My Baby

Lila's wails tore through the room, raw and unrelenting, like a mother wolf mourning her cub. She cradled Alexander's small body against her chest, rocking back and forth as if the motion could lull him back to life. Bloodless lips, pale skin, the golden hair that once shimmered under the sun now lifeless in her trembling fingers. 

Her breath hitched as she touched his cheek, still warm, as if he were merely sleeping. "My baby," she whispered, her voice shattered beyond repair. "My baby, my baby, wake up—" 

Axel stood still, his fists clenched at his sides. He had seen death countless times—on the battlefield, in his halls, in his own reflection. But nothing compared to this. Nothing compared to watching his son die by his own hand, knowing there was no other way. 

Lila suddenly turned to him, eyes wild, burning with a fury so raw it could split the heavens apart. 

"You did this." Her voice shook. 

Axel met her gaze, expression unreadable. He didn't deny it. He didn't justify it. He simply stood there, bearing the weight of her wrath. 

"You poisoned him," she spat, grief distorting her voice into something near inhuman. "You killed our son!" 

Axel's breath was steady, but his heart was in pieces. "If I hadn't, the world would have." 

Lila's hands trembled violently as she cupped Alexander's face, pressing a trembling kiss to his forehead. "You should have protected him." Her voice was quiet now, almost soft, but the accusation cut deeper than any blade. 

Axel exhaled sharply, his throat burning. "I did." 

Lila let out a hollow, bitter laugh—one filled with nothing but agony. "No," she said, her voice like cracked glass. "You destroyed him." 

A long silence stretched between them, filled only by Lila's quiet sobs. 

Then, as if something inside her had snapped, she stilled. Slowly, she laid Alexander down on the floor, smoothing his hair one last time. 

When she stood, her movements were eerily calm. 

Axel barely had time to react before she lunged at him. 

Her hands struck his chest, shoving him back with all the strength she had left. She hit him again—weakly, desperately—her fists colliding against his armor in a frantic attempt to make him feel even a fraction of her pain. 

"You should have chosen me," she cried, her voice breaking. "You should have let me save him." 

Axel caught her wrists, holding her trembling hands between his own. "You would have died for him," he said quietly. 

Lila let out a sob. "Then I should have." 

Axel's grip faltered for the first time, his fingers loosening around her fragile wrists. He wanted to tell her that he couldn't bear losing her, too—that watching her fall apart was already unbearable enough. 

But the words never came. 

Because he knew. 

From the way she looked at him now, from the emptiness in her eyes— 

Lila would never forgive him. 

Not in this life. 

Not in the next.

Her eyes, red-rimmed and filled with unspeakable hatred, locked onto him like a predator finding its prey.

"You," she whispered, her voice hoarse, barely human.

Axel stood still, his face an unreadable mask. He had prepared for this. He had known that no matter what he did, no matter how much he told himself that this was the only way, Lila would never—could never—understand.

But knowing didn't make it any easier when she looked at him as if he were the devil himself.

"You killed our son," she hissed, venom dripping from every syllable.

Axel's jaw tightened. "Lila—"

"Don't you dare say my name," she screamed, her voice breaking, raw with agony. "Don't you dare speak to me as if you have any right to."

Her legs wobbled as she stood, the weight of her fury barely contained in her frail, grieving body. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her nails digging into her palms so hard that blood dripped onto the floor.

"You monster," she spat, taking a step closer. "You heartless bastard."

Axel flinched, just barely, but it was enough for Lila to see. Enough for her to realize that, even now, he felt guilt. That even as he stood there, silent and unyielding, a part of him was breaking.

But it wasn't enough.

Because no amount of guilt would bring their son back.

"I curse you, Axel," she snarled, her voice shaking with raw emotion. "I curse you to suffer for the rest of your life. To never know peace, to never know happiness. I want you to rot in the same hell you threw our son into."

Axel remained silent, his hands curled into fists at his sides.

Axel barely had time to react. 

The glint of the blade caught his eye—a blur of silver against the dim candlelight. 

"Lila—!" His voice tore through the room, raw with desperation, but it was too late. 

The sharp edge of his own sword pierced through her abdomen, a sickening sound of steel sinking into flesh echoing through the silent chamber. 

Lila gasped, her breath hitching as blood bloomed from the wound, staining the pristine fabric of her dress. Her grip on the sword trembled, her fingers slick with crimson, but her eyes… her eyes never left Axel's. 

And she smiled. 

A bitter, broken smile. 

Axel surged forward, catching her before she could crumble to the floor. His arms wrapped around her fragile frame, pressing her against him as he desperately tried to stop the bleeding. His hands, once steady on the battlefield, shook violently as they pressed against the wound. 

"No, no, no—stay with me," he pleaded, his voice cracking. 

Lila exhaled a shaky breath, her head resting against his shoulder. "You took my son," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "And now… I take myself."

Axel's heart clenched painfully. "Damn it, Lila, don't do this!" 

But her fingers weakly grasped his wrist, her strength fading. "Now you'll remember me, Axel," she murmured. "In every lifetime… you'll remember me like this." 

Axel swallowed hard, his throat burning with unshed tears. "Please," he rasped, his forehead pressing against hers. "Don't leave me like this." 

But Lila only smiled again, a single tear slipping down her blood-streaked cheek. "You love me, don't you?" she asked, echoing the same words she had spoken before. 

Axel's breath hitched. "I do." 

"Then suffer," she whispered one last time. 

Her body went limp in his arms. 

The sword slipped from her fingers, clattering against the marble floor. 

Axel let out a strangled sound, somewhere between a sob and a scream, as he held her lifeless body against him. The warmth was already leaving her, the blood pooling around them, seeping into his clothes, his skin—his soul. 

And just like that, the curse began.