Velika: The story of a lover

There was no word to describe what Daniel Heinrich felt. Even she had such a careless tone, he could tell deeply inside, she was hurting. He knew precisely how painful it was to bring up the past. Even to this day, he still couldn't be brave enough to tell others about his early life, those memories were going to haunt him until the end of his time.

"His family was furious and that was expected. But we got married anyway and he chose me over his family," She went on, "I didn't go to college, I had to work several jobs to support our little family. We were poor but we believed after he graduated, we could have a better life and he could prove to his parents that he married the right woman. Well, I thought my life will get better, but I guess I don't deserve a good life. About two years later, when he was in his last year of medical school, he told me someone hired him to do part-time research and willing to pay generously, so he agreed. I could tell he got more and more stressed after he got that job, I persuaded him to quit, but he insisted to stay. Then, like in the movies, one day morning when I woke up, he wasn't there, and he never came back again, until almost ten years later, I saw him in the lab today with you."

The impulse to give her a hug grew stronger, she had such a disastrous and dramatic life, he couldn't believe how she handled it.

"After Dean disappeared, I was desperate," She carried on that flat tone, "Devastated. I searched everywhere, but he was gone, just vanished in the thin air. I didn't know how I passed those days; I couldn't see the future. He was everything I ever had. He told me he loved me; he was the best thing I could ever get. I listened to him, obeyed him, and my world circled him. Then, it was all gone overnight. I was lost, had no idea who I was, and didn't know what I should do with my life. Later, Romeo Leontes found me in the cafe I worked and offered me the job that he claimed to 'change my life and I would never worry about finance anymore'. I agreed without thinking too much. I had nowhere to go, nobody to rely on and nothing more to lose so I gambled my fortune again, and drowning into the water of Natural, until now."

"Do you have any idea why he left you?" Daniel Heinrich asked softly.

"I have my guess that I need confirmation for." She was still staring in the darkness unfocused, "But it won't be for long."

"I'm sorry." Said Daniel Heinrich sincerely. He knew he had the traumatic past that he still afraid to face, and he truly wished nobody ever had the experience as he had. Now he learned Velika O'Sullivan's story, regardless of how much he would like to deny it, he had to admit that he had empathy for her, not sympathy, but empathy. He could feel her pain, her struggle, and all the darkness she had been through, "Do you still love Dean O'Sullivan?"

"No," She said quietly but firmly, "I loved him, or I thought that I loved him, and I thought it was mutual. We depended on each other, but as time went by, it turned in the wrong direction. He claimed he loved me, but he didn't. He just wanted me to be there for him like I was his property and he thought he owned me. He was engaged once before he met me, and his ex-fiancée was with him for 7 years. I was nothing but a replacement, someone he could easily manipulate and obeyed him with his minimal investment. And me, being young and naïve and him being the most manipulative person I've ever known, he succeeded without a doubt. But to this day, I still don't understand why he decided to marry me. Heinrich, maybe I loved him back then, I tried all my best to keep him happy, but he probably never was and never will be happy. I was there for him, for better or worse, I would've died for him."

Velika O'Sullivan then paused, look right into Daniel Heinrich's eyes with a blank stare.

"O'Sullivan, I don't know what to say." Daniel Heinrich couldn't think of any other words. Even though she used a flat tone like she was just talking about the weather, he knew that the wound in her heart was bleeding, and it took her more than courage to open up to him and said all the things she said, "Thank you for opening up to me."

"I guess I just wanted to be loved." She said, didn't look at him, he couldn't see if she was crying or not, then she turned to him, with the same blank stare, "Heinrich, I just wanted to be loved."

He couldn't hold his impulse anymore, so he stood up and walked to her and sat on her side. She looked at him, now he could see that she was trying her best to hold back her tears. He didn't know how to feel anymore, the tragic pasts of theirs linked them together and made him believe that she truly wanted him as an ally, a companion, and a friend. He held her shoulders tightly, as she was still looking at him with sorrow in her dark eyes. Slowly she ran her cold fingers through his cheekbones. Now she was very close to him, he could see all the imperfections on her face, the scars she collected as souvenirs from previous missions and she could also see his freckles that weren't quite visible when looking at him from a distance.

"Kiss me." She said in a soft but demanding voice that he had never heard before as she started unbuttoning his shirt. It was dim in the room, they didn't turn on the light, the only light source was the moon, which was hidden behind thin clouds.

"You owe me a date, Heinrich." She said gently before she pressed her lips against his, "Did you forget your promise?"

"I never did." Said him with a smile. The moment his lips touched hers, he knew precisely that this woman's life had intertwined with his.

Then he asked himself, would they ever fall in love with each other?