Ella yanked her wrist from his grip, her breathing unsteady. Her eyes flared with something raw and jagged—like she had spent years stitching up wounds he didn't even remember inflicting.
"Don't touch me," she snapped, voice louder than intended.
Leon's body jolted slightly, as if her rejection had struck something deep inside him, something primal. His fingers curled into fists at his sides, jaw tightening.
But he didn't back away.
Instead, he took a step forward.
"I don't know what I did to you," he said slowly, his voice hoarse, "but I feel it. In my bones. In the way you look at me like I broke something I can't fix."
Ella's chest tightened. She wanted to scream at him.
Tell him everything.
All the pain, all the nights she cried with no one left to blame but the man she once loved too deeply and feared just as much.
But how do you fight someone who doesn't even remember the war?
How do you protect yourself from a ghost with a heartbeat?
And the worst part?
Somewhere inside her… she still wanted to believe he could change.
It was like arguing with a mirror that only reflected the version of him she used to love. No memories. No guilt. Just pure instinct—still drawn to her like a moth to fire, even if it meant burning again.
And she—
She wasn't sure if she was the flame… or already the ash.
Leon's breath hitched as he stepped closer, his eyes wide—not with anger, but panic.
"Don't leave me," he said, barely a whisper. "Please… I don't remember anything, but the thought of you walking away makes me feel like I'm dying."
Ella's lips parted, stunned.
Because this wasn't the arrogant man who once held her captive in golden chains.
This was a man who'd forgotten everything—except how to want her.
And just as she turned to leave—
He fell to his knees.
"Even if I don't know why," he whispered, voice trembling, "my heart only beats when you're near."