Chapter 3 3

"She's awake! Quick, call the doctor!"

The voice echoed faintly in Aruna's ears, as if coming from a faraway place.

Aruna blinked slowly. A blinding white light pierced her eyes. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled her nose.

Everything felt unfamiliar. Cold. Empty.

"W-where am I?" her voice rasped, barely a whisper.

Her body felt heavy. An IV tube was attached to her arm, bandages wrapped around her stomach and head.

"Calm down. You're in the hospital."

A deep, baritone voice came from beside her bed - low, steady, reassuring.

Aruna turned her head slightly.

Standing there was a man in a sleek black suit. His hair was neatly combed, his features sharp yet composed.

His gaze was piercing, but within it flickered something strange - compassion, and perhaps... admiration.

"Who... are you?" Aruna asked weakly.

The man offered a faint smile. "I'm the one who helped you last night. My name is Leonard."

He pulled a chair closer and sat beside her, eyes never leaving her face.

"I happened to pass by the road when you had the accident. Honestly, I thought... you wouldn't make it."

Aruna stared at the ceiling as flashes of memory flooded back -

the blinding headlights, the screech of brakes, the crash... and-

"My stomach..." she gasped, her hand instinctively reaching under the blanket.

A doctor entered the room, glancing briefly at Leonard before focusing on Aruna with careful eyes.

"Miss Aruna... I'm sorry, but..."

The words stopped mid-sentence.

Aruna's eyes widened, tension gripping her entire body. "But what? Tell me!"

The doctor sighed deeply. "We couldn't save your pregnancy."

Silence.

The steady beeping of the heart monitor roared in her ears like thunder.

The world shattered all over again.

"What... what do you mean?!" Aruna tried to sit up, but the pain made her flinch.

"No... no, that can't be... I didn't even get to-"

Her voice broke into uncontrollable sobs. Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking the white sheets.

Leonard remained still, his jaw tightening.

He wasn't used to seeing someone cry - especially not someone who still radiated quiet strength, even in despair.

The doctor lowered his head and gave them space.

"Your body's still weak. Please rest for now."

Then he quietly left the room, leaving the two of them in a heavy silence.

---

"The baby... was the only reason I kept going..." Aruna whispered between sobs.

"I've already lost everything... but at least I still had her... and now-"

Her voice broke again, the grief spilling out louder this time, more desperate.

Leonard slowly leaned closer, sitting on the edge of her bed. He watched her in silence for a long while before finally speaking softly:

> "You've lost a lot, Aruna. But I can give you a chance to start again."

Aruna turned to him, eyes wet and red. "Start again? With what? I don't even have anything left."

Leonard's gaze deepened - calm, but heavy with something unspoken.

"With a new life," he said at last.

"Not out of pity. But because I know what it's like to lose something you've fought for with everything you have."

Aruna studied his face - the stranger who had pulled her from death itself.

"Why do you care about me? You don't even know who I am."

Leonard gave a faint, wry smile. "Maybe because I can see it - the kind of pain that's too heavy to bear alone."

He stood and looked out the window, where the late afternoon light streamed through.

"Life has given me many things... but it's taken just as much. I've learned one truth: if you want to fight the world, don't do it alone."

Aruna stayed quiet. The rain outside the glass fell softly, as if listening too.

"I don't want your pity," she said at last, her voice trembling.

"And I don't need your kindness."

Leonard turned to her. His eyes were sharp, but his tone remained gentle.

"Good. Because I'm not offering kindness. I'm offering... a deal."

Aruna frowned in confusion. "A deal?"

Leonard stepped closer again, meeting her gaze directly.

"One year. You'll live with me. Marry me."

Aruna's eyes widened. "What?"

"This marriage... won't be out of love," Leonard continued evenly.

"I have my reasons - ones I can't explain yet. But in return, you'll have a life no one's ever given you before. Protection. A name. Power."

"And in exchange?" Aruna's voice trembled.

Leonard's eyes locked onto hers. "In exchange, you'll be my wife - in the eyes of the world. Nothing more."

Silence. Only the soft beeping of the monitor filled the air between them.

Aruna lowered her gaze, gripping the bedsheet tightly.

"Why me?" she whispered. "Out of all the women in the world... why the one who almost died on the road?"

Leonard smiled faintly.

"Because you didn't give up - even when your body was bleeding. Because when I looked into your eyes that night... they still wanted to live."

Aruna looked at him again. Tears welled up, but this time they were different - not just of sorrow, but of something else.

For the first time in so long, someone saw her.

"And if I refuse?" she asked softly.

Leonard arched an eyebrow. "You're free to refuse. But think about it, Aruna - sometimes, to fight fate, you have to make a deal with it."

Aruna fell silent.

Her eyes drifted to the darkening sky outside the window.

Revan. The child she lost. All the pain and betrayal replayed in her mind.

Finally, she took a deep breath and met Leonard's gaze - her eyes now steadier, sharper.

"Fine," she said quietly but firmly. "I'll marry you."

Leonard nodded once, a small but satisfied smile tugging at his lips.

"From this day on, Aruna... you're no longer the woman discarded by love. You'll become someone no one can ever trample again."

Aruna held his gaze for a long moment, then whispered - almost to herself:

> "Alright. Then from this day forward... I'll learn to return pain with elegance."

Leonard paused, then gave her a faint, approving smile.

"Welcome to your new life, Miss Aruna."