❥𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 || 𝐌𝐉 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 ❥/𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓮𝓭/•

💗𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟳: 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖫𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝖳𝗂𝗆𝖾💗

"And now, anything that will make me forget that my heart will cease to beat without you,"

You rushed back into the building, following the man that was still, by law, your husband.

Words were not required for you to know that he had reached his breaking point, because you could read his silence all too well.

"Michael, don't do this," you spoke up, the both of you drawing to a stop once you were inside the building again - close to where you had been before you'd left to find more privacy. "Don't...don't destroy yourself because of me,"

With his back still facing you, he took a moment to process what you'd just said before he spun around to look at you with eyes that held nothing but anguish.

"How can you say that, (Y/N)?" he asked shakily, as if his frustration was slowly boiling over. "Everything I have ever done has revolved around you!" he snapped, finally leaving behind the mask of a calm, nonchalant individual.

It was then that you saw that intense love for you in his eyes, all over again. Nothing had faded for him, and deep down, you knew that it hadn't faded for you either - the emotions were still as raw as the night you'd left.

"And now I have to lose you?!" his voice cracked as he hinted at the inevitable outcome of your illness. "It was hard enough to let you walk out, all those years ago, even though I should have asked you to stay - and now you ask me not to destroy myself over being torn away from the only woman I'll ever love?!"

At that point, neither of you cared that everyone in the auditorium could hear what was unfolding.

"What do you want me to do about it, Michael?!" you questioned back, your voice shaky with distress. "I can't change what has happened, I can't create a solution that isn't meant to exist! We've made our mistakes, and there's nothing that I can do!" the tears began to stream down your face all over again.

"And I can't bear it, (Y/N)!" he countered with a distraught voice that matched the agony of your own. "I can't live like this, knowing that I spent twenty two years without you...all because of my pride - and I don't ever want to wake up to a morning in which you aren't breathing, can you understand that?!"

"Yes," you whispered tearfully. "But there's nothing I can do," you shook your head.

He stared at you for a long moment, his gaze mimicking the desperation in yours.

"Frank..." he trailed off, his muscles tightening at the haunting recollection. "Is dead, and before he died...he told me that his last wish was that my (Y/N) return to me," he stated, causing an involuntary sob to escape you - but he continued. "Carol asked that I swallow my pride,"

Your heart broke at that statement, because it had meant that Carol had also passed away, and you hadn't known.

"Bill-"

"Stop!" you covered your mouth, breaking down as you cut Michael off, shaking your head in utter despair. "Stop," your voice broke.

When he saw you in that state, he shifted his gaze away from you, closing his eyes. It was painful for him to see you so hurt, but he was hurting as well - all because he loved you more than anything else.

In some way, he was trying to make you understand the grief that he was feeling, even though he never wanted to hurt you.

And had the two of you stayed together, that's exactly what your bond would have turned into - causing each other pain in the name of love.