Hey guys so the moment you've all been waiting for! The sequel to Eternal Happiness!

I'm so excited! You have literally no idea how many of you had requested for it and have it in Natsume's point of view! And now…. HERE IT IS!

I do not own Gakuen Alice!

Enjoy~

Eternal Regrets

Mikan.

That was the name that echoed through my head for the last two decades. That was the name that echoed through the streets everyday.

The woman with the rare illness. The woman who needed a medical miracle.

The woman who was once mine.

I never understood why she did what she did. I never understood why she couldn't be satisfied with just me, why she needed more attention than she already had.

I knew she was beautiful. She always had been ever since we were little. I knew I would have to conquer many other men before I could make her mine. I loved her and she loved me. That was all that ever mattered at that time. We were happy together.

And then I took over the Hyuuga Corporations.

I noticed the changes in her almost immediately. She was wearing more makeup then usual, her hair was always done, and she was always well dressed. I never had any doubts about her at all. We were going to get married soon, of course she would want to look her best, even I wanted to always look my best for her.

But then the photos came.

I knew it couldn't be her. She would never do something like that to me. But then I saw it; I saw the heart shaped birthmark just above her right ribcage as she straddled that man. And after that I saw nothing else but red.

Why?

She sat there, just staring out the window. Her dull hair flowed softly from the breeze. She looked happy. I wonder if she is. The cries of the children from the garden droned out the silent echoes of the room. I didn't know what to say. She had changed so much from the past few weeks. Her eyes, her once brightly lit hazel brown eyes, stared lifelessly out the window. She's lost so much weight. Her cheekbones prodded against her slim face, her collarbones peeked form under her cotton shirt. She still looked breathtakingly beautiful in that blank room. She always had been. I took her hand in mine and brought it up to my cheeks. It was then that I realized against her cold hand that warm tears were running down my face. I never wanted it to be like this. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to be by my side.

I let the silent tears fall. I let the pained sobs out. One more. Just one more time, I want Mikan to look at me just one more time with those same bright eyes and that same big smile. Anything to take away the pained and full of grief look she gave me as I stared down at her that night. Anything to take away those horrible images from my mind as she lay there helpless, begging. But there were none.

I stared at the woman in front of me. The once perfect woman who I singlehandedly destroyed in one night. The air had turned suffocating as the next sob got caught at my throat. I swallowed harshly, hoping the lump would go away. I swallowed again as I chocked back another sob. I needed to get out.

I walked through the door once more, the image of her staring at me as I left her on the ground helplessly resurfaced. I hope she never ever had to watch me walk away from her again. Because this time, this time I promised myself will be the last because I will never ever leave her side anymore. I want her to be happy.

"I love you so much Mikan"

"Mikan it's time for your bath"

I gently took her into my arms before carrying her to the bathroom. The last three years we have spent it like this. I quit my position to CEO of Hyuuga Corporations and gave it up to Ruka. I knew the company would be in good hands. I devoted all my time to spending it with Mikan and taking care of her. I read her all her favorite books; I told her all about the latest news, I took her to family functions, trips, and vacations. She was my wife. I just needed her to be beside me, although there were times when I'd hoped for things to be the same, for her to look at me, talk back to me, to kiss me once again but I knew I had no right. I deserved all of this.

I carefully pressed the cloth against the skin of her left arm, wiping down gently. I traced her birthmark just under her left ribcage. Yes, this heart-shaped birthmark that started it all. I always claimed to know Mikan more than she knew herself and it was that, that became my first mistake. This one little mistake that I missed out while looking through the photos, this one little important detail that managed to cause everything that was once perfect to become broken. The birthmark was so carefully and so precisely added into the photos under her right rib cage.

It was entirely my fault.

"I'm so sorry Mikan"

But I knew she would never forgive me. I knew she would forever hate me. Probably wishing for my downfall forever, and I accept it. I deserved it more than anyone else.

My second mistake was killing my own child. The child who I claimed will always be loved and protected whenever I could, how ironic it was that it was myself that hurt them... that killed them.

My third mistake was meeting Mikan. If I never met her, if she never met me, if our paths never crossed, then maybe just maybe she wouldn't have to go through all that pain, all that sorrow. Maybe she would've been happy. She'd most likely have a family by now; no man could ever resist her. Maybe she'd also have a child by now. What would their names be? Would they look like her or her husband? It hurts to even think that, that man might not have been me. But it hurts even more knowing that it was me who ruined anything that might have possibly been a happily ever after.

Time went by quickly. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, months turned into years, years turned into forever. It's been forever and yet I can't help but continue to think, what if none of that happened. What if I trusted Mikan? Would we still be together? Or would fate eventually break us apart?

It didn't matter anymore, because we were together again. She was here beside me, and I am here beside her. And it is a beautiful sight as our crowd of family and friends in their black and white clothes leave us alone once again just as the rain begins to fall and the air is quiet.

But I'm not at all worried because Mikan and I will get to see them carrying beautiful white lilies again for us next year.

Here lies our beloved Mikan Hyuuga, Aged 83 and Natsume Hyuuga, Aged 84

Together and happy

This ending had always been at the back of my mind for Natsume to regret his decisions but in the end I felt like these two still deserved something of a happily ever after. They were destined to be.

xx A