Chapter 128: Stay With Me
"Althea said I would forget you too... How can you... how can you live, knowing that the person you love the most doesn’t even know who you are?" Lorelai sobbed, her words blending together in a broken mess. "I don’t want to hurt you, Rhaegar... I don’t want you to ever hate me because of this... I was a fool to ask you... But I couldn’t help myself... I’m scared to forget you too."
Her tears seemed endless, pouring out the anguish she had carried for so long. She cried so hard that her face flushed with the weight of her sorrow. Seeing her like this, Rhaegar’s lips quivered as if he wanted to speak, but he stopped himself, choosing instead to tighten his arms around her, offering what little comfort he could.
She clung to him, pouring out all the emotions she had kept hidden—everything she had never been able to say. And it was all about him.
"She wanted me to kill you because I would never remember you anyway... She wants your blood... She’s evil, Rhaegar, and I’m terrified I might become evil too..." Her words broke free in a flood, raw and unrestrained. "I’m so scared, Rhaegar... of everything."
Her body trembled under the weight of her fear and sorrow. As she soaked his chest with her tears, the king remained silent, his arms wrapped around her, gently stroking her back. Only when her sobs had begun to quiet did he speak, his voice low and tender as he cupped her tear-streaked face in his hands.
"Listen to me, Lorelai."
She looked up at him, meeting his amber eyes, which held a sadness she had never seen before. It was a sadness that didn’t quite belong to a man who had no regrets. Slowly, he leaned in, his lips brushing gently against her eyelids, kissing away the remnants of her tears.
"Even under different circumstances, if you ever forget me..." Leah bit her lower lip hard, her voice trembling. Rhaegar kissed her gently again and again, each kiss an attempt to erase the pain buried behind those big green eyes. "I will never forget you. It will hurt me deeply, but I will endure and find a way to bring you back to me."
With a deep, quiet sigh, he pressed a soft kiss to the bridge of Lorelai’s nose and whispered, "You will always be mine, Lorelai. And I will be yours. We will find a way to be together."