The Ruined Bride of Velvet Nights by Brick Moving Ant

Chapter 14

When I woke up, the faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air.

I had been transferred to a hospital back home.

The doctor told me I had spent two full weeks in the ICU.

My internal organs were severely injured, and I had taken a bullet to the shoulder.

But by some stroke of luck,

my spleen wasn’t ruptured, and the bullet hadn’t caused an exit wound.

The blood loss wasn’t severe, and that’s how I managed to survive until the peacekeepers rescued

me.

I knew clearly in my heart–it was because Joseph shielded me twice.

He saved my life.

I reached out to everyone I could, trying to find any trace of him.

But they all said the chaos at the time made it impossible to recover Joseph’s body.

With casualties mounting, Doctors Without Borders had suspended its projects in North Kivu.

I had no chance to go back and look for him.

Just like that, Joseph vanished.

Every night, I woke up screaming, gripped by terror.

His dying moments replayed endlessly in my mind, refusing to fade.

The doctor diagnosed me with PTSD.

I began taking medication, attending therapy sessions, even resorting to alcohol.

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Chapter 14

But nothing worked.

starting anew, to

how could

for

became an unshakable shadow,

for still being alive, hate

hate this world for not granting him

of a

the very last moment, I

was one Joseph gave everything

no longer had the right

I returned to work after my

could no longer face

ended up requesting a transfer to a behind–the–scenes

yet I remained

couldn’t stand it anymore and encouraged

dragging me to a

to say a

I met

I saw that face-

face identical to Joseph’s–I froze.

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Chapter 14

had not to break down

the

stand–in did

ordinary days were

cook dinner and wait for him to

up on the couch and

when nightmares woke

me would let me drift back into