Imagine being Caleb's ex non mc fiance? part 3
Imagine for the past few weeks you genuienly thought you were losing your mind. At first it was small things, a familiar black SUV parked near your apartment building too often. Same man appearing near your workplace at different hours of the day. Someone standing near the convenience store every time you went out late at night.
Imagine you ignore it initially, because honestly? Your life had already been miserable enough lately. Sleeping became difficult after the breakup, or whatever that even was. Because calling Caleb your ex fiance felt wrong, painfully wrong. Even after giving the ring back, even after blocking him, even after crying yourself sick for weeks. Nothing about losing Caleb felt real. It just felt incomplete. Like your relationship shattered halfway through a sentence and somehow that made moving on impossible.
Imagine the way you still remembered the look on his face that night too clearly, that was the problem. If Caleb looked guilty, maybe you could have hated him properly. If he looked defensive, angry, dismissive, maybe this would have been easier. But he looked terrified, desperate. Like he was watching something precious collapse in front of him while being unable to stop it. That look haunted you constantly.
which Imagine was why you hated yourself for still worrying about him. For missing him. For unconsciously reaching for your phone every night hoping maybe he would texted from another number somehow. You were angry at him. You were furious. But underneath the anger sat something worse, fear. Because deep down you still believed Caleb loved you. And that made everything terrifyingly confusing.
Imagine then came the night outside the convenience store. A man initially looked harmless, smiling, flirting, asking for your number casually and you politely declined. He insisted and you decline again. But then his hand grabbed your wrist too tightly, your stomach dropped immediately. "Hey." You snapped, trying to pull away. "Let go." Instead, his grip tightened harder. "Don't be such a bitch about it." For a second, panic flashed sharply through you and before things escalated further, someone moved.
Imagine the way the stranger barely had time to react before another man twisted his arm away from you hard enough to force him backwards. "Walk away." Cold voice, military tone, controlled and dangerous, the creep cursed under his breath before quickly leaving. Meanwhile, the man who intervened turned toward you. "You alright, Ma'am?" Your chest tightened. Because you knew him, one of Caleb's men. Although you don't knew him personally, you had seen him multiple times beside Caleb during military gatherings. And he clearly realized you recognized him too because his expression immediately became awkward.
Imagine the way you looked around quickly. Shit. Another familiar figure stood near the parked SUV across the street, watching. Your blood ran cold. No. No fucking way. "...Are you following me?" The silence was enough answer. Anger exploded immediately afterward. Weeks of confusion and heartbreak suddenly mixed violently together. "Are you serious right now?" "We're assigned to your protection." "My protection from what?!" Then again, the silence. Your laugh came out sharp and disbelieving. "Unbelievable." You stormed off furious. But afterward? You couldn't stop noticing them. And once awareness settled in, the protection become impossible to ignore.
Imagine different personnel rotating constantly, cars nearby, people subtly shadowing your routes. Never too close, never enough to make public scenes but always there. Watching, protecting. And the worst fucking part? They were unquestionably Caleb's men. Which meant even after everything, even after the ring, even after you walked away. He was still protecting you. And that realization hurt more than it should have. Because what kind of man continued watching over the woman who left him? What kind of man silently protect someone who slapped him across the face and blocked his number afterward? Your Caleb. That was the problem, it was always him.
Imagine three weeks passed like that. Three miserable, exhausting weeks. Until eventually your frustration outweighed your pride, because clearly something was happening. Something enough to justify military protection around you twenty four seven. And Caleb? Caleb remained completely silent. No new number, no new messages, no calls, nothing. Which felt wrong, terrifying wrong. Caleb was not the type to give up on you quietly.
so Imagine one night after another bodyguard subtly followed you home from work, you finally snapped. You unblocked his number immediately then stared at your messages, nothing. Your chest tightened, then you type first.
Imagine there was no response, not even delivered. Hour passed and your anxiety worsenes horribly. By midnight, you couldn't take it anymore and you called him. The line rang twice before connecting and immediately, a woman answered. And your entire body went cold. Again. Again? For one horribe second, you couldn't breathe properly. The same sick feeling from that apartment rushed back instantly. The same confusion, the same humiliation and you nearly hang up. But something stopped you this time, maybe it was exhaustion, maybe it was instinct, maybe because despite everything, you still trusted Caleb somewhere deep inside yourself.
"Where's Caleb?" The woman in the other end paused briefly then her tone softened immediately. "Oh." Something about that single word made your stomach twist violently. "You're his fiance." Your throat tightened. "... Ex fiance." "No." The woman replied quietly, "Definitely not ex." Your heart stumbled painfully. "What?" But she continued before you could process that. "Colonel Caleb is currently hospitalized." Everything inside you stopped. "What?" "Colonel's unconscious right now." Your chair nearly crashed backward as you stood abruptly. "What happened?!" Your voice cracked instantly. "Is he okay?!" "He's alive." She reassured quickly, "But-" You were already grabbing your keys. "What hospital?"
Imagine the military hospital intimidating, cold white walls, heavy security and personnel everywhere. You barely remembered entering. Everything blurred together beneath your panic. "I'm sorry Ma'am, family member only." "I'm his fiance." The personnel hesitated. "Legally immediate family only." Your chest twisted horribly. Because technically? You weren't even wearing the ring anymore. And you almost broke down right there from frustration. "I need to see him." "I apologize but-" Thankfully, one of Caleb’s friends spotted you before security fully turned you away. A Major you met several times before, usually calm and easygoing but tonight he looked exhausted like nobody around Caleb had slept properly in days. "She's with me." He told firmly then softer toward you. "Come on."
Imagine the walk toward Caleb's room felt endless. "What happened to him?" The Major exhaled heavily. "There was an ambush during transfer." Your stomach dropped instantly. "He protected the witness." Witness? Questions flooded your head immediately. But none mattered more than one thing. "Is he okay?" The Major looked at you carefully for a long second before answering. "He almost wasn't." Your vision blurred immediately. Then the room door finally opened and you stopped breathing. Caleb looked terrible. Paler than you had ever seen him, bruises covered parts of his face and neck. An oxygen mask covered half his face while machines beeped steadily around him but what shattered you completely was his arm.
Imagine his right arm looked badly damaged beneath thick stabilization wraps and medical equipment. The sight physically hurt. "Oh my God…" This was Caleb. Strong, steady, untouchable Caleb. The man who always looked capable of carrying the world, now lying unconscious beneath hospital lights looking painfully fragile. Suddenly all your anger felt unbearably small compared to the fear crushing your chest right now. You approached slowly, terrified. Like touching him might somehow hurt him more. Yet you wanted to hold him, wanted to check if he was really alive. But the amount of injuries scared you too much. "What happened to you." You whispered shakily.
then Imagine Caleb moved, very slightly. His brows furrowed weakly before his eyes slowly opened. Disoriented at first, unfocused. Then they landed on you and everything on his face broke apart instantly. Relief, pure overwhelming relief and his eyes immediately filled with tears. Your chest caved inward painfully as Caleb tried sitting up too fast before immediately wincing sharply in pain. "Hey- hey don't move." His breathing became uneven behind the oxygen mask. And then, he started crying. Not loudly, not dramatically. Just silent tears slipping helplessly down his face while staring at you like he genuinely thought he'd never see you again.
"I'm sorry." He rasped weakly beneath the mask and your own tears fell immediately. "Caleb-" "I'm sorry." His voice sounded rough, exhausted, broken. And suddenly you realized something horrifying. Caleb looked scared, not of pain, not of dying. He was scared of losing you. "Please." He whispered shakily. "Please don't leave." That nearly destroyed you. Because this was Caleb, your composed, terrifyingly competent Colonel. The man who handled crisis after crisis without breaking. Now looking at you with absolute desperation in his swollen exhausted eyes.
Imagine the way you carefully reached for his left hand and the second your fingers touched his, Caleb grabbed onto you weakly but immediately. Like instinct, like survival. His grip trembled. "I hate you." You cried shakily. Caleb let out one broken breath that almost sounded like a laugh before another tear escaped instead. "I know." "You hurt me." "I know." "You made me think..." His eyes squeezed shut briefly and pain crossed his face instantly. Real pain, not physical but something worse. "I couldn't tell you." He whispered weakly. "I couldn't risk you."
Imagine the way your brows furrowed through tears. "What are you talking about?" Caleb looked at you desperately now, like he was trying to stay conscious through sheer force. "There were people watching." He whispered. "At the apartment." Your heart stopped. "There was a laser sight on you." The room went silent and your blood ran cold instantly. Caleb's breathing worsened slightly from talking too much but he kept going anyway. "I saw it on the wall behind you." He said shakily. "I know that if I talked… If I told you anything…" He swallowed painfully. "They would've killed you."
Imagine the way everything suddenly clicked together all at once. The bodyguards, the secrecy, the fear in his eyes that night, the panic, the silence. Oh God. You started crying harder instantly. And Caleb looked completely devastated watching you realize the truth. "I thought sending you away was safer." He admitted weakly. "Then I realise I..." His voice cracked harshly. The monitors beside him started reacting faster. "Caleb, stop talking." "No." He gripped your hand tighter desperately. "No because I thought I lost you." "Caleb-" "I almost died before fixing it." Your chest physically ached hearing that.
Imagine the way his breathing became uneven now, exhausted. But he kept staring at you like if he blinked too long, you would disappear again. "I'm sorry." He whispered again and again. "I'm so fucking sorry." Tears streamed helplessly down your face. You wanted to comfort him, to scream at him, to hold him forever. And Caleb looked so tired. So emotionally wrecked like these past weeks destroyed him too. "Don't leave me." He whispered suddenly and the words sounded small, terrified. Nothing like the composed Colonel everyone respected. Just Caleb, your Caleb. Broken apart in front of you. "Please." His grip tightened weakly around your hand.
"I can fix this." He whispered desperately, voice becoming less steady now. "I'll explain everything properly, I swear, just- just don't leave me again." "Caleb-" "I can't lose you. I'll die." The monitor beeped faster suddenly and a nurse immediately entered. "Colonel, you need to calm down." But Caleb ignored her completely. His eyes stayed locked desperately on yours. Almost delirious now from exhaustion and medication. "Please stay." He begged weakly. "Please don't leave me alone again." Your chest shattered completely. "I'm here." You whispered quickly through the tears but Caleb looked unconvinced, panicked. Like he genuinely thought if he closed his eyes, you would disappear. "Please." He whispered brokenly.
then Imagine, alarms started ringing louder and everything happened too fast afterward. More nurses rushed inside, doctors followed immediately. "Ma'am, you need to step outside." You froze instantly. "What happened?!" "His condition is destabilizing." Caleb's grip on your hand only tightened as medical staff surrounded him. And even then he still looked only at you, terrified, desperate. "Don't go." He whispered weakly and your heart broke completely. But then the nurses pulled you away while the doors shut between you both.
: bruh :/ imma play love island on the sidelines. Let's go ethan :"( Valkoooo T~T anyways here u go grovelling caleb 🥹
mb, i forgot the Tags kasi decisions ako sa life: @moltensceptergambit @scoupshushushu @ceceoboro @younghideoutberserker @sleepykittyenergy @spiceandsass @younbeanz @multi-fandom-fanfic @yoichislovie