Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

Emma thought Dustin would come back, maybe in a day, maybe in a week. After getting everything settled with her mother, she noticed a pile of firewood in the yard, chopped by Dustin himself.

She was swamped with endless chores daily, with gathering herbs, drying them, and selling them taking priority. When Dustin felt a bit better, he had offered to help by chopping some wood, carrying the axe with determination to ease her burden. But since he was still

recovering, the task took him the entire morning.

As Emma stoked the fire to cook dinner, she couldn't quite place the emotion stirring inside her. The sound of coughing from inside the house snapped her out of it, and she pushed aside her thoughts; after all, he would come back eventually.

However, come evening, a neighbor popped over with news that someone had visited her home yesterday, seemingly a relative of Dustin's.

"They looked pretty wealthy, waited here all evening, but you were off to town selling your herbs, weren't you?" the neighbor jeered.

rich folks passing through. Don't get

bet he's got a fiancée back in

they relished tossing these barbs her way. Clutching the axe, Emma split several logs with a ferocity that sent shivers through the neighbor, who then awkwardly

"Emma, cough, cough."

called out from inside. Emma quickly put the axe down and brought

frail, her appearance gaunt. Emma nodded, helped her drink, and then grabbed the broom to start sweeping the

night, quite a few people came by, must've been his family." Emma paused mid-sweep, regretting she never

said nothing, just diligently cleaned the house from top to bottom, and when she lay in bed that night, thoughts of their time in the cave surfaced. It was as if a prince from the heavens had graced the earth. Now that the dream was over, he had returned to his celestial realm. Descending to weather a trial, and once completed, the

As soon as she landed, Max insisted on a full medical check-up. She complied without delay, knowing better than to postpone. After a battery of tests, which caused her to vomit several times, she had lost considerable weight from the ordeal. Throughout the day, Max's phone rang almost every half hour, but he would only speak briefly before hanging up. The doctors gave the same verdict: due to Brielle's health, the pregnancy could not continue. This was conveyed

a cigarette but, remembering he was in a hospital, slowly put it

himself to ensure there was no trace of smoke, before enveloping