Arwen didn’t know how long she had been sleeping, but sothing didn’t feel right to her. There was an intense headache as though she had hit her head on so hard surface and was now suffering the aftereffects of it.
’Wait!’ she mumbled to herself, realizing sothing that she seed to be right. ’Wasn’t I at the flower garden earlier? Where am I now?’ Trying to think, she tried to rember it, but she couldn’t rember it at all.
It was as though her mories of that ti fra were removed.
And the thought of how easy it had been once to erase her mories; she felt panic creeping into her heart again. Just the possibility that she might forget it all, all over again, filled her with dread.
Her fingers clenched around whatever was there as she tried to wake up., but it all simply felt difficult. There was darkness around, and she knew it was because she had her eyes closed. But no matter how she tried to open them, she couldn’t, as though she was under the effect of so sedative.
Arwen fought with her system and, after a while, was finally able to open her eyes. Her lashes fluttered a little before her eyes opened.
And the mont it did, she froze, slightly taken aback.
"You are finally awake, Arwen?" Selene asked, her face too close to be comfortable. "I almost thought I would miss the chance of having this talk with you."
Arwen frowned at her words. "Selene?" she called her na as if confirming her presence there. "What are you doing here?"
Selene raised a finger and shook it in front of her. "Wrong question," she said before adding, "You should rather question yourself, what are you doing here? I am sure this place must be familiar yet very unfamiliar to you."
Arwen didn’t understand her words. Her brows furrowed a little in confusion before she darted her eyes to look around, only to find herself in so kind of old, deserted laboratory. Her frown deepened, and she tried to move, to get up ... but then she realized she was tied up.
She yanked her arms and legs, but they were secured with a rope. "You ... why have you kept tied up here? What are you planning to do?"
Selene raised her hands in surrender before she defended herself. "You got wrong. I am not the one planning to do anything here. It’s soone else."
Arwen stared, his brows forming the crease of clear confusion.
"What? You don’t trust on that?" Selene asked, quirking her brow at her. "Wait, look around once again? And try to rember. This place isn’t very unfamiliar to you. You have just forgotten along with your mories. Once you rember it, you will be able to guess who is actually behind it."
Arwen didn’t want to lose her calm, her composure, but the way her instincts were warning her —she could keep herself calm. Not when her inner fears felt like taking over her rational brain.
"Still not able to recognize?" Selene asked, slightly sounding surprised. "Too bad. It seems Oblivion –X really does wonders when it erases one’s mories. It doesn’t leave any trace behind, not even a vague mory."
The ntion of Oblivion —X struck Arwen like a slap. Her face drained of color.
Selene rely pouted. "Since you can’t rember, let help you." She gestured dramatically at the room around them. "This is the sa laboratory where you were first injected with the drug. The one that made you forget everything. And today ... once again, this very place will witness you forget it all over again."
Arwen’s heart stopped for a mont.
Selene grinned widely, clasping her hands together as if announcing a surprise party. "Congratulations," she whispered gleefully. "Your life is about to be reset. You will get it all anew."
"Selene, you have gone insane," Arwen hissed, thrashing against the ropes. "Untie right now! You know the consequences of this won’t be simple. If Aiden finds out, he won’t spare you this ti. Don’t throw your life away over so twisted obsession."
At Aiden’s na, Selene flinched. The torture that she suffered just a few weeks back replayed in her mind, and she couldn’t help but feel the terror creeping up her spine. But then she clenched her fists, steeling herself,
"Oh, Arwen, trust ," she said with a brittle smile. "None of this is my plan. I am just here to watch you walk out of my path on your own. Though seeing you tied up like this ... at my rcy ... it does give wicked ideas about returning the favour for what Aiden did to . But honestly? Knowing you are about to lose everything again —your mories, your place, him —I almost feel sorry for you."
Her eyes glead with vicious delight as she leaned closer once again, whispering in Arwen’s ear, "Almost."
Then, with a theatrical twirl, she stepped away, distancing herself.
Dread made it hard for Arwen to think. But keeping herself together, she tried to focus. Staring at Selene, she asked, "You said it’s not you but soone else. Who are you talking about? Who is behind it all?"
Selene looked at her as though she didn’t know what she was asking about. But just when Arwen would have repeated her question, she spoke, "Really, you haven’t yet realized it? Seeing you see through my previous ploy, I thought you were sharp enough to find it through small but obvious clues. But now, it seems like you aren’t as sharp as I thought you were."
"Selene, you —"
Arwen’s words were interrupted when she heard the rusted double doors of the lab opening. Her gaze darted to look, and she paused as though not believing she was seeing the right person there.
"Arwen, you are awake?" Catrin asked, clearly looking stunned, seeing Arwen looking her way. "How are you feeling now? Is it better? The doctor said that once the sedative wears off, you will not feel much pain." She explained, walking closer, her gaze soft.
If Arwen hadn’t known better, she would have mistaken it for her motherly love and care.
But how could she now mistake it when she could clearly see what’s next planned for her?
"Did you bring here?" Arwen asked, her voice cold and her tone indifferent. She was no longer feeling the dread she had been feeling monts ago. Rather now, she felt numb. Numb to everything that was happening and was about to happen to her.
Catrin flinched at her tone. She took a step forward to explain. "Arwen, don’t see this as wrong. I don’t an any harm. You are my daughter. I love you. How could I think of even harming you? It’s just that you have left with no choice. I have to do this. I have to bring you like this. But don’t worry ..." She quickly reached to cup her face. "I am not letting anyone harm you. You will be fine with here."
"With you here?" Arwen almost scoffed at that. "How could I be better with you here when you are the one going to do the harm to ?"
"Arwen, how could you say that?" Catrin hissed. "I am your mother. How could I harm you?"
"It’s not new for you," Arwen shrugged subtly. "You have done that before, and you again brought here for the sa. Did you not?"
Catrin flinched. She wanted to defend herself. But she couldn’t. Avoiding her eyes, she said, "Trust your mom for the last ti, sweetheart. Mom knows that what she did back then was wrong. She has realized her mistake and is willing to do everything to make up for all the wrongs and ignorance you ever suffered. All she needs is a chance. Give that and I will —"
"Why?" Arwen cut her off, her eyes cold and tone sharp. "Why should I give you a chance? Do I owe you?"
Before Catrin could say anything, Arwen shook her head and said, "No, I don’t. I don’t owe you anything. Then why should I give you the chance to make ands?"
"Arwen!"
"You suddenly realized that you were wrong —very good." Arwen interrupted her once again. "But how are you reacting to your realization. Like this." She showed her tied hands. "By tying here again just to give another doze of the drug. Do you even know what will happen if I get injected with another shot of it? Do you even know —"
She paused suddenly when she saw Catrin shafully avoiding her gaze. And realization dawned upon her. "You ... you know," she said, "And you still want it to happen?"
"Arwen, you will be fine. I am here with you. Your mom is here —"
"Why am I not even surprised?" Arwen chuckled bitterly. "Of course, you would know. You would always know what your actions might cause, yet you would do it, because you simply don’t care. You have never cared."
"No, Arwen," Catrin shook her head. "That’s not it. You are my daughter. I do care for you. I care for you a lot, and you will know it soon. I will —"
"If you care for , then untie and let go," Arwen offered the last bit of grace she had in her remaining for the woman who carried her for ten months and then brought her to this world with great pain. "Let go, and I will trust that even though you were never a good mother, you did care for . Can you do that?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)