CHAPTER 79: FRAGMENTS OF US

The days that followed blurred into a strange rhythm of almosts. Luca moved through the mansion like a ghost reclaiming fragments of a life he didn’t quite believe belonged to him. Every corner seemed to whisper his name in a language he no longer understood. Every memory Aria tried to share hung between them, heavy with unspoken longing.

Aria, meanwhile, carried hope the way one carries a fragile flame, shielding it with trembling hands from winds that threatened to snuff it out. She told herself not to expect too much, but every time his eyes lingered a moment too long or his voice softened when he said her name, her heart betrayed her.

One morning, she found him standing in the training room, his fists wrapped, punching at a heavy bag with brutal precision. Sweat glistened on his skin, his muscles tense with the kind of frustration that came from wanting control in a world that refused to make sense.

"You shouldn’t be straining yet," Aria said gently from the doorway.

He didn’t look back. "I need to remember what my body knows, if not my mind."

She stepped closer. "You think beating that bag will bring it all back?"

"Maybe," he said through gritted teeth, striking harder. "Maybe pain is the only language I still speak."

Her chest tightened. She knew that tone, the one that masked fear with fury. She had heard it before, during their darkest days.

When he finally stopped, his breath came ragged, his eyes dark with something raw. "I saw flashes last night," he muttered. "Guns. Fire. Your face. But it felt... wrong. Like a nightmare wearing your skin."

Aria swallowed the ache rising in her throat. "Those weren’t nightmares. They were memories."

He looked at her then, eyes narrowing. "So I really did all that? All those things you said?"

"Yes," she whispered. "But you did it for us, to protect what we built."

He laughed bitterly. "Sounds like I was either a hero or a monster."

"Both," she admitted. "That’s what made you real."

The room went quiet again. Then, without warning, he threw another punch, not at the bag this time, but at the wall, the sound echoing sharply. Aria flinched but didn’t move. She walked toward him, slowly, and placed her hand over his trembling fist.

"Luca," she said softly, "you don’t have to fight your way back. Just... let yourself feel."

For a long moment, he said nothing. Then his hand relaxed beneath hers, his eyes closing as if surrendering to something he didn’t yet understand.

Later that day, they drove into the city. The doctor had recommended exposure to familiar places, but Aria’s real reason ran deeper; she wanted him to remember not just the chaos, but the quiet moments that made them human.

They stopped by a small café tucked between two buildings, the same one where they’d once hidden during a surveillance mission that turned unexpectedly romantic.

"You used to hate this place," she said with a small smile as they sat down. "You said their espresso tasted like burnt sorrow."

Luca’s brow furrowed as he looked around. "And you loved it anyway?"

"I loved that you tried it for me," she said. "You said love wasn’t comfort; it was choosing discomfort for someone else’s peace."

He studied her face, something shifting behind his eyes. "I said that?"

"You did."

He fell silent. Then, quietly, "Sounds like something I’d believe."

A faint warmth spread through her chest. Progress, small, but real.

When the waitress brought their drinks, he took a sip, grimaced, and muttered, "Still tastes like sorrow."

Aria burst out laughing and for the first time in weeks, Luca smiled. It wasn’t his old smile yet, but it was close.

As the afternoon faded, they walked along the pier, where the ocean wind carried the scent of salt and memory. Aria held her coat tighter as the breeze picked up, her hair whipping across her face.

Luca watched her quietly. "You always look at the water like it’s talking to you," he said.

Her lips parted. "You remember that?"

"I don’t know," he admitted. "Maybe I just feel it."

Her heart fluttered. "You used to say the same thing, that the sea reminded you that peace could exist even in chaos."

He gave a slow nod, eyes fixed on the waves. "Maybe that’s why I loved it."

She turned to him. "Do you remember loving it?"

He hesitated, then met her gaze. "No," he said softly. "But when I look at you, I remember what love feels like."

The words hit her like sunlight breaking through a storm. She reached for his hand, cautiously, as if afraid he might pull away. But he didn’t. His fingers closed around hers, firm and familiar.

They stood that way for a while, two people caught between what was lost and what might still be found.

That night, as rain pattered softly against the mansion windows, Aria found herself in the library, leafing through an old photo album. Pictures of them, laughing, arguing, dancing, blurred through her tears.

She didn’t hear him approach until his reflection appeared in the glass beside her.

"Is that us?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, wiping her eyes. "You used to say we were unstoppable."

He leaned closer, studying one of the photos, him lifting her in the garden, her laughing uncontrollably. "We look... happy," he murmured.

"We were," she said. "Even when the world wanted to tear us apart."

He exhaled slowly, as if trying to breathe in the memory. "I want to remember that. Not just who I was but who we were."

She turned to him, her heart trembling. "Then let’s rebuild it. Even if it means starting over."

For a long moment, he just looked at her, really looked. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "You’d still want me, even if I never remember everything?"

Aria smiled through her tears. "I don’t love you for your memories, Luca. I love you for your soul. And that’s still here."

Something inside him cracked, a wall, a dam, maybe both. He reached up and touched her face, his thumb brushing away a tear. His hand trembled, but his touch was warm, tender.

"Then help me find my way back to you," he said.

Her breath caught. "Always."

When he kissed her, it wasn’t the fierce, possessive kind of kiss they once shared. It was gentle, searching, like he was relearning the language of love one heartbeat at a time.

And in that moment, Aria knew that even if the past never fully returned, the future was still theirs to rewrite.

They were fragments, shattered, scattered, and imperfect, but together, they were learning to become whole again.