Nasya's POV
The pounding of my heart echoed in my eardrums like war drums. This man... Before I lost my memory, he had occupied every corner of my mind. I used to secretly fantasize that if Zayn were my mate, I would be the happiest girl in the world. On my eighteenth birthday, when I discovered he truly was my fated mate, I had been ecstatic. But that joy hadn't even lasted a day before sorrow drowned it.
Since regaining my memories, I had revisited the past relentlessly—the carefree days with Elda, every nauseating second with Austin, my mother's resentment, even Mia and childhood events. But there was one person I couldn't bear to think about - Zayn. Only in my dreams did I allow myself to remember him, because I knew if I indulged that longing while awake, it would drive me mad. It would make me abandon all reason and run to him, consequences be damned.
Zayn was the last beautiful fantasy of my youth.
I swallowed hard and turned my face away.
