I Don't Want To Hurt You

The words hit me like a forceful tidal wave, crashing against the fragile walls of happiness I had built around my heart. Brad's eyes, once filled with love and recognition, now held only confusion and amusement. I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill, but my emotions betrayed me, and a sob escaped my lips.

"What do you mean you don't know me?" I choked out, my voice trembling with a mixture of fear and desperation. "Brad, it's me, Layla. Your mate. The person who loves you more than anything in this world. We have been through way too much together for you to say that you don't love me. You have to, you just have to."

He stared at me, his brows furrowed in deep concentration as if he was trying to grasp at a memory just beyond his reach. "I... I don't remember. I remember coming back with Erin, but your face... it's unfamiliar to me." At his back, I caught my reflection in the mirror to see if I had changed so much that I wouldn't be recognized in the few days I had