He Stole My Sixty Years Of Hard Won Lifespan Chapter 03

He Stole My Sixty Years Of Hard Won Lifespan Chapter 03

He didn’t believe me.

To him, I was still the same Mira Shaw.

The woman who was too stubborn to die.

Just then, the guest room door opened.

Lena walked out wearing my pajamas, her cheeks flushed with color.

“Evan, look.”

“I’m feeling so much better today.”

“I’ve got my strength back.”

“It’s all thanks to Mira. I feel full of energy now because of her. She’s my lifesaver.”

Evan smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“As long as you’re okay.”

The dull ache in my chest was ripping me apart.

Using every ounce of strength I had left, I spoke again.

“Evan.”

“I don’t need all sixty years.”

“Just give me back ten.”

“Ten years is enough.”

“This is the last thing I’ll ever ask you for.”

The smile faded from his face.

He instinctively pulled Lena behind him.

There was disappointment in his eyes, but his voice stayed gentle.

“Mira.”

“Lena just stabilized.”

“If I take ten years away now, it’ll kill her.”

“You used to have the biggest heart.”

“When did you become so calculating?”

“I know you’re hurt.”

“When she’s fully recovered, I’ll give you the twenty years I’ve saved.”

“And I’ll help you earn the rest back.”

“But not now.”

“That’s not happening.”

He picked up his jacket and helped Lena toward the door.

Before leaving, he turned back to me with the same patient smile.

“Get some rest.”

“When you’ve calmed down, I’ll come home and make you my pot roast.”

The door clicked shut.

Just before Lena walked out, she looked back at me.

The triumph in her eyes wasn’t even hidden.

The second they were gone…

I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

A mouthful of black blood spilled onto the floor.

*****

I started packing.

There wasn’t much.

Very little in that house had ever truly belonged to me.

A few everyday clothes.

My specialized gear for Time Tasks.

And a handful of little things I’d collected over the years.

One by one, I packed them into the old suitcase that had survived countless missions beside me.

As I passed the walk-in closet, I saw the wedding dress hanging in the back.

Evan had taken me to pick it out not long after we started dating.

He’d held my hand and smiled.

“When you’ve saved enough lifespan for us to grow old together…”

“We’ll get married.”

I pulled it off the hanger.

Then I threw it straight into the dumpster downstairs.

That night, Evan came home.

The first thing he noticed was my suitcase in the living room.

His car keys slipped from his hand and clattered onto the floor.

He bent down to pick them up.

Paused for half a second.

Then he sat down on the couch, switched on the TV, though the corners of his eyes never stopped drifting toward me.

“So you’ve got a new stunt now?”

“The last time you threw a fit, you stood outside in the rain for three hours.”

“You ended up with a fever so bad you were delirious and wouldn’t let go of my shirt.”

“Who carried you to the ER in the middle of the night?”

I ignored him.

Instead, I zipped my suitcase shut.

Click.

The sound wasn’t loud.

But his whole body stiffened.

Frustration finally crept into his voice.

“Mira.”

“Do you really have to do this?”

“Is a little lifespan really worth ruining everything we’ve had over the past eight years?”

“I’m tired.”

My voice was barely above a whisper.

The pain deep in my bones made it hard to breathe.