Wishful thinking*

With startling abruptness, Zeres pried her arms from his neck. Alicia was caught off guard and could not tighten her grip on him in time as he had already set her aside and stood away from her before she could make any move. He was just too fast, too strong compared to her utterly slow and weak movements.

A protest slipped from Alicia's lips when she thought he was going to disappear. Thankfully, he didn't. He turned away and focused his gaze on the distant instead.

Watching his back, Alicia felt an overwhelming defeat. She didn't just fail from both of her missions; she also felt like she only made things worse. Zeres wasn't a fool. She could understand why he'd think she came just to distract him. Even though that was not the only reason, she did come to do that. Would he still believe it if she tells him she came because she genuinely cared for him and that she didn't want him to die?

"Zeres," she called out as she struggled to stand. "Listen –"