Fiancé's Return with a Wife

The scent of scavenged flowers hung heavy in the air as I adjusted the final diagnostics on my mecha. Tomorrow, I would marry Kane. After years of fighting side by side, we'd finally have a moment of peace to call our own.

"Skye?" Marcus's voice crackled through the comms. "You should rest. Big day tomorrow."

I smiled, running my hand along the cool metal of my machine. "Just want to make sure everything's ready. You know how I am."

The sanctuary buzzed with activity around us. Children had woven brightly colored scraps of fabric into makeshift decorations, hanging them from the few trees that had survived the wasteland's harsh conditions. It wasn't the wedding I'd dreamed of as a little girl, but it was ours—mine and Kane's.

Then the alarms blared.

"Distress signal from Outpost 4," Elena reported, her voice tight with concern.

My heart sank. Outpost 4 housed twenty-three people—families with children barely old enough to walk.

"I'll lead the rescue team," I said immediately, strapping on my harness.

"No." Kane's voice was firm as he appeared in the doorway of the mech bay. Rain dripped from his hair, his eyes intense as they met mine. "You've been running diagnostics all day. You need rest before tomorrow."

"We don't have time to argue," I insisted, already activating my mecha's startup sequence.

Kane crossed the room in three strides, placing his hand over mine on the controls. "Skye, listen to me. I'll go. I'll be back before dawn."

Outside, the rain pounded harder, thunder rolling across the darkened sky. Through the open bay doors, I could see the rescue team assembling, their faces grim but determined.

At the main gate, engines roared to life as teams prepared to deploy. Water splashed around our boots as Kane pulled me close, his lips finding mine in a kiss that tasted of rain and promise.

"I'll be back," he whispered against my mouth. "Before the sun rises."

His fingers brushed against the engagement ring on my finger—a simple band he'd crafted from salvaged metal, inlaid with a small piece of colored glass he'd found in the ruins.

"I promise," he said, pressing his forehead to mine as lightning split the sky above us. "I will be back before the sun rises to make you my wife."

I watched him go, a strange chill settling in my bones despite his words. Something felt wrong—a premonition I couldn't shake.

---

Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months.

Kane didn't come back.

The rescue team was found three days later—all dead, torn apart by zombies. But Kane's mecha was missing.

"He might have been captured," Marcus suggested gently. "Or found shelter somewhere."

I refused to hold a funeral. "He's not dead," I insisted, though each passing day made the lie harder to believe.

Every night for 365 days, I stood on the perimeter walls, staring into the wasteland beyond our sanctuary. The council pressured me to elect a new co-leader. I refused.

"Skye," Elena said one evening as she joined me on the wall, "you can't keep doing this."

"I'm fine," I replied, my eyes scanning the horizon as they did every night.

She didn't argue further. No one did anymore.

Grayson Lawrence sent supplies regularly—medical equipment, ammunition, intelligence reports. He visited once, his tall frame silhouetted against the setting sun as he offered aid.

"The alliance between our sanctuaries remains strong," he said formally, though his eyes spoke of something deeper. "Whatever you need."

I saw the way he looked at me—with respect, yes, but also with something I wasn't ready to acknowledge. He left soon after, respecting my space, though the ache in his eyes matched the one in my chest.

---

One year to the day of his disappearance, the alarm sounded again.

"A lone mecha approaching," Marcus reported. "It's... it's Kane's ID signal."

My heart lurched painfully in my chest. I sprinted to the landing bay, ignoring the calls of my name behind me.

The mecha touched down with a spray of dust and gravel. My hands trembled as I waited for the hatch to open.

When it did, Kane stepped out—alive, though thinner than I remembered. His eyes widened at the sight of me, relief washing over his face.

"Skye," he breathed.

I took a step forward, joy surging through me—then froze.

Kane turned back to the mecha, reaching inside to help someone else descend. A woman emerged, her hand resting protectively over her heavily pregnant belly.

"Skye," Kane said, his voice thick with guilt as he looked between us. "This is Christina Baker. My wife."

The world stopped. The air left my lungs in a rush.

"Your wife?" I repeated, the words feeling foreign on my tongue.

Christina's eyes narrowed slightly at the corners, though her smile remained fixed in place. "We married six months ago," she said softly. "After I found out about the baby."

Something inside me shattered—not with a crash, but with a quiet, clean break.

I smiled.

"Welcome to Sanctuary Alpha," I said, my voice steady despite the earthquake happening inside me. "Quarters will be prepared for our guests immediately."

Guests. Not family. Not leaders.

In one breath, I had relegated Kane from partner to stranger.