My name is Arthur Verlyn.
In the end, I wasn't a hero.
I was just another man who made the mistake of loving too much.
One day, a simple message from her lit up his world:
"Come home early today.
I have to talk to you."
Maybe she felt it too.
Maybe she had finally seen him.
He rushed —
only to find her street swallowed in flames.
The fire spread faster than I could run.
I tore down the street, smoke burning my eyes, lungs screaming for air.
"Elara! Elara, where are you?!"
I could barely see through the black clouds rolling across the street.
Ash rained down like dead snow.
Her house was already half-eaten by flames.
For a second, just one damn second, I stood there frozen - watching everything collapse
For a second, just one damn second, I stood there frozen -
watching everything collapse.
Then I heard it.
"Arthur! Help!"
Her voice.
Buried under the roar of the fire.
Faint
Choking
I sprinted forward, smashing through the burning door.
The heat hit me like a wall.
My skin blistered instantly.
But I didn't stop.
"Elara! Hold on!"
I stumbled through the smoke, hands clawing at the air, coughing, burning
There-
in the kitchen -
I saw her trapped under a fallen beam, struggling, reaching for me.
"Arthur!"
I didn't think.
I just moved.
I threw the beam aside, grabbed her, pulled her into my arms.
She was crying, coughing, her arms wrapped around my neck like a drowning woman.
" got you," I gasped.
"I got you, Elara. Hold on."
I kicked the door open and staggered into the street, the flames chasing me out.
We both collapsed onto the cracked sidewalk, coughing black smoke.
I could barely feel my hands.
I could barely breathe.
But I smiled through the pain.
She was safe.
It had to mean something.
Then she started crying.
Not the kind of crying you make when you're grateful.
Something uglier.
Something heavier.
She clutched my burnt shirt, sobbing against my chest.
"How am I supposed to live now...?" she choked. "I didn't deserve you... I betrayed you... and you still.."
The words blurred together in my dying ears.
Betrayed?
What was she talking about?
And then he appeared.
Running through the smoke -
He saw her —
saw the girl clinging to my ruined body —
and rushed forward.
She turned when she heard him,
eyes wide, full of guilt, panic, heartbreak.
The boy threw his arms around her, shielding her like she was the one who needed saving.
"Baby,are you okay?" He whispered, voice shaking.
I watched her face crumple.
She didn't smile.
She didn't laugh.
For one second —
just one, mere second —
her eyes met mine.
Full of regret.
Full of shame.
But she still leaned into him.
Still let him pull her away.
Even knowing what she meant for me.
Even knowing what i had done for her .
She chose him anyway.
I wanted to laugh.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I just laid there, bleeding out while the girl I loved clung to someone else.
Like I was a piece of trash left on the street.
"Is this hell?" I thought, as the darkness dragged me under.
"Or heaven?"
I didn't care anymore.
Either way,
I wasn't going back.