The next day I walked into the hotel’s lounge my chest tight with nerves. The air smelled of cigars and old leather. At the far end of the room, a man in a tailored suit sat with a glass of brandy, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp.Adrien’s father He looked up as I approached his mouth curving into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Daniel.”I slid into the seat across from him trying to keep my hands steady. “Why now?Because,” he said smoothly “your little arrangement has run its course. Ryan remembers Adrien. That complicates things.”The words stung sharp and undeniable. “You caused that accident.”“Correction,” he said, sipping his drink. “I arranged a lesson. I never intended for it to be fatal Memory is a fragile thing sometimes it bends in useful ways. I thought you understood that.”I clenched my fists under the table. “I didn’t agree to this I neverHe cut me off with a cold chuckle. “You didn’t stop it, Daniel That makes you complicit Don’t pretend your hands are
Being in Adrien’s home felt oddly right The walls the quiet hum of the place it wrapped around him like safety Adrien moved through the room with careful energy as though Ryan were fragile glass And Ryan found he liked it. He liked the way Adrien’s presence steadied him how his voice seemed to anchor him to the here and now.But there was Daniel sitting with his polite smile his eyes sharp despite the words he spoke. Ryan felt the tension like static in the air He remembered their history Daniel had been there through the fog a steady presence even when memories slipped. But his heart freshly mended gravitated to Adrien without hesitation.When Adrien sat beside him their shoulders brushing Ryan leaned into it instinctively. “I’ll be fine here,” Ryan murmured Adrien’s eyes softened. He nodded lips parting like he wanted to say something deeper but he simply squeezed Ryan’s hand under the blanket.Daniel cleared his throat. “I should head out let you two settle in You need rest, Ryan.
Adrien’s POVRyan fit against me like he always had like the accident hadn’t taken weeks of our lives and shoved Daniel between us I rested my chin lightly on his hair breathing him in But beneath the relief was fear. Fear that this was temporary that the blows to his head might tangle his memories again, that Daniel would find another way to wedge himself into Ryan’s doubts.You should rest,” I said gently brushing my thumb across his shoulder “I’ll set up the guest roomHis fingers curled into my shirt stopping me. “Stay.”My chest squeezed so tightly I could barely breathe. “Always.”I guided him upstairs each step careful. He hated when I treated him like he might break, but I couldn’t help it. The thought of losing him again made my hands shake.Ryan’s POVHis room smelled like him cedar laundry detergent, and that cologne I used to tease him about. I sat on the edge of the bed my hand sliding over the familiar duvet. Flashes hit me mornings tangled in these sheets, his laugh whe
Ryan’s POV The smell of antiseptic had seeped into everything I owned the clothes Ella had brought me the blanket at the foot of my bed even the way my hair seemed to carry that sterile tang. Hospitals did that. They swallowed you whole pressed white walls and muted beeping machines against you until you forgot what color felt like.But this morning was different. For the first time since the accident, I wasn’t weighed down by confusion. My memories were back or at least, enough of them. I knew Adrien My Adrien Every kiss, every fight, every promise we’d made in whispers beneath the rain all of it belonged to me again. The doctor’s voice cut through my thoughts. “You’re free to go home today, Mr Ryan. We’ll give you the medications and the discharge forms Take it easy, no heavy strain for the next couple of weeks.” Home The word sat strange in my chest. Was home my apartment? Ella’s? Or the place my heart had already chosen long before my mind caught up? My eyes drifted instinctive
Adrien bristled, his fingers tightening on mine and I swallowed hard The tension between them was suffocating, pressing against me from both sides.But I remembered. I remembered Adrien kneeling on the floor of our apartment ring box trembling in his hands. I remembered the way my heart had leapt, the way my mouth had said yes before my mind could catch up.I didn’t hesitate I turned fully toward Adrien, squeezing his hand back with deliberate strength. “I don’t need to decide,” I said my voice steadier than I felt. “I already know.”Daniel’s face stilled For one fragile second, the charm slipped and I saw the storm raging beneath.Adrien’s POVIt took everything in me not to smile because this wasn’t about triumph. It wasn’t about winning. It was about Ryan finally seeing me again, about him remembering what we had built together.But Daniel’s eyes… they burned into me, sharp as glass. He had always been calculated, always careful with his emotions. Yet here, for the first time, he c
Ryan’s POVThe hospital room smelled faintly of antiseptic and rain soaked linen. My head still throbbed where it had collided against the corner of the nightstand during that stupid fall but the pain was nothing compared to the clarity flooding me now. Memories not blurry fragments, not fading impressions but whole, vivid memories cascaded back into me the moment I opened my eyes and saw him.Adrien.Not just a face I couldn’t place. Not just a man with sad eyes hovering at the edge of my confusion. No my Adrien. My fiance My home My other half.Tears pricked at my eyes before I could stop them, and I reached out instinctively clutching at his hand like a lifeline.I remember,” I whispered hoarsely voice trembling. “Adrien… I remember you.”His body jolted as though I had physically struck him. The chair he had been dozing in screeched against the linoleum floor as he leaned forward, hands gripping mine with a desperation I recognized because it mirrored my own. His lips parted but f