World After Worlds

I am not supposed to tease him, why is he reacting so cutely? This is supposed to be dramatic not romantic. "Can I sleep beside you tonight?" Yanarym blinked her eyes after he said that. He didn't look lustful, it seemed that he just wanted to be with her. But… still…

What. A. Flirt. She looked at him with a frown, "...Matteo," she nudged him and set distance between them, "we have to talk about something important."

"Talk?" he clung onto her forearms, "Alright, let's talk." He softly uttered with a tender smile. What a handsome face.

"Yes, you have to know something," he stroked his thumbs on her skin, waiting. "We had the agreement, right? I did my part, please do yours too, don't interfere with my life anymore." His smile did not fade but it shrunk, "You have to stop interfering with my life. I need you to leave—do your travels or anything just don't be here."

"Rym," he uttered her name, transferring to the bed sitting next to her, he made her face him, "I can't leave you, I won't leave, not now, Rym. Not anymore." Yanarym fixed her eyes on him, what? What did that mean? He had to leave, did he say that he would leave? He had the plan to leave!

"You can't do that," she scowled. "You can't be here. Didn't you say it before? You will leave before summer," she withdrew her arms from him, "You can't keep doing this to me, Matteo. Why are you even being so possessive? Why are you so involved? You were not like this to me!"

"You belong to me, you're my wife, I have the—"

"What bullshit are you talking about?! I'm not dead yet!"

"I told you, you don't need to die to be mine!" He caught her hands and intertwined their fingers with no force. He was very gentle with her. "Why are we fighting, Rym? I don't want to quarrel, I don't want you to hate me. I don't want you to be like this."

"...then, stop disturbing me," Yanarym kept her stance. "I don't need you in my life, Matteo."

"...I'm not disturbing you, I am protecting you," he cupped her face, "Rym? I can give you anything but you can never push me away. You have to know I won't ever let you go." She stiffened and pressed her lips into the firm. She pushed him away and stood up but didn't take a step back. She just looked down at him from above.

"Are you a creep?" She muttered, "Why do you keep on threatening me?"

"I'm not threatening you—" he was about to get up but she pushed him back to bed. He was about to stand up again but she pointed a finger at him.

"Sit down!" With a roar, he remained seated. She was glaring at her eyes, and that made him quiver. "Why are you always making it difficult for me? Huh?" he was quiet and didn't want to make her angrier. He did not want to see her cry. "You left me, did you forget that already? The reason why I am suffering in this mess in the first place is because of you!"

"Suffering?" His face became distorted.  "What do you mean by suffering? Did someone harm you?" He reached her hand and she effortlessly shoved him. "Rym, someone hurt you?" His voice deepened, he was about to hold her hand but slinked. "Rym, answer me."

"You never know, because you left," she girded her eyes. "You were not there. You were always gone. And now when I am not asking for you, you're here? Why?! Why are you doing this to me?!"

"I never left," Matteo convinced her but what he wanted to know was who was causing her this havoc. Did the filthy humans make her like this again? He knew it very well, they would do it again. They would haunt her down and break her to pieces. He wanted to intervene. Can he do it though? Can he interfere? If he did, would everything turn out fine? What if something worse would be revamped for her? He can't afford to witness her undergo the same thing before. "Who hurt you?" Yanarym veered her attention to him, gritted her teeth out of annoyance. Men never know how to listen…

"You did! You! It was you and it is you! You disappoint me! You hurt me! You keep on hanging on the thread! You did!" He was awestruck, Yanarym quickly wiped the tear that was about to fall from her eyes. "In my dream, you were there, we were young, I was in love with you but you left… you left a void in my heart."

"You loved me?" That was a shock. Matteo felt as if time stopped. She loved him, she says. She loved me…? When? At that time? She was in love with me? Matteo felt silly, absurd in terms that he could not even laugh at because it was not happiness he was feeling.

Regret. He knew that word by definition. He was a god. He was perfect. He could not make mistakes, he was excellent. He never once doubted his judgment. However… if she loved me back then… no. She doesn't. She forgot the past, she didn't know what she was saying. She can't love him by that time. If she did, then all he did back then was nothing but in vain. If it was him that she loved, he did not even need to take away her memories. She was mistaken, it's not me who she loved.

"Rym," he called her name, he couldn't even tell her she was wrong. Because she didn't remember anything, she had no recollection of that past. And he had no intention to make her remember, he destroyed those to ashes. And even if he could bring her memories back, he won't give them to her. He won't ever want to see that scenario again, where she was hopeless and he couldn't do anything. No. Not again. "I never left you," he cajoled her, composing himself to calm her down. "And your dream… it's just a dream, Rym. It's not real… you never loved me." He faked a smile as he stated those words. It sunk to him, that was right, she never loved him. A sudden sting crept to him, and he only smiled at the pain. He could never get used to this… it was as chafing as the first time. "You never did," he mumbled to himself. Will she love me? Will she ever feel that for me? We had sex… it's making love… they made love… did she feel an ounce of affection for me?

"I didn't?" She hissed, "how do you know that? Do you own my heart? I felt it! I was in love with you!"

"You didn't," she shook her head. Rym, you were in love with someone else, not to me. He wanted to tell her that, but he won't.

"...I did! I did! That was why it hurt when you left! When you were not there when I needed you the most!" She screamed at him, "many said I changed, that I become like this! Depressive, hateful! Angry! Because I was abandoned!" She huffed, Matteo was almost convinced but he knew. She did not feel that for him. She was confused by that dream. "Then, I thought Kraig could fill in that void, he did, but he left me too. I was so aggravated, I am so angry, why is everyone leaving me? Lyndon came, he understands my pain, he knows how hard it was to be betrayed and abandoned but he still chose to leave me over Tiana. Everyone was hurting me!—" Matteo pulled her down to his embrace, she was crying again.

"Rym," he draped his palms to her cheeks and she didn't stop him. She kept crying though, and it was breaking his heart, "I never hurt you."

"I just want them to know how hard it is for me," she sobbed, "IF YOU NEVER MADE ME FEEL UNWANTED I WOULDN'T BEG FOR THAT AFFECTION LIKE A BEGGAR! Why do I always fall in love with the wrong person?"

" I will never make you feel unwanted, Rym." He hugged her waist tighter and buried her head to his chest. She resisted and punched his shoulder to get off, but he didn't want to let go.

"You already did! Let go! You're the one who discarded me and now you suddenly want to have me? Am I your toy? That you can throw away and have it back by whims?"

"No! Rym, listen, listen to me, all the things I did, I did them to protect you."

"IT DIDN'T PROTECT ME! You didn't… I just want revenge, please, let me have myself back." She looked him in the eyes with her pitiful eyes. She was full of tears and her body was trembling, weak.

"I don't need you, Matteo. I want to have myself back, let me be…"

"... Alright, I will do what you want, Rym. Enough crying already, hmm? Stop crying… please…"