Xavier's smirk deepened as he leaned back, resting his hands behind his head. His golden eyes glead in the dim light of the tent, filled with amusent and sothing else—a quiet satisfaction.
"You don't rember," he mused, his voice carrying an unsettling calm. "But it makes sense. After all, that's how betrayal works, doesn't it? It's sharp, unexpected… and most painful when it cos from soone you trust the most."
Athena's fingers curled into fists. "What are you talking about?"
Xavier chuckled, shaking his head as if he found her confusion adorable. "We weren't always enemies, Athena."
She stiffened.
"You and I…" Xavier's gaze drifted, as if he were recalling sothing long buried. "Once, we were lovers."
Athena's breath caught in her throat.
"No." She refused to believe that.
Xavier tilted his head. "Why do you think you recognize , even in your dreams? Why do you think you can fight beside so naturally? Why do you think…" He paused, his smirk fading. "You hesitated before trying to kill ?"
Her body felt cold.
No. No. That wasn't possible.
"You're lying," she hissed.
Xavier let out a breathy laugh. "I wish I were." His golden eyes locked onto hers. "You were my most trusted person, Athena. And yet, you were also the one sent to kill ."
Athena took a step back.
"That doesn't make any sense," she said, shaking her head. "If I was really that close to you, then why don't I rember? Why does everything feel like—like scattered fragnts, like soone took an axe to my mories and left with nothing but pieces?"
Xavier sighed. "Because soone did."
She swallowed hard. "Who?"
Xavier studied her for a mont before speaking.
"The people who made you."
Her heartbeat thundered in her chest.
"They erased you, Athena. Or rather, they erased the parts of you that didn't serve their mission. You weren't just created to be a soldier or an assassin. You were a weapon. A weapon designed to infiltrate my world, earn my trust, and strike the mont they gave the order."
Athena felt sick.
"So why didn't I kill you?" she whispered.
Xavier's smirk returned—but this ti, it wasn't mocking. It was sad.
"Because, despite everything, you loved ."
Athena's stomach twisted.
She wanted to deny it, to reject it completely. But sothing in her chest tightened painfully at his words. Her mories might have been erased, but emotions were harder to erase than facts.
"You're wrong," she muttered.
Xavier shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm right, and you just don't want to admit it."
Silence settled between them.
Then, Xavier leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His expression darkened.
"You want to know what happened?"
Athena hesitated. She wasn't sure if she was ready for the answer. But the look in Xavier's eyes told her that the truth was coming whether she wanted it or not.
"Fine," she said, forcing herself to et his gaze. "Tell ."
Xavier exhaled slowly, then began.
"You ca into my life like a whisper in the dark," he said. "Silent. Deadly. Beautiful." His lips curled slightly. "I should have known you were dangerous the mont I saw you. But I was arrogant. I thought I had control over everything in my world. I thought no one could betray ."
His golden eyes burned.
"I was wrong."
Athena's breath hitched, but she said nothing.
"You were perfect. Too perfect," Xavier continued. "You knew exactly what to say, exactly how to move, exactly what I needed before I even realized it myself. You weren't just soone I trusted—you were soone I relied on. I told you things I never told anyone. I let you in, Athena. And I fell for you. Hard."
His voice dropped lower.
"And then, one night, I woke up to the feeling of a blade against my throat."
Athena's blood ran cold.
"You hesitated," Xavier murmured, his gaze distant. "You could have ended it right there. You should have. But you didn't." He let out a breath. "Instead, you whispered, 'I'm sorry.' And then, before I could react, you were gone."
Athena's pulse was roaring in her ears.
"I hunted you down," Xavier said. "Not because I wanted revenge, but because I wanted to understand." His fingers twitched. "But by the ti I found you again, you weren't you anymore. They had wiped you clean. You didn't rember . You didn't rember anything."
He leaned back, watching her.
"And now, here we are."
Athena's hands were shaking.
It was too much. Too fast. Too unbelievable.
"I don't believe you," she whispered.
Xavier sighed. "I didn't expect you to. But the truth doesn't care whether you believe it or not."
Athena clenched her jaw. "If everything you're saying is true, then why didn't you kill the mont you realized who I was?"
Xavier smirked, but this ti, it was laced with sothing almost… bitter.
"Because, despite everything, I still love you."
Athena felt like the ground had been ripped out from under her.
She didn't know what to say. What to do.
Xavier watched her struggle, then stood up.
"Take your ti, Athena. The truth isn't easy to swallow. But sooner or later, you'll have to decide."
"Decide what?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Xavier turned, eting her gaze.
"Whether you're still my enemy…" His golden eyes flickered. "Or if you're ready to rember who you really are."
With that, he walked out of the tent, leaving her alone in the suffocating silence.
Athena sat there, staring at the empty space where he had been.
Her mind was chaos.
Her heart was in ruins.
And deep inside her, sothing was awakening.
Athena sat in the dimly lit tent, her breath uneven. Xavier's words echoed in her mind, unraveling everything she thought she knew about herself. If he was telling the truth, then who was she, really? A soldier? A weapon? A lover who had betrayed the very man who now stood before her?
Her fingers brushed against the hilt of her sword, the one that had always felt both familiar and foreign. Was it truly hers… or had it belonged to the person she used to be?
She swallowed hard.
Did she even want to rember? Or was forgetting safer?
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