When their marriage was supposed to be formalized, she had dutifully reported the paperwork to her unit. But Raiden received a phone call and, without a word, left in a hurry.
She waited in vain, lingering at the entrance of the civil affairs bureau from dawn until dusk. Even when the doors closed, Raiden never appeared.
When she returned home, she was startled to find relatives and friends gathered to celebrate their supposed "wedding."
Raiden Lancaster, however, remained silent, offering no explanation.
Astrella hadn’t cared much at the time. Her decision to marry him hadn’t been born out of love but out of a sense of duty to care for the only son of her late mentor.
She had been so young back then, sharing a turbulent wind tunnel experiment with her mentor aboard the same plane.
At that time, they braved relentless aftershocks, pushing through countless obstacles to complete the mission.
There were moments when Astrella felt death’s icy grip brushing against her. Still, her mentor’s unmatched experience and calm wisdom always pulled them back from the abyss.