Chapter 0404

I felt sick at the thought of what Zoe had done to him. “That’s why you didn’t come back for me.”

Noah nodded. “She made me believe I never saw you, never went to Darkmoon, never found the pictures or letters. But she didn’t know about the seashell I’d given you. That was the link to remembering everything.”

His eyes met mine, a small smile playing on his lips. “Seeing you and that seashell again, combined with Zoe’s actions at the wedding… it stirred those memories. I remembered, Hannah. And I swear, I will never let Zoe, or anyone else, mess with my memories again.”

Relief washed over me, so intense it made me dizzy. Or maybe that was just the pain from my ribs. Either way, I slumped back in the chair, the tension finally leaving my body. “I’m so glad we stopped the wedding before something awful happened,” I murmured.

Drake cleared his throat. “We should probably give you two some space,” he said, wrapping his arm around Viona and gently pulling her away. “We’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

As they left the room, softly closing the door behind them, Noah moved closer. His arms wrapped around me again, gentler this time, mindful of my injuries. I leaned into him, burying my face in his chest as sobs wracked my body.

“I’ve missed you,” I choked out between tears. “I’ve missed you so much, and I hate what happened. I hate what she did to us.” My fists clenched, and I weakly hit his chest, all my frustration and pain pouring out.

Noah didn’t try to stop me. He just held me tighter, one hand stroking my hair soothingly. “I know,” he murmured. “I know, Hannah. I’m so sorry. I’m here now. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

As my sobs subsided, I felt Noah press something into my hand. I pulled back slightly to look—it was the seashell, still on its leather cord.

“Could you…?” He turned, indicating for me to tie it around his neck.

Still choked with tears, even more so now, I shakily tied the cord around his neck. My fingers brushed his skin, and when he turned back to face me, I traced the ridges of the shell.

“I didn’t know you wore it as a necklace,” I whispered.

“Of course I did,” Noah said softly, his green eyes flicking up to meet mine. “The blue is just like your eyes. And for those two years when we wrote to each other, I never took this necklace off, not even once, so that I could always have you with me. Zoe cut it off me. But I’ll never take it off again.”

Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks, but this time they were tears of relief, of joy. Noah gently wiped them away with his thumb.

“I love you, Hannah,” he whispered. “I’ve always loved you. Even when I couldn’t remember, even when Zoe tried to erase you from my mind… some part of me always loved you.”

Noah’s arms tightened around me, and I felt him press a soft kiss to the top of my head. The movement jostled my ribs, sending a fresh wave of pain through me. I couldn’t quite stifle my gasp.

He stood, keeping one arm around me for support, and guided me toward a nearby sofa. As we moved, the events of the past few days—no, months—seemed to catch up with me all at once. My legs gave out, and I stumbled.

“I’ve got you,” Noah murmured, scooping me up in his arms. “I’ve got you. Always.”

We fell to the sofa together, Noah cradling me against his chest.

Chapter 0405