I said goodbye then and headed for the door, but before I exited his home, I turned to look at him. His stare was on my own, and he offered me a parting smile, which I returned. The moment where our gazes locked seemed to last ages, both of us frozen in an instant of wondering and what ifs. And then it passed, the connection breaking as I turned my back to him and walked out into the night. The king and the soldier—the life that could’ve been but wasn’t meant to be.
