Adam handled it well for a guy who was told he was a character in a book. I watched him as I tried to contain my own questions. So far, everything has yet to be explained on his end. Why had Adam kept so much secret from me? His answer before had abated my curiosity but hadn't solved it. I took this moment to drink him in. It was going to be essential to remember moments like this. Mordecai had said to savor the time we spent together more than once.

"So I'm the main character in that book, and I fix the world after the meteor strikes," Adam said. That was a pretty easy summation of everything. "There are a lot of similarities but also differences. Before you, I only went by Rex." Adam seemed to be musing out loud, and I enjoyed the look of concertation on his face.

"Why did you introduce yourself as Adam?" I said. I only received a partial answer before.

"This is my third time reliving my life," Adam said.

My lips twisted in thought. "Your third? How is that possible?" I said. The book got quite a few things wrong; this could be one of them. Or if Mordecai was right, I set off a chain of events.

"And I'm not in love with Evangeline," Adam said, cutting through my thoughts and the conversation. Her name shot through me like a bullet, and I gulped. I had avoided even thinking of her name for as long as possible.

"She's my sister. I messed up by distancing myself from her, but I wouldn't fall in love with someone I consider family." Adam said.

I looked away. "I believe you," I said. Unable to stop itself, my brain flashed the previously coveted cover of the book. The book targeted girls like me who wanted a protective brother and a powerful lover.

My chin was grabbed, and I was forced into meeting Adam's eyes. His brown eyes were fierce. "I wouldn't do anything differently." He told me, and it was like balm to my battered heart.

The moment was ruined by the crunch of nuts in my head. Mordecai hadn't said anything in a while, but he clearly had stuck around for the show. By now, his glowing gold spores were so ingrained into everything I could barely see them glimmer.

"You don't believe me?" Adam's fingers tightened on my chin as his words startled me from my thoughts.

"No, I do. I feel the same." I tried to put aside my watery eyes and the bitterness of having an interloper. "I just have other questions I can't get rid of." And an outsider in our private moment. Damn you, ancestor. I thought sourly as I tried to keep my expression blank.

"What else do you want to know?" Adam didn't let go of me and pulled me into his arms. I savored his warmth as I inhaled his scent. I'd given him homemade cologne for his birthday this past year, and I could smell it. I rubbed my face on his chest, enjoying his heart's strong, steady beat.

I love this man so much. I thought as my throat tightened. It was hard to find my voice, but eventually, I did. "Why did the world reset to create this third timeline?"

Adam stiffened, and I could feel his heart speed up. "I'm not sure." His voice sounded strained. "There was an explosion, and I think I died."

It was my turn to stiffen. How was it possible for the hero of the world to die? "You're the hero of this world," I exclaimed, attempting to pull away to see his expression, but his tight arms stopped me.

Silence stretched between us, and for a moment, I wondered if he hadn't heard me. "Adam?" I tried to move my head to look at him, but his arms tightened again.

His voice was strained and tight with suppressed emotion when he finally spoke. "Wendy. It's hard to think about, and it was excruciating."

I used my hands to rub his back and was relieved as the tension visibly left him. His grip loosened, and I was able to look at his expression. A mask was placed over his expression, and I tried not to be noisy. Something terrible must have happened.

'Ask him about Gavin.' Mordecai spoke, and I could feel my left eyebrow twitch.

What does Gavin have to do with any of this? I scolded Mordecai but found my mouth open and doing precisely that.

"What about Gavin?" Adam's eyes narrowed as he said this. There was venom and disgust, something I'd never seen from Adam when he spoke about Gavin.

"He knew that I'm not from this world. And…” I said I was unable to finish the sentence. I don't know what to ask about Gavin. That was Mordecai's line of thinking, not mine!

"Gavin has powers. I meant to tell you this sooner, but I had to ensure he was locked up forever." Adam said. I could feel my mouth drop. The boss was explaining his reach!

"What power does Gavin have?" I said. Memories of him reaching for me were not as scary as his words.

"He can wipe memories," Adam said, and my heart dropped.

"Memories?" I repeated this as something nagged me. Mordecai's slurping stopped the thought from forming, and I groaned. My invisible ancestor struck again.

"He erased mine when he attacked," Adam said. "I lost my memory of you. It took me so long to get back. I suspect he did the same thing to Nips."

I could feel my world tremble at this revelation. So Nips wasn't a traitor? He just forgot about me? Weird. Why would Gavin choose to wipe Nips' memory of me? That feels a little too random. There were other choices he could have picked, like Grandpa Evans.

"Gavin was afraid of you when he showed up that day. He thought I would be alone and was shocked I wasn't." I said, musing out loud.

There was silence as both of us were lost in our thoughts. That was a traumatic experience. I went through so much turmoil when Adam was gone. Wait, the fever dream of Adam.

"You appeared before me on the mountain. And that was real?" I said.

Adam gave a terse nod, and he seemed nervous.

"Then everything we talked about was real…you saw me try to…"

"Leave this world," Adam said, finishing my sentence. "I don't want you to do that again. It took me too long to recover my memory of you, and I was almost too late when I finally did. When I saw you on that mountain, you were mumbling about dying being the only way to restart the world. You said that if you left, everything would be fixed." There was pain in Adam's voice, and I reached for him without thinking.

Any embarrassment at being seen during that moment was swept under the rug. I would have been a mess if I had witnessed Adam doing the same thing. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. If I had been stronger, that would never have happened." Adam's voice tickled my ear as his arms pressed me into him.

'I suppose it's not unusual for a hero to appear when needed.' Mordecai said in an amused tone before loudly slurping something up.

It was a bit strange timing-wise, but I'm sure Adam appeared at that critical moment for a good reason. Unable to stop myself, I said, "It was great that you appeared when you did. You saved me."

Adam's arms grew lax, and I blinked, expecting a quick answer. His silence was the response, and it stretched awkwardly. I blinked. "Adam?" I called out to him, but he said nothing. I looked down at him in my arms and saw his breathing had changed.

Did he fall asleep? I stroked his hair, unable to stop myself, and leaned back, allowing his weight to rest on me. As much as I loathed to admit it, Mordecai was right. We needed every moment to be spent wisely.

Adam and I were glued together in the following weeks. He openly used his powers to teleport to and from his duties at home. This was how I discovered he'd been secretly doing that all along. After all, I rarely walked him out to the car, so I didn't know he was just teleporting between locations.

There was a strange, unspoken desperation between the two of us. The world ending aside, we both knew there was a countdown on our relationship. We ate, slept in the same bed, and did everything together. Adam didn't touch me for some strange reason. Well, he did kisses, and we made out a lot, but once again, he stopped himself short of the actual deed.

And I tried hard to seduce him. Early mornings were the easiest because he was always primed and ready. Reason and logic always overtook him, and he sobered up after small foolery.

Just as Adam was holding back from me physically, there was more he had yet to tell. I could be patient, though, because what little steady ground we had rebuilt around us didn't need more rocking.

Days passed in this manner until it was finally my birthday celebration. I even wore the Orignis dress as planned. Adam, Lucia, Lucas, and Wyatt were all here. Mary had been there for a bit before she left, and she brought her granddaughter and son, Bill.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Adam wanted time to prepare my gift, so he left me with a chaste kiss before disappearing. I went outside to catch my breath. I was combating the selfish desire to be pleased with the time alone. I loved Adam, undoubtedly and truly, but the stickiness of our current relationship made it hard to breathe.

I've never spent every living, breathing moment with someone like this before. It was comfortable and suffocating at the same time. Maybe it would have been easier if we had more time to dissect secrets. Or if I knew when Mordecai would appear, I'd want to have these conversations. I'm all for bluntness, but that didn't mean my vulnerable moments needed to be witnessed via spores.

My small moment of peace as I contemplated this was shattered by Wyatt.

He entered the backyard and saw me under the giant elder apple tree. I was lying on the bench, enjoying the shade of the branches while soaking up the spring sun.

He was carrying a puppy, Nips had a litter, and I tried not to be moved by the sight of the beautiful pup.

"Puppy for your thoughts?" Wyatt said, and I sat up to welcome him and the puppy with wide arms.

Wyatt walked over, and I grabbed the puppy. Her beautiful eyes met mine before she started to lick and, like her sire, nip me.

"Her name is Hope," Wyatt said, and I made a face.

"How cheesy," I said, not hiding my laugh.

"Lucia named her," Wyatt said with a smirk.

Guilt shot through me, and I blinked. I backpedaled immediately. "How fortuitous of a name. Lucia gave you such a good name." I said as I gave the eager puppy pets.

"How two-faced," Wyatt said, shaking his head as he sat on the bench.

Molly came over to inspect the puppy. She was getting on in age and took rather keenly to Hope. I set down hope and watched the two get acquainted.

"So, your thoughts?" Wyatt said, turning to look at me.

That was the deal. I tore my eyes away from the cute fur balls to look at Wyatt. It was like Adam, and he was on the same wavelength. Both had opted into growing full beards. Adam's was dark and beautifully thick. Wyatt's was thick but blond with traces of red.

They may have done it randomly. Or they really did plan it. Adam and Wyatt had a strange bond that I never noticed before. Either it flew entirely under the radar, or it was recent.

As if reading my thoughts, Wyatt said, "So Adam told you everything."

Well. I thought, not knowing what my face said. There was still plenty I knew he was keeping from me. This was just one of many unspoken things between us. It was an accord that not even Mordecai could break. It was likely why he'd been gone for over a week. He had nothing to chew over as he ate whatever he scrounged.

"Yes," I said instead of any of this.

"Liar," Wyatt said with a smug grin. "Because if he had, he would have told you my abilities."

"I saw your wind power, Attarib. It's powerful." My tone was sarcastic when it shouldn't have been. He was powerful. He whipped the wind around him and shot it like a canon to break down a brick wall.

"You saw the wind, but I have more," Wyatt said.

"What else can you do?" I asked. I have to admit to being curious.

"I can read minds," Wyatt said, and I jumped about a foot in the air. He laughed outright at me. "I can read people from miles away. People with open, unguarded minds are the easiest. People like Adam are harder to read because of their mental fortitude. I can't read Mordecai or you unless we're touching. But with Mordecai, it's more what he's willing to show, and what he shows is…" Wyatt shuddered. His voice was more robust when he said, "Unlike you, your mind is pure but chaotic." Wyatt looked down, and I followed his gaze to see our legs touching.

I ignored the nonsense about Mordecai and focused on the most crucial part of what he said. "So you knew Lucia's feelings for you the whole time?" I said as I smacked Wyatt and moved away from him. Lucia was super sweet and open. There was no way Wyatt couldn't read her mind and see how she felt towards him. It was different for me. No matter where I saw him, he was always so touchy-feely. He was trying to read my mind. That would also explain why he changed his name to Wyatt when I met him in the first timeline of this world.

Wyatt laughed as he shook his head. "That's what you're going to focus on?"

"That's important Atta. She thought you liked me and misread why you were so touchy-feely, you dick. Don't be so touchy-feely with me anymore." I said, jabbing him with my fingers to enunciate my point. I froze mid-poke when I realized I was touching him now. I pulled away quickly, but the jig was up by this point.

Wyatt had been spying on my brain for years. I narrowed my gaze at him, pondering how to get back at him.

Sensing my murderous rage, Wyatt held his hands up in mock surrender. "I come in peace and with the answers to everything you want to know."

I sat for a few minutes, mentally going over my options. This humungous ass was my best bet to get answers. Considering his broad smile, he knew it.

"I'll let it go for now," I said with grave magnanimity.

"Thank you," Wyatt said, unable to stop himself from laughing again.

"You kept your memory for the time reset." I started to say, but Wyatt interrupted me.

"Resets. This is my third time reliving this world's end, Wendy."

"Okay, your third. How do you keep your powers after the resets? Did Mordecai help you with that? What deal did you make with my ancestor?" I needed to ask him this.

Wyatt made a face. "I thought you would ask about the second reset when we met again. And about how it all went down. But if you want to know about my deal with Mordecai to--"

"Wait, I met you during the second reset?" I cut him off. How was that possible? Did I meet Adam, then? This was Adam's third time, and it aligned with Wyatt's. I could feel a stress headache forming, and I rubbed my temple.

"I thought Adam told you everything." Wyatt's voice was the softest I'd ever heard. He looked startled, confused, and even a little panicky.

"I guess he didn't," I said, my throat tightening.

Wyatt was up and pacing, and I watched him as I tried to control my expression. I was there during the second reset? How was that possible? I was here for the first time in the third. Instead of spiraling, I chose action.

I ran unseeingly back into my home, where I saw Adam fiddling with a little box. I paid it no mind, nor Lucia, who seemed to be encouraging him.

The heartbeat it took the two to notice me, the box was opened, and I saw one of the most beautiful rings in my life. Despite my better judgment, I froze to admire the ring. It was bright, with a fat diamond shaped like a rose in the middle and two emerald leaves resting underneath. The band consisted of twisting branches resembling the infinity symbol and a wreath.

My sudden appearance startled the two, and I had to tear my gaze away from the box to look at Adam. "You didn't tell me I was there," I said.

Adam's expression shifted when he heard this. He knew I knew. I could see it flicker in his eyes.

Lucia said something; she was likely too confused, but it felt like only the two of us were in the room.

Adam's brown eyes looked aggrieved, and he gave a jerky nod towards the door. "Let's go out there to talk."

I hesitated, and he came forward, "Please, Wendy." There was pain in his voice and fear.

We convened outside, and I noticed that Wyatt was gone. He was smart.

"I was present in the second reset of the world," I stated it factually because, at this point, there was no room for conjecture.

Adam gave a jerky nod, and I watched him put the box away. It was regretful because he would likely give it to me, and I tried not to run with my thoughts that it was a proposal.

"I didn't plan on you knowing," Adam said straight forward. I was stunned.

"You have to stop keeping so many secrets." I didn't realize I was shouting until Molly started barking and came to inspect me for danger.

Adam ran an impatient hand through this hair. He grabbed my hand and blipped us to the mountain. I tried to kill myself. It was a sore moment for both of us to be here, but a place where we would have uninterrupted time.

"I have to, Wendy, I don't want you to go. I can't stand the thought of you leaving." Adam's expression was vulnerable; any other time, it would soften my rage.

This had to be the last straw. I knew there was more being hidden but this wasn't as simple as I had expected. I was patient and endured many secrets, white lies, and stretched truths. Something this big should have been told to me weeks ago. When was he going to be fully honest with me?

"Adam, I can't trust you if you keep me in the dark," I sighed heavily. I reached for his waist to pull him closer but also to pinch his sides. "You can't leave me in the dark if you want to keep me. Not when it comes to this. If I don't recall going to the past, that means I do at some point, and it has to happen. What else happens in the second reset of this world."

Adam's face twisted with bitterness. "I met you in the second reset and fell in love with you then."

My grip loosened for a second before I tightened it. "What else?" I said this with the determination to not let him go until he explained it all to me.

"That's how I knew to hide my name from you. How I knew where to find you and why I found you during my third life." Adam said his words in a terse rush that hit me like a ton of bricks.

Now, it makes sense. Truly does in every aspect.

"Why would you keep that from me?"

"I don't want you to go." He said this while wrapping his arms around me. "It's not safe for you."

"I can protect myself." I tried not to laugh or cry as I processed this.

"Not from me," Adam said, and I stiffened. "The me during the second reset also tries to keep you there."

Wait what. I thought as I pulled away to look at Adam's eyes. "Are you worried I will go to the second reset and won't return because I fell in love with you in that timeline?"

Adam's lips thinned, and I had more difficulty stopping laughing. "It's still you, Adam. How could I not love you? He's not you, so it won't be the same kind of love."

He bit my collarbone, and I gasped as his body pressed against me more intimately. I gasped his name as he nibbled and marked my neck.

"Adam, wait." We had to have this conversation because he was strangely desperate, and I was too worried to be turned on.

He paused and pulled away. His liquid brown eyes pierced into me. It was cute that of all the people he could be jealous of, he was envious of himself. How was he so cute? I didn't realize he even had a jealous streak, but how could I? The only boys I ever interacted with were childhood friends.

"Marry me, Wendy." His hands moved to cup my face, and I inhaled his scent as it washed over me.

"Adam." I wanted to pull away.

"Please." His voice cracked, and I could feel my resolve weaken.

"Are you proposing to stop me from staying in the second reset?" This can't be it because he said he died during the second reset, which is how he got to the third one. But I was beginning to suspect that Adam was more neurotic than me. I hadn't read anything about this in My Adoring Brother, but a lot was left out clearly.

My words were ice water on the mood, and Adam persisted in holding me. His hoarse voice finally said, "No." But there was a lack of conviction in them.

"I love you," I said to assure him of my feelings. "I'd love to be your wife, but now I'm…"

"Don't ask for time apart from me." Adam pleaded, and I could feel my heart pang painfully.

"I won't do that," I said, reaching up to stroke his head. "I will marry you, but only if you stop keeping secrets because you're worried you'll lose me. Withholding important things is how you will lose me. I have to be part of your world. In every part, the good and the bad. How could we be life partners otherwise?"

"You're right," Adam said, and I smiled; of course, I was.

"Give me the ring when I return to you from the second reset, and we'll get married then." They couldn't be too far away from each other, and this way, I could reassure him of my earnestness towards him.

"At least take this," Adam said, handing me an all-too-familiar yellow box. He assumedly pulled it out of his space, an action I'd recently gotten used to. That yellow box held one thing and the best thing ever. The tasty lemon tarts that traveled in this box were my favorite. "Open it tonight," Adam said, and I acquiesced, slipping it into my own space.

"When do I go to the second reset?" I asked him, and he looked away. He didn't respond for a long time, and I grew worried.

"Soon." The wind almost carried Adam's voice away; it was so gentle.