- 14.
After we left Ethan behind, Kai suddenly
pulled me into a tight hug.
<
His tears soaked through my shirt.
“I thought you didn’t want me anymore,” he choked out.
“That day… I waited and waited for you to come back for the crawfish.”
It hit me then, my promise from that day.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I had to deal with
something urgent. I was getting Ethan to
switch me back.”
“Kai, I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “As long as you’re
here with me now. And the best part is… you
actually have feelings for me.”
く
“So, what exactly was our connection before
all this?”
He was quiet for a moment before he told
me, “We were childhood sweethearts, Jade.
We grew up together.”
He told me how close we were as kids.
We went to school together, walked home
together every day.
In high school, I promised him we’d start
dating once we got into college.
But then, in college, I ended up with Ethan.
He found out later that I’d had a high fever
and lost part of my memory.
<
I’d mistaken Ethan for him.
Ethan wanted to be with me too, so he just
played along, letting me believe he was the
one from my memories.
All these years, Kai had stayed close, even
getting involved with Claire, all to protect me.
He did it to keep an eye on her and torment
her, because Claire hated me and wanted to
destroy me.
The day of the car accident with Claire was
the one time he couldn’t protect me, and he
blamed himself endlessly for it.
When he found out about the soul swap, he’d
been desperately trying to find a way to
く
switch me back.
Hearing all this, tears streamed down my
face.
Everything finally made sense.
No wonder his scent had felt so familiar.
No wonder the bracelet had looked so
familiar.
He was the boy I grew up with.
I hugged him tightly.
“Kai,” I sobbed, “I’m never leaving you again.”
He held me, not saying a word, just crying
softly.
<
I knew he’d suffered so much for me over the
years.
