Aselia blinked several times, trying to comprehend the callous words he had just thrown at her, hoping it was a joke and he would start laughing soon. But all she found was his piercing frigid eyes and stoic face. Her mind went numb, her body lost all strength, and she thrashed under his hold.

"NO!!!" she shrieked, her voice so painful that it almost made Xiran grimace and pull her close to him. The hurt he had caused her was unimaginable.

"You can’t do this to me," tears abundantly flowed from her eyes and her heart walloped against her chest, battered, beaten and bashed. Breathing turned into a laborious task as if he had filled her lungs with thorns, every breath shredded her insides. She had never experienced such torture before. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I can Leia, I always said I will go to any length for your safety. I never wanted to do this against your wishes but you will never comply, will you?" he solemnly asked his hands still on her wet face.

"I w...will prefer dying than to l...live without your memories," she spoke in between the sobs which escaped her shaking frame.

"See, I know you, Leia. You are too stubborn, you will never stay away from me and I can’t endanger you anymore, so forgive me," he wiped her tears which were wetting his hands, his own heart was in shambles today, he was completely damaged and broken. No one would be able to put him back together, not when you lose someone who occupies all of your heart.

"YURIAN!" she shouted for the one person who was always there for her.

"He won’t come today, Leia. I have discussed everything at great length with them. And I have told him to stay away for this is between you and me," his words, his touch, his gaze, everything was blazing her today and she was about to go up in flames, and there would be no return. She stared at him in bewilderment, how could he become so heartless?

"Xiran!!! Don’t, I beg you. How can you be so cruel to me?" she almost begged, knowing everyone stood against her. They had taken her freedom yet again, and he was about to take away the most precious memories she had made in the last year. Memories of him, memories of her first kiss, memories of her first love, memories of his first touch.

"Cruel to you? The sole individual being subjugated to any cruelty is none other than, myself. For I am only going to erase your memories, you won’t even remember me. But, I will remember everything, every kiss we shared, every caress, every loving word you said to me, every touch of our bodies, every glance, I will remember everything."

The lingering regret in his words didn’t go unnoticed by Aselia. He had chosen an afflicted path and he was going to walk it alone.

"It hurts. Your words hurt..."

"Pleasee!"

"Stop!" She couldn’t touch him any longer so she placed her forehead on his chest in a feeble attempt for him to change his mind.

"I know my love. Just a few more minutes and this pain will forever be gone. The process doesn’t hurt, it will be painless and over in a few minutes," his resolve was dissolving fast, the elaborate charade was plummeting rapidly and he knew he won’t be able to keep this up much longer. He had to wrap this up.

"Just let me keep some part of you alive, you...you don’t have to visit me any longer. Don’t take my memories, Xiran. Let me keep this love for my brain will not know how to fill the void you will leave," she sniffed and sobbed in his chest, a place she always found comfort but had none to offer today. His shirt had gotten wet where her face lay.

Rony woke up from all the commotion and seeing Aselia cry, he began to growl at Xiran.

"I can’t, my efforts will be pointless if I will leave any of my memory with you. You will seek me out." Unwillingly he held her shoulders and separated himself from her, his action trampled her heart even more and she lifted her eyelids to stare at his face and asked:

"So this is it? This is the end of all your promises? You are going to leave me barren? Like a parched desert for you are my rainfall. Just tell me this, you are going to erase yourself from my brain but how will you cut yourself out of my heart? My heart won’t forget you."

He wanted nothing more in those moments to just take her in his arms and disappear from this world, to soothe her aching heart and to love her but all he did was blankly stare at her, listening to her pleas. Listening to her difficult questions.

"Why don’t you answer me? What will you do about my heart?" her laments shook his determination and his eyes singed with tears he didn’t want to shed in front of her. So he muffled:

"Your heart will forget me too."

Aselia wanted to hysterically laugh at his answer, he had underestimated her love, maybe he thought she didn’t love him as much as he did and her bond was weak and will wither away with time. But Aselia’s intuitions had her holding onto hope that her heart will never love another, at least not in the way she loved him.

"You may take what you want Xiran but the pieces of you that are deeply embedded in my heart, are only mine to keep. You won’t be able to take them and one day they will lead me to you," she then vehemently requested:

"Kiss me at least, one last time, let me feel you."

She was so vulnerable right now, totally at his mercy. Her cherry lips were parted and hungry for his, yet he didn’t kiss her. If he did, he will never be able to let her go.