Despite their difficulties, Nadia did manage to find happiness with David. She hadn’t expected his proposal back at the hospital, but she couldn’t deny her feelings for him and wholeheartedly felt like it was the right thing to do. Wherever they went, she felt alive and happy with him, as if she was truly living her life to the fullest for the first time. Travelling required her to drop dancing, but she didn’t feel an ounce of regret for doing so. Although Nadia was often sick or dizzy during their travels, their life together was overall quite perfect.<br/><br/>As they settled in Desbiens they also got into a routine, which was nice after adventuring around Europe for some time. Nadia held dance classes for children when she wasn’t feeling weak and occasionally worked at a local café from time to time. It was a nice life, the kind she could picture herself settling into, without too much hassle or stress. It was far from the big city, but didn’t mind it. As long as she could be with David there was not a single worry on her mind. Until one day.<br/><br/>“It’s for you, Miss Talini. The sender precisely said your hands and your eyes only.”<br/><br/>A brown package, delivered at an unusual hour, was placed in her hands without further explanation. There was no sender, nothing to indicate why the contents would be so important to deliver to her precisely and not to David. Nonetheless, she was a curios one and she couldn’t wait to find out what this was all about. Perhaps it was her family about to surprise her and David with another trip across Europe? That seemed like the only plausible explanation or at least something similar to it. In any case, Nadia brought the package inside after signing it and unwrapped it, revealing a box which she also opened.<br/><br/>Her heart stopped. Her breathing stopped. Nadia’s entire world froze for what seemed like an eternity as she stared at the contents of the box. Fear and astonishment, all mixed together, were apparent on her face that was now paler than ever. Her hands squeezed the box in an obsessed manner, nearly breaking it apart as her body began to tremble. A lone tear fell down her cheek, but she hardly noticed it in her completely tensed up state.<br/><br/>However, when she finally did lift her eyes from the box, there was a look of purpose in her eyes. Emotions had been pushed to the back of her mind and now the only thing left was the ruthless purpose that guided her, a pressing necessity that would not let itself be ignored.<br/><br/>She stood up and began her task, hastily wiping her eyes.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>“Yes. Yes, yes, I already took care of that Arthur. I’m taking Cissi out now, she’s been wanting to go out since this morning. No, I know.”<br/><br/>Nadine, a young woman who had recently moved into Rosemère, was leaving her and her husband’s apartment with a large Golden Retriever who was anxiously jumping on her and urging her to hurry up and take her to the park. She ended the call and hurried to the park with her dog, careful not to bump into anyone while trying to take control of the large animal on her leash. Nadine enjoyed taking her and Arthur’s dog out. It was really the highlight of her day, with Arthur working and completely refusing to have her work. She felt like a stay home wife for the most time, but she wasn’t complaining. Except when it got boring. With children in the house things could have been a bit busier, but she was still far from wanting to take that step.<br/><br/>For the past few weeks, she had been plagued by fevers and episodes of sicknesses, not to mention her memory was doing strange things to her. Arthur had mentioned about getting a good doctor to come over from abroad and given his family background he could probably do that, but Nadine doubted that such was necessary. She was confident that things would get better, especially if Arthur would allow her to start working again.<br/><br/>Once at the park and once Cissi had marked its territory enough times, she grabbed a small stick and began playing catch with the Golden Retriever. It felt good to do at least something. At some point, Nadine pretended to throw the stick, but instead hid it behind her back, only to see her dog run over to a passer-by to search for the stick. The large dog began to jump on the man it had picked as its target, its muddy paws effectively ruining the man’s shirt. Nadine bit her lip in embarrassment and ran over to the man.<br/><br/>“Down, girl!” She commanded and, rather involuntarily, Cissi sat down and looked at the man, David, expectantly, as if he was going to pull out a stick at any moment. Nadine turned to man and ran her hands through her orange hair while biting her lip. “I’m so sorry! I’ve had her for only a few months and training has been rough… Is your shirt expensive? Maybe I could pay for the washing?”<br/><br/>And so, the redhead who had several months ago still worked at an opera and called herself Nadia, stood there, staring into David’s eyes with no sign of shame, guilt or sadness. There was nothing but worry for a stranger’s ruined shirt.