Aiden’s heart broke at every tear that slipped down her face. He cupped her face, his touch as gentle as it could be. "Moon," he called out her name softly, as though it was a prayer on his lips. "My love is anything but selfless." He shook his head and added, his words as firm as his expression. "Please don’t take me as some saint because I am not." She stared at him, looking like she was waiting for him to speak more. "I am selfish... very selfish when it comes to you. So, I never loved you selflessly. I loved you with an intent —intent to have you just for myself and myself alone. From the day I fell for you, I took you as mine —one I can’t bear to let go even when you desperately wanted to push me away." Arwen shook her head. She never wanted to push him away. She never did. Even if she hadn’t recovered her memories and wasn’t sure of what happened back then, she was still sure of one thing: she could never push him away. "I was so obsessed with you that even after you pushed me away, I found you and compelled you to get married to me. And only me. I did things that you might not forgive me for, just so that you have no one else to choose other than me. I —" Before he could speak more, Arwen reached up and pressed her finger against his lips, shushing her from talking more. When he looked at her, she shook her head. "I thank the heavens for making you so obsessed with me. If not, I couldn’t bear to imagine losing you," she said, pulling a little back to wipe her tears. "And I never meant to push you. Trust me, I cannot." Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕥⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥 She didn’t know how she should make him believe. So, she chose the easiest way to tell of truth and hoped that he would believe her. "I forgot you not because I wanted to, but because I was forced to. I ..." she looked at him, not hiding how scared she was inside. "I was drugged, Aiden. I didn’t know how ... who did that to me? But someone did it. I forgot you and out past under its effect and —" She paused in her words when she felt his fingers caressing her cheeks, soothing her. She looked at him, her brows furrowing, noticing the distress on his face. "You ... you don’t believe it?" she asked, not understanding what he was looking like that. She expected him to be shocked as she was when she came to know about it. But instead, he looked a lot calmer than she was. Though there was a threatening storm brewing beneath his gaze, it wasn’t exactly what she expected it to be like. And such kind could only happen in two situations. Either he didn’t believe what she was saying, or ... "Wait," she inferred another possibility. "Have you always been aware of it?" she asked, her brows tugging a frown. "You knew it," she scooted away, suddenly avoiding his touch, his closeness. The flicker of betrayal crossed through her eyes, and the moment Aiden noticed it, he frowned. He reached forward and held back her hand, tugging her to him, not letting her have the time to misunderstand. "Moon!" "Since when have you known it, Aiden?" She asked, not wanting to hear anything but the answer to her question. "Has it been why you never hated me? Is it because of that you married me, because you thought I was pitiful and didn’t deserve your hatred? Because I —" Before she could speak more, Aiden held her by his jaw, his other hand framing her face, and his thumb pressing against her lips, stopping her from speaking more. He stared into her eyes for a moment, but when she kept the same doubtful gaze on him, he tugged her closer, pressing their foreheads together. "Did you not hear me, Moon? Have you not felt anything yet? All these days, have you never felt how much I love you?" he asked, almost under his breath, his breath fanning her face lightly. Arwen stilled in that moment. Closing her eyes, she let herself feel his warm breath. It has some soothing effect, because in just a few seconds it made her feel calmer and reassured of all her insecurity, all her fears. "Tell me, have you not felt it yet? Or is it that you never believed in my words or me?" Aiden asked again, letting his fingers hold her firmer. Arwen breathed it before subtly shaking her head. "I don’t know. I can’t tell anything now. Whatever I thought was turning out to be a lie. My past, my present, my entire existence has started to seem like a lie. At this point, I don’t know what to believe, who to believe. I am getting scared of even believing myself." "Believe me," he said, his voice carrying the sincerity, the urge. "I know I haven’t done enough to make you trust me, undoubtedly. But I still insist, trust me, and I will never betray you. I will betray myself but not you, Moon." Arwen didn’t need him to urge her. Even though she put her words like that, making it look like she lost her trust in him ... in reality, she hasn’t. She still trusted him enough to believe everything he would tell her now. "You didn’t tell me." She reminded him in a whisper. "Have you been aware of it all along? Had you always known that I was drugged and that the drug in my system was what made me forget you, our past and everything between us?" Aiden paused in that moment, letting a serene but triggering silence settle between them. Arwen waited just for him to tell her. Whatever he would say to her, she would believe it. But if he was going to lie this time, she would be able to forgive him ... ever. "Yes," Aiden replied before she could press further.