Virgin At 25-Chapter 111: PRETEND TO SURVIVE!

Aec stood there frozen, breath suspended, mind blank.

Sharon’s terrified face replayed in his skull like a violent echo.

She had looked at him as if he were a stranger.

Worse... as if he were a threat.

Her footsteps faded into the forest, swallowed by the trees.

For a long moment, he couldn’t move.

His chest rose and fell sharply, breaths ragged, unstable.

His fingers twitched at his sides.

He felt the world tilt, not physically... but inside him.

How could she not know him?

How could she run from him?

He took one unsteady breath, then another, forcing himself to snap out of the haze.

"No," he muttered, voice breaking. "She’s scared. She’s confused. I need to find her."

He stepped forward.

A branch snapped behind him.

Aec spun sharply.

Zion stumbled into the clearing, breathless, sweat dripping down his neck, chest heaving like he’d sprinted through the entire forest.

"Aec!" Zion called, leaning on a tree. "I’ve been looking for you... what happened? Where is she?"

Aec’s voice was flat, dangerously calm.

"What is wrong... with Sharon?"

Zion swallowed. Hard.

"That means you’ve met her... I was trying to tell you earlier but you didn’t even let me finish..."

"Zion." Aec’s tone dropped, sharp as a blade. "Tell me. "

The tension thickened instantly. Zion looked away, jaw tightening as if the words physically hurt him.

"She..." Zion exhaled. "She lost her memory."

Aec blinked.

The forest went silent. He didnt react... Just stood there, the truth sinking in like a knife driven slowly into his chest.

"She doesn’t remember you," Zion added quietly."

Aec shook his head once...fast.

"No. Not now. Not here. She’s still in danger."

His voice broke, but he kept moving.

"We need to find her. That’s all that matters."

Zion nodded sharply. "Let’s go."

And the two of them bolted deeper into the forest.

"SHARON!"

"SHARON, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Their voices pierced the thick silence as they tore through leaves, branches, and shadows.

Aec’s heart hammered, burning with desperation.

Zion’s eyes darted left and right, scanning every inch.

They kept running.

Kept shouting.

Kept searching.

Then a voice floated from behind them.

Soft and shaky...

Familiar in a way that stabbed directly into Aec’s soul.

"Zion...?"

Aec stopped so abruptly the ground skidded under his boots.

He turned slowly...

And so did Zion.

Sharon stood behind them, hidden partly by the trees, breathing unevenly.

Her hair messy.

Her clothes torn.

Eyes wide but this time, not terrified.

Just... confused.

She lifted her hand. Her finger pointed straight at Aec.

"Aec..."

His spirit lifted.

His chest loosened.

His eyes lit with hope... she remembered.

Even if just a little... She remembered.

He stepped forward, relief warming his frozen chest.

But then she spoke again.

Her finger dropped and she immediately turned her gaze to Zion, her brows furrowed...

"...is he with you?"

Aec stopped. His heart fell straight back to the ground.

Confusion and pain flashed across his face.

He turned slowly to Zion, voice tight.

"You said she lost her memory. How come she knows YOU?"

Zion stepped forward carefully, lowering his voice as he approached Sharon.

"She only lost her recent memories... not the ones from long ago."

Aec stared at him, then at Sharon.

At the distance between all three of them.

Sharon remembers Zion but not Aec.

Not their moments.

Not their connection.

Not the man who would burn the world for her.

Sharon’s words were still hanging in the air when a sharp vibration broke the silence.

Zion’s phone.

He glanced at the screen... Deputy William.

His face dropped.

Aec noticed immediately.

"Deputy?"

William’s voice blasted through the speaker, low and urgent.

"Zion, there’s a problem. A big one."

Aec’s entire body tensed.

Zion stepped away slightly, listening.

"Orders just came in. We’ve been told to stop the search in the forest immediately."

Zion froze.

"What? Why?"

There was a rough exhale from William.

"Your insider confirmed it... Victor Langley reached higher authorities. He put pressure on them. If you’re found there, you’re finished. They want everyone out...now."

Zion glanced at Aec, then at Sharon, heart pounding.

Aec’s voice hardened. "What’s happening?"

Zion lowered the phone but didn’t end the call.

"Victor pulled strings. They’re shutting everything down. We can’t be here."

William continued through the speaker

"Zion, you need to leave immediately. I’m serious. This isn’t a warning... it’s an order meant to protect you. If Langley’s people find you there..."

Aec cut in sharply, voice ice-cold.

"They won’t."

Zion sighed, frustrated, torn.

"Aec..." but Aec didn’t look bothered ...

"We’re leaving."

Aec stepped toward Sharon, slow and careful. "Come on. We’re done here."

Sharon hesitated, but Zion offered his hand first, the one face she actually recognized.

She moved toward him, still shaking.

Zion kept his eyes on Aec.

"Let’s go before Langley’s men circle back."

Branches cracked in the distance.

Not footsteps but several footsteps.

Aec’s jaw clenched.

"Move."

Sharon nodded quickly, her grip tightening in fear as Zion led the way.

Aec walked beside them, every sense on high alert, muscles coiled like a spring.

As they made it out of the trees, the tension thinned but didn’t disappear.

Not even slightly.

They reached the clearing, breathing hard.

Zion ended the call.

Aec looked at Sharon, really looked at her and something dark flickered behind his eyes.

This wasn’t over.

Not by a long shot.

- - -

Victor Langley sat alone in his dim office, the lights low, the city glowing beneath him like a nest of dying embers. His fingers drummed lazily against the glass table, each tap echoing like a countdown.

The door opened and a shadow stepped inside.

Victor didn’t look up.

"Report."

The man bowed his head.

"She escaped again, sir."

Victor’s smile was slow... unpleasant.

"Good."

He finally raised his eyes... cold, silver, the kind that never panicked.

"And the boys?"

"Pulled out the moment the sirens hit. Zion called in a fake search. They fell for it."

Victor chuckled, leaning back.

"Zion is predictable."

A pause.

"Aec, however..."

He tapped the table again.

"Did he find her?"

"Sir about your son... I don’t know sir"

Victor’s brows lifted slightly, unpleased.

He stood, walking slowly toward the window as the city lights cut sharp lines across his face.

"Tell me..." he murmured.

"Of what use are you and your men now... When you can’t even handle a woman"

The man hesitated.

"Sorry sir "

Victor laughed a low, satisfied sound.

"Perfect."

He clasped his hands behind his back, shoulders relaxed, expression calm... almost gentle... the way a wolf looks when it finally sees a wounded animal limping toward it.

"Dead or alive... I need to see Sharon’s body... Or else..."

He continued softly.

"Yours can be used as replacement ."

The man swallowed. "And Aec, sir?"

Victor’s voice dropped, silky and dangerous...

"He will come to me himself."

A slow smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"A man like Aec becomes stupid when he cares."

He turned slightly toward his informant.

"Next time, I need good news ."

The man nodded.

"Yes sir ."

Victor’s eyes gleamed.

"Good."

He placed a hand on the window glass.

Below, the traffic lights blinked like signals only he could read.

"Phase two begins immediately."

The man stepped forward.

"Should we continue searching the forest, just in case?"

Victor shook his head lightly.

"That’s your job... You search where ever you want too... Just give me Sharon..."

He turned fully, face carved in ice.

"But keep the pressure."

The man bowed and rushed out.

Victor stood still for a moment, letting silence tighten around him.

He closed his eyes briefly.

"Aec... You are too much trouble." Speaking to no one, he exhaled heavily

- - -

Aec stood outside the car in front of Zion’s private apartment , frozen ...

Zion touched Aec’s shoulder gently.

"Aec... you have to go."

Aec didn’t move at first.

His eyes stayed fixed on the spot where Sharon stood still by the door.

His chest rising and falling too fast.

His jaw clenching like he was holding himself together with force.

She didn’t remember him.

Not even a little.

Not enough to feel safe near him.

He whispered, barely audible...

"I couldn’t even hold her... I couldn’t even touch her..."

Zion swallowed hard...

"Aec... she’s safe with me for now. Let me take her home. You go before Victor’s men catch up."

Aec nodded slowly, stiffly not because he agreed, but because he had no strength left to fight.

His voice was cracked, hollow

"Just... take care of her. Please."

He turned away, shoulders heavy, steps slow.

For the first time, he looked defeated.

Like a man who had found the love he was searching for and still lost her completely.

Zion watched him leave then turned to Sharon, guiding her gently toward his house.

The second the door closed behind them, Sharon collapsed to the floor.

Not from fear... From heartbreak.

Her palms hit the tiles and her whole body folded as she cried deep, violent sobs tearing out of her.

"Sharon!" Zion rushed to her, dropping beside her.

He held her shoulders, pulling her into his chest.

"Shhhh... Sharon... hey... breathe... you need to revive fully. Easy... easy..."

But she kept crying, voice shaking like her heart had cracked in two.

Then she choked out the words...

"I craved so badly to touch him."

Her fingers curled into Zion’s shirt.

"I miss him... I miss Aec so much..."

Zion’s breath caught.

His arms around her loosened just a little.

He knew he had feelings for Sharon.

He once hoped but he also knew, painfully, quietly that he could never force anything on her.

Not when her soul was calling for someone else.

He swallowed, blinking away the sting in his eyes.

Then he cupped her cheek gently.

"Sharon... everything will be over soon."

She sobbed harder.

He continued, voice deep and sincere

"And you’ll be with Aec as much as you want."

Sharon froze.

Her tears slowed, face still buried in Zion’s chest.

And then her eyes opened.

Sharon’s voice, still soft, whispered

"...I know."

Zion stiffened.

He pulled back slowly, looking into her eyes... "I’m sorry that I made you pretend not to know him..."