How long had it been? She couldn’t rember.
For the first few nights after he left, she kept watching the opening through which he had slipped into this place.
Day after day, she did nothing but stare at it, hoping to catch even the slightest movent or hear him tumble down again.
But eventually, she stopped. She tried to be realistic.
He had said he would need ti before returning. He must have a family of his own waiting for him. Responsibilities he needed to take care of.
Who was she to him, anyway? Just a rmaid he had happened to stumble across during a hunt.
She hadn’t given him that pearl to leave an impression, but a small part of her still hoped that, for the sake of that gift, he would co back.
Yet, little by little, that hope began to fade.
She had been through this before.
Her parents had always left her alone, never truly considering her part of the family. She had spent her life neglected and abandoned.
And when she finally found soone who accepted her, soone who made her dream of belonging at last, she had been separated from him as well. Stranded here, alone and isolated, in a place where no one could reach her.
So much ti had passed that she had completely given up hope of ever reuniting with her people, with her mate.
Until the day he arrived.
Her hope.
Luke was nobody to her. He was a human, a mber of a race that maintained neutral relations with her kind, yet was often known for its greed and selfishness.
But Luke wasn’t like that.
He had no reason to sit there and listen to her painful story about being cast aside, about being separated from her family.
Yet he did.
More than that, he promised he would help her reunite with her mate.
That...ant everything to Synthia.
For soone who had spent so long trapped here alone, with not a shred of hope left to cling to, those few words had been enough to rekindle the faint, dying fla in her heart.
But now...
"I don’t think he’ll return."
The words slipped from her lips as she stared at the spot where he had once sat.
Her fingers brushed against the rock. The warmth that had lingered there was long gone.
She still rembered his face. She still rembered the promises he made.
Yet a small, cruel part of her mind kept whispering that he wouldn’t be able to keep them.
That one day, she would forget the sound of his voice.
That, once again, she had simply been left behind.
"Sniff... sniff..."
She tried her best to hold it back, but because of Luke, she had started crying over the smallest things again.
Damn him.
Damn him for giving her hope when she had already accepted her fate. Accepted that she would rot away here, forgotten by everyone.
Now she felt that sa crushing hopelessness all over again.
"I won’t forgive you... I won’t forgive you..."
She continued muttering under her breath as she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, desperately trying to stop the tears.
Just then, a pair of hands gently caught her wrists, stopping her.
She froze.
The hands glimred beneath the moonlight.
They were warm and familiar.
She knew this feeling.
Her heart slamd against her chest as she slowly lifted her gaze and t a pair of eyes she thought she would never see again.
"L-Luke..."
The na escaped her lips before her mind could fully process what was happening.
A faint smile appeared on Luke’s face.
"I made you wait quite a while, didn’t I?"
He raised a hand to her face and gently brushed away the tears clinging to the corners of her eyes.
"I tried my best to return as soon as possible," he said softly. "But it seems I was still a little late."
Her eyes grew moist once more, but this ti, instead of wiping away the tears, she suddenly threw herself at him.
Her entire body crashed into his as she wrapped her arms around him in a desperate hug.
"Ah..."
"Waaaah! Who told you to return so late?!"
The words ca out between sobs, her voice filled with grief, fear, and pent-up frustration.
She buried her face in his chest and clutched his vest tightly, as if afraid he might disappear again.
"I waited for so many nights! Just staring at the cave, waiting for you, but you never ca!"
Luke let out a quiet sigh and allowed her to pour out everything she had been holding back.
He slowly rubbed her small back, silently trying to comfort her.
He could tell how close she had co to losing herself.
Every day spent alone in this isolated place, waiting for soone who might never return, must have felt like another fragile thread of hope snapping one by one.
But Luke hadn’t had much of a choice either. He had returned as soon as he possibly could.
Thankfully, the system seed to understand the circumstances and had made an exception by removing the usual twenty-four-hour limitation. Otherwise, he would have been forced to wait another full day before coming back.
"Sniff... sniff..."
It took a while, but Synthia eventually cald down.
The first thing Luke asked was, "Are you okay being outside the water for this long?"
He could tell her breathing was slightly strained, yet she showed no urgency to return.
Still staring downward, she murmured, "While I was alone... I practiced staying out of the water for as long as I could."
Luke was genuinely impressed.
"That’s great... but we’re not training right now, so let put you back in the water."
In response, she tightened her grip on his vest and firmly shook her head.
Clearly, she had no intention of letting go.
"You’ll disappear again... and this ti, you won’t co back."
The fear in her voice was impossible to miss.
Luke pursed his lips.
She was ready to tornt herself by being outside the water but she wasn’t ready to be abandoned again.
And sohow...
He understood that feeling.
Once, he too had done everything in his power to bring back the woman he loved most.
He had cried, begged, and wandered aimlessly, chasing even the faintest chance of seeing her again.
And by a strange coincidence, the woman in his arms resembled her.
But I don’t have a heart as cold as yours, Averis...
The thought crossed his mind as he slowly rose to his feet, still carrying Synthia in his arms.
She looked up at him in confusion.
Then, much to her surprise, Luke suddenly leaped forward.
A splash echoed through the cavern as the two of them plunged into the pond together.
The cold water swallowed them both.
For a brief mont, Synthia froze in surprise before instinct took over. Her tail flicked through the pond, keeping them afloat as she stared at Luke.
"What are you doing?!"
Luke surfaced with a cough and wiped the water from his face.
"If you’re afraid I’ll disappear again," he said with a faint smile, "then I’ll stay here until you’re convinced I’m not leaving anyti soon."
Synthia stared at him with several emotions flickering in her eyes.
But rather than dwelling on them, she simply chose to hug him.
He was back.
Her hope has returned.
•••••••
A/N:- I hope you liked the Chapter.
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