~The Words He Never Took Back
Freya didn't move.
Her body felt frozen.
That voice—
Right behind her.
Close enough to feel.
Real enough to break her breath.
"You heard me that night… didn't you?"
Her fingers trembled slightly.
Slowly… very slowly… she turned.
And there he was.
Noah.
Standing just a step away.
Closer than ever before.
Not distant.
Not unreachable.
Here.
Her eyes searched his face like she was trying to confirm something impossible.
"You…" her voice came out barely a whisper. "You were there?"
He didn't answer immediately.
His gaze was fixed on her—intense, unreadable… but not empty.
"Answer me," she said, this time stronger. "Were you in that… memory?"
Noah exhaled quietly.
"I don't know what you saw."
"But you said something."
Silence.
Freya took a step closer.
Her heartbeat didn't slow—it only got louder.
"In that corridor… you said something to me," she continued. "I can't remember it. But it felt like—"
Her voice broke slightly.
"—like it mattered."
Noah's expression shifted.
Just slightly.
But enough.
"What did you say?" she asked.
For a moment—
He looked like he wouldn't answer.
Like always.
Like every time.
But this time—
Something was different.
"I told you…" he started slowly.
Freya held her breath.
"…that if I stayed…"
His voice dropped.
"…you wouldn't."
The words landed.
Heavy.
Confusing.
Her brows pulled together.
"What does that even mean?"
He looked away.
Like he already regretted saying it.
"It means I had to leave."
"That's not an explanation!"
"It's enough."
"No, it's not!" she snapped, frustration rising. "You can't just show up, say things like that, disappear, and expect me to just—what—understand?"
Her voice echoed slightly in the room.
Noah's jaw tightened.
"I didn't expect you to understand."
"Then what do you expect from me?"
Silence.
That question—
He didn't have an answer for.
Freya's eyes softened, but only slightly.
"Why does it feel like you're part of something I forgot?"
He didn't respond.
Because he was.
Because he was the part she wasn't supposed to remember.
She stepped even closer now.
Barely any distance left between them.
"Every time I'm near you," she said quietly, "something inside me feels… incomplete."
His breath stilled.
"Like I lost something."
Her eyes locked with his.
"Was it you?"
That—
That question hit harder than anything else.
Noah looked at her like he wanted to say yes.
Like he wanted to tell her everything.
But instead—
He stepped back.
And that small distance felt bigger than before.
"You shouldn't ask questions you're not ready for."
"I'm already not ready," she said immediately. "That didn't stop any of this from happening."
He almost smiled.
Almost.
But it didn't reach his eyes.
"Freya…"
Her name sounded different when he said it.
Softer.
Careful.
Like it carried history.
"What?" she asked.
He hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then—
"Don't try to remember me."
Her expression changed instantly.
"What?"
"It's better if you don't."
She shook her head in disbelief.
"You don't get to decide that."
"I already did."
Her chest tightened.
"That's unfair."
"Yes," he agreed.
No hesitation.
That surprised her.
"You admit that?"
"I never said I was fair."
Silence filled the room again.
But this time—
It wasn't calm.
It was heavy.
Freya looked down at her bracelet.
Then back at him.
"Then at least tell me this," she said.
He waited.
"Why does this feel like it already ended once?"
His eyes flickered.
For a second—
Something broke through.
Something real.
"Because it did."
Her breath caught.
"What…?"
But before she could say anything else—
A sudden sharp pain hit her head.
She winced, grabbing onto the edge of the table.
"Freya—"
Noah moved instantly, holding her before she lost balance.
Her vision blurred again.
Another flash—
A voice—
His voice—
Clear this time.
"Live."
She gasped.
Her fingers gripped his shirt tightly.
"You said that…" she whispered weakly.
Noah froze.
"You told me to live."
Silence.
Dangerous silence.
Freya looked up at him—
And for the first time—
There were tears in her eyes.
"You left… so I could live… didn't you?"
That truth—
She wasn't supposed to reach it yet.
Noah's grip tightened.
Not in denial.
Not in anger.
But in something much deeper.
"…you're remembering too fast."
Her heart dropped.
"So it's true?"
He didn't answer.
And that was answer enough.
Freya's voice broke.
"Why would you do that…?"
Noah looked at her like someone standing at the edge of a choice.
Again.
Always again.
"Because—"
He stopped.
His expression shifted.
Like something interrupted him.
His eyes darkened suddenly.
And he looked past her.
Freya followed his gaze—
But saw nothing.
"What is it?" she asked.
Noah stepped back slowly.
"No…"
His voice lowered.
Not to her.
To someone else.
"You shouldn't be here."
Freya's heartbeat rose again.
"Who?"
The air in the room felt different.
Heavier.
Colder.
And then—
A soft voice.
Not from Noah.
Not from Freya.
From behind them.
"You're remembering more than I allowed."
Freya turned slowly.
Her eyes widened.
Because this time—
Grace wasn't alone.
A shadow stood beside her.
Tall.
Still.
Not human.
Not entirely.
Freya's voice barely came out—
"…who is that?"
Noah's expression went completely still.
For the first time—
There was no control in his voice.
"Grace… what did you do?"
Grace looked at him calmly.
"I didn't do this."
Freya's grip tightened unconsciously.
"Then who did?"
The shadow moved.
Just slightly.
Enough to feel its presence.
And then—
It spoke.
In a voice that didn't belong to either world—
"You broke the rule first, Noah."
Freya's heart stopped for a second.
Because somehow—
That voice felt familiar too.
The thing is who was it?