I opened my eyes and turned, only to meet an unexpected but not entirely unpleasant sight. Lilien, why are you not fully dressed and in Kael's arms? I should be pushing him away right now, but that tiny part of me doesn't want to. I inhaled deeply and shifted slightly, hoping to save myself from further embarrassment. I don't even want to know what happened.
"Where are you off to?" Kael asked. Away from you?
"I…" I cleared my throat and gently pushed him away. "Why are you here?" I asked, pulling the covers closer around me. My face felt like it was on fire.
"Lilien," he replied, looking confused. "Oh."
Oh? Oh?
"I'm sorry," he said, hurrying out of the room before I could react. Sorry? What happened last night?
I massaged my shoulders as I stood up, noticing a slight ache, but I chose to ignore it.
…
The past few days, I've been busy taking care of my nieces and nephew, trying to distract myself with their laughter and endless energy but even amidst their joy, I couldn't shake the nagging itch in the back of my mind. The itch to know what really happened that night. It gnawed at me, creeping into my thoughts when I least expected it.
I tried to push it aside—convincing myself that focusing on the kids was more important. Yet, when the house grew quiet, and they were finally asleep, the unanswered questions would resurface with even greater intensity. Every little detail of that night felt like a blank canvas, and the more I tried to ignore it, the stronger the urge to unravel the mystery became.
I'd catch myself staring at nothing, replaying fragments in my mind—Kael's confused expression, his sudden apology, the awkward way I had woken up in his arms. Why couldn't I remember? What had happened between us? Was it something I needed to be worried about, or was it just a harmless misunderstanding? I had to know.
"Lucy," I called out, and she hummed in response. "What happened two nights ago?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"Two nights ago? Nothing specific, why?" she asked, eyeing me curiously. I could tell she was suspecting something. Since she didn't know, I decided not to mention it.
"Nothing," I said, looking away. "Do you… Do you know where Kael is?" I hadn't seen him since that night, and my curiosity was killing me.
"He left this morning," she replied.
"Oh."
He left. For some reason, that made me feel… sad? I didn't want to see him, yet I didn't want him to leave either. Muscle memory?
"I get everything you told me," I started, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction, "but I still don't understand how I ended up marrying a shifter," I exclaimed.
"Oh, yeah, I was supposed to go to Erries, but we switched," she said, standing up.
"Huh? Wait, what?" I shouted, grabbing her arm and pulling her back to her seat. "We switched? Are you joking? Was it a heroic switch or a 'fulfill my fantasies' switch?" I demanded, shaking her when she didn't answer right away.
"This is why I'm selective with the details I give you," she sighed. "I think it was both."
"Most definitely," I muttered.
"After the fire, we had a guest, and things were set. You got all emotional and told me you'd go instead. I refused, and then you threatened me. The end," she said nonchalantly.
"You're a terrible storyteller," I said, shaking my head.
"Lilien," Lucy called, and I looked at her.
"What?" I asked, but she interrupted me by pointing at my nose.
"Your nose," she said.
I wiped my nose and looked at my hand—blood.
"Wh…"
Suddenly, everything she had just told me came flooding back like I was living it all over again.
"Lili, I'll be fine, don't worry," Lucy's voice echoed in my mind as she hugged me.
"No, you won't leave me here. I'll go instead," I had said, tears streaming down my face.
"So, you want to leave me?"
"Lucy, I won't let you go there. What if they really do eat humans?"
"And you want me to let you go? I won't do that, Lili, you know…"
"There's going to be a funeral either way."
"Lucy, I… What else?" I asked, suddenly feeling a strange mixture of boldness and fear.
"Uh… you went there? Your nose is bleeding," she said, standing up.
"No," I said, grabbing her hand. "Tell me everything. I think… I think I just recalled something."
"What? Really?"
"Yes. Everything you just said—I remember," I replied, a smile creeping onto my face.
"Oh, Lili," she said, hugging me tightly.
"What else?" I asked, feeling hopeful. If this kept up, maybe I'd remember everything.
…
It's been a week since I regained some of my memories, but nothing else has come back. I can't remember anything more, and the frustration is unbearable. The hope I'd felt died a slow, painful death.
I banged my head against the table, feeling too frustrated to eat. All I wanted was my memories back. This cluelessness was killing me.
"Sister-in-law, humans eat with their hands. Did you forget that too?" Julian teased.
"Julian, you shouldn't talk while eating. Did you know that?" I shot back.
"Oh, did you get your memories back or what?" he asked with a smirk.
"I see we didn't get along well," I said, standing up.
"We did," he said, also standing.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm pretty sure there's no restriction on movement in this house," he said, laughing.
I glanced at Lucy, but she didn't seem to care. I walked away quickly, but he followed me, matching my pace with annoying precision.
"Stop following me!" I shouted, but he just laughed like it was all a game.
I clicked my tongue and turned away, but the moment I did, I was hit by a sudden flashback of running through darkened halls.
"I'm sorry." Who am I apologizing to? When did I run through these halls? Why was I running?
"What?" Julian asked, staring at me with a confused look. I opened my mouth to reply, but everything went blank.