Mr. & Mrs Meropide

Chapter Fifty-Five: A Sense of Betrayal

Maria waited outside the infirmary, her head in her hands as she tried to hold back the rush of conflicting feelings. She hadn't gotten any answers yet, but she would soon. As soon as he was patched up, she'd confront him—this time, he wouldn't slip away. The weight on her chest needed to be lifted.

Meanwhile, Vire continued speaking with Sigewinne, who was focused on his injury.

"How did you even manage to get this injury?" she asked, pulling out the sharp piece of stone that had caused it. She raised an eyebrow as she placed it on the tray beside her.

"There was an explosion," Vire replied, seeing no reason to lie.

"That sounds reckless and... not like you," Sigewinne remarked, cleaning the wound.

"Things didn't exactly go as planned," he admitted with a sigh.

"I'm not even going to ask how you wound up this close to an explosion," she said, shaking her head.

"I planted the explosives," he said with a laugh, immediately regretting it as a sharp pain shot through him.

Maria glanced inside the infirmary, seeing him sitting on the bed, covered in dirt, and cursed herself for still thinking he was attractive. Maybe it was the way he had gotten injured protecting the child or perhaps his charismatic way of speaking—easygoing yet intelligent. But at the same time, he had caused her a great deal of heartache, and unbeknownst to her, he was about to cause a great deal more.

Vire looked down at his completely patched-up wound. "Thank you," he said, offering Sigewinne an honest smile.

"Honestly, you took that well. I've had people with smaller injuries asking for pain medication. To think you endured it all the way here too," Sigewinne remarked, stepping back and setting the bandages aside as she inspected her work with satisfaction.

"I've had far worse injuries. While the pain doesn't disappear, the tolerance increases by a lot," he replied. Then, with an appreciative smile, he added, "I haven't had better doctors, though."

Sigewinne returned his smile, a touch of warmth in her expression as her gaze drifted to Maria, who was waiting outside the infirmary door, her posture resolute. "I think you have a conversation to get back to," she said quietly, giving him a gentle nudge to face the waiting truth.

Vire gave Sigewinne a nod before making his way over to Maria, who looked tense and weary. They walked in silence through the fortress corridors, Vire's hands in his pockets, as she led the way toward the elevator. Once inside, Maria finally broke the silence, turning toward him with a mixture of hurt and exhaustion in her eyes.

"I can't believe you just left me behind," she said, her voice barely concealing the betrayal she felt.

"I didn't leave you behind," Vire replied calmly. "I was just temporarily gone. I knew I'd be back soon."

Maria shook her head, frustration and sadness etched in her expression. "Not giving me a heads up or anything—that's immature, Vire. That's not how relationships work."

Vire looked at her, his gaze steady. "You saw tonight that I had a good reason for leaving."

"You told your kid, but not me," she countered, her tone deflated, as if the fight had drained from her. "Tonight was dangerous, and going solo nearly cost that child his life. You could've asked the Duke, or even Clorinde."

"I couldn't ask anyone for help," Vire replied, his tone matter-of-fact. "I was supposed to be gone for two days, get the information, and be out. But things got complicated."