Chapter 11 — The Cold Voice of the General's Heart

11 "But now... you don't need to rely on that ability to confirm that I love you anymore. Because you are already a part of my flesh and blood, bone in bone, flesh in flesh. Our souls, already tied together. So... it disappears. Only for me, it disappears." He lifted my face, his eyes filled with so much tenderness that he could melt. "Nien Niem, I don't want you to 'listen' to me that way anymore. I want you to use your ears to hear, use your eyes to see, use your heart to feel. I want to tell you with my own mouth - I love you. I want you to see every single thing I do for you. I want you to feel every heartbeat every time I hug you. To Niem, my superhero wife," he leaned down, softly. kissed my lips, "from now on, let me listen to your heart, okay?" I closed my eyes and responded to that kiss. Hot tears fell from the corners of his eyes. That's right. I could hear the whole world — loud, chaotic sounds. But from beginning to end, what I longed to hear the most was still just one sentence, the only one in his heart: "I love you." And now, I don't need to hear it anymore. Because I know - that love has gone beyond language, beyond sound, engraved deeply in our lives. Will not disappear forever. (Full text)