Chapter 627: When the Body Remembers What the Mind Cannot Hold

Chapter 626: When the Body Remembers What the Mind Cannot Hold

For a moment, Orion was frozen.

Not because he didn’t understand what was happening, but because his mind refused to accept the scale of it.

Sophia’s eyes were open.

But she wasn’t there.

The screams had stopped for a brief second, as if whatever had been tearing through her had paused to breathe.

Then it came back.

Louder.

More guttural.

Like something inside her had broken free and decided it would not be contained again.

Her body arched violently on the bed, her small frame shaking as her hands flew to her chest. She clawed at herself, nails scraping skin through fabric, desperate and uncontrolled, like she was trying to pull something out of herself that no one else could see.

Orion moved instantly. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Sophia—"

He reached for her hand, but she flinched away, hard.

Like his touch burned her.

His chest tightened painfully as he tried again, more carefully this time, but she twisted sharply, her movements frantic, almost violent in their desperation. It wasn’t aimed at him, not really, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t distinguish anything right now.

"Hey," he said quickly, voice breaking slightly. "Hey, shorty, it’s me."

She didn’t care about that. She couldn’t care about that.

Her head jerked side to side, eyes wide but unfocused, tears spilling down her face in silent streams before the sound caught up again.

"It hurts," she gasped suddenly. "Stop... it hurts... it hurts."

Her fingers dug deeper into her chest like she was trying to tear away the pain itself.

Orion’s hands hovered, trying to get her to calm down, but she fought him and he didn’t want to hurt her even more than she was already hurting right now.

The door burst open.

Marta rushed in first, followed by two nurses.

Her eyes took in the scene in an instant.

She didn’t ask questions.

There was no time for that.

She moved immediately.

The screams rose again, louder this time, like Sophia’s body was rejecting even the air around her. She thrashed harder, pulling away from everyone’s hands as they tried and failed to calm her down, her nails scraping at her own skin as she cried out that it hurt, over and over, like the words were the only thing keeping her anchored.

"It hurts," she choked again. "Stop please... stop."

Marta turned sharply to one of the nurses.

"Get restraints. Now."

Orion’s head snapped toward her.

"No," he said immediately.

Marta didn’t even hesitate.

"We need to stop her from causing more damage to herself."

"I know that," he told her.

Marta stared at him, disbelief flashing across her face.

"And you still don’t want us to restrain her?" Marta asked him.

"No," he said again.

Sophia jerked again, a strangled sound tearing from her throat as she tried to hit her head against the bed frame.

Orion moved instantly.

He caught her mid-motion, pulling her into his chest just before impact.

Her body fought him immediately, thrashing harder, but he held firm, one arm around her shoulders, the other steadying her head against him.

"It’s not real," he said quickly, voice low but urgent. "It’s not real, shorty. You’re here. You’re with me."

Her screams didn’t stop.

They only cracked further, like her voice itself was breaking apart.

Marta stepped forward again.

"Orion, if she keeps—"

"Then I’ll let her hurt me," he said without looking at her.

There was silence as everyone stared at him in shock.

Marta’s expression tightened.

"That’s not safe, Orion."

"I don’t care," Orion said, holding Sophia tighter as she struggled against him. "It’s better me than her."

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Marta exhaled sharply, frustrated but clearly weighing every option.

"This is reckless," she muttered.

"I know, but I’d rather she hurt me than hurt herself," Orion replied softly.

Another crash of movement as Sophia twisted again, her hands slipping from her chest and lashing out blindly. One of them caught his shoulder, then his neck, nails scraping as she fought against something only she could see.

But he didn’t let go.

"It’s okay," he whispered, pressing his forehead lightly against hers as she thrashed. "It’s okay, shorty. I’ve got you."

Her breath came in broken gasps.

Her body still fought him, but there was a shift—small, almost invisible.

Her movements weren’t gaining strength anymore.

They were losing it.

Marta watched closely, her jaw tight.

Lysander arrived just then.

He froze in the doorway. For a second, he didn’t move at all. And he wasn’t alone; Brynhild was with him. It was obvious they had rushed out of their home without thought.

Lysander didn’t need to be told what had happened for him to know it was exactly the same thing that had happened the first time she started recovering her memories.

Orion was focused on Sophia.

On the way her fingers curled weakly against his shoulder now instead of clawing.

On the way her screaming was starting to fracture, breaking into uneven breaths between the cries.

"It’s okay," he murmured again. "You’re safe. You’re not there. You’re here with me."

Her body trembled violently once more.

Then again.

And then it started to slow.

Her grip loosened slightly.

Her head tilted against his chest, still shaking but no longer fighting forward.

Orion didn’t let go.

He kept holding her, steady, grounding her with his presence alone, his voice a constant thread through the chaos.

"I’ve got you," he said again, softer now. "I’ve got you."

Perhaps it was his words. They wouldn’t know.

But her body sagged against him, the tension finally giving way as if someone had cut a string that had been pulled too tight for too long.

And then she went still.

Orion held her for a moment longer, as if afraid she might slip back into it if he moved too soon.

Only when her breathing evened slightly did he finally loosen his grip, just enough to check her face.

Her eyes closed now.

Lysander stepped closer slowly, his expression tight.

Marta exhaled, rubbing a hand over her face.

"Fuck," she said quietly. "That’s worse than the first time."

Orion didn’t answer.

He just kept his hand on Sophia’s, thumb brushing lightly over her fingers like he was trying to remind her body she wasn’t alone—even if her mind was somewhere no one could reach.