"Christine..." Strange's voice shook badly.
He didn't care where he was or how different this world might be.
All he knew was that she was here.
"Christine, it's really you." Strange's eyes reddened. He fixed his gaze on her face, afraid that if he blinked, the sight before him would shatter like a bubble.
"I wandered through endless darkness just to see you one more time."
Strange moved closer, step by step. His voice was low, heavy with longing suppressed through countless days and nights.
"I'm sorry, Christine. I ruined everything."
"You look... terrible." Christine took half a step back and watched him warily. "You shouldn't be here."
Strange paid no attention to her retreat. The words poured out of him. "In my world, that car crash took you from me. I survived, but my soul died with you that day. I searched every possibility and studied the most forbidden magic, all so I could see you again."
He closed his eyes in pain.
"I know this might mean nothing now, but I have to tell you. I love you! I love you, Christine. Every second in a world without you, I felt like a walking corpse."
He raised a hand to touch her cheek, then stopped halfway, as though afraid she was an illusion that would break at his touch.
Christine listened in silence.
She saw the unguarded love and remorse in Strange's eyes, and her own eyes grew wet before she realized it.
She and the Stephen Strange of this universe had once truly loved each other.
They had shared countless wonderful memories. Everyone had seen them as the perfect couple.
But in the end, they had broken up.
Those days had been full of passion, but they had also been exhausting.
Stephen was brilliant, but he was