Chapter 3

“I shouldn’t have come back” The thought kept repeating in my head as I walked out of the hall, my steps quick, uneven, desperate. My chest tightened as my heart pounded aggressively, echoing loudly enough to realize the reality I couldn’t escape.

But even as I pushed through the doors and into the cool night air, one thing followed me.

Him.

His voice.

His eyes.

His words.

“You disappeared this morning.”

My chest tightened once again.

He remembered.

There was no doubt about it now.

Every look. Every word. Every pause.

He knew.

And worse…

He wanted me to know that he knew.

I exhaled shakily, wrapping my arms around myself as if that could somehow steady the storm building inside me.

Think.

What do I do now?

Pretend?

Deny everything?

Act like it never happened?

A bitter laugh almost escaped my lips.

As if that was even possible.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, but all I saw were flashes of that night.

A door closing.

A voice too close.

Hands I couldn’t fully remember, but couldn’t forget either.

My body tensed.

Something wasn’t right.

That feeling again.

The same one from last night.

Like pieces were missing.

Like I had lived through something I couldn’t fully recall.

“Running away already?”

My eyes flew wide open.

My heart dropped.

I turned slowly, I wish I didn’t.

And there he was.

Standing a few steps behind me.

How did he….

“I thought you wanted to leave,” he added calmly, as if nothing about this situation was strange.

As if we weren’t standing here with a secret that could destroy everything.

“I did,” I replied, my voice tighter than I intended.

“Then why are you still here?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t have one.

Because no matter how far I walked, it felt like I wasn’t really escaping anything.

He took a step closer.

Then another.

I stayed where I was, even though every instinct in my body screamed at me to move.

To run.

To get away.

“You remember,” he said quietly.

Not a question.

A statement and it was firm.

My breath caught.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The lie felt weak the moment it left my lips.

His gaze darkened slightly, like he expected that answer.

Like he had already prepared for it.

“You came with me,” he continued, his voice low, controlled. “You didn’t resist, instead you craved it”

My stomach twisted painfully.

“That doesn’t mean I remember anything,” I snapped before I could stop myself.

Silence.

Heavy.

Dangerous.

His eyes studied me carefully, like he was searching for something deeper than my words.

“You’re right,” he said after a moment.

I felt a wave of relief inside me.

Brief. Fragile.

Then he stepped closer.

Close enough that I could feel the tension radiating around him.

Close enough that my pulse started racing again.

“But you felt it, and you can’t deny you felt it”

The words hit harder than they should have.

I froze.

Because that was the problem I had.

Even through the blur.

Even through the confusion.

There was something I couldn’t explain.

Something I couldn’t ignore.

And he knew it.

Of course he did.

“I don’t know what you want from me,” I said, my voice quieter now.

Honestly, for the first time since this started.

His expression didn’t change.

But something in his eyes just did.

“I want you to stop pretending,” he replied.

My heart skipped.

“That night happened,” he continued. “Whether you remember it or not.”

I swallowed hard.

“I’m engaged to your sister,” he added, his tone almost indifferent.

Almost.

But not quite.

Because there was something else beneath it.

Something sharper.

More dangerous.

“And yet…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

He didn’t need to.

The silence said everything.

I shook my head, taking a step back.

“This is so wrong”

“Yes,” he agreed almost immediately.

No hesitation.

No denial.

Just the truth.

And somehow, that made it worse.

“Then stay away from me, you’re engaged to my sister, just stay away from me,” I said, even though my voice wasn’t as strong as I wanted it to be.

His gaze held mine.

Unmoving.

Unapologetic.

“I don’t think I can do that.”

My breath caught again.

And this time…

It didn’t come back as easily.

Because something in the way he said it….

Calm.

Certain.

Unavoidable….

Made one thing painfully clear.

This wasn’t just a mistake.

And whatever this was….

I had the wave of belief in me that this wasn’t as normal as it seemed but I couldn’t remember anything..

And I knew he wasn’t going to end this quietly