The weeks passed slowly, and despite the moments of calm shared between Léa and Dylan, the winds of uncertainty kept blowing stronger. Léa's illness seemed to have its ups and downs, but each low was heavier to bear, harder to endure. Each treatment session, each medical appointment, took them further into the unknown.
Léa fought to maintain a facade, to not show Dylan just how exhausted she was. Sometimes, she wondered if, deep down, she had already accepted an outcome she couldn't change. But Dylan's presence by her side made her hesitate. He was always there, faithful and loving, but how could she continue to offer him the hope of a future together when she was losing hers?
Dylan felt Léa's silent pain, but he didn't know how to reach her. Each forced smile she gave him, each burst of laughter she managed to pull from herself, tore at him a little more. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't afraid of losing her, but the truth was, he was. Afraid of seeing her suffer, afraid she would close herself off, afraid he wouldn't be strong enough to support her in this fight.
One evening, after returning home from a particularly exhausting day at work, he found her in the living room, her eyes lost in the void. The soft light from the table lamps and the quiet hum of the TV created an almost surreal atmosphere. She hadn't seemed to move since he left that morning.
"Dylan," she murmured, slowly turning toward him as he closed the door behind him. "I'm tired. Tired of fighting, tired of feeling like it's all for nothing."
He approached her, kneeling slightly to be at her level. His eyes filled with concern, but he tried not to let her see just how much her words affected him. "Léa, we talked about this, didn't we? We're going through this together. You're not alone in this battle. I'm here."
She shook her head, her lips trembling slightly. "I don't know anymore. I love you so much, Dylan, but I don't want to see you suffer because of me. You deserve more, you deserve… someone who doesn't tie you down with their problems. And me… I'm a burden."
Her words hit Dylan like a punch. He never imagined she could see herself as a burden. He felt powerless in the face of this pain he couldn't erase, but he knew one thing: he wasn't going anywhere.
"You're not a burden, Léa. You're the person I love. And I've chosen you, no matter what. What we're going through isn't easy, but that doesn't mean you should feel guilty. It's just you, and there's nothing more precious to me than that."
Léa looked up at him, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't hold back her pain any longer. "But I can't… I can't ask you to bear this. One day, you'll want to move on, and I'll be here, frozen in this reality I didn't choose. And you'll leave."
Dylan stood up and walked to the window, his mind in turmoil with conflicting thoughts. He wanted to answer her, to reassure her, but the words seemed useless in the face of the depth of her fear. So he turned back to her, determination on his face.
"You want to know what I really think, Léa?" he said, his voice calm but firm. "I think you have the right to be scared. You have the right not to know what's going to happen, but you don't have the right to think you're going to lose me. Because as long as I'm here, I'm by your side. And even if you can't offer me any certainties, even if everything feels uncertain, there's one thing I know for sure: I'm with you."
Léa felt her heart tighten under the weight of his words. He was here, still here, ready to sacrifice for her. But she couldn't shake the thought that he deserved more than this endless battle.
"I want you to be happy, Dylan," she whispered. "But can you really be happy with me, here, in this storm?"
Dylan looked at her intensely, every fiber of his being resisting the idea that she could doubt him, doubt their love. He moved closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm the storm that raged within her soul. "If being happy with you means going through the storm, then yes, I want that. Because deep down, it's not the storm that defines who we are. It's what we do together to face it."
She stood up, her throat tight, and rushed into his arms. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice broken. "I'm so sorry for making you live through this."
Dylan held her close, closing his eyes, focusing on the present moment. No matter the trials, no matter the pain ahead, they would always have each other. They didn't need to know what the future would hold. As long as they were together, they would always find a reason to keep moving forward.
"You have nothing to regret, Léa," he said softly. "Nothing at all."
Silence settled between them, heavy yet peaceful, like a silent promise. They were in the storm, but they were together. And for now, that was enough.