The Blooming Desert Rose (Ashes To Love)

"We understand your situation, ma'am. You've been missing for five years, but your husband already filed for your death certificate two years ago and had your national identity terminated. We've already contacted him, but... You should be prepared. He's remarried."

Beatrice Fox sat rigidly in her chair at the police station as she listened to the officer. Everything felt strangely unfamiliar.

Five years ago, she had joined a medical team to provide aid on the continent of Narsten, thousands of miles away. During a mission, she was captured by terrorists. Only recently were she and her team rescued by the Peacekeepers, allowing her to finally come home.

What kept her going for five years was her love and longing for her husband, Nelson Green.

They had been together since freshman year, married after graduation. Their youth belonged to each other, an inseparable bond.

Beatrice had fantasized how she might see Nelson again. Crying tears of joy, finally getting back what she had lost…

But the one thing she never imagined was hearing he had already remarried.

It was spring in Blueport City. The leaves rustled in the breeze, and sunlight streamed in. Warm, gentle, beautiful. Yet Beatrice sat numbly by the window, reaching out to catch even a little of that warmth.

Five years in the desert had left her cut off from the world. The trauma and violence she had witnessed in the warzone left her with aphasia.

In other words, she couldn't speak.

The day she was rescued, she cried harder than she had in years. She had truly believed that as long as she could see Nelson again, her shattered soul would finally be comforted.

Alas, reality was cruel.

Nelson had already applied to terminate her national identity three years after she went missing. Not long after that, he remarried.

The door to the police station opened with a soft click. Someone rushed inside, and he looked much the same as he had been five years ago, but a bit more mature. He wore a sharp suit, clearly expensive. The watch on his wrist alone was worth over a hundred thousand dollars.

It seemed that while Beatrice was gone, Nelson's life had gone on just fine.

"Beatrice..."

Nelson looked around anxiously. The instant he saw her in the corner, his eyes turned red.

Beatrice opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

If the officer hadn't told her about Nelson's remarriage and his daughter, she might really have believed he still had feelings for her.

"All these years...you must have suffered a lot." Nelson stood in front of her, fighting the urge to pull her into a hug. "Let's go home."

Beatrice froze, not moving at all.

Go home…?

Did she even have a home left?

"Beatrice, don't be afraid. It's all over now. You're home," Nelson said softly, crouching down in front of her to comfort her.

Beatrice's eyes stung with unshed tears. She couldn't help but wonder, had the officer made a mistake?

How could Nelson, who once loved her so much, ever marry another?

He was Nelson Green, the man who once climbed a mountain before dawn just to hang a love lock on the peak for her.

Was all that love just a lie?

The officer in charge of her case came over and said quietly, "Mr. Green, I've already explained her situation to you. She's developed aphasia due to trauma..."

A flash of pain crossed Nelson's face. He reached out and took Beatrice's hand.

Beatrice followed him obediently, step by step, out of the police station. She had thought that after escaping hell, she had finally found her way back to utopia.

However, reality made her tremble uncontrollably.

"Beatrice, I'll take you to a hotel for now. Things have changed in these past years. It's just... It wouldn't be convenient to bring you home right now."

Nelson didn't dare bring her back, afraid the truth would be too much for her.

Beatrice quickly grabbed a pen and paper. She wrote, "Home!"

That was her home.

It was the place she and Nelson had shared as newlyweds, the witness to five years of their love, and the beginning of all her best memories.

Nelson hesitated, silent for a long time, before finally saying, "Beatrice, I'm sorry..."

She started to shake, clenching her hands tight in fear.

She had never been this scared, even with bullets whistling past her ears on the battlefield...

Yet, Nelson still said it.

"Beatrice, you were missing for five years. Everyone thought you were dead... So, I married again. My wife and daughter live there now. I'm sorry, but I can't let them get hurt."

In that moment, Beatrice's racing heart finally went cold.