A/N: I do not own RK..

Kenshin walked over the closed door and checked the door knob. It was locked. He listened for sounds coming in from the other side. He heard the distinct sound of water.. and something else.. his heart clenched in his chest as he heard faint sobs coming from Kaoru. He steeled his heart from pitying emotions and knocked at the door.

"Kaoru! Open the door! We need to talk about this! Open up!" Kenshin continuously knocked. After a few minutes with no answer, he slid down with his back to the door. "Kaoru, you have to come out sometime! And when you do, I'll be here." He said loudly. "I'll be here." He whispered.

In the dark, Kenshin considered all the events that led up to this point. Their first meeting. The first time they made love. Kaoru cooking. Their trip to Vegas. Their visit home to Kamiya Kasshin. And who could forget the time they visited his homeland, Hiten Mitsurugi. He remembered their conversations. Her reluctance to marry him.

Flashback
"Kaoru. Marry me."... "No, thank you." Kaoru's calm voice.
"You do me a great honor with our offer." "But I have no wish to marry solely to provide a family unit for this child. You and I lead very different lives." Another rejection.
He remembered their trip to Vegas. "Kaoru, we should get married." Kaoru answered, "I believe we already had this discussion. No, thank you"
Always, the answer was 'no'. Until he finally convinced her to marry him, by blackmail her.

'Oh my God' Kenshin thought. How could he have been so blind? She never wanted to marry him because she thought that he didn't love her. He never knew. He had so many hang ups about his family that he'd blindly accused the one person that meant more to him than anything in his life. 'I will give her time to rest and talk to her in the morning.'

Dawn came and just when the sun was peeking on the horizon, Kenshin knocked again. "Kaoru? Honey, are you awake?" He tested the knob just in case and was surprised that it opened easily. With hope that Kaoru had already forgiven him, he carefully opened the door. And found it empty.

'Maybe she's in the bathroom. Oh no, she could be lying in the bathroom, unconscious.' Kenshin panicked. "Kaoru!" He dashed madly in the bathroom, but it was empty as well. He didn't think that Kaoru would leave using the balcony window. But knowing her ability to slip undetected, Kenshin wasn't surprised. When he walked towards the bed, Kenshin noticed a white note propped in the middle of the bed.

Kenshin,

The wedding is off. I will contact you when the baby is born. I do not wish to keep our baby from you.

H. R. H. Princess Kaoru Kamiya
Kamiya Kasshin Kingdom

Kenshin dropped the note and sat at the bottom of the bed. Kaoru's gone. He's finally driven her away with his temper. His anger and resentment towards his family. It was over. They were over.

-- Sorry about the short chapters... we're nearing the end folks.. so hang in there