I stayed with Damian for two weeks.
He was kind, patient, and loving. He tried to remind me of our past. He showed me old photos, took me to places we used to go.
And it worked. Sometimes. I felt sparks of recognition. Happiness. Love.
But it was always overshadowed by an emptiness. A hollow ache in my chest that nothing could fill.
Every night, I dreamed of Wynne and Maven. I dreamed of their small hands holding mine. And sometimes... I dreamed of Rhydian. Not the monster, but the man who held me when I was scared.
"I can't do this," I said to Damian one morning. I was packing a small bag.
"What are you doing?" He looked panicked. "Aureliana, where are you going?"
"I have to go back," I said, my voice shaking but determined. "Not as his wife. Not to live his lie. But as their mother. I can't leave them, Damian. They are mine."
"He tricked you!" Damian grabbed my arm. "He brainwashed you! Are you really going to choose him over us? Over what we had?"
"I am not choosing him!" I cried out. "I am choosing them! And I need to know the truth! The whole truth! I need to know what really happened between Rhydian and me before the accident! Because... because sometimes... when I close my eyes, I remember his touch too. I remember feeling safe with him."
Damian stared at me, his face falling. He saw the resolve in my eyes. He knew he couldn't stop me.
"So that's it then?" He asked quietly. "You're going back to him."
"I'm going back for them," I said. "And maybe... maybe to find out who I really am."
I left the house and took a car back up the mountain.
The gates opened as if they were expecting me.
When I walked up to the door, it opened before I could knock.
Rhydian was standing there. He looked terrible. Dark circles under his eyes, his hair messy, his clothes unkempt. He looked like he hadn't slept or eaten since I left.
He stared at me, disbelief washing over his face.
"You came back," he whispered.
"I didn't come back because I believe your lies," I said coldly, stepping past him into the house. "I came back for my children. And Rhydian? We are doing this my way now. No more lies. Tell me everything. Every single detail. Or I leave again and I never come back."
He looked at me, and slowly, a flicker of hope ignited in those dark eyes.
"Anything," he said immediately. "I'll tell you everything. Just... stay."