Twilight had finally snapped.

He knew it too.

It had been there all along, but he kept denying it for his own sake, in hopes it would go away.

But no matter how much he tried to convince himself that once he was done with Strix it would be over, he knew this wouldn 't go away quietly. It never would.

He was in love with Yor.

It was the first thing he thought when he saw her face, a block from their apartment. That and that he couldn 't lose her 'not like this.

Twilight was at the hospital, waiting to hear news from the doctors. Time seemed like one of those unbearable torture methods they used in Anya 's spy cartoon. Minutes passed slowly, but his mind was traveling at the speed of light, while his thoughts piled one after another.

He barely remembered calling Franky and asking him to watch Anya. For the first time, the informant agreed without complaining. He must have heard desperation in his voice, because in addition to saying he would go right away, he didn 't dare to ask him anything.

His poor daughter probably had the fright of her life seeing her mother like that. He could still hear the echoes of her wails in his ears. After that shock, she was probably still awake, even though it was almost midnight.

He wanted to call home as soon as he heard some news, but he hadn 't heard anything since his wife had been admitted. Loid had promised his daughter he wouldn't let Yor die, but now he sat there, unable to do anything. During his career, he 'd been in desperate situations before, yet he 'd never felt so desperate as in that moment.

Twilight 's mind generally imagined the worst case scenario right away. It was how he managed to protect himself and thrive as a spy. Death wasn 't unusual, and he knew that sooner or later he would meet this fate too. He had lost partners and colleagues this way before. After all, his was a dangerous line of work, so it was never that surprising. But Yor...that was a whole different story.

Suddenly, the thought of death, which had accompanied him since the day he became a spy, became unbearable.

Every moment of their life together flashed before his eyes 'every conversation, how they supported each other, every meal together, every laugh, every walk and outing. It was a whole life compressed in a little more than a year and half. How could someone become so important in so little amount of time?

How could someone become

everything

?

He couldn 't lose her.

Please, not her.

He begged quietly, hiding his sorrow behind his hands.

Not my Yor.

Please, let my wife live.

I love her.

***

When Yor woke up, the first thing she saw was Loid 's face.

Disoriented as she was, she thought she was dreaming or maybe even dead. Nevertheless, the powerful headache told her otherwise 'she was alive.

Doctors at the hospital told her she 'd been lucky. She didn 't have any internal injuries and the main worrying issue was the concussion she suffered. That was the reason why she 'd been unconscious for most of the night. It was also why she needed to stay in the hospital for a couple of days for monitoring.

Yor knew she'd been lucky, not only because of her injuries, but also because someone had found her before that junior assassin picked her up.

Knowing that she was Dr. Forger 's wife, the doctors at Berlint General Hospital took special care of her and did everything they could to help her recover from that regrettable event.

Nobody questioned that Mrs. Forger had been a victim of a hit and run. Although, it was quite unfortunate that nobody was able to spot the vehicle that hit her.

Loid stayed by her side at all times. It was expected of a devoted husband like him; that 's what he told Handler when she came to see him disguised as a nurse. She agreed.

But he wasn 't acting.

He simply couldn 't move from her side.

As promised, Loid called home to let Anya and Franky know Yor was awake and recovering. However, Franky still needed to stay with Anya for a couple more days, while Loid stayed at the hospital with Yor.

'You don 't need to do that, ' Yor argued. 'I 'll be fine, and Anya needs you. '

Loid sat on bed and grabbed her scratched hand.

'You 're my wife. My place is right here, by your side, ' he spoke.

Yor noted there was no mention of the words 'fake ' or 'pretend. ' He also forgot to add "for appearances."

When had that changed?

Yor looked at the hand he was still holding, even though there was no one in the room that they needed to fool about their fake relationship.

Could it be that he wanted to stay 'because he cared about her?

Loid didn 't move and couldn 't stop looking at her.

'Loid, are you okay? ' she asked with genuine concern.

Up close, he looked terrible. He was pale, with large dark circles under his eyes, and a bit shaky. Plus, for some reason, his shirt was incredibly wrinkled.

'I thought you were going to die, ' he confessed in a whisper.

She was surprised to see unshed tears in his eyes. Only then she understood 'he was scared.

'I 'm okay, I 'm okay, ' she tried to reassure him with a smile, grabbing his face with one of her hands.

Loid trapped her hand with his and nuzzled into it. Yet, the anguish didn 't leave his eyes.

Although, she'd never asked about it, Yor knew Loid had lost his first wife.

What a horrible thing to go through

, she thought.

No wonder he looked so scared.

She wanted so desperately to reassure him she was still there, alive. But she understood fear better than most and that 's why she knew that when you 're so deeply scared, sometimes words won 't do. She needed to do more.

So, grabbing his face with her other hand, she pulled him towards her, and did something she never thought she'd dare to do.

She kissed him.

It was very soft, but effective. Whatever dark thoughts and fears Loid had vanished instantly. He was frozen, but just for a second. It only took him that long to react, pull her back, and kiss her again.

He had finally snapped.

He wasn 't willing to waste one more second. Now he understood, that even civilians like Yor don't have tomorrow promised. He didn't want to let go of her.

He wanted to tell her all this, as his desperate tongue sneaked inside her mouth and his hands grabbed her messy black hair. Yor followed his lead, matching his intensity, clinging to his neck, fisting his hair, as desperately as him.

Why hadn 't they kissed like this before? This was

so

good.

Yor knew this time she 'd been way to close to be separated from him. She hated that thought. She couldn 't stand it. She wanted to go home and raise their daughter. She wanted to kiss her husband like this every day. No more killing. No more fights.

That moment, while kissing Loid, she decided it was time to leave Thorn Princess behind.

They lost track of time and were still kissing when someone knocked on the door. Neither of them heard it, because they were too busy with each other.

So, when someone cleared his throat, they both jolted away from each other.

'Dr. Forger, Mrs. Forger, ' greeted an SSS official.

It was that lieutenant Twilight had impersonated to question Yor at the beginning of their marriage, the one with the ugly scars over his eye.

Twilight panicked. Had he been discovered? Was he about to be arrested?

Calm yourself, Twilight.

'Sorry to barge in like this, ' the man apologized.

'

An SSS officer does not apologize if he 's about to arrest someone

, ' Twilight thought, cautiously.

Maybe his cover hadn 't been blown after all.

'How can we help you, lieutenant? ' Loid asked, now very aware of his messy hair and lips, but trying to look as natural as possible, as if he hadn 't been caught making out with his wife.

Yor 's face was completely red.

'I'm here to ask a few questions to your wife, ' the lieutenant announced. 'You can stay in the room, if you wish. '

Loid looked at Yor, who grabbed his hand, asking him to stay without words. He could tell she was nervous, but that was normal. Everybody in Ostania was afraid of the secret police.

He squeezed her hand for reassurance and nodded.

'It 's about your accident, ' the man directed his words to Yor. 'We would like to know if you saw the car that hit you, or maybe even recognize the people who were in the vehicle. '

'I 'm s-so-sorry, but I don 't remember anything, ' Yor stuttered shaking her head nervously. 'I hit my head and passed out. When I woke up, I was here. '

'Well, that 's a shame, ' the officer looked at both of them, as if he were a human lie detector.

Didn 't the regular police usually take care of traffic accidents? Why was the SSS investigating a hit and run?

Something was off.

'Do you remember if the passengers of the vehicle tried to kidnap you? ' The officer continued.

Yor shook her head again. 'I don 't think so. I was just hit. '

'Officer, is there something wrong? ' Twilight ventured to ask.

It was a big risk, but hopefully his curiosity would be masked by his concern for his wife.

'We 've had a wave of kidnappings throughout the country and we 're trying to establish a connection between those who have been kidnapped, ' he informed them, and Twilight was floored an SSS officer had given them information so casually.

Could this be a trap?

, Twilight thought.

'In any case, we advise you to avoid walking alone at late hours from now on, ' the officer recommended, looking mainly at Loid.

That 's right, he had the obligation to protect his wife.

'I take the liberty to give you this recommendation because, I know your brother, Yuri Briar, ' he told them. 'We 've crossed paths, and I 'm sure he wouldn 't want anything to happen to his only family member. '

'Oh my God, Yuri! ' Yor exclaimed suddenly. 'I haven 't even called him to tell him I 'm okay. '

'Yor, I am so sorry. I should have called him, but I totally forgot, ' Loid apologized.

'It 's not your fault, Loid ' she assured him. 'It 'll be okay. I 'll call him right away '

'Mr. Briar is currently travelling for work, but he 's been informed, ' Lieutenant announced. 'He probably will be here by the time you leave the hospital. '

'Well, that 's a relief, ' Yor breathed.

So that 's why the man had volunteered information so easily 'he 's Yuri Briar 's colleague at the SSS

, Twilight thought.

In any case, he wanted him to leave.

'Is there anything else you need to ask my wife? She needs to rest, ' Twilight explained to the officer.

'No, that 's all. I 'll take my leave now. '

He started to walk towards the door, but before he could go, Yor spoke:

'Wait a second. Now I remember you. We 've met before. '

All color drained from Twilight 's face. He had been so incredibly stupid.

'We have? ' asked the officer, turning back to see Mrs. Forger again.

'Yes. You interrogated me before, almost two years ago, ' she remembered. 'It was just a mix up with my boss ' mail. '

The lieutenant looked completely puzzled. And then, suddenly he looked at Twilight and gave him a microscopic smile.

Twilight froze.

His cover had been blown, by no other than his own wife. Everything was lost.

He was already reaching for his gun until he remembered he had left home without it. Could he make a run for it instead?

'Oh yes, I remember you now! ' the SSS officer beamed warmly. 'I am so sorry, Mrs. Forger. I interrogate so many people, that sometimes it's hard to remember every face. My apologies. '

'No need to apologize. I 'm glad to see you 're doing well, ' Yor offered.

'Thank you. I wish you a speedy recovery. Take care of yourself. ' The man said before closing the door behind him.

Twilight was shaking.

That was close.

It was the weirdest interaction he 'd had with the SSS.

First, he gave them information carelessly, but that wasn 't the strangest part. Twilight was convinced that man knew he hadn 't met Yor before. Those people are highly qualified and have extensive memories.

But then, why had that lieutenant pretended he 'd met Yor before?