Years passed. Paul never went back to the house. Not because he stopped caring about Veronica. Not because he stopped caring about the life they had built.
He simply didn't know how to return to a place that no longer felt like home. For the first few months, he stayed wherever OPESTM assigned him.
A temporary room. A military facility. Sometimes a hotel between missions. He never stayed anywhere long enough to call it home.
Veronica remained in the house. She couldn't bring herself to leave it. It was painful. But leaving felt worse.
The rooms still carried memories. The living room where Paul used to fall asleep on the couch. The kitchen where they had argued over the smallest things. The hallway where Liora had taken her first steps. Her room remained almost untouched.
The little bed. The toys. The wooden bird. Veronica couldn't throw them away. Paul never asked her to. And neither of them ever said the word divorce. Not once.
Their marriage simply became something that existed somewhere between them. Neither knew what to do with it. But neither was willing to destroy it.
They continued with their lives. They continued with their work. They continued fighting battles that had nothing to do with the one they had already lost.
Sometimes, they met. Usually at OPESTM.
A briefing room. A corridor. A mission preparation area.
The first time it happened, Paul saw Veronica from across the hallway. She stopped. So did he.
For a moment, neither knew what to say. Then Veronica spoke.
- How are you?
Paul looked at her.
- Fine.
She nodded.
- Good.
A pause.
- You?
- Fine.
And that was it. They walked past each other. But neither looked back. The second time they met, it was different. Veronica noticed the bandage around Paul's hand.
- What happened?
Paul looked at it.
- Nothing serious.
- That's not what I asked.
He looked at her. For a second, the old Veronica was there. The woman who used to get angry whenever he came home injured. Paul gave a faint smile.
- Mission.
She nodded.
- Take care of it.
- I will.
She walked away. Paul watched her disappear around the corner. Then he looked down at the bandage.
He realized he had smiled. It was the first time he had done so in a long time. There were other moments.
Small ones. Almost meaningless. But they kept happening.
When Veronica was assigned to a dangerous operation, Paul would check the mission report afterward.
He never called. He never asked anyone about her. He simply checked.
Once. Then again.
Until her status changed to safe. When Paul was injured, Veronica somehow always knew before he told her.
She never came to see him. But his medical clearance would mysteriously be checked twice. Neither of them acknowledged these things.
They didn't need to. Years continued to pass. Their conversations became easier.
Still distant. Still careful. But easier.
Sometimes they spoke about work. Sometimes about old colleagues. Sometimes about things that didn't matter at all.
They never spoke about Liora. Not for a long time.
It wasn't because they had forgotten her. It was because neither of them knew how to say her name without opening everything again.
Until one day, they did. They were standing outside an OPESTM briefing room. Veronica looked at Paul.
- Do you ever go back?
Paul knew exactly what she meant. He looked away.
- No.
- I still live there.
Paul looked at her.
- I know.
She was quiet for a moment.
- I thought about leaving.
- Then why didn't you?
Veronica looked toward the corridor.
- I didn't know where else to go.
Paul said nothing. Neither did she. Then the briefing room opened. They went inside. And that was all.
Years passed again.
Until eventually, something changed. Not suddenly. Not dramatically.
They simply became tired of pretending that nothing remained between them.
It started with a conversation. Then another. Then another.
And eventually, they found themselves sitting together again. Not as soldiers. Not as colleagues.
Just Paul and Veronica.
Remembering.
They talked about the past. About the beginning. About the years before everything became complicated. About the ridiculous things they used to argue about. Paul remembered how Veronica used to complain that he was always late.
Veronica reminded him that he was late because he spent twenty minutes waiting outside her training.
Paul denied it. She laughed.
For a moment, it felt strangely familiar. Like the years between them had disappeared. Then the laughter faded. Veronica looked down.
- I miss this.
Paul knew what she meant.
- Me too.
She looked at him.
- I thought we'd never talk like this again.
- I did too.
A silence followed. Not an uncomfortable one. Just a quiet one. Veronica looked at him.
- Do you ever think about what our lives would have been like?
Paul smiled faintly.
- All the time.
He looked down.
- I think we were happy before we realized we were happy.
Veronica's eyes became wet.
- We didn't know.
- No.
- We thought we'd have more time.
Paul nodded.
- I know.
Neither spoke for a while. There was still pain between them. There probably always would be. But for the first time, the pain didn't feel like something separating them. It felt like something they could finally carry together. Veronica leaned back.
- Do you think we can ever go back?
Paul thought about it. Then shook his head.
- No.
She looked disappointed. Paul continued.
- I don't think we should.
Veronica looked at him.
- Why?
- Because we'd still be trying to become the people we were before.
He paused.
- We're not those people anymore.
Veronica looked down at her hands.
- Then what are we?
Paul smiled faintly.
- I don't know.
Another silence. Then Veronica asked,
- What do we do?
Paul looked at her. For years, he had believed that some things were impossible to fix. Maybe he still did. But perhaps fixing wasn't what they needed. Maybe they only needed to stop running from what remained.
- We figure it out.
Veronica looked at him.
- Together?
Paul didn't answer immediately. Then he nodded.
- If you want to.
A small smile appeared on Veronica's face.
- I think I do.
Paul smiled back.
It wasn't a promise. It wasn't forgiveness. It wasn't a return to the life they once had.
It was something smaller. Something more uncertain.
A chance.
For the first time in years, neither of them felt like they had to leave. Veronica stood.
- Wanna have something.
Paul looked at her.
- I am actually hungry. It has been ages since I ate your handmade food. Though you make terrible coffees but I loved your food. It felt like home.
She smiled. Paul stood.
- I can have some your handmade veggies tonight.
- You eat them now?
- No.
They walked toward the kitchen. For a few minutes, they talked about nothing. The kind of nothing they used to talk about before everything became complicated.
And for those few minutes, they were simply Paul and Veronica again. Then a communication device on the table vibrated.
Paul looked toward it.
The screen displayed David's name. He picked it up. The message was short.
Paul. Report to OPESTM immediately.
Paul's expression changed. Veronica looked at him.
- What happened?
Paul read the message again. Then another message appeared.
De Nemo has arrived.
Neither of them spoke. The room suddenly felt different. Paul slowly lowered the device. Veronica stared at the screen. After all these years, a name they had not heard in a very long time had returned.
De Nemo.
Four years of silence, ended by three words.
Whatever was coming for Earth next, it was no longer coming for a world without him.
-To be continued…..