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My head was pounding as I slowly came to. An irresistible scent rose into my nose and I knew immediately who it was coming from. I slowly opened my eyes and looked straight into Ava's worried face. She sat on the floor while my head rested on her lap.

I remembered. I remembered every damn detail. Without even having to think long, I pulled Ava's head down to me and kissed her passionately. She lived. she was alive My Ava was alive.

After a few seconds I moved away from her and then straightened up. I quickly pulled her into my arms and suppressed the tears of joy. Nothing and no one could keep me away from her now.

"Kian, let me go. are you crazy?"

Well, except for herself. But I would never give up again.

I broke away from her and beamed at her happily. She, on the other hand, just looked at me confused and angry at the same time. Still, I saw a hint of concern in her beautiful eyes.

"You live. you really live I i..."

"What are you talking about, Kian? did you hit your head Are you all right? You were unconscious for a few minutes."

"I love you!" I finally said what had been on the tip of my tongue for ages. Ava's pupils dilated and she blushed.

"Please stop that, Kian." She now stood up and nodded toward the door.

"Please go. I really don't want to see you anymore."

"Ava, please let me explain everything to you. I can now remember every single detail of my past. How I hurt you and most importantly how much I loved you and still do to this day."

"It doesn't make any sense, Kian. Go!" she said through tears.

"Let me tell you everything first, then I'll give you time. But don't ask me to stay away from you. Because I would never do that."

She remained silent for a moment, seeming to struggle with herself internally. Finally she gave in and said, "I won't give you more than five minutes. Still, I'm not promising that I'll give you a chance afterwards."

I nodded and followed her into the living room where we sat across from each other. I wanted to hold her hand while doing this, but I didn't want to risk her throwing me out before I even had a chance to explain everything to her.

"Also?"

"Two months before my birthday, I made a bet with Seth. Well, you probably know what that was about. I was an idiot back then. Immature and totally childish. Then I met you. You were so different, so perfect...I knew that was when I developed feelings for you. I forgot the bet in your presence. I didn't know it was so easy to fall in love with a person. But when I kissed you for the first time, I was absolutely sure about my feelings. i fell in love with you I knew I only wanted you."

Although I had been longing for my 18th birthday for years to finally meet my mate, I never wanted to accept her. I never wanted to be with her because I was sure I would never love my mate the way I loved Ava.

Ava stared at me silently, trying to organize her thoughts. Still, she didn't interrupt me, so I took a deep breath and finally told her the truth.

"On the night of the prom, you must know, that night meant a lot to me. I never intended to leave you alone. But my brother called and was quite upset. He was still quite young at the time, but he was always in control. He took care of my sister. That's why I was worried because he would never have asked me for help. So I drove to him and he told me everything. My sister Aurora and my brother's wife Rose were kidnapped by . My sister was only eight years old, but they still beat her. Rose had been pregnant by Noah at the time. She didn't know, but she lost her child. We were only able to save her after more than a day. It was the worst hour of my life. I never wanted to go through anything like this again. I could never bear to lose a person. That's why I left you then. You would always have been my weak point and I would never have taken it that you had to suffer for my sake, that someone kidnapped you just to harm me. I wanted to protect you even if it hurt me. The main thing is that you're safe."

Ava seemed speechless, she was close to tears. I approached her and wrapped her in my arms. Only after a few seconds did she reply and snuggled her head against my chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know about your sister and sister-in-law."

"It's not your fault."

She pulled away from me and looked deep into my eyes.

"Then why did you want to be near me again?" I asked myself.

"Because I can't do without you. I promised myself that I would protect you by any means necessary. That nobody would ever hurt you, even if I was the one who did it. I was an idiot and I'm sorry. When you rejected me, I was devastated. A short time later I found out that you took your own life. I could not believe it."

"Why didn't you remember that until now?" she asked me.

"I didn't know myself until today. Just today Noah told me the truth. I have a gift I can forget things when they hurt me emotionally. After I found out about your death, I used my gift unconsciously. I didn't know until now because Noah said nobody should know."

"Then why are you telling me?" she asked.

I held her hand and looked her straight in the eyes. "Because I'll never keep secrets from you again. I won't make the same mistake a second time."

"Kian, I can understand you somewhere. But I'm still hurt from back then. That feeling doesn't go away overnight."

"Ava, I love you. I always have. Trust me, things will get better from now on. Give me a chance mate!"