24 | Confessions

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━━━─── • ───━━━

Amir •

Seventy-two hours, twenty-two minutes, and ten seconds had passed since the incident with Luna at the hospital. She decided that it was better to shut Amir out and separate them, so he wouldn't become affected by whatever they gave her at that hospital. Forty-two hours, forty-four minutes, and fifteen seconds since he last laid his eyes on her. Since the Twenty-Eighth of May, Luna had been in the hands of that institute.

Each second, each minute, and each hour that kept ticking had driven him insane. 

Faisal had Amir locked up in his room, so he wouldn't leave the country abruptly. He felt like he was in a cell and was cut off from life. But staying in there hadn't stopped him. He'd connect to others he came into contact with. Including Faisal. Cassie as well. Even Cyrus.

Each time Faisal connected to Luna, Amir pulled him away to get an update on her status. He needed good news to soothe his aching soul. He knew she was miserable. He wished he could be there with her and take the pain they were doing to her. She didn't deserve any of those treatments. 

Chase did, and Amir was coming for her, then him. 

Bitter anger surged through him, melting his insides like acid as he came up with strategies to get her out. He wanted to leave before, but he can thank Cassie for talking him out of it. 

She'd said, "Get a work visa and go to different hospitals in Louisiana. Then find the one Luna is in and work there." Amir thought that plan could work, but Faisal calmed him down.

For now, he was coming up with ways to torture Luna's ex. He wanted to bury Chase in the ground and throw hot coils on his face, or string him up on a tree and do whatever he wanted to him. 

Luna tried to block it out, but Amir accessed her mind the other day. He saw what that animal did to her in her bathroom. That scene played out in his head caused him to lose himself and desire to hunt Chase down.

But he didn't need to focus on that. He needed to set her free, then find Chase's rancid soul. He took advantage of her, and he was a dead man walking. 

"I have some news for you, Amir."

"It better be good." 

Amir began stretching his body. If what Faisal says was bad, he can forget about quarantining him anymore. Amir was determined to go after her on the first flight out of Pakistan. "I'm waiting."

Faisal appeared from behind him, with his arms crossed. "You wouldn't do anything crazy?" 

"Just let me out already." 

"You need to be patient, Amir. For her. At her request." Faisal took a step forward. "You need to stay here. Going after her will only —"

"Do more damage. I know." 

"Yeah," he said. 

Amir stepped around him and paced with his hands behind his head, barely pulling strands of his hair out of his scalp. A sickness in his stomach started taking over, and he could feel pain in his chest. 

What the hell were they doing to her? 

Amir hated cussing, but he was in agony.

"Are you going to tell me, or what?"

"Amir, it's worse than last time. They are giving her shock therapy on top of medicine. They think it'll stop her apparent delusions." 

That was it. 

Amir's fury surged inside him and a burst of anger shot out, causing him to slam his fist into a wall, cracking the wood panel. His vision blurred as he saw Chase's face in his view, and the only thing he could keep doing was slamming his hands to the paint, wishing it was him instead.

"I hope you weren't serious, Faisal." 

"I wanted to give you something, hoping you would focus on what we can do to get her out. Luna is frightened." 

"I know she is. Did you believe giving me that information would stop me from becoming more furious than I already am?" 

"Maybe —"

"Did you think that would stop me from going after her?" Fury flowed through him, his fist hitting his bedroom door and causing him to smash the hinges on the edges. "I'll go to the ends of the earth and burn that place down to save her."

He stepped over the bottom half of his door and made his way into the kitchen, slamming his shoulder into Faisal's. 

"What are you planning to do?"

"Better question, how many people will I lay out to save her?" Amir tensed. "Don't fight me on this. You won't win."

Faisal kept his gaze on Amir for a moment and swore under his breath as he glanced away.

Amir stepped toward his counter and placed his hands down, his head hanging low. 

"I think she's trying to cope with it as best as she can. The doctor is a real piece of work," Faisal told him, folding his hands together.

"We've got to do something. I could make a few calls and figure out how to shut that place down."

"We'll think of something. If anyone can get her out, it's you."

"Where is she?"

"Here," came a soft feminine voice from the hallway. 

Amir turned around, nearly tumbling. He felt their souls fuse back together like they were never apart. He noticed how thin and pale she looked, with dark circles settling under her eyes. He could see the marks along her forehead where the staff gave her shocks. 

Those bastards.

Immediately throwing himself at her, he wrapped his arms around her body and held her tight. She was so slim and tender, and holding her in his arms was the best part of his day. 

"Luna." Her body smelled like Clorox and bleach, and her hair felt stiff. "You opened our connection."

Faisal stepped forward and gave Luna a soft hug. Then he walked outside to give them space. 

"I don't know if Faisal informed you —"

"He did, Luna. I am getting you out. We plan on leaving for the States. I will get in touch with St. Matthew's to work in their laboratory, then I can see you." 

"But I don't want you to do anything stupid, and ruin everything you've worked for." Her eyes darted around to his trashed bedroom door, and she shuddered. "Quite a mess you made there."

"I'm not always like that. I couldn't hold it in," he explained. "Luna, I know this is not the right time or moment to say this, but I need to tell you something. It's something I've felt for a long time." 

"What?" she whispered, parting her lips.

"I love you," Amir confessed. "And you know I've never said that to anybody, but I've loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you. You've always been there, deep in my heart, and I've never acted upon it. You had a life with somebody else, and I wasn't going to screw that up. Sarah didn't need me to be the one to break up her parents." 

"You didn't break us up. Chase broke us when he took advantage of me and admitted me into an inhumane facility. He's nothing to me now, and he can go to hell for all I care." 

"Chase should be locked up. Once you're out of here —"

Luna placed her finger over his lips, silencing him. "Let's not focus on Chase. I'm in the restroom and only have a few minutes before I need to get back out there." 

He nodded. "Yeah. I . . . I was talking about something." 

"You were confessing how you feel toward me?" 

"Oh, Luna, I'm sorry. I . . ." Amir stepped back and leaned against the wall, raising his hands behind his head. "I shouldn't have said anything. I just want to get you out and help a beautiful little girl reunite with her mother. I want you two to be happy. Forget I said anything."

"Amir, I am glad you told me how you feel about me. If I'm being honest, I've always had a feeling that maybe you liked me in a way that was more than . . . friends." 

"But you don't feel the same way. Let's put what I said behind us and strategize ways to get you out." 

Luna chuckled. "I want to strategize, too, but I am also curious to hear more about your feelings for me. This is new for you and I want you to be sure about it." 

"Oh, I'm sure. You're everything I've ever wanted in a wife and more, Luna. You and Sarah bring joy into my heart." 

"I just..." she began, taking a deep breath. "What about your family and marriage obligations, and what you've been planning since you were young? Don't give up on those things for me."

"I'm not," Amir said, staring into her eyes. "I know Raima and I will always be friends. We're going to talk soon about where we stand with each other. Right now, all I can think about is what's going on with you."

Reaching for his hand, Luna brought it up to her chest and looked Amir straight in his eyes. "I don't know where my heart is anymore, Amir. My world was shattered in an instant, and I was betrayed by a man I thought had loved me. I wished I was able to see him for who he truly was before all of this happened, but I can't go back. I have so much emotional and internal baggage, I don't want to bring you down." 

"You won't bring me down. I didn't smash my door like The Incredible Hulk for nothing." 

She laughed. "The hinges are torn off. You did a number on your door, Mr. Khan." 

"I had to. When you have a cousin quarantining you in your own house, you'd go mad." 

"Amir," Luna whispered, gazing into his caramel-colored eyes. "Are you serious about where your heart lies?" 

He nodded. "As serious as a whistle." 

Luna made a face. 

"That was a joke. Another bad one." 

"No, Amir. It was a funny joke. I need time to process this hospital, and time to figure out what I want in life. My little girl is missing her mother, and I'll be able to see her soon." 

"I know," Amir said, beaming. "Sarah will be so excited to see you." 

"Yeah." 

"Mmm . . . this is so good," said Faisal, standing in the back of Amir's kitchen, snacking on a slice of pizza. "Sorry, Aluna. Keep going." 

Amir turned his neck toward his cousin. "Are you seriously standing there watching our conversation?" 

"Yeah, bro. This is better than a Hallmark movie," Faisal mumbled. "I call it, Tethered Confessions. I wonder how it's going to end." 

Amir shot forward and ran straight for him, tackling both of them to the floor. He caught Luna standing in the kitchen, waving goodbye to them. 

"I'll connect to you later, Moon!" 

Luna smiled and then disappeared as Amir kept a stronghold over Faisal's chest. 

"Moon? Is that her new nickname?"

"Why not? Her name means moon." 

Amir loosened his grip and shook out his arms.

"I guess that works. But you have an awful obsession with space, bro. Your pet fish is named Pluto."  

"Her nickname fits her, all right. Looking at her is . . .  captivating." 

"I swear, Amir! I'm going to start on a screenplay about you two! Tethered Companions! Or maybe . . . Tethered Hearts!" 

"Or how about Tethered Souls? That could be a good title for your 'movie'." 

Faisal shook his head. "I've got something even better! Tethered Mates!"

"Now, you're making it sound like a werewolf story."

"What! It's perfect!"

"Whatever. I'm going to clean up my mess and then connect to Luna without you. We were in the middle of something until you barged in." 

"I'll leave you to your precious moon. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

━━━─── • ───━━━


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