Page 30 of The Counterfeit Lover

That he's not a mirage.

"I was wrong," he states in a pained whisper.

I don't reply, merely waiting for him to continue.

His hands shoot out, his palms around my cheeks as he pulls me closer to him—close enough to see the turmoil in those blue eyes I love more than anything in this world.

"I was wrong, pretty girl. I've been wrong all this time…" he shakes his head, averting his gaze as one tear slides down his cheek.

"I've been such a fool. You were under my nose this entire time and I…" his voice breaks, his forehead falling on top of my shoulder as his breathing intensifies. "How can I ever forgive myself for everything I've done? How can I live with myself knowing I hurt the only woman I've ever loved?" he rasps, his hands falling to my waist as he brings his head to my midriff, holding tight as sobs rack his body.

"Raf… You're not making sense," I whisper, a small lie, but one I'm going to ask for forgiveness later.

"It's always been you, pretty girl," he raises his head, looking at me with so much emotion I feel my own throat clog with the magnitude of this moment—of the feelings he evokes in me. "I saw a recording of you before…before Sergio. And I heard your voice. The one from before," he squeezes his eyes shut, biting his lip in pain. "The voice I would never,nevernot recognize—the taste that still coats my tongue."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You don't remember. I know," he sighs. "I don't know what happened,howit happened, but it was you. All along,myLucero wasyou," he states.

I freeze. I hadn't expected that. I hadn't expected him to be able to recognize me. Not now, not ever.

Slowly, I blink, still caught in the impossibility of the moment.

"I see…" I add numbly.

"This," he leans back, taking his necklace off. "This is all yours," he continues as he brings it to my skin, fastening it around my neck. "And now it's finally back to its rightful owner."

He proceeds to tell me how he'd gotten to the conclusion, sharing some tidbits from his time in captivity and how I'd been there for him. He tells me with as much detail as he can, but it's still obvious he has severe gaps in his memory.

He remembers a fraction of what actually happened—and I don't have the heart to enlighten him on everything else.

At least not now. Not when I finally have him. After what feels like an eternity without him, he's here—he's finally here.

"Will you ever forgive me?Couldyou ever forgive me?"

"Raf, there's nothing to forgive," I palm his cheek, swiping my thumb over his lips. "You're here now. I'm here now. Why dwell on the past?" I ask, even as the lie burns on my tongue.

The past is always there, one door away from my consciousness. I've done a good job now of keeping everything from spilling, but that's not to say it won't happen in the future.

But not now. Not when I have a modicum of happiness after years of bleakness.

"Noelle, God, Noelle," he groans. "I don't deserve you. I never did," he breathes out, his features contorted in pain.

"Don't. Don't go there, Raf," I murmur. "I admit I'm a bit shocked by what you're telling me. But don't you see it? This is our second chance. We were lucky enough to be given a second chance and I'm not going to squander it, do you hear me? You're mine. And I'm yours. Always."

Even to my ears my words don't make much sense, but there's a frenzy building inside of me—one that only knows one objective.

Him.

It's always been about him.

Everything I've ever done has been about him.

"I love you. So, so much," I confess.

"I love you, too, pretty girl," he gives me the words I'd been yearning for all along and God if they don't hit me right in the chest, warmth spreading all over my being at hearing him say those coveted words. "More than anything in the world. More than you can realize. Fuck," he rasps. "I feel like a madman, but there is no quantifying the love I feel for you. Even before I knew of the past. Before anything. I just…love you as instinctively as I breathe. There's no other way to explain this feeling that comes so naturally it's like it was embedded in my DNA."

His forehead is on top of mine, his breath on my lips as I listen to his words—the sweet melody of those words of love I've been wishing for all along.

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