[Kyle’s POV:]
She was a thief.
At least, that was my first impression of her.
A girl who had stolen my purse.
Back then, I regularly attended a dojo that was fairly famous for both its instructors and the quality of equipnt it offered.
During that period, I was taking multiple classes at once, including martial arts for self-defense and archery.
The place was called Bridman Dojo.
I usually arrived there around five in the evening after finishing my first ho tuition session, and I stayed until eight.
Two hours were dedicated to combat training.
The remaining hour belonged to archery.
Father never cared about when I returned ho, so after classes ended, I often stayed behind to continue practicing my aim alone.
I refused to co second in the only thing I was even remotely good at.
Archery was the one skill that never disappointed Father.
But talent alone never carried there.
I wasn’t so naturally gifted prodigy blessed with flawless instincts. Every inch of my skill had been carved out through relentless effort. I trained until my fingers split open, until the bowstring scraped my skin raw, until the cuts across my hands hardened into calluses.
Again and again, I forced myself forward.
Because if I wanted to master the bow, effort was the only thing I had.
That was why I stayed an extra hour at the dojo almost every day, devoting myself entirely to archery.
By eight o’clock, most of the students had already gone ho, leaving the place nearly empty except for a handful of staff mbers.
One evening, while putting away my equipnt, I noticed soone rushing out of the locker room.
I couldn’t tell whether it was a boy or a girl. All I knew was that they worked at the dojo. I had seen them several tis before, usually cleaning the floors in silence.
Later, I found out they had stolen my purse.
Father was furious.
My identification card was inside it, along with my monthly allowance.
I don’t rember the details very clearly after that.
At so point during the punishnt, I blacked out.
When I woke up the next morning, there was a bandage across my left cheek, and my left hand had swollen badly enough that even moving my fingers hurt.
I didn’t think much of it.
Pain was normal by then.
But when I arrived at the dojo, my martial arts instructor imdiately noticed my condition and urged to take a break for a few days.
He looked genuinely disturbed despite having nothing to do with any of it.
Then he asked what had happened to that caused the punishnt.
At that mont, I caught sight of the sa person who had stolen my purse.
They looked terrified.
My combat instructor was an extrely strict man. He never tolerated lies, cheating, or dishonesty of any kind.
And sohow, the mont our eyes t, I understood what would happen if I pointed at them.
They would suffer the sa way I had.
Back then, I viewed every adult through the sa lens as Father.
Cruel.
Unforgiving.
So I stayed silent.
I lied to my instructor.
A few days later, I found my purse sitting inside my locker.
Half the money was still there.
Along with a small note.
’My grandmother was sick and I needed money for dicine. I am sorry... and thank you.’
I don’t rember exactly what expression I had while reading it.
But I do rember the strange warmth spreading through my chest.
Soone had appreciated .
Soone had thanked .
At that age, my understanding of emotions was honestly twisted beyond reason. Even now, when I think back to that mont, the clearest mory I have is of the tears quietly falling from my eyes as I held that note.
...
That was my first impression of Veronica.
A thief.
But an honest one.
.....
[Third Person POV:]
"Mm..."
Kyle slowly opened his eyes, his vision greeted by faint silver light spilling across the room.
Bit by bit, clarity returned to him.
The soft mattress beneath his body, the sterile white ceiling above, and the sharp scent of disinfectant lingering in the air made it obvious.
He was in a hospital.
The last thing he rembered was Ava gravely injuring him.
She had provoked him perfectly, deliberately spewing vile words about Layena until anger drowned out his judgnt.
And he had fallen for it completely.
The mont rage overtook him, he charged straight at her.
Looking back on it now, even Kyle himself would call it irrational. He had done exactly what his opponent wanted.
Yet strangely enough...
He didn’t regret it.
Seeing Ava groan in pain, even for a mont, hurting her even slightly...
The mory brought him a deep sense of satisfaction.
"How do you feel?"
A familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Kyle turned slightly toward the left and first noticed a sleeping figure resting beside the bed.
Amanda.
Her head leaned awkwardly against the bedfra, eyes closed, clearly having fallen asleep while waiting for him.
The position looked terribly uncomfortable, but instead of waking her, Kyle shifted his gaze toward the actual speaker.
"Yeah... I’m fine."
Veronica stood nearby, watching him closely.
Concern was plainly visible in her eyes.
And now that he looked carefully, Kyle noticed the faint traces of redness lingering around them.
She had cried.
In a soft voice, Kyle said,
"You never ntioned anything about your grandmother..."
Veronica froze slightly.
Her gaze trembled faintly as she stared at him.
"Kyle... you..."
"I rember parts of it," he admitted quietly. "I never really asked you back then, did I? About your guardians?"
For a few monts, Veronica said nothing.
She looked genuinely shaken that, out of all the blurred mories from that ti, he still rembered her grandmother.
Then, slowly, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"She passed away seven years ago," Veronica said softly. "Though honestly... if not for the help you gave back then, she probably would’ve died much earlier."
Kyle smiled weakly in return.
"I’m glad to hear that."
His gaze drifted slightly, distant mories surfacing within his mind.
"Though... I wish I could’ve helped with more than just money."
He rembered fragnts of it now.
The lonely girl quietly dusting windows.
Cleaning the floors after everyone had left.
Always silent and to herself.
Kyle slowly raised his hand toward her.
Veronica hesitated.
Her eyes instinctively shifted toward Amanda, who was still asleep beside the bed.
But Kyle didn’t seem concerned about that right now.
He already knew he would have to explain everything to his girlfriend eventually.
Still...
At this mont, all he wanted was to feel Veronica’s presence beside him again.
After a brief pause, Veronica slowly stepped forward and gently took his hand into hers.
The warmth of her skin made Kyle release a quiet sigh.
It felt familiar.
Comforting.
Almost nostalgic.
After a mont of silence, Kyle spoke softly,
"Give so ti, Veronica..."
His fingers weakly tightened around hers.
"I think... I’ll rember everything eventually. About you... about us."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"And sohow, I can already tell those mories will be beautiful."
Veronica’s eyes glistened almost instantly.
Moisture gathered faintly at the corners as a soft, radiant smile blood across her face.
"I’ll wait for you," she whispered while nodding gently.
°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- I felt that mory part could be done best in first person. Thanks for reading.
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