls lined up in front of her to do their hair.

"Mimi's got a crush on you," Kate singed jabbing her elbow into his side playfully.

Victor gave an exaggerated bad boy smirk. The subtle dents on his nose from wearing reading glasses often, crinkled. "At least now I can say that my charms are being recognized by someone," he leaned in a bit and she saw that mysterious shade of brown taking over the usual color of his eyes. She took in a sharp breath, for there was something absolutely magical about looking into his eyes.

The hazy quality of Victor's gaze that had kept her frozen to place however jolted. Breaking their eye contact he looked down at his side with a frown and then a soft smile spread on his lips. Following him Kate located a group of boys had gathered near them, they looked anticipated, one of them - with lovely brown skin and a head full of black hair was tugging at Victor's jeans.

The boys seeing that they'd got Victor's attention now, inched forward a little more, a cute blonde one from them held up a jar of hair gel. "Miss Ellie told you to make us look dashing."

"Ah ha," he laughed. Ellie winked from the stool while Victor glanced up at her briefly, she had a three year old pouty faced girl perched on her lap at the moment - waiting with a serious expression while Ellie twisted her hair into a bun. It was like the little girl thought her hair could not be tied properly if she so much as said a single word.

As Victor dedicated himself to making the boys look dashing, leaving them in the main hall Kate walked away further inside the building in search of her favorite kid and mother Mary. After passing one of the corridors while stopping to say hi to many of the sisters, she found them at one of the nurseries for the smallest kids.

She was wearing a simple, half-sleeved, and knee-length white cotton dress. It ruffled around her as she almost jogged into the room.

"Ah, there're you guys," Kate smiled, walking over to the crib. "You're changing his diaper today?"

Mary smiled back fondly at Kate. "All the sisters have their hands full at the moment. How're you faring, dear?"

Kate helped Mary strap on the fresh diaper on a gurgling Owen who shrieked seeing her. "Very good. The doctor said I'm out of any fatal risk now, a session of radiotherapy will be needed to be performed after a while, however."

"And then you'll be completely well?"

"He said so," Kate grinned, feeling freer already at the thought of getting rid of her illness entirely.

"Mother Mary?..." Kate trailed off, she hesitated for a stressful moment before finally letting the question slip out of her mouth. "When I get rid of the tumor, entirely, will I be able to restart the process of adopting Owen?"

"Of course, you can," Mary nodded, making Kate heave a sigh of relief. "In fact, I was about to speak to you about it after the party."

Kate let the hope in her heart disperse everywhere inside her, and limitlessly. Her eyes turned glossy with the joy of a dream which seemed so much possible now. Seemed like fate had fallen tired fighting with her incessantly. Things were so looking up in her favor and she dared hope for the best.

--

Under the Oak trees they took seats at the front row that had been reserved specifically for them. Victor sat right next to her and then Ellie. All of them watched and clapped and encouraged the kids who gathered on the makeshift stage to perform after Mary had said some words, thanking the guests for coming and asking them for any kind of help that had the power to make these children's lives better and fill their days with happiness.

It was funny, seeing a volunteer Spider-man hop around while the dashing boys sang the infamous spiderman song. A girl performed on 'let it go' after that, accurately how Elsa had done it - angst and all. The gloves she threw away hit one of the audience square in the face. Kate recognized him as the executive of a renowned construction company, the middle aged man -otherwise grumpy as hell- gave out one of his rare smiles. Laughter erupted from everywhere around. Kate and Victor clapped vigorously while Ellie whistled like a madwoman. From Kate's lap, Owen shook his little fists into the air just like he always did when excited and squealed with laughter, copying everyone around him. Mimi, the four year old packet of cuteness with her group sang 'Old MacDonald had a farm'. Though they forgot lines halfway and made stuff up as they pleased, it was a big hit.

When the kids' performances were over with every kid that participated acting a little shy yet proud with jolly smiles, all the guests moved towards the long tables spread out. Many kinds of snacks were served there in buffet style, everyone lined up with plates to help their hungry stomachs.

"Why don't you get a second plate?" Victor commented as he waited behind Ellie, seeing her fill her plate up like a mountain.

Kate pressed her lips to suppress a laugh. She was rubbing Owen's back, the boy was busy trying to grab her bandana with deep concentration... perhaps wondering why it was in the place of her hair.

Elli just tilted her face around to glare at Victor before she moved away grumbling.

"She just likes to eat! What's wrong in that?" Reprimanded Kate, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Nothing," Victor let out a grunt. "It's just not fair that she doesn't put on weight even after eating so much. Not everyone's lucky like that."

"Oh boy. Are you jealous?"

"It's a true fact!"

"Ah, you're jealous." Kate smirked seeing him scowl.

Victor held both of their plates, for her hands were already occupied with Owen. They were on their way towards the checkered picnic mats spread out on trimmed grass beside the vegetable garden at the left of the Oak trees. Ellie was already perched on one of the mats with her legs stretched before her, her mouth busy digging into a chocolate cupcake.

She lowered Owen to sit right at the middle of the mat. Giving cooing replies to the boy's gibberish babytalk she sat down before him.

Out of nowhere the sound of guitar playing in the microphone filled around her.

Kate froze instantly, not because of the obvious mastery of the guitar play or even for any other reason. It was because she knew, she just knew who could play a guitar like that. The knowledge was more instinctive than a technical fact.

Her instinct was proven correct when her face snapped to the side and the side view of Alex filled her vision.

What was he doing here? She wondered, flabbergasted.

He was at the stage, perched on a high stool and playing the tune of 'Tale as old as time'.

"The holy beast has graced us with his missing presence. Wonderful!" Ellie's unimpressed voice muttered through a mouthful of cake.

Victor just grunted quietly. He'd been behaving quite passive about Alex since yesterday, since knowing he had saved her from being smeared across the street by that monstrosity of a truck.

Little Belle's twirled around with Spider-man before the stage. The scene was amusing but Kate's eyes were stuck on Alex, seeing him expertly move fingers across the cords. She could still recall the many evenings when they were dating — on the balcony of his apartment, she used to sit mesmerized while he played the guitar. She had always thought that if he didn't have to take over his father's company, he surely would have been a successful singer.

As the end of the tune neared, Alex suddenly thrummed into a new direction and twirled the song into a new one. And while his eyes lifted to stare directly at her, she almost gasped, realizing which song it was.

You're the light, You're the night

You're the color of my blood

You're the cure, you're the pain

You're the only thing I wanna touch

Never knew that it could mean so much, so much

Kate looked away sharply, but it was too late, her mind had already reeled back to the night they had made love for the first time. Afterward, he'd sat at the windowsill, holding a guitar, playing the song, and humming it gently in her ear.

Everything was so perfect. So perfect, that they never had to go through a single test, they could never see if their love could last the licks of fire and depths of the mighty ocean — the must hardships of fate and of life. And when finally the time came and they were faced with the ultimate test, it was quick, they had broken apart.

Now, what good it would do if he reminded her of the song and of their days and nights together?

What good it could ever do if he looked at her with such intensity that she had always found herself melting into?

As the tune concluded, halfway and like a vague existence of a fleeting rainbow, Kate let out the heavy breath stuck in her chest.

It was painful. It was only painful.

She had been eating robotically the whole time and realized only now that her plate was empty. From the peripheral, she could see Alex talking to some people.

Victor quietly took her plate away, she noticed he was not looking at her purposefully. However, his expression was normal, between cheery and inviting to those who wished for his company. But Kate knew better, she could see the shadows. Just like he had learned to read her, she had learned the same, too. Their friendship had bound, after all, when they were in their lowest — her going through melancholy and him with the extraordinary stress of building up his business. Together they had learned to stand up and together they'd fought, and they were fighting still.

Owen was whining lazily and Victor had taken him onto his lap, bouncing the boy lightly to calm him down.

Kate's lips quirked with a smile at the sight. She could just imagine it so clearly — Victor sitting on a rocking chair with a child — perhaps his child — his glasses hanging low on his nose, busy singing a lullaby.

She blinked, shaking her head, and then she stood up while brushing her dress down.

"He's sleepy," she said softly, leaning down and spreading her arms for Owen. Victor glanced up at her at last and lightly smiled, he handed him to her.

"I'm going to put him into his crib," she said.

He nodded wordlessly.

Suddenly, it was awkward. Victor stared at her for moments longer than necessary and she fiddled, unsure if she should say something or just turn around and leave. After a couple more seconds, he finally glanced away and with bowed head gazed down at his open palms.

Ellie was looking back and forth. "Do you want my knife or what? To tear the silence?" she opened her mouth finally, her face blank. "It's like — boring, guys, the universe needs some movement."

--

Owen had lolled his head into her shoulder, already drooling, eyes half closed when Kate walked inside the orphanage building.

She was halfway down the empty corridor and near the nursery doors when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Kate...," called Alex.

She halted before the nursery door and turned around to see Alex standing right behind her. His face turned into an unreadable expression taking in the sight of her holding Owen in her arms.

He'd lost weight, she realized, taking in his entire form. His shirt was a little loose, muscles less protruding than before.

Wordlessly, she turned away again and went inside the nursery. She could feel eyes upon her as she put an already slumbering Owen into the crib. When she straightened, she found Alex leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. His brows were furrowed, eyes depicting a remarkable hollowness and then a sense of longing.

She felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes but pushed them back down forcefully.

It didn't require rocket science to figure out what was going on in his mind. It was a broken dream, it was a wish never meant to come true.

She came out walking past him, to stand in the corridor. Everyone was outside at the event, enjoying a sunny day. She stood in the silence inside, one high window casting away darkness. Inching ahead, she moved the drapes further aside, letting more daylight come in — as if it could relieve some of the stress between them, in reality, it was wishful thinking. 

She heard shuffling behind her while she faced the window, looking outside. She expected him to speak first, but when that did not happen as moments passed by and there was only this feeling of him holding his breath tensely, she spoke up instead. "You should stop stalking me."

She was not just referring to today, but also last night, through the window when she'd seen him on the pavement before her apartment. And by his long exhale of a breath, she knew he knew it too. She was aware.

"Your life's in danger, Kate," he said grimly. "It's Nolan, he's—"

So, it was Nolan then who'd arranged for her demise this time around. Not surprising.

She cut in, "Then you should have just let the police know and let it be."

"I did," he said urgently. "But Nolan's dangerous, you don't know him. What if he tries again, which I absolutely dread but very much sure that he would!"

"Then it should not be your concern anymore, Alex!" The moment those words left her mouth, he gripped her arm and whirled her around to face him. 

He stared at her, eyes dark with intensity, before he said, "You'll always be my concern, Kate, you'll always be."

Kate was shaking her head, squirming... she released her arm from his grip. "No, Alex, I'll be not," she said firmly, wanting to make him understand. "In case you've forgotten, our marriage is annulled now. There's nothing left between us."

His eyes glazed over with distress, he searched her eyes desperately for a second before closing them as if he could not contain the pain within anymore. Resting a palm on the wall in front he leaned in slightly, tiredly.

Kate stopped herself from reaching out to him, and instead, she slid a step aside and away from his body heat that was beginning to sip inside hers. She focused on the ajar nursery door.

"I know this would never change a thing from the past, but Kate—" he croaked. "I'm so sorry. I should have trusted you, if not that, I should have at least given you a chance. I should have at least doubted that those photos were not true... that..."

He trailed off brokenly and she had her breath held. Certain memories had become nightmares for them, it was still difficult to speak about them, to remember them, and not want to crumble into dust into the ground. 

Eyes wide open, she struggled to not let him hear her labored breathing. She was surprised that she succeeded.

He turned his face and looked up at her, his pleading eyes stuck with her. "Will you ever be able to forgive me?" he asked in a way, as though he was asking for his life and it was only in the palms of her hands. 

"Why won't I forgive you when I'd forgiven Neil?" she said. "For he was at fault too, for pushing you unnecessarily and finding fun in it. Why won't I forgive you when I've forgiven myself? For not staying back, for not seeing how Neil's teasing was affecting you, for not standing up for myself and punching some sense into your stupid brain."

Kate had heard somewhere that every single person in this world has their own aura, each completely unique from the other. It's like a circle surrounding a body, kind of an invisible territory — perhaps of the soul. She had also heard that if a person stays within that circle of aura for longer than a certain period of time, the auras begin to exchange qualities among themselves. Kate had a feeling, that something like that had been going on since she had met Ellie. She was now talking like her and was also serious about it. 

What would it have been like if she had punched Alex's nose that night instead of crumbling down like a defeated fortress?

A good five seconds later, Alex gave out a reaction. His brows raised, expression as though he didn't know what to do with her words. "Kate—" he just mumbled. "Are you saying—" he stuttered with wonder and then hope in his eyes? "Are you saying that you've forgiven me?"

Kate nodded affirmatively, and before the hope in his eyes could disperse into more, she added, "But that is all that I have in me to give you. And nothing more. No more."

It was like someone had kicked him into the stomach, he almost stumbled back. Within mere moments, the hope in his eyes diminished, and all that was left was fear and desperation. He breathed in and out like he was suffocating, and he was opening his mouth to say something - something that she was determined to refuse. She could not afford to go back and revisit something every day that would inevitably keep reminding her of overwhelming pain and ceaseless uncertainty. 

However, before he could even speak, Victor's shout rung heavily in her ear. And then with a violent push she found both herself and Alex pushed to the ground. Victor's body followed them and fell on top of her gracelessly, but not before a whooshing noise followed by the ominous sound of the glass of the window shattering into pieces. 

Bloody hell! They were just standing right there before that window!

"F*ck!"

She heard Alex curse and felt Victor attempting to move his body up and away from her, he grunted in the process and it sounded like he was badly hurt. 

"You okay,