Mending Heart's Affliction [Phoenix Countesses: ETHEREAL MAIDENS SERIES I]

Chapter 50

Missing you

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked him as we entered his condo, which used to be our place of residence.

The whole condo was dark. The only source of light was the lamp shade in the living room and the dim light in the kitchen.

"Mag uusap tayo. Ayaw mo ba rito? Isn't this where we used to live?"

Mabilis akong napalingon sa kanya nang marinig ko iyon. I couldn't believe what he said. I couldn't even see his expression clearly in the darkness where he was standing. But I could sense the heaviness and the dark aura around him.

"What are you talking about? Is this some kind of joke?"

"I saw this condo in my dreams... with you in it," he muttered.

My shoulders slumped. He still hadn't remembered everything. Despite my efforts to hold myself back, that was the first thought that crossed my mind when he brought me here – maybe he's starting to remember.

Na baka unti-until nang bumabalik ang mga alaala niya.

But no. I could feel it, he hadn't yet. Not everything.

"At first, I wondered why it was you. Maybe there are things Yumi hasn't told me about you. We were so happy in my dreams, Celeste." He began, causing my heart to ache even more.

He slumped onto the couch. The dim reflection of the nearby lampshade hit his face, and I could clearly see his intense gaze on me.

It was deep, drowning. The tension between us grew stronger as I looked at him and he looked at me in the same way.

"Why are we so happy in my dreams, when Yumi tells me the opposite? Why is it you I think about before I sleep and as soon as I wake up, even though it should be Yumi? Why is it your face I see whenever... wherever Yumi kisses and claims me? Why, Celeste?" His voice broke.

Suddenly, he looked so bewildered. As if he had been searching for answers to those questions for days and nights, but he couldn't find any, because everything in front of him was unreal.

"Why does my heart keep reacting whenever I see you? Whenever I hear your name, yet my mind can't remember a single thing about you?" He painfully said.

I pressed my lips together. I didn't break our eye contact. The lump of pain in my throat made it difficult to speak, to voice my feelings.

Alam kong sa oras na bumukas ang bibig ko ay mag uunahan ang mga luhang kumawala sa mga mata ko.

"Answer me, please..." He begged.

That's when I averted my gaze from him.

"Why don't you ask Yumi instead of me? Kapag ba sinabi ko sayo ang lahat, maniniwala ka? Hindi di ba? So, why are you asking me now?" I said bitterly and turned away from him.

"Where are you going?"

"I should go home. This is useless."

"I need you..." He interrupted me.

He quickly moved in front of me. I could clearly see the desire in him, the longing to touch me. It was as if he would seize the moment the instant I allowed him. I fell silent and looked at him in astonishment.

"What?" I asked.

His jaw clenched again, and he whispered something. Before I could react, he swiftly took hold of my hand. Agad na nangatog ang tuhod ko. It was the first time he had touched me since leaving the hospital. It felt as if I had suddenly been scalded.

"Rioflorida, I need to go home!" I struggled, but he tightened his grip on me, as if he had no intention of letting me go.

"I can't spend the night here! My daughter will be looking for me! I can't sleep here..." I tried again, attempting to break free from his grasp.