LYDIA
Dex's arms wrap tightly around my waist before I can react. His strength takes my breath away as he lifts me easily and lays me on the bed. My pulse pounds in my ears. Before I can speak, he's above me-his legs tangling with mine, his hands capturing my wrists against the sheets. His face hovers inches from mine, eyes burning with an emotion I can't name.
"What are you doing?" I whisper, my voice trembling with confusion and something I can't quite hide.
"Be quiet, Lydia," he says softly but firmly. "Just... pay attention."
The seriousness in his tone freezes me. I inhale slowly, feeling his breath ghost across my skin.
"This isn't something I can lie to you about," he continues. "There's no way to hide it. Even if you don't remember me, you should feel it."
His words settle deep inside me, stirring a strange ache. I want to understand, but my thoughts are scattered. Dex's eyes never leave mine. He exhales through his nose, frustrated but calm, and leans closer.
"Stop thinking," he murmurs. "Just feel."
I try. I really do. My heartbeat is loud and wild, but I close my eyes and try to silence everything else. At first, all I can hear is the frantic rhythm inside my chest-but then, something shifts. Beneath that sound, there's another pulse, a softer echo that isn't mine. It's... his.
A strange awareness flows through me-an invisible connection humming between us. It feels like a voice that isn't a voice, more like emotion turned into sound. I can sense him-what he feels, what he wants-even before he speaks. My eyes fly open. Dex nods slowly, a faint smile touching his lips.
"Is it always like this?" I ask quietly.
"Between us, yes," he whispers, so close I can feel the warmth of his breath.
For a moment, the world falls away. The memory of his kiss flickers through my mind-his scent, the taste of his skin-and I know he senses it. His smile deepens, knowing and tender.
"I meant it when I said we are one," he says, his voice dropping low. "That's how I found you, Lydia. Even far apart, I can feel what you feel... want what you want."
His fingers tighten around my wrists with gentle control. His other hand moves down my side, slow and deliberate-from my hip to the curve of my waist, up to my ribs.
"If I focus, I can even see what you see. Hear what you hear. But only for a moment," he murmurs.
My breath catches. My body responds to every tiny movement, as though it already knows him-remembers him, even if my mind does not. His touch feels like a secret my skin still carries.
"What we share can't be denied," Dex says quietly. "Not even all of Baron's tricks could break this bond."
His hand slides beneath the edge of my shirt, tracing warmth across my stomach. My breath stutters. My mind blurs into a haze of memory and longing. The air between us thickens until I can't think, can't speak.
Nothing else exists but him. His forehead presses to mine, our breaths mingling. His lips hover just out of reach, tempting and near.
"Don't you remember anything about us?" he asks, voice rough. "The conversations, the secrets... the nights you spent here with me?"
My throat tightens. "No," I whisper, almost ashamed.
Dex's fingers pause, resting against my ribs. His eyes search mine, deep green and full of something like pain. "Your memory might be gone," he murmurs, "but your heart remembers. Your body remembers."
Before I can respond, his lips brush the side of my neck, light as a whisper. My body arches instinctively toward him. A sound escapes me-half sigh, half memory. His breath trembles against my skin as if he's fighting to hold himself back.
The moment feels eternal. Every pain, every fear, every broken part of me melts away under his touch. It's like being made whole again, even if only for a heartbeat. I can feel the truth in what he said-somewhere deep, something inside me still belongs to him.
And then, suddenly, he tenses.
"Lydia..." he breathes, pulling back sharply.
Before I can ask why, he's already on his feet, wiping at his mouth, his expression distant.
A knock on the door follows, loud and quick. I scramble to sit up, my mind spinning.
The door bursts open, and two girls rush in.
"Lydia!" they cry together, throwing their arms around me before I can even stand. I'm caught in a storm of hugs and tears. They hold me as if afraid I'll vanish if they let go.
Behind us, Dex's calm voice cuts through the air. "She doesn't remember you," he says gently. "Don't overwhelm her. She's still confused."
The girls step back, their eyes wide as they study me. Both are around my age.
The first girl, with straight black hair and almond eyes, has a kind face that instantly soothes me. Her smile is warm but uncertain. The second girl, smaller and softer-looking, has light green eyes and waves of golden honey-colored hair that fall past her waist. Her resemblance to Dex is impossible to miss.
"I told you," says a familiar voice. I turn to see Linda leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed, her tone sharp but not unkind.
"Oh, no. This is worse than I thought," says the black-haired girl, sighing dramatically. She gestures toward the honey-haired one. "I'm Calma, and this is Clara."
"We're your friends," Clara says softly, stepping closer. "Your best friends."
I blink, trying to take it all in-their faces, their voices, the faint pull of something I can't remember but still feel in my chest.
I nod slowly, my heart trembling.
Something deep inside me whispers that they're telling the truth.
