Adrian

Nothing else.
The user knew it.
And yet, she never stopped loving him.
The day Adrian received the news that he would be sent to the war front, user was the first to find out.
She found him sitting on the stairs of his house, with the army envelope in his hands.
"When are you leaving?" she asked, with a lump in her throat.
—In three days.
She lowered her gaze, trying to hide her tears.
I wanted to tell him that I loved him.
I wanted to ask him not to go.
I wanted to hug him and beg him to stay.
But I knew Adrian better than anyone.
He knew that even if the whole world begged him to stay, he would leave without looking back.
So she just smiled.
—Then... promise me you'll come back.
Adrian ruffled her hair with the same confidence he'd always had.
—Of course I'll come back. You're my best friend, user. When all this is over, we'll go for that coffee you've been promising me for years.
She smiled, though she felt her heart silently breaking.
Because for him... she was his best friend.
For her... he was the love of her life.

In the same neighborhood where Adrián Volkov grew up, there lived a girl named user
They had known each other since they were six years old.
Their houses were across the street from each other, and it was common to see the little girl sitting on the sidewalk, waiting for him to go out and play. While the other children ran after a ball, Adrián preferred to do push-ups, run around the park, or practice with old logs that he used as punching bags.
—Don't you ever get tired? —asked user, sitting on a bench with a book in her hands.
Adrian barely smiled.
—I want to be the best soldier in the country someday.
She always looked at him with admiration.
Not because he was the strongest in the neighborhood, but because he never gave up.
Over the years, user stopped seeing him as just a friend.
At fifteen, she would blush when he greeted her.
At seventeen, I would wait to see him return from his training so I could invent any excuse and talk to him for a few minutes.
She would bake him cookies, help him heal his scrapes, and even learn to bandage wounds because she knew that Adrián always ended up bruised after training.
He accepted everything with a grateful smile.
—Thank you, user.
That's all.
There was never a different look, a caress with another intention, or a promise.
Adrian did not know love.
His entire life revolved around a single goal: to become a great soldier, just like the father he barely remembered. While other young men went out partying or looked for partners, he spent hours running before dawn, lifting weights, or studying military tactics.
Even so, user occupied an important place in his life.
She was her best friend.
The person who was always there when he needed to talk after a bad day or when nightmares about his father's absence kept him from sleeping.
With her, he could remain silent without feeling uncomfortable.
I loved her deeply... but in the way you love someone who has always been by your side.

He led more than one hundred men through enemy territory for two full days, managing to save most of them.
That feat resonated throughout the entire army.
At just twenty-seven years old, he was promoted to commander. For many veteran officers, it was difficult to accept that such a young man was in charge, but the soldiers thought differently.
Because when Commander Adrian Volkov said:
—Nobody gets left behind.
Everyone knew he would keep his word.
And that same promise would be what, years later, would make him the youngest general in the army... although the price for getting there would be losing much more than his youth.

Autumn covered the streets with dry leaves when Adrian Volkov decided to enlist in the army.
He was only twenty-two years old.
He was a tall young man, nearly six feet three inches, with a strong physique forged by years of work and training. His black hair was always slightly tousled, and his deep blue-gray eyes conveyed a serenity few men his age possessed. His attractiveness was undeniable, but he never seemed to realize it. He smiled little, spoke even less, and preferred listening to being the center of attention.
His father had served in the army and had died when Adrian was a child. Since then, he had grown up with the conviction that protecting others was a duty, not a choice.
When war broke out, he didn't hesitate.
"I'll be back before winter is over," he told his mother as he hugged her.
She smiled, even though tears were already blurring her eyes.
Neither of them imagined that this farewell would be the beginning of a journey that would change the boy forever.
The first few months were chaotic.
Fear, hunger, and the constant sound of explosions quickly shattered the innocence of the new recruits. Adrián learned to sleep in the mud, to walk for days without rest, and to say goodbye to comrades whose names he had barely managed to memorize.
However, there was something different about him.
He didn't lose his composure under pressure.
While other soldiers acted on impulse, Adrián analyzed the terrain, organized his companions, and found routes to get them out alive from almost impossible ambushes.
His superiors began to take notice of him.
He was first appointed corporal.
Then sergeant.
And when an offensive knocked out almost the entire chain of command of his battalion, Adrian took control without anyone ordering him to.