Anne with an e- a new version of the story

ChAPTER 88 - Redemption

ANNE

Anne felt Gilbert's hands touching her hair, then slowly trailing down her back over the blouse she was wearing, until they reached her waist and gently caressed the area. She closed her eyes, savoring the sensations so well known to her, her body awakening to Gilbert's touch, making her skin crawl from head to toe. They had been lying in Gilbert's room, after visiting the site where their house was being built, and had returned home when he had started to tire. Gilbert was almost completely recovered, he was back to driving and doing some low-impact activities, but he still got tired if he had to walk for longer than an hour. That's why, when they arrived at his farm, Anne had made him go to his room to rest, but he had insisted that she go with him, so there she was lying on her back, feeling the excitement begin to take over her senses as Gilbert pulled back a lock of her hair and began to kiss her neck in a terribly seductive caress.

Soon, he turned her around, and Anne found herself trapped in those eyes that reflected her longing. It had been almost two months since they had touched, apart from the kisses they had exchanged that week, this was the first time Gilbert had tried something more daring.

Anne missed these moments so much that when Gilbert pulled her closer, she didn't protest. She loved it when he touched her, it was as if he was translating his love into soft and intense caresses at the same time, and they were so good for her that Anne felt as if she could fly beyond infinity, because Gilbert's arms were her private paradise.

He kissed her forehead, went down to her cheeks, and found her lips, which opened to receive his tongue, which tangled with hers as soon as they touched, and Anne sighed, snuggling closer to him, feeling that good warmth that came from him comforting her, making her calm, as if it were the sun itself warming her skin.

However, when Gilbert went a little further and opened the buttons of her blouse, the images came back to her, reminding her of the gunshot, of Gilbert saying goodbye, of the terrible pain that seemed to tear her in half and the loss of her baby. Anne froze at the same moment, going rigid in Gilbert's arms. She got out of bed, running her hands through her messy hair, down her crumpled skirt and hurriedly buttoning the buttons of the blouse Gilbert had opened, unable to face him straight away.

- Anne, what is it, did I do something wrong? - the uncertain tone in Gilbert's voice made Anne cringe inside, and when he got up from the bed and came towards her, hugging her affectionately, she felt worse, but struggled to answer with a firm voice

- No, you haven't done anything wrong, my love. I just think it's too soon for us to get back to the relationship we had. You've only just recovered your memory, and you haven't fully healed from the gunshot wound, so we need to take things slowly. I don't want you to relapse and get sick again. - It was a poor excuse, but I couldn't think of anything more intelligent to say. She still hadn't managed to tell him everything that had happened, and that secret was killing her inside. She leaned her head against his chest, feeling his heart beating like hers, but for different reasons.

She couldn't let Gilbert think that she didn't want his touch, when those moments with him were the only times she felt alive again, but the guilt that swirled around her, that invaded her mind at every moment, froze her reactions to the point where she felt so terrified that her heart slowed down. She needed to tell him everything, but she couldn't. She had rehearsed the whole week over and over again, but every time she was about to speak, the words wouldn't come, and a horrible fear gripped her heart. What if Gilbert abandoned her after hearing everything from her lips? What if he walked away from her, went back to New York and never wanted to speak to her again? It was a constant paranoia of her mind that created theories, imaginary situations, made her suffer for the cruelty of the facts, making her realize that the that the peace she felt when she had Gilbert back with her was short-lived. .