When He Chose Her In Flames-0317

After the miscarriage, I systematically erased every habit that Giles used to find irritating. I stopped asking where he was going. When he stayed out all night, I no longer paced the floor; I simply turned off the bedside lamp and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. Even when I was injured during a training maneuver and the medic told me to call my family, I just looked at the sterile white ceiling and said, "I don’t have any next of kin." The nurse recognized me. "You’re Mrs. Marshall, aren't you? General Marshall is just in the next sector over. Should I send word to him?" I shook my head slowly. "No. There's no need." But thirty minutes later, Giles Marshall appeared anyway. He stood in the doorway, his uniform sharp, his presence commanding and cold. "You’re hurt. Why wasn't I the first person you called?" I kept my eyes down. "It’s a scratch, Giles. Not worth bothering the Commanding General over."