I wasn’t sure how long I slept before I woke up in a dark room and a sleeping Zaden next to me. Just seeing him there made me uncomfortable enough to crawl out of bed and walk the dark corridors of the house towards the kitchen. Peeking at the clock told me that it was only three in the morning. Telling me that I only slept three hours before I woke up.

The lack of sleep must be because I was in a different environment. I wasn’t used to being in the house because I had just arrived. It will get easier with time is what I kept telling myself. But then I got a little worried. What if I got comfortable enough that I don’t want to leave when the time comes?

Trying to be as quiet as possible, I searched the cupboards for a glass. I figured a glass of water will help me go back to sleep. But as I got to the third cupboard, the kitchen light suddenly turned on. Blinding me from the sudden brightness.

“There are bottles of water in the fridge,” Zaden mentioned as he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He pulled out a water bottle and held it out to me. I couldn’t help but notice that he was shirtless as I grabbed the water bottle from him.

After opening the water bottle, I took a sip. Sneaking a look at this new Zaden. He wore plaid pants and nothing else. His body was extremely fit as well and his hair was a little messy from sleep. If I had to be honest, he was really attractive. Also I preferred this Zaden over the one that looked really put together and cold. This one looked more comforting to see.

He must have noticed that I was looking at him because he gave me a small smirk. He then went to the small island in the kitchen and leaned against it, “I guess you aren’t used to sleeping here. If you need changes made to make you more comfortable, just let me know.”

I closed the water bottle, “That’s sweet of you. But I don’t want to get too comfortable here.”

“Why?” he asked, confused.

“If I decide to not marry you, I can’t stay here,” I answered honestly.

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He nodded his head, “Understandable.”

Then I thought of the woman he admired.The one he was so sure I would help him find and fall in love with. She was so lucky and she didn’t even know it.

“Can you tell me the name of the woman you admire?” I suddenly asked him.

Zaden froze. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, “Why?”

“I thought it would help me with helping you find her,” I answered nervously.

He let out a sigh, “Who’s to say that I haven’t found her yet? It’s why I changed to saying that you will help me by having her fall in love with me.”

“When did you find her?” I heard myself ask.

“I found her when she needed my help with something important,” he answered but didn’t elaborate. It made me think that he wasn’t going to explain more than he needed to, “I am just waiting for her to finally notice and remember me.”

That tugged at my heart strings a little. He had found the woman he loved but she didn’t remember him. Was she the patient he was doing research for? Did she get in a big accident that she forgot everything about her life? It was like a tragic love story that could end either way. One ending they will live happily ever after, while in the other, one will end with heartache.

“I can’t remember if you told me when you fell in love with her,” I told him.

“The first time I fell in love with her was when I was just a kid needing a friend. She took pity on me until I made my best friend,” he explained, “The second time I fell in love with her was after we were separated due to her moving and we were reunited in high school. The third time I fell in love with her was when she excitedly told me about accomplishing her dream. The last time I fell in love with her was the day I shouldn’t have let her go without knowing how much I really cared about her.”

He grabbed my water bottle and took a sip from it before he continued, “I focused on my studies after that and I never lost my feelings towards her. Instead they grew as I watched her from the shadows achieving one accomplishment after another. Now I have a chance to fix the wrong I had made in the past.”

Zaden then handed me my water bottle back before he turned around. I watched as he opened a drawer. He pulled out a small notebook and pen. The room filled with the sound of him writing something in the notebook. After what felt like five minutes, he tore out the paper and handed it to me. He then put everything away and then left the kitchen to return to bed. Leaving me to look at the piece of paper by myself.

On the paper it had the name of the elementary school I went to as a child. Nothing else. Shocked filled me as I stared at that name. How does he know that name?