Ruby's gaze lingered on the hid face for a moment longer, his green eyes still wet, his expression fragile and lost but then, a soft, weak voice cut through the silence like a thread pulling her back to earth.
"…Wife…"
Her breath caught.
She turned.
Karl.
He was blinking up at the ceiling, his eyes barely open, his voice hoarse. His lips were dry, and his cheeks were pale, but there was relief in his expression. His fingers shifted slightly, as if reaching for her.
Ruby immediately stood and walked to his side. But her steps were slower now, not panicked like before, not breathless with worry.
Her expression was still pale... but colder.
She looked at him, not like she hadn't missed him, but like she was holding back everything she wanted to say.
The anger of him sneaking away. The danger he put himself in.
Still, seeing his injuries, the bruises on his body, the exhaustion painted across his face… she took a breath and softened just enough.
