I wake up gasping, clutching the plush cat Yui won for me, tears already drying on my face.
The room is dark.
The clock reads 4:17 a.m.
Tomorrow I will meet Yui under the cherry tree behind the gym and I will break her heart as gently as I know how.
Because somewhere out there is a woman who once called me husband.
And a version of me who loved her enough to burn his entire world to keep her safe.
I press the plush cat to my chest and whisper into the dark like he can still hear me.
"I'll wait.
I promise."
Outside, the cicadas have finally gone quiet.
Inside, for the first time since I stole this life,
I fall back asleep knowing exactly whose heart I'm carrying