Destined Across Time | LadaEarn

Chapter 20

The door clicked shut behind them, leaving Earn and Fahlada standing in the quiet, dimly lit condo. The air felt charged with emotions neither could yet articulate, thick with the weight of everything unspoken between them. Earn could barely breathe, her mind a whirlwind of disbelief, longing, and a deep yearning she didn't even know how to name. Her heart raced as she struggled to make sense of this moment, her pulse pounding in her ears.  

Fahlada's eyes softened as they met Earn's, the distance between them closing slowly. Her feet moved forward almost on their own accord as she reached out, her hand trembling slightly, unsure but desperate to make contact. Her fingers brushed Earn's cheek gently, and she cupped her face as though she feared the moment might shatter if she pressed too hard, too fast. 

"You're here," Fahlada murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, yet it carried the weight of a thousand unspoken words. Earn could hear the years of sorrow and regret in that single phrase, and it made her stomach tighten painfully.  

Earn leaned into Fahlada's touch instinctively, her own hand rising to meet hers, resting it softly in place as though afraid it might slip away. Tears welled in her eyes, her throat tightening with a sudden wave of emotion. "How?" she managed to croak, her voice trembling as if it had been locked away for too long. "How are you here? I thought..." Her voice faltered, breaking on the thought she couldn't even finish, as though saying it out loud would shatter the fragile hope growing inside her.  

Fahlada's thumb brushed a stray tear from Earn's cheek, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears of her own. "It's a long story," she said, her voice heavy with emotion, laden with all the years of separation, of grief. "One I've wanted to tell you for so long, Earn."  

Earn's lips parted, a thousand questions swirling in her mind, but none of them made it past the lump lodged painfully in her throat. She simply stared at Fahlada, the weight of the moment pressing down on her, her tears falling freely now, mingling with the ones Fahlada shed.  

"I failed you, Earn," Fahlada whispered, her tone raw and pained, her gaze falling as though the weight of her guilt was too much to bear. "I couldn't protect you back then. I couldn't save you. Your death..." Her voice broke, her breath catching. "It destroyed me."  

Earn froze, her heart lurching painfully at the word. "Lada.." she echoed, her voice barely audible, like she couldn't quite believe the words Fahlada was saying.  

Fahlada nodded, her tears spilling over as though she couldn't stop them. "They didn't stop, Earn.. They still they accused you of things you never did." Her voice cracked as if it physically hurt to speak the words aloud. "And I could do nothing as the love of my life was taken from me."  

"You were so brave," Fahlada continued, her voice trembling, her own breath shaking as she fought to keep her composure. Her words faltered as the memories threatened to drown her. She took a deep, shaky breath. "When you were gone, my world fell apart. I did not even tried to go on, the palace was empty without you. My life was empty without you. My father, the traditions, the people who tore us apart... nothing mattered anymore."  

Earn's heart clenched painfully as Fahlada's words sank in, each one like a dagger piercing her chest. She could feel the weight of that loss, the emptiness that Fahlada had endured without her. "Lada..." she choked out, her voice breaking with raw emotion.  

Fahlada met her gaze, her expression anguished, her eyes full of unshed tears. "I couldn't do it, Earn," she whispered, her voice cracking under the weight of the confession. "I couldn't live without you. So, I ended it." She choked on a sob, her shoulders trembling as she let out a small, broken cry. "I thought it would be the end. I thought I'd finally be at peace, that I'd see you again in whatever came after."