Rant ~Yato x Reader AU~

Chapter 24: Gone with the Spirit

"Never was a concern. My sweet Bridgette and I never had children," he says, once again returning his gaze to the ocean. "Of course, that was not due to a lack of trying. We tried for years and conceived twice, but both pregnancies proved fruitless -a miscarriage and a stillborn. As you can imagine, that took a toll on us; on Bridgette especially."

The joy of remembering his wife now leaves his face, being replaced by what appears to be concentration. Concentration and sorrow at remembering the two children he and his wife lost. It must have been difficult and hard for them. A twinge pulls at my chest.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Sui," I apologize. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Do not fret, Y/N," he smiles. "No harm has been done. Is it hard to think about sometimes? Yes. It is a painful chapter of my life, but it is not one that I simply ignore and try to forget. Regardless of the present, those two children were ours and would have been surrounded by love. And now my precious Bridgette is with them."

As crazy as it may seem, he is correct. Regardless of the pain he and Bridgette went through, that is a part of their life together. To try to forget it would be erasing part of his life with her.

I nod, "I understand. I'm sure you and your wife lived a beautiful life together, nonetheless."

"We did," he chuckles. "I spent many years with the love of my life. I woke up many mornings with her at my side and spent many days with her. It was all beautiful."

I can see how the love returns in his stare. He is once again remembering Bridgette and the love they shared. It does sound like it was a pure love. It sounds like it was such a pure and raw love that was filled with magic. That kind of love...that's the kind of love that so many people aspire to obtain. I know that's the kind of love I've always wanted.

Another twinge pulls at my chest. No. No, I can't think about him right now. Not here. Right now, I'm listening to Mr. Sui. That's what I choose to tell myself, anyway.

I clear my throat. "If I may ask, what brought you back to Japan, then?"

He glimpses down at me, still smiling. "After about sixteen years of marriage, Bridgette's father grew ill and sadly, passed away. There was nothing that could be done for him as he had advanced bone cancer. As an only child, his entire estate was left to Bridgette." He inhales sharply through his nose. "So, she sold her father's bakery to a cousin of hers and we moved here.

"Bridgette was elated to start a new chapter in our life together and I was ecstatic to be back in my homeland with my beautiful bride. By that time, I was doing well, and we were financially sound. So, as an anniversary gift, I had her dream home built." He turns and nods at Seven. "Bridgette adored Victorian homes and dreamed about owning her own boutique, so I brought both to life through Seven. She ran the boutique and we lived our lives together upstairs."

I scan the building that acts as both my job and home and hum, "Huh. Wow. That would explain why there's just one single Victorian house in all of Nora...or, in general."

He chortles, "Yes. That would be why. That was Bridgette's dream and it was made a reality. She named and ran Seven, always offering a safe place for all those around. She was loved and cherished by so many. I guess that was why so many people were in shock when she got sick."

I knit my brows together, intrigued by that statement. I hadn't even considered how his wife had passed away, but maybe an illness was the culprit. That would seem very legitimate. After all, his father-in-law had passed from cancer.

"She got sick?" I repeat.

"Yes," he answers, turning to me. "Bridgette was always a rather clumsy woman, which I didn't mind. I loved her, nonetheless. But that said, I couldn't always be there. At the time, I was still a surgeon, so there were many hours she was left to run the boutique alone. It was during one of those days where she had a nasty fall in the basement while trying to get some stock out of storage.

"She was trapped down there, calling and crying for help for hours. It wasn't until the young lady she hired for part-time work arrived and heard her." He swallows, "Thanks to that young woman, Bridgette was taken to the hospital where I worked. Of course, when I heard she was there I flew to her. She had a sprang ankle and dislocated her femur from her hip and was bruised, but she was okay.

"That was enough to ease my mind. Looking back at it, I should have run tests myself, but I trusted my colleagues and their medical advice. And because of that, I feel partly responsible for losing my precious Bridgette." He shakes his head. "Bridgette became ill. Nothing helped to ease her. She was always miserable and could no longer run the shop, so I retired from medicine and left behind my work in the medical field and took over her work.

"All the while, she got sicker and sicker. I couldn't bear to see her in such a state, so I took her to the hospital. They ran every test imaginable when they found the cause of her sickness." He pauses, swallowing, "Much like her father, my precious Bridgette was diagnosed with bone cancer. It had made her bones frail, so the fall took a greater hit on her than it normally would have. It also left her susceptible to infection which was what happened.

"They did what they could; giving her medicine for the infection, but she refused any cancer treatment. She wanted the remainder of her life to be quality, not quantity." He chuckles, sadness pulling at his tone. "I was in shock, honestly. I begged her to get some sort of treatment, but she refused. She had already made peace with the diagnosis. So, respecting her wish, we temporarily closed Seven and began traveling. There was no saying how long it would be until Bridgette passed, so we took advantage of the time we had.

"Turned out, we had less time than we thought." He brings his gaze to mine. "After only eighteen months, it was obvious she could no longer travel. She could barely walk. So, I found an apartment in Nora that overlooks the ocean. I know she wanted to go back to Seven -she told me so every day- but she couldn't make it up all those steps."

He grows quiet. His eyes linger on the roaring ocean. I can tell this next part will be difficult for him. This won't be easy for him to recall and part of me wants to tell him he doesn't need to discuss this if he doesn't want. But he speaks before I can say so.

"The last few months of her life were some of the calmest and most peaceful," he swallows. "We were together every day. We recalled all our past struggles and memories, laughed at fond times, and held each other closely. And on the day, she passed, before she left me, she told me she loved me and that she always would. I kissed her and told her the same. After that, she smiled, and her spirit was taken away. She went peacefully."

I can hear how he's fighting back the tears. The lump is in his throat, making his words hoarse. Though, he does a good job keeping his tears at bay.

I begin to reach over to comfort him when he turns to me and sighs, "The point is, Ms. L/N. The heart fails to move on."

**Ello lovelies! Now we all know what happened to Mr. Sui's wife, Bridgette. Now, please keep in mind I am no medical professional. I do not claim that how she got sick/passed is accurate. It's just a part of the story. Also, I'm gonna go ahead and explain why Mr. Sui goes by that instead of Dr. Sui since I'm not sure if I'll get to explain that later on. He did go by Dr. Sui while working in the medical field, however, after stepping back, he decided to go by Mr. Sui because he figured it'd work better in the boutique's setting. That's all. Lol I know, lame. But it is what it is. Anywho, thank you so freakin' much for everything! I truly appreciate everything! Y'all are the bee's knees! Wuv yous!! <3**

-Noel Ross

P.S. "Jealous Of The Angels" by Donna Taggart