Choice [Levi X Reader] (Au!)

Chapter 19: A World Without You

The days in summer are sometimes bright & clear, and some days are gloomy. It was one of those cloudy days when the sky remained murky till noon with a few spots of rain from time to time. The dull colours of the sky started to change into blue as it became afternoon. The western sky became an artist's canvas as the different shades of orange & scarlet mixed with subtle purple stretches far and wide, creating a mesmerizing masterpiece of its own. The vibrant hues slowly turned into dark mauve to black & stars started to appear in the clear sky one by one.

Standing by a large window in the drawing-room of his luxurious apartment, Levi silently watched the display of colours of the setting sun & how the city started to brighten up as the evening came. His mind played the events that happened a few days ago & on that day, again and again, he stood in the dimly lit room like a statue made of stones.

He stirred from his trance as the faint sound of crying reached his ears. After exiting from the drawing-room, Levi walked down the corridor, past Eren's room & paused at the door of his & (y/n)'s bedroom. Standing at the doorway of the master bedroom, he could hear Krista, who was trying to stop Eren from snivelling. Howbeit, her attempts proved futile as the little boy continued to ask only about his mother & why she was not there.

The more Levi stood there & listened to Eren's wailing, Levi's heart grew heavier with each passing second. Eren was always a handful, but under his mother's watch & nurturing care, he became a different being, in a good way. To him, his mother was his whole world, and in the absence of her, everything was falling apart.

However, what Eren was asking for was not something easy to give him at that moment. Sometimes situations become so irrepressible that fulfilling such simple needs is not possible. As a father, he knew what would make his child happy again, but he could not ignore what happened in the morning.

After Natalie left him for some other man, he kept everyone at arm's length & even stayed away from his only child for fear of remembering those heart-rending memories.

His marriage with (y/n) was against his will, but when she made her place in his heart & built such an inseparable bond with Eren, Levi could not remember it. As their closeness grew, he found solace with her company & hoped to start a new beginning. Alas, what he thought a match made in heaven, after hearing the truth from his once-beloved, it seemed now a star-crossed one.

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After entering their bedroom, what his eyes first caught was a ring. He picked the piece of jewellery up from the dressing table & rolled it back & forth between his thumb & index finger, reminiscing about the day almost a year ago when he gifted this aquamarine & diamond ring to (y/n). The promise to stay together they gave each other that day, complete with a passionate night in each other's arms.

He put the ring back on the table & closed his eyes, wishing he could efface the memories of that steamy night. When he thought back on the events that happened recently, Levi saw the end of their relationship started about five months ago & it was around that time when Reiner, out of the blue, came back to (y/n)'s life.

As their distance grew day by day, Levi first thought she was busy in her office & taking care of her mother, whose condition suddenly declined. Undoubtedly, he believed all her excuses why she was unable to spend time with them.
Though he longed for her company, Levi made him understand that he should not demand more of her when he was aware of how the corporate world works on a tight & uncompromising schedule.

The first hunch he got about something was wrong with her was when he heard about Reiner's past connection with (y/n) from Annie. Though in the morning of that day (y/n) told her she would go to the hospital to visit (m/n), she did not come to meet with her but was busy with someone else. As he began to pay attention to her behaviour & excuses, he could see some loopholes in her fabricated story.