Timothy rushed to see Kaye when she messaged him, telling him she was waiting outside City Hall.
"Kaye!" he exclaimed, immediately hugging her. "I'm glad you're safe."
Kaye smiled.
"When did you return? How did you escape from the Fuentebella?" he asked.
"I didn't escape; they were the ones who sent me home yesterday," she explained.
"Did they hurt you? Tsk. I tried everything to find you, but the Fuentebella was blocking all the information; even the police couldn't locate you," he said.
"Don't worry, they didn't do anything bad to me. They treated me well there," she reassured him.
"But how did you manage to get them to free you?" he asked. "Did... Did their underboss say something to you?"
Timothy hid his panic; he wanted to know if Kaye remembered everything while she was with the Fuentebella.
"The only reason they wanted me was that I witnessed their crime that night. I promised their underboss that I wouldn't tell anyone, and I would keep my mouth shut forever. They believed me, so they freed me," she explained. Timothy shouldn't know about what happened between her and Mikhail. It would only add fuel; she didn't want to see Mikhail again.
"That's all? No more words from them?" he asked again.
"Yes, that's all," she confirmed.
Timothy heaved a sigh of relief. Thank God, it seemed like his intuition was wrong. It seemed that the underboss wasn't the crown prince.
"I'm glad you're back and safe now," he said, hugging her again.
"I'm sorry I didn't call yesterday; I was too tired when I reached home and fell asleep immediately," she apologized.
"That's alright. Have you eaten your breakfast? Why don't we go to a nearby cafe?" he suggested.
"Okay, I missed going out. Let's go there," she agreed.
Timothy smiled and held her hand. They went inside the car and left.
.
.
....
"Welcome back, Kaye!" Tin exclaimed, throwing confetti. Applause filled the room.
"Welcome back, Kaye. I'm relieved to see you in good health," said her PD.
Kaye smiled. "Thank you, everyone. I apologize for my absences; I promise to make up for my work starting today."
"We missed you, Kaye!" Tin added.
"Waaahhh! Miss Kaye!!!" Rubie appeared, engulfing her in an immediate hug.
"Rubie!" Kaye beamed.
"I missed you so much; I've tried contacting you, but you weren't answering my calls. I was worried about you," Rubie confessed.
"I'm sorry if I made you worried. Something came up, and I had to handle it on my own. I also apologize if your story went on hiatus because of me," she explained.
Rubie shook her head. "No, just like I said before, you are more important than my story. We can resume publishing new chapters whenever you're ready."
Kaye playfully tousled Rubie's hair. "Thank you for your understanding."
Rubie grinned widely.
Kaye finally returned to her work, and everything went back to normal.
.
.
"Kaye, I already sent the panels with text to your email. I double-checked it, and it's good to go," Tin informed.
"Okay, thank you," Kaye replied, focused on her drawing.
"I'll be leaving early today; my husband and I have plans tonight," Tin added.
Kaye paused, looking up. "Alright, enjoy your night."
Tin smiled, giving her a hug. "See you tomorrow. Bye."
Kaye waved as Tin left, and the others started packing up to leave.
"Kaye, aren't you going home?" a coworker asked.
"I'm fine; I'll do overtime today. There are lots of chapters I missed drawing these past few days. I need to catch up as soon as possible," she explained.
"Alright, but don't tire yourself too much. Bye!"
"Bye, Kaye!"
They all left, and Kaye stretched her arms. Deciding to take a break, she stood up to make coffee. When she returned, her tablet caught her eye. Something urged her to open it.
Scanning the files, one title stood out: Serolf Empire. It sounded familiar, but where had she heard it before?
About to open the file, her phone rang – Tin calling.
"Hello?"
(Kaye, I was walking outside our building when a handsome man asked me about you. I think he's still there. I don't know if you know him, but it seems like he knows you. Is he your friend?)
"Someone's looking for me?"
(Yeah, why don't you go out and face him? I've never seen him before.)
Could it be Mikhail? Hell no!
"Okay, I'll meet him. Thanks for informing me."
(No problem!)
The call ended, and she put her phone back in her pocket, leaving the office. Outside, a man stood at the entrance.
"Is he the man Tin mentioned?" she whispered to herself.
There was no one else around except her, the guard, and the man.
"Excuse me?" she approached.
He quickly looked at her, stunned.
"My friend called me and said that someone's looking for me. I want to know if it was you?" she asked.
He managed to calm himself and smiled. "Yes, you're Kaye, right?"
She nodded. "Yes, what can I do for you?"
"I am Kurtis," he extended his hand. "I am also known by my former name, Xerxes."
.
.
....
Kaye and Kurtis went to a nearby cafe to talk.
"What do you want to tell me?" she asked.
Kurtis cleared his throat; earlier, when he mentioned his name as Xerxes, he saw no reaction from Kaye.
"Actually, I was looking for someone," he said.
"Someone?" Kaye asked.
"Yes, she's my wife. She was forced to leave us in the past, and now we followed her here to find her," he explained.
"But what's my connection with your lost wife?" she asked, confused.
"That's because she really looks like you and has the same name as you," he said.
"What?" Now she's more confused.
"Kaye, do you remember the Serolf Empire?" he asked.
Serolf Empire? That's the name written on the file in her tablet.
"That's the place where I originally lived. I met my wife there and married her; her name was Aria Yvonne Serolf Faulkerson, but she has another name, and it's Kaye. Kaye got sick and left us, because of devastation and missing her so much, we followed her into her world. That's the reason why I am in front of you now." Kurtis held her hand. "Kaye, do you still remember me? It's me, your husband, Xerxes."
Kaye pulled her hand. She was so confused. He's telling the same story like what Mikhail told her. Serolf Empire... Wife? Followed her into her world?
"W-Wait... Why are you guys keep talking nonsense?" she said.
"Kaye, I am telling the truth! You are Aria, you are my wife," he said.
"T-That's impossible. I never leave this place..." her head hurts.
"Are you alright?" Kurtis asked, concerned.
Kaye...
She paused when the men in her dreams crossed her mind.
"Tell me... D-Do you know someone named Mikhail?" she asked.
Kurtis nodded. "Yes, he was our emperor and also... Your husband," he explained.
Kaye was shocked. So everything that Mikhail was telling was true? No... This can't be...
"O-Ouch!" she held her head. It hurts.
"Kaye, you don't look fine. Let's go to the hospital," Kurtis said.
"N-No... I'm fine," she said. "I'm fine..." she forced a bitter smile.
What if this man was an accomplice of Mikhail? But the file... She has to see the file.
"I'm sorry; I have to go now!" she said and ran out of the cafe.
"Kaye, wait for me!" Kurtis followed her.
She quickly ran back to her workplace to see the file. She was so confused... Are they telling the truth? Or was everything just a lie?
When she reached her table, she quickly grabbed the tablet and opened it. She clicked the file. Her tears fell when she saw all of her drawings. There's a man who looks exactly like Kurtis... And there's also someone who looks exactly like Mikhail.
She cried... Suddenly, all of her memories from Serolf Empire flashed back to her mind. Her memories with her husbands... With Jenny, Cedrik, William, Hachi, and Ryu... With her friends who helped her during the battle with the traitors. Her memories with her family.
She cried and cried... "I-I'm sorry... I'm very sorry for forgetting you guys..." she sobbed. Why did she have to forget them?
"I'm very sorry!" she cried while hugging her tablet.
.
.
....
After crying for an hour, Kaye finally decided to leave the office. When she emerged from the building, she saw Kurtis still waiting for her.
"Kaye!" he said and ran to her.
He noticed her eyes were swollen.
She cried again and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry... Xes. I'm very sorry!"
"Sshh.. Kaye, it's alright. Everything is fine now; we're already here. We fulfilled our promise to you that we will follow you here," Kurtis reassured.
Kaye let go of the hug. "W-Where are the others?" she asked.
Kurtis smiled and wiped her tears. "Come with me, Gawain, Hachi, and Napoleon are waiting for us."
She nodded, her heart beating fast. Finally... Her family.
They got inside Kurtis' car and left.
After their car departed, Timothy arrived to pick up Kaye, but she was no longer there. He took out his phone and called her.
"Kaye, where are you? I'm outside your workplace."
(I'm sorry, I'm with a family member. I will stay with them for a while.)
Then she hung up the call.
"Family member?" Timothy muttered.
Did her family come to visit her?
.
.
....
Kaye got out of the car and stared at the house in front of her.
"Kaye, let's go inside. They've been waiting for us," Kurtis said.
She nodded. When they entered, the first one who saw her was Cedie.
"M-Master?" he muttered.
He cried and ran to her. "Master!" he hugged her tightly.
Kaye stared at him. This boy...
"Hachi?" she asked. Tears fell down her cheeks.
"Yes, Master, it's me!" Cedie said.
"Hachi! It's really you!" she said while hugging him.
"I missed you so much, Master!" he cried.
Tristan, who was in the kitchen, heard the noises. He quickly ran to them when he heard Kaye's voice.
"Kaye..." Tristan said.
Tears kept flowing from Kaye's eyes. This man looks exactly like Gawain.
"Gawain..." she muttered.
Tristan smiled and hugged her tightly. "We finally met again, Kaye... I thought I would never see you again."
"I'm sorry for leaving you guys... I'm very sorry!" she cried.
"Sshh... It's alright. We are here now. No one can separate us again," Tristan said.
"Kaye!" Shin, who fell asleep upstairs, came down and was also surprised when he saw her. "It's really you!" He ran to her and hugged her too. "It's me, Napoleon."
Kaye smiled. "I know... I can recognize you all."
Kurtis patted her head. "Welcome home, Kaye."
She smiled, and they embraced in a group hug.
After their heartwarming hugs, they all sat down in the living room to talk about everything that happened in the Serolf Empire after she left.
"That means the others were also here?" she asked.
"Yes, but we were separated when we woke up. I'm lucky that I met Gawain, Hachi, and Leon here," Kurtis explained.
"Then we have to find the others," she said.
"I'm sure they were also looking for you and now using new identities just like us," Tristan said.
Mikhail...
"I met Mikhail!" she said.
"Really? Where is he?" Kurtis asked.
She lowered her head, remembering what she did and told him.
"He is now the underboss of the Fuentebella Family, a mafia," she explained.
"What is a mafia?" Cedie asked.
"It's a powerful and dangerous organization in the country. Most of their businesses are illegal, and they kill people too," Shin explained.
"But wasn't Mikhail dangerous even in the past?" Cedie said.
Shin snickered. "Pft. You're right." He looked at Kaye. "But if you met him already, where is he now?"
"I... I left him," she said, clenching her fists. "If only I had remembered him immediately..."
Tristan patted her shoulders. "Don't worry; if we go to him, I am sure he will be happy, especially now that you remembered everything."
"He's right. Why don't we go to him tomorrow?" Shin suggested.
"I still remember the way to his mansion. Let's meet him as soon as possible!" Kaye said.
She couldn't wait any longer. She had to explain everything to Mikhail.