Standing beside the pile of ashes, York saw the charred, unrecognizable remains of the violins and almost forgot how to breathe.
He had given her one of those violins for her eighteenth birthday.
He remembered that day clearly. She wore a little white evening gown and a diamond tiara. It was the first time she had worn exquisite makeup. As she descended the stairs on her father's arm, she had captivated everyone in the room.
When she saw him, her smile was bright and dazzling.
She let go of her father's arm and ran to him, playfully shaking his arm. "York, where's my present?"
When she saw the violin he'd given her, she had snuggled into his arms like a spoiled child.
She told him that from then on, she would only play for him.
Only later did he learn that she had secretly changed her university major to medicine to treat his insomnia, giving up the violin she had practiced for over a decade.
She had always treasured that violin, keeping it safe in the music room.
He never imagined she would just burn it.
York felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body.
He sank to his knees beside the ashes, utterly weak.
It felt as if Claudia had set the fire in his heart, burning it to a crisp along with everything else.
In disbelief, York sifted through the wreckage.
A teddy bear with only one leg left, a music box with just its base remaining... and a pile of burnt, fragmented wedding photo frames.
Whether from before or after their marriage, anything that had to do with the two of them, she had burned it all.


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