KORNELIA

We spent the rest of the week in the hospital. Olivia and Jeremy left a couple of days later at Arthur's urgent request. Therefore, we spent the remaining days in the hospital together. Despite the fact that Arthur occasionally booed and was annoyed by my excessive care, I knew that he liked to feel it. He was recovering quickly, so there was no point in staying in the hospital anymore.

"Just keep taking the medicine and everything will be fine. If you suddenly feel worse, come to the hospital right away," - his attending physician said when we were already standing in the hallway. All the things were packed and we were ready to go home.

"Of course, Doctor, I'll make sure," - I replied, and then we said goodbye to the doctor and his assistant. I picked up the bags from the floor, but with a quick movement of his hand, Arthur grabbed the bags from me.

"Arthur, you can't carry heavy things," - I said seriously, but he didn't listen to me, and just headed towards the exit. "Just like you," - he said calmly.

"Why are you so stubborn," - I muttered, but my remark didn't bother him at all, so I just followed Arthur towards the exit.

We got into his car and drove home. He held my hand the whole way. Probably for the first time after so many years, the house has become something more than just a place. This word began to mean a person again. Arthur was my home.

After parking the car in the underground parking lot, we went up to the lobby of the building. Heading towards the elevator, the concierge called out to Arthur, "Mr. Medson, you have a letter. Rather, the package is registered in the name of a certain Miss Harris, but your apartment number is indicated."

I took a large envelope and looked at the sender. It was Adam. My heart began to beat wildly, and my anxiety began to grow. I tried to take a deep breath to calm myself down a little, but it didn't help. Suddenly I felt the warm touch of his hand. Arthur approached, closing the distance between us. He smelled of expensive cologne, warmth and courage.

And suddenly the fear was gone. I looked at him. Arthur didn't say a word, but just flashed me his incredible smile.

After going up to the apartment, Arthur first went to put things away. I sat down on the sofa in the living room, there was an envelope in front of me. I just stared at it for a while, not daring to open it. Maybe because this envelope was the only thing left that reminded me of the last stage of my life.

Without noticing how he crept up, Arthur sat down and lightly hugged me around the waist. Now he was here, next to me, and it seemed that nothing else mattered except him.

I opened the envelope and saw all my documents in it. Passports, diplomas and much more. There was also a photo of me and my father in it. This photo was on my bedside table. There was nothing else there. It made it clear that Adam didn't want anything to do with me anymore.

Suddenly, I felt a little sad. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I hoped that we could talk calmly, that I could explain my behavior and decisions to him. I hoped that we would be able to part as good friends, because no matter how it was, we had a lot of positive memories.

...

We were lying next to each other on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. Arthur was asleep, so I tried to get up so as not to wake him up. I made some slowly and quietly movements, but he just pulled me even closer to him.

"Where are you going?" - his sleepy voice was heard.

"I didn't want to wake you up," - I said guiltily, but in response I only heard, "It's okay, I didn't sleep."

"I'll go see what I can cook for dinner," - I said and freed myself from his embrace.

"Let's just order," - Arthur said, slightly opening his eyes. He was still sleepy.

"I'd like to cook you something delicious and homemade," - I replied. A childish smile appeared on his face.

"Then I'm afraid we'll have to go to the store, because I doubt you'll find anything edible in this house," - he said and slowly began to get up from the sofa.

"You need to rest, I'll go by myself," but before I could finish, Arthur interrupted me, "I don't want to spend a second of my time without you anymore."

I think my words here were already unnecessary. We changed clothes together and went to the store. It was very cold outside, everything was covered with snow. Arthur dutifully and silently followed me around the store while I selected the right products, and then we went back home.

It was such a banal thing to just go to the grocery store. But doing it with him, for some reason, everything took on a new meaning.

...

I was cooking in the kitchen, and Arthur was just sitting at the table, watching my every move.

"Why are you looking at me like that again?" - I asked, not looking up from my business.

"You're very beautiful," - Arthur said, and after a moment added, "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."

"And what am I?" - I asked, turning to him. He was silent for a while, wondering how to answer my question. His gaze moved all over my body.

"You've never seen how beautiful you are. You only see yourself in the reflection of a mirror or when you look at a photo. But you've never seen yourself at the moment when your eyes sparkle with happiness. You've never seen yourself when you look at someone or something with loving eyes. You didn't see yourself when you were enjoying unexpected surprises or events. But I saw it. You are beautiful every second, every moment: when you smile, when you cry, when you sleep or laugh."

...

"Everything is ready, it's time to sit down at the table," - I said enthusiastically, trying to find the plates on the kuna. I wasn't a great chef, but I was a pretty good cook. The most important thing is that I loved doing it. I used to always cook for Dad, but now I'm going to cook for Arthur.

I started to pour the first portion when I suddenly felt that he came up from behind. His strong arms gently wrapped around my waist, and then with a light movement he turned me around to face him.

"I have good news for you too," - he said playfully, still hugging me. I just looked at him questioningly. "Tomorrow at 10 a.m. we have a flight. We are going on vacation to the Canary Islands."

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Thank you so much for finishing this chapter. I really hope you like it.
I'm looking forward to see you in the next one!

~ NALI

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