Leon didn't wait for Ayla to look back at him.
Didn't wait to see if she'd say his name.
Her smile had already shifted — now meant for someone else.
So he turned.
Without a word.
He walked past Damien in the doorway, their shoulders brushing like flint and steel.
Damien paused, glancing over his shoulder, catching the faint sound of Leon's footsteps fading down the hall.
"What did he do?" Damien asked, gaze shifting to Ayla.
"He tested me," Ayla said sharply, still breathless from the argument. "Without my permission. While I was unconscious."
Damien clenched his jaw but said nothing.
He already knew. And somehow, that made it worse.
Inside the hospital's east corridor, Leon kept walking until he hit a wall — not a real one, but something inside. He leaned his head back against the plaster and exhaled slowly, bitterly.
So that was it?
He was the one who found out the truth. He was the one who chased answers, who went to Kalen and Viper, who carried the unbearable suspicion in silence. And yet…
She asked for Damien.
You better be ready to lose her.
The words mocked him now.
But Leon wasn't the one who had something to lose. He knew her before the crash, before the name "Celeste," before the lies. His Ayla had loved him.
And if this girl was truly her, then it was Damien who should be worried.
He ran a hand through his hair and smiled darkly to himself.
"Let's see how long that smile lasts," he muttered under his breath.
Back in the room, Damien had stepped to her side.
"You remembered everything?" he asked softly.
She nodded, her hand still resting lightly in his. "Not all at once. It came slowly. In pieces. Like dreams unraveling."
He didn't press. Didn't ask who she used to be to Leon. Or who she was now.
Instead, he said, "You scared me."
"I scared myself," she whispered.
Then, faintly, she added, "Thank you… for letting me go. For trusting me."
Damien smiled — but it didn't reach his eyes.
Because she was back.
But so was the past.
And the war for her heart… had just begun.