THE GREAT WAR ; MILEVEN TEXTING AU

epilogue.

2 YEARS LATER.

she gently brushed a comb through her thin hair, her brown strands barely reaching her shoulders.

setting down the brush, she tilted her head at the view of herself in the small vanity mirror. she inhaled, closing her eyes to take in the fresh hair, the scenery.

she turned her head, looking out the hotel window to check out the view as hopper finished putting his shoe on. "you ready, kid?"

she stood up, nodding as she went to reach for her shoes.

she was dressed in a basic white summer dress. perfect for their vacation in italy.

she had finished her 2nd year of college and was taking a break.

not just a break from school but the haunting news she still hadn't told her dad.

as she clasped her shoes with a huge cough, she straightened up and grabbed her purse.

heading towards him, she gave a gentle smile and gave a nod. "i'm ready. we can go,"

they were heading downstairs to the buffet breakfast.

it had the most perfect outdoor, balcony seated area. as they ate breakfast, they could watch the view of the sea.

that's exactly what she needed.

once they were seated and went to grab some food, el looked to her side as she took a deep breath, taking in the view.

"look at the little boat," she pointed afar and brushed her thin brown strand of hair away from her face.

the wind was stronger than usual.

"what should we do today, honey?" hopper asked as he placed some scramble eggs into his mouth. "we could do some shopping,"

she nodded instantly and scooted her chair forward towards the table. "i want to buy some souvenirs,"

"of course, sweetie. you okay over there? is the food not good?" he asked with furrowed eyebrows when he noticed how she was playing with the food.

"no, no, it's okay... it's just," she sighed, when the thought it her head kept nagging her.

how was she supposed to tell him?

there was no way to without breaking his heart.

or should she keep it a secret. that way he wouldn't worry all over again.

she exhaled deeply and her shoulders sagged. no, the whole reason they were here is just so she could tell him.

he studied her closely, waiting for her to continue because he knew her.

he knew something was bothering her.

she placed down her fork, the metal making a clank sound as it hit the ceramic plate.

reaching out her left hand, she extended it across the table and he instantly went to hold it.

she looked at their joined hands before whispering. "i have to tell you something, but i don't want to ruin our vacation,"

"you'll never ruin our vacation," he gave her a warming smile and she finally looked up.

she built up her courage for a few seconds before she began to explain. "i went to the doctors a few weeks ago because i wasn't feeling well again. they did a bunch of tests and..."

he waited patiently but she didn't dare continue.

"and?" he finally asked, his voice cracking.

her head turned to take a peek at the view before turning back. "i have stage 4 leukaemia... again." she traced slow circled over his palm. "i don't... there's not much that can be done... i'm still so far down the transplant list and... i don't have much time left,"

she finally looked up to meet his gaze, her eyes blurring from all her tears. "i'm sorry i didn't tell you. i wanted one last vacation with you,"

"honey, don't apologise." he held her hand tighter as he said quietly. "and this isn't our last vacation. there's more to come. you'll get treatment and you'll get to the top of that list," he whispered to her. "you'll be okay," he reached over to cup her face, gently holding her sunken cheeks.

"dad..."

"no, you will. next time, we can hit up paris. you'll be okay, honey. nothing will happen."

she gave a sad smile and a weak nod, even though they both knew that wasn't true.

but for the time being, they pretended that everything was okay.

that she wasn't dying all over again.

5 months later, the pain was over and she was lowered into the ground.

she was finally at peace.

maybe in another lifetime she would live her life to the fullest. she would be able to live without the physical and mental pain.

but this wasn't it. this wasn't her time.

perhaps in another life, she would be able to grow old with mike with no worry in the world.

perhaps.

*.✧.*

a/n: thank you thank you thank you for reading this till the end!!

so much was going on when i was writing this book and i apologise for all the slow chapters 😭

thank you to everyone who stuck around when i kept forgetting to update time after time.

i do have a next book in mind, however school is extremely crazy right and i'm unsure if i can update regularly.

therefore, i plan to write at least 80% of the book before i begin posting so i can upload at least every 2-3 days.

my next book is called: BORN TO DIE

i may take longer to write this with my crazy schedule but i'll try my best to update through conversations.

once again; thank you!!!! i love you all so much 🥹💗