Broken Fragments

Chapter 49: The Lily-Shaped Ruby Pendant

She was the real thing. Right in front of Hiroto was the woman he had always loved, the woman that he had always kept in his heart, his first love. There was no mistaking it. After all, the woman in front of Hiroto was wearing the necklace he bought for Kirari's recent birthday.

The necklace had a silver chain with a pendant shaped like a water lily, Kirari's birth flower. The petals were made of ruby gems, which was Kirari's birthstone, and the center was made of shards of pearls, Hiroto's birthstone. It was the necklace he quickly fell in love with and decided to buy for Kirari because it was a combination of the two of them. The glimmering ruby gems surrounded the shattered pearl; Kirari surrounded Hiroto and the broken fragments of his heart.

Hiroto couldn't say a word or make a move. He stood there, staring at the woman in front of him with a slightly open mouth and wide eyes. Though half of his face was shadowed, his expression was clear. He had lost his sense of reasoning, and he saw nothing else but the lady in white whose long brown locks danced with the breeze.

Her soft blue eyes reflected the blood red sun and the calm waves of the ocean. She, too, did not make a move. Her mind was blank for she also didn't know what to think, but she had a smile on her face. It was a kind smile that could ease anyone's troubles.

The tranquility of the moment was shattered when Hiroto took a small step. His foot hitting the sand resonated with the sounds of the gentle waves. Hiroto's body moved on its own, his head still empty. One small step was enough for the cogs to start moving again. Time was still slow, but it was moving.

The woman in white still had a smile on her face, but her heart began to race after Hiroto took a step towards her. Still with an empty mind, the woman didn't know what to do.

Everything was still quiet. The cameras were still rolling but the two people in front of the cameras had already casted off the rest of the world. Hiroto and the brown-haired lady were in their own time and space. Everyone else watched.

"Are you happy?" Christopher Ray quietly asked the person who approached him.

"I've never been happy again after you broke my heart," the woman straightforwardly answered.

Christopher recalled his past with the ambitious girl he met when he lived in France. Though she was cold, she had a burning passion to reach her dreams. He truly loved her, but one day, she just disappeared.

"I've always loved you, Genevieve."

As Genevieve's eyes widened, a tear slipped and rolled down her cheek. All the pain she had always kept away were streaming. Genevieve couldn't describe what she was feeling, but it was neither pain nor happiness. Christopher's words were sincere, Genevieve knew it.

After all these years, Genevieve finally realized that she was wrong. She wanted to run away from getting hurt. She left him without even trying to find the truth. She was the one who caused pain for her and Christopher, and now, two more people are going to get hurt because of her.

While Genevieve and Christopher enclosed themselves in their own bubble, Hiroto was getting closer and closer to the lady in front of him. He still didn't know what to say, and the lily-shaped ruby pendant was only a distraction, causing Hiroto's heart and mind to battle.

As Hiroto drew nearer, the woman in white also began to realize what she wanted, what she had always wished for. Seeing Hiroto emptied her mind, but her heart functioned. Now, her heart's desire reached her mind when it began to realize that time seemed to be running out for her in every step that Hiroto made.

After Hiroto took another step, the woman delicately clenched her fist as her chest starts to sting. All her life, she had endured pain. This was nothing to her. She remained calm about the matter, but she was emotionally aching. The closer Hiroto got to her, the more she began to fade.

"Huh?" Hiroto's conscience said its first word in a while after seeing the lady.

His conscience reacted to a change in the woman's face. The lady clad in white's once-peaceful blue eyes mirrored her sorrow. Her smile was still beautiful, but how painful it was for her to mask the pain any longer.

The distance was starting to close in between the two as Hiroto took more steps. The name that would determine everything once and for all was starting to form on the tip of his tongue.

"Ki―" Hiroto was interrupted before he could finish the name he called out when a tear fell from the woman's blue eyes.

His eyes widened and he was stopped in his tracks. In front of his eyes were flashes of memories with an auburn-haired girl. She was cold, but had burning passion. Hiroto worked hard to earn her trust, from all the fights he shared with her to the mornings that he woke up to her innocent waking face. He admitted to himself that when he first met the tenacious auburn, it was only because she looked like his first love. However, before he even knew it himself, he had already fallen in love with her.

"I see," Hiroto thought, still watching the flashbacks.

For a second, a bright light appeared in front of Hiroto. It was as if an angel was in front of him, but everything was too bright for him to see.

"Thank you for letting go, Hiroto-kun. Live happily for me, okay?" a gentle voice echoed in Hiroto's ears as he felt soft lips peck his cheek.

When Hiroto blinked, the light vanished, and on his face was a warm smile.

"I love you," Hiroto reached out his arms to welcome her in an embrace.

"Yuuhi."

The lady in the white rustling sundress placed a hand on her mouth, trying to suppress the sobs that were set to escape. Her watery eyes widened as a river of tears flowed out. Before she knew it, her feet started moving and she was running to Hiroto. She met a strong breeze that took off the loose wig she wore, revealing her auburn, sunset-colored hair. She jumped into Hiroto's arms and embraced him tightly. Hiroto lifted Yuuhi off the ground and spun her around, enjoying all the warmth and love he was receiving from her. The necklace chain broke during their celebration, causing it to fall off Yuuhi's neck.

Everyone, excluding Christopher and Genevieve, didn't know what was going on, but they were glad to see the couple's heartwarming reunion. Genevieve fell on her knees, also crying, not because she was upset but because she was relieved of how it was the opposite of what she originally wanted. She let out a sigh of alleviation, finally released from the wrong conclusion she wanted to prove for her own satisfaction.

Christopher quietly told the cameramen to cut the film, giving Hiroto and Yuuhi their privacy. Then, he knelt down next to Genevieve, comforting her in his embrace. The fashion empress who seemed so powerful to the world was trembling in Christopher's arms. The older couple watched as Hiroto and Yuuhi share a kiss near the shore's waves.

While her eyes were closed in their kiss, Yuuhi was reminded of the battle she was fighting on her own. Yuuhi had forgotten about it after she experienced what seemed to be one of the happiest moments of her life. However, in her current condition, it might just be the last.

Just right after she opened her eyes when they finished kissing, Yuuhi's consciousness was withering. Her body began to lose its power to support itself. Time was slow again for Yuuhi.

"Ah, is this how I'll also end?" Yuuhi thought, more tears slowly rolled down her cheeks as she gradually fell.

"Yuuhi!" Hiroto yelled, catching Yuuhi in his arms.

Yuuhi was breathing heavily. Hiroto was panicking. It was a deja vu for Hiroto, but he had no idea what to do.

"No, please," Hiroto began to cry when he remembered what happened in the past after he saw the ruby pendant through the corner of his eye.

The auburn-haired girl placed a hand on Hiroto's cheek, her vision quickly blurring.

"I love you too, Hiroto."

With a smile on her face, Yuuhi's hand fell as her eyelids gradually shut.

Hiroto trembled in fear. He was experiencing the same exact past with a person who looked exactly like the person in the past.

"No, please," Hiroto anxiously brushed the strands of hair off of Yuuhi's face.

"Please, Yuuhi, don't do this. Please, I'm begging you."

Hiroto embraced Yuuhi as he cried out loud.

"Stop! Don't leave me, Yuuhi!"