Ella moved quietly through the hospital corridor, her coat clutched tightly around her. Her head was lowered, eyes darting between doors, hoping the night shift nurse wouldn't notice her slipping away.
Behind her, the soft beep of machines and the sound of his even breathing still echoed in her ears.
She paused at the stairwell.
Just one step.
Just one exit.
Then maybe… she could breathe again.
But—
A voice, low and rough, echoed down the hall.
"Ella."
She turned.
Leon stood barefoot at the end of the corridor, his hospital gown disheveled, eyes shadowed with something far more dangerous than confusion.
Her heart jumped violently.
He wasn't supposed to be awake.
He wasn't supposed to follow her.
And yet, even without his memories, he was still the same—possessive, sharp, like a wolf who could smell her leaving from a mile away.
But what scared her more wasn't that he caught her.
It was how a part of her… wanted to be caught.
The look in his eyes was like gravity—silent but crushing, pulling her back into an orbit she swore she'd escaped.
And her body, traitorous and weak, obeyed before her mind could protest.
One step back.
Then another.
Until she stood still—again under his shadow.
Leon didn't ask why she was trying to leave.
He simply reached for her hand, his fingers wrapping around her wrist like they were made for it.
"I don't remember what you mean to me," he murmured, his breath warm against her skin, "but I know this—"
"If you walk out that door again… I'll find you. Over and over."
She looked up—only to see the man who had once nearly destroyed her—looking at her like she was still his whole world.
Even without memory…
He was already chasing her all over again.