IMDD CHAPTER 271 (Patreon)

For a long time, they just stayed there, nestled together on the floor, time seemingly suspended around them. Gage sat with his back against the wall, Eva comfortably straddling him, her head resting against his chest.

Eva's sobs had already subsided. She was now reveling at the feel of Gage's gentle fingers weaving through her hair, a soothing gesture that spoke of affection and tenderness.

"Short hair also suits you, darling," he murmured, his voice deep and resonant, as if he just woke up from a deep slumber.

Eva pulled back slightly to look at him, meeting his gaze. His eyes held a dreamy quality, reflecting a mix of wonder and disbelief, as if he felt like he was in a dream.

"Do you really remember everything now?" Eva asked after a prolonged silence, during which they simply gazed into each other's eyes.

He smirked. Oh… that cocky yet charismatic smirk… how she missed it…

"Not everything, but…" he began, his fingers gently caressing her face, "...I believe I remember most of what I've lost now."

Eva placed her hand over his, pressing her cheek more firmly into the warmth of his palm. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. "Thank goodness…" she breathed out. "I wasn't expecting you to remember… I thought it might take a long time. I even feared you might never remember…"

"I'm sorry," Gage whispered.

Eva shook her head.

"Gage, I... I need to know everything. There's so much I don't understand—about you, about us, about everything that's happened. Can you..." She hesitated, uncertainty momentarily clouding her face. "You don't have to explain it all right now. Whenever you're ready, we can talk. We have all the time in the world now, don't we?" Her smile, hopeful yet gentle, sought to reassure him.

Gage's gaze momentarily drifted to her lips before meeting her eyes once more. "Eva..." he murmured, pulling her closer and resting his head on her shoulder. "The truth is, I'm not entirely sure. I want to believe, like you said, that we've made it through the worst. That what I sacrificed that night, my wing, letting you go... made all these possible. But..." His voice trailed off.

“… But?” Eva asked softly after Gage took a very long pause.

He sighed, a sound filled with unresolved fears. "I feel like something is still missing. It doesn't feel like it's over yet, and I'm..." Gage's voice shook a little. "The reason I’ve been trying to push you away is because I’ve dreamt of you… dead again.”

Eva couldn’t respond. Did he have that nightmare that night? Gage had suddenly turned quite intense in pushing her away since he woke up that morning.

Gage continued, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.  “I don’t know why my memories returned.” He spoke again after another long-drawn silence between them. “I am supposed to forget you. You and everyone who knew me and saw me supposed to have forgotten I exist. But I was never forgotten, and now… my memories have suddenly returned. I don’t know how to interpret all of this… it's all so new, even to me. None of this has ever happened before.”

In the stillness of their embrace, a contemplative silence enveloped Eva and Gage, each lost in their own thoughts yet bound together by the closeness of their hold. It was Eva who eventually shattered the quiet, her voice a gentle murmur that floated through the air. "You know, Gage, I've always been the one to see the glass as half empty. But now, I can't help but feel that all these events are a sign that it’s over. I know there's still so much shrouded in mystery, so much I don’t know. But deep down, I really believe... we've made it." Her smile, radiant and hopeful, illuminated her face as she looked up at Gage, her eyes glistening with unshaken faith.

For a moment, Gage looked like he was dumbstruck at the sight of her. "Fuck… I want to kiss you right now and…" He bit his lip, halting his words. But instead of kissing her, he suddenly pulled Eva into another tight embrace.

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CHAPTER 272>>