THE GHOSTWRITER

PART 29

AN: UNBETAED

It's funny how confident she sounds, but the truth is, Maine doesn't know where to start.

Theirs is a simple but complicated story. People always think that she's the one to blame, but they know nothing. They don't know what she felt before and what she feels now. It's that part of her she is not willing to disclose to anyone other than the man in front of her right now. And that is only because he deserves to know it.

"I was... I was..."

Maine searches for the right words, but it turns out that saying the truth is harder than uttering a lie. It doesn't help that there are still a few missing pieces that she wishes she can remember.

She is so deep into her thoughts that she doesn't witness Richard starting to frown.

"Maine?" Maine jumps at the sound of his voice. "We... we can do this another day. What matters to me is that... we will talk before anything else. We can't begin anew if we don't settle past issues."

Maine panics. "But Richard--"

Richard shakes his head. "No," he says gently. "We need to be able to express what we feel clearly or else it will be a futile attempt at mending things between us. It's fine with me if we talk about this tomorrow if you're not yet ready."

"No!" She says a little desperately. "I... Please. It's just that I don't have all of my memories yet, Richard," she admits. "It isn't that I don't want to do this now. But I don't know how to start without remembering the last missing pieces. It's what... stopping me."

"What do you mean?"

"What if... what if we resolve things now and then I recover my memories later only to find out there's a bigger issue?" she asks softly.

Richard simply smiles. "Which is why I suggest we do this when you're ready."

"But... but what if I don't recover the missing pieces forever?" she asks, sounding anxious. "I don't want to wait that long."

Richard leans in to kiss her temple. "I've been waiting for you to glance my way since... forever. Another forever is not a big deal to me now."

Maine cannot even think of a response to that.

"We'll talk again tomorrow, okay?" Richard asks. "Goodnight, Maine," he says before gently removing her arms around him.

"Richard--" she lifts her hand in an attempt to stop him from leaving the bed, but he shakes his head.

"I won't leave. I promised, didn't I?" he asks, his tone gentle but challenging at the same time. His eyes are also boring onto hers, delivering a message that is so clear he doesn't need to utter the words.

This is a test, a simple test of Maine's trust and patience. If they will do this, she needs to show Richard that she can trust him.

I can give this to him, she repeats like a mantra even though the dread of him leaving while she's asleep is destroying her will to let him go temporarily.

God. She doesn't expect the intensity of her feelings, most especially now that she allows herself to finally acknowledge what she's been trying to suppress since they were little.

Richard's gaze at her doesn't waver as he patiently waits for her answer.

Maine will never disappoint him. No. Not now. No matter how hard it is for her.

She nods weakly. "Okay. Okay."

And she is rewarded with a smile that tells her that this is all worth it, that he is worth it.