Gabriel returned home. It was dark, cold, and deadly silent. He heard his footsteps echo throughout the hallway, and then every squeak of the floorboards upstairs.
The taste of cigarette lingered bitterly in his mouth. But it was the emptiness inside that bothered him more.
He walked into his study, trying to suppress the memories that flooded him of the times when Claire walked in with a bounce in her step. And then the bad ones, of when she caught him with her medical records, or the night when she left him after the banquet at the Joneses.
He sat down in his chair that fitted him perfectly, engulfing him just enough into its soft padding.
There was a lot on his mind. But foremost, it was the package and a folder that he received from Adam Best.
He didn't think twice about what it was as he got too overwhelmed by the emotion of being with Claire's family. He was still in disbelief over meeting them. At least some of them. Now, the people in her stories were embodied. They were real. Which made Claire and her past even more real.
Trying his hardest to shut down the turmoil, Gabriel picked up a folder and opened it.
At first, he didn't know what he was looking at.
He didn't know what to expect. But it was a letter. Her neat handwriting graced the pages. It was elegant, thin and tall letters perfectly spaced.
'Dear Gabriel,
The very first thing I loved about you was your smile. I cannot fathom how a single smile can be so deeply ingrained in one's memory. It melted the iron walls that I have build around my heart. It infuriated me before it brightened my days and drowned my sorrows. It made me yearn for more. For you.
The memory of your smile, your unprompted happiness, your true self, is what I will hold onto forever.
I wish I could wake up in your arms tomorrow. I wish I could hold you for a little bit longer. But our time was cut short. Too short.
I am sorry for the pain and heartbreak that I am causing you. I am sorry for the time that passed when I haven't told you ever so many of the truths that I should have.
And most importantly, I am sorry that I forgot to say: I love you.
I am sorry for not telling you just how much I loved you. My entire heart belongs to you, now and forever, waiting to be reunited with you once and for all.'
Gabriel wept as he held onto the letter written months earlier when Gabriel have thought that she despised him. Yet, she wrote of her love for him.
He struggled to stop his hand from trembling as he reached for the box. He dreaded its content and the anguish it might cause.
He unwrapped the brown paper around it to reveal a jewellery box. His heart was pounding and he could taste the salty tears on his lips.
He opened it and stared at the content, shattering from inside. A gold ring was placed on a cushion, with a note beside it. It was nothing more than 'I love you' but the pain exploded in his chest. As painful as the past few weeks were, this was the hardest day since the moment of her death. It drew on all of the strings and memories, reminding Gabriel just how much he has lost.
He took out the ring and placed it on his finger. Now and forever, he belonged to Claire.