83. Uncertain!

Author's POV 

Emerald brushed her hair, still lost in deep thought. She was trying to decide which place to visit first. From the pictures, she had identified a few locations she was both curious and nervous to face. In her mind, she kept searching for reasons to avoid them. The trauma of nightmares and flashbacks was still fresh. She was terrified that new memories might surface—stronger ones this time—and no one would be there to handle her if she broke.

But she had to start somewhere.

She finally put the brush down and grabbed her purse. Ruby had already left for work, and her mother was busy reading a fashion magazine, so Emerald slipped out without inviting questions. She was unlocking her car when she felt a familiar presence behind her. The moment she recognized the scent, she spun around sharply. There he was, in blood and flesh.

He closed the distance between them like a silent storm, and she froze as he pinned her gently but firmly against the car. His face was agonizing, carved with a kind of pain she couldn’t place.

She took a shaky breath when he leaned in, inhaling near her neck like a man deprived of oxygen. His desperate breathing slowly eased, the way hunger calms after finally being fed.

Egon lifted his head from her neck and met her wide, terrified eyes. She remained rigid, but there was something in the softness of his gaze—something that told her he wasn’t here to hurt her.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice came out as a whisper.

He smiled through the pain as if that small sound from her was enough to hold him together. Emerald exhaled slowly when his knuckles brushed her cheek and his tear-filled eyes took her in.

“Let me hear that voice more,” he murmured. “Don’t stop.”

She closed her eyes when his lips touched her forehead. That gentle touch flipped something inside her. For a moment, Egon didn’t feel dangerous at all. He felt familiar. Her heart softened in a way she hadn’t expected.

Her hand rested on his strong shoulder without her realizing it, steadying herself as he peppered soft kisses across her face.

“Egon—” she whispered, losing herself in the warmth of his touch.

Egon wrapped her in his arms, protective and fierce. Their bodies pressed together, generating a heat that felt almost like sunlight breaking through a rainy day. She didn’t know when she hugged him back or why, but his warmth felt rooted deep—something engraved in her from long ago. His solid, muscled frame felt like a safe haven, and she clung to him as if her body remembered something her mind didn’t.

They held each other like two souls stranded in a desert finally touching water.

Egon knew she was in a daze and that she would snap out of it soon. But for him, this fragile peace—even just a few seconds—was a luxury. Life had become hell without her. This time, he wasn’t letting her slip away. She would know how much he needed her.

A honking truck shattered the moment. Emerald flinched and quickly pulled away from the embrace. Fear flooded her again, but she didn’t run this time. Something inside her whispered that she didn’t need to fear him the way she had been. If he wanted to hurt her again, he would have already done it. His behavior was so different from the Egon in her nightmares. Now, she needed to find out why the man in reality didn’t match the monster in her dreams.

“I have to go somewhere.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, avoiding his eyes. But the urge to hug him again hit her so strongly it twisted her mind. Nothing felt clear anymore.

Egon’s lips curved into a small, relieved smile. At least she was speaking to him.

“I know you’re going out to find the truth,” he said.

She looked up at him, surprised by his certainty. Then she remembered—there was nothing in this world he didn’t know.

“Why don’t you just tell me and save us time?” she asked. She caught the familiar amusement flashing in his eyes.

“I want to. But the information might break you if you’re not ready. It’s better if you find it on your own.” He pulled a gun from his waistband and placed it in her hand.

Shock froze her. The gun was small but heavy—though not heavier than the weight pressing on her heart.

“What is this?” she whispered.

Egon wrapped her fingers around the weapon. “You have more enemies than anyone else in this world. And you already know how to protect yourself. This is just a small support.”

Emerald felt her eyes sting. She had so much to uncover about herself.

“I thought you’d stop me from knowing the truth,” she said, placing the gun inside her purse.

“Trust me,” Egon replied. “I’m the only one who wants you to remember everything. The world is not ready for the old you.”

He pressed a soft kiss to her head again, and she didn’t know why she allowed it—but she did.

She gave a weak nod and forced her legs to move away. Egon watched her with his hands in his pockets. She stopped halfway and turned around, her eyes nervous and full of fear. He could see the storm swirling inside them.

“Egon, can I ask you something?” Her voice trembled. He nodded gently.

“Am I the villain of this story?” A lone tear slid down her face. She couldn’t help connecting the pieces. The reason he said he punished her. The enemies he mentioned. The pictures where she couldn’t recognize herself—the woman in them looked dangerous, powerful, even cruel. What if she truly was the villain? What if she deserved everything that happened to her?

Her soul shook at the thought.

Egon was silent for a moment, and that silence sliced her confidence like a blade.

“No, my love,” he finally said. “You’re not a villain. You’re a survivor.”

She couldn’t fully trust him, but his words rebuilt something fragile inside her. She didn’t look back again. She got into her car and drove away.

“You think she’ll come back with the truth?” her mother’s voice came from behind Egon. “It’s going to hurt her even more. I was against this from the start. Now I feel erasing her memories was the right decision. She will hate herself once she knows everything.”

Egon turned toward her mother. “If you’re talking about Emerald, yes. She’ll be devastated. But this doesn’t apply to the Queen. Once she remembers who she is, she’ll rise again.”

He had never sounded so certain.

He returned to work, forcing himself not to stalk Emerald. He needed to give her space to uncover her past. But the moment his phone rang and he saw the name, his calm shattered.

“You shouldn’t leave your woman wandering around,” a deep, mocking voice said. “Especially when she doesn’t even recognize herself.”

Egon’s grip tightened around the paperweight until his knuckles whitened.

“Rafael Delgado!"