The Choices We Make (Revenge)

Reunion

"So where should we start?" She asked, smiling.

Daniel felt like someone had just stabbed him in his heart. He tried to remember when she'd smiled at him the last time this way, genuine and honest, with a warmth that left him breathless.

"At the beginning?" He suggested with a wobbly voice.

"Okay." She nodded. "Tell me how we met!"

And Daniel told her about this day in summer, three years ago, how they got to know each other and fell in love. Emily's burning cheeks revealed, that she was fascinated by his story. When he finally told her about their wedding and the event that had followed, he recognized fear and confusion in her eyes.

"I'm sorry!" He said quickly, reflexively reaching for her hand. But he pulled back when he noticed that she flinched from his touch.

"I... was... shot at the day of my... wedding?" She gasped disbelievingly.

Daniel nodded. He didn't know how much to tell her. On her reaction, he realized that it had been probably too much already.

"Why?"

When she looked up at him with tears in her eyes, it almost broke his heart. I did it because you had lied to me for years and I wanted to hurt you the same way you had hurt me! He couldn't do this! He had to do something before he would completely lose his composure. He jumped up from the chair and put his arms around her. "I'm sorry!" He stammered, almost close to tears. "If I could, I would turn back time!"

He held her for a while before he realized she wasn't moving. He couldn't even feel her breath anymore. She hung in his arm like a doll. Affected by her reaction, he dropped his arms and backed off. The gaze that hit him let him hold his breath. She looked at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly opened. Their faces were only a few inches apart. He reacted on impulse, when he slowly bent forward, closed his eyes and touched her lips gently with his own.

She didn't flinch, but she didn't move either. With wide eyes she waited for something to happen. And probably it was just that, he thought, as he slowly withdrew from her. She was waiting for something to feel. To her, he was a stranger. A stranger who had used her weakness and helplessness. He rose from the edge of the bed.

"I should go!" He said, still slightly out of breath. "I'll come back ... later." Hastily, he left and then leaned outside against a wall with his eyes closed.

"Everything okay?" A voice beside him asked.

He opened his eyes and gave the nurse a nod. But in reality nothing was okay. The reunion with Emily had triggered emotions in him, which he thought long forgotten. Perhaps it was because she was like the woman he had gotten to know and had loved three summers before, free from lies and intrigues. Was it really possible to start a new life with her on this basis? He shook his head slightly, as if he could bring himself to his senses. It was far too early to think about such things. For her, they had just met the first time. She was still far too unstable that he could confront her with too much changes. He would wait and hope. And perhaps, someday, they would be able to live together again as husband and wife. With this positive, forward-looking thought, he pushed from the wall and went to the elevator.

Emily sat there, dazed, after Daniel had left. Although she was motionless, she felt a turmoil in her body, her faster breath, her accelerated heartbeat, and a strange sensation between her legs. Her mind hadn't recognized him, but her body. When he had touched her lips, she had experienced a warm feeling of familiarity. But not only that. The desire to pull him closer and to respond to his kiss with fervor, had given her a shock. And she had to mobilize all her will-power to resist him.

Carefully, she touched her lips and closed her eyes. He was a stranger. How could it be that she felt such intense feelings? Of course, it hadn't escaped her notice that he was very handsome, well-built and gorgeous, with his dark brown, slightly wavy hair and hazel eyes. A womanizer. And probably he'd been, before he'd known her. It was strange, but she felt magically attracted to him.

She remembered Aiden's fleeting kisses that hadn't unleashed any feeling. He probably had lied to her about that, too. They had never been a couple. But if he had lied, then she didn't need a paternity test. Then it was safe to say that Daniel Grayson was the father. But there were still remaining questions. Where had the faked passports come from and why did Aiden know so much about the Graysons? What was his relationship to the family? Was he a friend, an enemy, an employee? Why had he saved her and had brought her here? She was unable to make sense of all of this.

She leaned back, sighing. She hoped that Daniel would return soon. His brief narrative, how they had learned to know and love each other, had sparked a desire to learn more about their relationship. She wondered if Dr. Kulani might have been right. Was it possible to fall in love again? She thought of the kiss and answered the question to herself. She had once loved him. She would try to do it a second time. She slid deeper into her pillow, put her hands on her stomach and closed her eyes. Just for a moment, she thought, before she fell sound asleep.