Milah was family, familiar warmth by the flickering flames in the dead of winter, a safe haven from the rest of the world.

She was laughter, and kisses, and hands squeezed at midnight, smiles across the dinner table.

He knew her, knew her deep grey eyes that calmed his nerves, wedding rings resting on their fingers. He was young and foolish and naïve, too trusting of her soft whispers, and for a while he was convinced of the feelings in his heart, the love he thought he recognized.

She was his world, his next breath, but his safe haven became his prison, laughter turned into shouts of anger, kisses disappearing, heads turned from eager lips, hands left cold with no other half to clutch, and he was alone, tears drying on his cheeks, hobbling down a rainy, mud sodden path, his heart crying out at the thought of a little boy waiting for him back home, a little boy with deep grey eyes that calmed his nerves.

...

Cora was fury, pent up rage rushing through the both of them, an explosion years in the making, fireworks slicing across the night sky, shaming the stars with their beauty.

She was dark, a heart filled with rage and shame, and she was knowing, a kindred spirit in an ocean of strangers. Her chocolate eyes were enchanting, a seductive grin playing on her lips, hands gripping his shoulders with all the need of someone who's been alone for too long.

She was like him, greedy for power, lusting for blood, and she was his. She was his, his heart in the palm of her hands, but she was gone, gone from his sight in the blink of an eye. She was lost to him the moment she ripped out her own heart, forgetting the feelings, the love, and falling into the lure of magic.

She chose her power over her heart, her life over her love, and he was left to pick up the pieces of his shattered heart.

...

Belle was sunlight, warming your skin in the wake of chilling rain.

She was curious glances from across the room, embarrassed blushes behind a smoking stove, and she was fragility at its finest, chipped cups and plunges from ladders. She was daring and brave and true, a heart as pure as heaven itself, and the love he felt for her could transcend time.

She was forgiveness and light and hope, soft smiles and tender kisses. She was bright, a beacon in the darkness, and her lively blue eyes shone with eternal happiness.

She was enduring and strong, steady and stubborn, and she snuck into his heart and stayed there, made it her home. He would gladly die for her, give up his power for her, because she was his true love.

She wasn't Milah, a heart grinding to dust in his palm.

She wasn't Cora, a dagger clanging against the floor.

She was Belle, a phone pressed to his ear, sniffles on the other end.

She was Belle and that was really all that ever truly mattered.

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