We sat in the study. The same place where he had torn up the photo of Damian.
The children were in the playroom, supervised, giving us space.
"Start from the beginning," I demanded. "Before the accident."
Rhydian took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair.
"We grew up together," he started. "You know that. Our families were friends. I loved you since we were kids. But you... you never saw me like that. You saw me as the protective friend. The rich guy who helped you when you needed it."
He looked at me sadly.
"Then you met Damian. You fell in love. I was devastated. But I accepted it. I stayed away. Or I tried to."
He paused, looking down at his hands.
"But things weren't perfect between you and Damian. You fought. A lot. About money, about the future. You were stressed. And then... you found out you were pregnant."
My eyes widened. "I was pregnant before the accident?"
"Yes. You were scared. You didn't know if Damian was ready. You came to me. You cried on my shoulder. You asked me for advice."
Rhydian looked up, his eyes intense.
"That day... the day of the accident... you weren't just driving. You were coming to see me. You had left Damian. You told him you needed time. You were confused, Aureliana. You realized that maybe the safe, steady love I offered was what you needed."
"No..." I shook my head. "I loved Damian."
"You loved him," Rhydian agreed softly. "But you were in love with the idea of love. With me... it was different. We had a connection. That night... in the car... you were crying. It was raining. You were driving too fast. You lost control."
"And then?"
"And then you woke up three years later," he said quietly. "The doctors said your mind had regressed. It went back to a time before the stress, before the pregnancy, before the fights. It went back to when you were happiest with Damian."
"So you decided to rewrite history?"
"I decided to give you peace!" He stood up, pacing around the room. "You woke up scared and alone! If I had told you 'You were pregnant, you broke up with your boyfriend, you almost died, and now you have two babies', you would have collapsed! I built a world where you were safe! Where you were loved! Where you had a family ready for you!"
He stopped in front of me, grabbing my hands.
"Yes, I lied about the marriage certificate. Yes, I made it look like we had been together all along. But everything else? The way I look at you? The way the children love you? That is all real! I waited for you! I loved you through the silence! I loved you when you didn't even know my name!"
His words crashed into me like waves.
Memories started to surface, not clear pictures, but feelings.
The feeling of being confused. The feeling of being safe in his arms. The feeling of looking at him and wanting something more than friendship.
"So... we were never married?" I whispered.
"No," he admitted, his voice breaking. "Not legally. Not yet. But in every way that matters, Aureliana... you are my wife. And I am your husband."
I stood there, stunned.
The line between truth and lie was gone.
He wasn't the villain I thought he was. And Damian wasn't the perfect hero either.
They were just two men who loved me. And I... I was just a woman who had lost everything, only to find out she had everything she ever needed right in front of her.
"I need time," I said softly, pulling my hands away. "I still don't know what to feel."
"I know," he said, smiling sadly. "But you're here. That's enough for now."
Just then, the door burst open.
"Mama!"
Wynne and Maven ran in, jumping onto my lap, covering me with kisses.
"You came back! You came back!"
I hugged them tight, closing my eyes.
Looking at them, and then looking at Rhydian standing there watching us with so much hope... I knew one thing for sure.
I wasn't leaving again.