Chapter 57

Chapter 57 (Alex’s POV)

I hadn’t moved from the chair in sixteen hours.

Maybe more.

I sat there in the quiet, watching her breathe. Each rise and fall of her chest was a battle she didn’t even know she was fighting. Every twitch of her hand or flicker of her eyelashes felt like a miracle—and a punishment at the same time.

The doctors didn’t know how to help her.

Not really.

They gave vague words like “memory disruption,” “implant reversal damage,” and “neurological shock.”

But none of those words mattered.

She had kissed me.

And it brought everything back for me.

But it cost her everything.

\---

I ran a hand through my hair, gripping the back of my neck as I stared at her still form in the bed.

Her skin was pale.

Too pale.

I remembered her warm and laughing. Always complaining about how I liked cold showers and how I was too serious in the mornings.

God, I remembered everything.

The scar on her knee from falling off her bike as a kid.

How she slept curled up like a cat.

How she always tugged at her sleeves when she was nervous.

And now—now she didn’t even know her own name.

\---

Langston and Rick were in the other room.

I’d sent everyone else out hours ago.

This was one of my private properties. One I never spoke about. A penthouse above my old research wing—designed to be invisible to public records. No press. No cameras. Not even my legal team knew about it.

Only my security chief, and he’d been paid well to disappear.

Because I needed her somewhere safe.

Somewhere unreachable.

If Reed or his people tried to come near her again, I’d bury them.

\---

I stood up and walked to the window, pulling the curtain just slightly to look out.

The city stretched below us—full of people, traffic, noise, and lives I’d stopped caring about the second she passed out in my arms.

All this money. All this power.

And I couldn’t stop her from breaking.

But I would fix it.

Even if I had to burn everything I built.

\---

A soft sound made me turn.

She shifted.

Her fingers moved.

I was by her side in seconds.

“Nell?”

I said it quietly, afraid of breaking the moment.

Her eyelashes fluttered.

She blinked against the light.

Then her gaze found mine.

And froze.

\---

For a second, everything stood still.

Her eyes searched my face, confused. Like she was trying to place a dream she couldn’t quite remember.

I sat beside her, gently resting a hand near hers without touching.

“Hey,” I said, voice rough. “You’re safe. I’m here.”

She stared at me.

“Where… where am I?”

My heart clenched.

“You’re with me,” I whispered. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

She blinked slowly.

“Do I… know you?”

I closed my eyes.

That hurt more than anything.

“Yes,” I said. “You do.”

\---

She tried to sit up, but winced, one hand flying to her head.

“Don’t push yourself,” I said, steadying her.

Her breathing picked up.

“Why does my chest feel like it’s on fire?”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

She looked at me, tears gathering in her eyes.

“I don’t remember anything.”

“I know.”

She swallowed.

“I’m… Nell?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re…”

“Alex.”

\---

She repeated it under her breath.

“Alex.”

I nodded.

She said it again. This time, a little stronger.

There was something in her voice when she said my name.

Something real.

I reached for her hand and this time, she didn’t pull away.

I felt a crack in my chest.

Hope.

\---

“I used to know you?” she asked softly.

“You loved me.”

She gasped slightly, her eyes wide.

“You said that like… like it’s a fact.”

“It is.”

“How do you know?”

I looked her straight in the eyes.

“Because I remember how you held me like I was your entire world. Because I’ve felt what it’s like to lose you. Because I would destroy everything that ever touched you just to make you smile again.”

She blinked hard, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

“I wish I remembered.”

“You will,” I said. “Even if I have to remind you of everything, one piece at a time.”

\---

I reached into the drawer beside her bed and pulled out a small velvet box.

I placed it gently in her palm.

She opened it.

Inside was a ring.

Simple.

Elegant.

Gold.

She stared at it like it was a foreign object.

“You gave me this,” I said. “The day before the experiment started. You told me it didn’t matter if the world forgot us, as long as we didn’t.”

A sob escaped her lips.

“I don’t… remember giving this.”

“But your hand still fits it.”

I slid it gently onto her finger.

She didn’t stop me.

She watched.

Quiet.

Breathing.

Feeling.

\---

Then I leaned in.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

My voice was low.

“I don’t care what they did to you. What they tried to erase. You’re mine. And I’m yours.”

Her eyes met mine.

Searching.

Hesitating.

And then—

I kissed her.

\---

It wasn’t gentle this time.

It was everything I had in me.

Everything I had lost and found again.

Her hand gripped my shirt.

My fingers cupped her jaw.

I kissed her like she was the only truth I had left.

And for a moment—

She kissed me back.

\---

When we pulled apart, her eyes were wide again.

She looked stunned.

“I… I saw something,” she whispered. “You… and me. A train. A ring. Laughter.”

She grabbed my hand. “Alex—I saw us.”

I nodded, breathless. “It’s working. You’re remembering.”

But then—

Her face changed.

She winced.

Her hand flew to her temple.

“No—no, it’s going again—I can’t hold onto it!”

“Nell?!”

“It hurts,” she gasped. “Alex—it hurts—”

Langston and Rick rushed in from the hallway.

“What’s happening?” Rick barked.

“She remembered something—but now she’s losing it again!”

Langston grabbed a device from his bag, pressed it to her temple.

“Her implant is destabilizing. We have to stop this.”

I held her as she shook.

“Stay with me,” I whispered. “Please.”

\---

Langston gave her a mild sedative. Within moments, she slipped back into sleep, her breathing evening out.

I didn’t let go of her hand.

Not once.

Rick stood across the room, silent.

Langston finally looked up at me.

“She’s too fragile. We can’t risk another trigger like that for now.”

“What do we do?”

Langston hesitated.

“There may be a way. But we’ll need Evelyn Cross.”

I stood slowly.

“No.”

“She might be the only one who can fix this.”

“She’s the one who broke her in the first place.”

“She also tried to shut it all down,” Rick added quietly. “Before Reed took over.”

I stared at Nell’s sleeping face.

Then back at them.

“Get her on the phone,” I said. “Tell her if she doesn’t help—her life ends where it started.”