My mind was already spinning, racing faster than my feet could carry me to him.
A hundred scenarios tangled together.
His fist slamming into Nicole’s jaw, his voice tearing through the halls like thunder, the family gathering in horror, whispers spreading like wildfire until no one ever looked at me the same way again.
And worse...Nicole goading him, smiling with that smug twist of her lips, knowing exactly how to pour gasoline on his flames.
God, no. I couldn’t let it reach that point.
My pulse was a drumbeat in my ears, each thud a warning that time was slipping away like sand.
Like I was losing him second by second.
"Dave!" My voice cracked, shrill with panic. "Stop! Please just...just look at me!"
His steps faltered. Slowly, but he turned to face me.
The moment his eyes locked onto mine, my chest tightened. I couldn’t take the way he was looking at me, like he was seconds away from tearing the truth out of me.
Before I even thought about it, my hand shot out to the nearest thing I could grab...a flowerpot.
Cold water splashed over my fingers as I lifted it, and in one sharp motion, I threw the water at him.
The splash echoed in the silence, droplets scattering across his face, dripping down his shirt, darkening the fabric.
Dave didn’t move. He just stood there, water running down his jaw, eyes burning into mine even darker than before.
I knew he was angry. No, furious at me, but did I care? No. Especially at this moment, I was done with him.
Always, he behaved as if I did not even exist, and now he acted like a book boyfried with a ’who did this to you?’ trope. Even if he lost his memory, I did not care.
He did not have the right to act , and I voiced out those thoughts and snapped, "For God’s sake, cool down, you idiot." My voice was sharp, cutting through the heavy silence between us.
Dave didn’t move at first.
For the first time in a long while, he looked shocked.
His brows twitched, his jaw tightened, but he still didn’t move closer. Maybe he didn’t expect me to fight back. Maybe he thought I would cower like I used to.
"You don’t get to do this," I said, louder now, my voice trembling but steady enough to push the words out. "You don’t get to play the hero after everything."
He blinked at me, water dripping down his lashes, but his expression stayed hard.
"No," I continued, shaking my head, feeling heat rise in my chest. "You don’t get to throw your hands around on the first person you saw." My voice cracked at the last word, but I didn’t stop.
His fists curled at his sides. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but I raised my hand sharply, cutting him off before he could.
"Do you even realize how ridiculous you sound right now?"
My laugh was bitter, dry, almost choking me as it left. "Charging in with all your anger, looking for someone to blame, like that fixes anything?" Like it erases all the times you were the one hurting me?
The air felt heavier, pressing on my shoulders, but I kept talking. The words were tumbling out of me faster than I could think, and I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.
"When I told you no one had hurt me yet, you bolted off like a raging bull, ready to lower your head and throw your horns at the very first person you laid eyes on."
His expression finally shifted. His eyes widened slightly, and for a second, I thought I saw something break inside him...guilt, regret, I didn’t know.
But I wasn’t going to let myself fall for it. Not this time.
I took a shaky breath, lowering my hand but keeping my gaze locked on his. "Don’t stand there like a moron and first listen to me."
He looked like he wanted to argue, to defend himself, but the silence stretched too long, and I stepped into it.
I opened my mouth and began explaining everything from the very beginning...how I met Lily, how she helped me find Nicole’s room, and how I tried to play detective but failed miserably.
But when I lied just to see his reaction, he took the bait and bolted out without a second thought.
I let out a long, dramatic sigh of relief, only for fate to smirk at me and flip the table, turning things from bad to downright disastrous.
"So lovely to see the black mailer couple quarreling, " Nicole’s twisted voice came from behind.
I squeezed my eyes shut, cursing my cruel, twisted fate.
Why, God? Why do you have to pull this kind of stunt on me?
I heard Dave growling like a wild beast ready to pounce on him any moment, but before that possibility could turn into reality, I took long strides towards Dave, grabbing him by his arm.
"Don’t even think about it," I snapped, and to my surprise, he actually listened. His furious expression softened into something almost calm.
Why did it feel like he’d just gone from a wild beast to a golden retriever, just like in those silly comics?
Turning to Nicole, I spat with anger mixed with annoyance, "What do you want?"
His eyebrows furrowed as he snapped, "Weren’t you the one who was blackmailing me with those photos earlier?"
Though I was already irritated with all these ongoing things, those phrases caught me off guard.
’Weren’t you the one who was blackmailing me with those photos earlier?’ His words repeated in my mind as my grip on Dave’s arm faltered for a moment.
"What do you mean? Speak clearly." My voice came out like steel, steady and sharp, and for once, I was grateful it didn’t betray the chaos inside me.
The very next moment, his words struck like a whip...sharp, stinging, leaving me gasping.
His reply tangled and untangled every thought in my head at the same time, twisting my mind into knots.
"Huh? Aren’t you the blackmailer...the one threatening me with those compromised photos?" he said, his eyes narrowing, his tone dripping with accusation.
My eyes slowly shifted from Nicole to Dave. His expression also got grim. Our gazes were glued to each other until all the misunderstandings were cleared.
I cleared my thoughts as I collected the courage to say those words out loud