Chapter 53

"Why the hell did I do that?" He felt guilty for hurting Eve. "How did I lose control of my own mind?" Angry with himself, he went into the shower.

After a moment when he emerged from the shower, he thought it would be awkward between them, but he was left entirely shocked when Eve whistled, looking up and down at him. His body glistened with water droplets.

"You look hot, but you looked even sexier after being stained with my cum," He said it so seriously that Alpha didn't understand what emotion he should feel first.

"One thing that I long got right about you was that you're really a freak," Alpha commented.

"My pleasure," Eve laughed, staring at his narrow waist accentuating his masculine figure. Water droplets clung to his chiselled chest and abs, creating an irresistible allure, making it impossible for Eve to look away from this captivating sight.

"Your breakfast," He handed a plate of eggsandwichesh to him. Alpha's stomach grumbled, but when he began to take the plate, Eve didn't let it go and commented. "You're hot, but I prefer the innocent and pure version of you who couldn't resist clinging to me."

Alpha stared into his eyes, these words were serious as well. Was I innocent and…pure?

It was hard to believe. He thought Eve was fooling him again and chose to ignore his advances and seductive voice, and started eating the breakfast. But as soon as he took the first bite, a sense of déjà vu washed over him, and he frowned.

"This tastes familiar. I feel like I've eaten it before."

Eve chuckled, taking a seat beside him on the bed. "Of course, you have. I used to make it for you every day," he replied with a warm smile. "And I also know you lied when you made me that soup. You tried your best, didn't you? But I know you don't know how to cook, so thank you for that."

This was the last straw, and his cheeks instantly turned pink. Putting the plate on the bed, he faced Eve directly and asked, "Just who are you?"

Eve stared back at him with equal intensity, but his lips broke out in a smile, his voice soft. "I've already told you. I'm your lover. I love you."

Alpha was taken aback by the sincerity in his words, making it difficult for him to doubt them. However, a cruel doubt still nagged at his heart, and he unconsciously exhaled, questioning, "Then who's Lia?"

His question was met with a sudden change in Eve's expression. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by a deep-seated resentment. His eyes filled with anger as he snapped, "How many times do I have to tell you not to mention that name in front of me?!"

Alpha was surprised by his vehement reaction but didn't relent in his curiosity. He met Eve's resentment head-on and inquired, "Do you hate that name that much?"

Eve's eyes burned with bitterness and pain as he exclaimed, "Yes, I do!" His anger was raw and intense. "That person was unable to save you, so I killed-"

"Save me from who?!" Alpha abruptly rose to his feet, yelling in frustration. His chest heaved, and he felt like he was losing control, his head throbbing with an overwhelming sensation of memories at the surface of his mind, yet just out of reach. The feeling was maddening.

"From the lab, goddamn it!" Eve yelled back, taking a step towards Alpha. But instead of drawing closer, Alpha stepped away, again, a look of fear in his eyes. This reaction stunned Eve, and it pained him deeply to see Alpha scared of him, the person who was supposed to protect and love him.

"The lab took you from me…a-and I…I couldn't do anything. And then they erased your memories. Do you even have any idea how it feels to not be remembered by the one person you're living for? I sacrificed everything for you. Everything! And yet you're all about Lia!"

Eve gripped Alpha's arm firmly, preventing him from moving away. Each time Alpha attempted to distance himself, it inflicted pain upon Eve, tearing at his heart and stripping away any reason he had to live. His desperate grip conveyed the depth of his anguish and longing, a need for Alpha to understand the torment he had endured for him.

"Lia! Lia! Lia! Just fucking forget Lia! Don't keep stabbing my heart like this!" Eve begged, tears streaming down his face. His eyes were filled with a painful plea. "Lia is your past, but can't you see what's right in front of you? Can't you try to remember this face...can't you try to love me?"

One could say they can understand another's pain, but the reality is they can't. No one can feel or understand someone's pain until they go through the same situation. Seeing Eve broken and crying, Alpha's heart automatically felt pain, yet he couldn't recognize whether the pain was for Eve or Lia. 

While he sympathised with Eve's pain, he couldn't ignore the persistent pull in his heart toward Lia. It was as if his very soul longed for that person.

He thought about Eve's question.

Could he truly try to love Eve?

He didn't know either.

Alpha didn't have an answer. His heart ached as he witnessed Eve's suffering, yet he couldn't help but feel drawn to a past he couldn't remember.

"I don't even know you," he confessed. His own heart thundered, and his eyes watered with unbearable agony. Eve stared at him with a blank expression, as his words cut deep, his voice trembling. "I don't recognize this face."

Stab after stab. Each word was like a dagger.

Alpha wondered how, after years of numbness and surviving Sunford, he had started to feel pain again. It was a different kind of torment, one that he couldn't easily escape or understand.

But then he decided to twist that dagger deep into Eve's heart. "But whenever I say Lia's name, my heart races, and it hurts. It feels like my life has no meaning without that name," He watched the betrayal in Eve's eyes with a heavy heart.

Eve blinked back tears and choked out, his voice frantic and desperate. "We can start getting to know each other. We can start fresh—"

"But you don't tell me anything. I want to know about Lia," Eve already knew that Alpha was stubborn; he had always been, and most of the time Eve had adored that cute side of him, but this time he just wished that Alpha could stop speaking.

"You're here because you killed Lia?"

He sighed, turning away and rubbing his face in frustration. "I'm not here because I killed Lia. I'm here to take you away. Let me explain something to you. Nobody here is because they're murderers. You're not here because you killed someone, and I'm not here because I killed someone. We're not here to make ourselves better. This is not a rehabilitation centre. Everything you've been told is a lie."

"What are you talking about-"

Eve looked back at him with a grave expression. "Sunford is not a school. You, me, and everyone here are not students. This is all a part of the world's largest experiment centre." 

Alpha frowned, his heart thundering, and his confusion deepened as Eve's words only complicated his thoughts further.

"I don't understand what you're saying."

But Eve didn't answer this time.

Alpha gritted his jaw at his silence. "I'll go ask Nick."

"No!" But Eve's fear was obvious as he urgently responded, "If he hears you asking these questions, you'll be in danger. He'll inform the lab, and they'll take you away from me."

But Alpha was furious, so he countered, "He won't do that…he's my brother."

"He's not your brother." Eve exposed. "He-"

Alpha's breath hitched, and the world shattered with that revelation. He huffed and raised a hand to signal for Eve to stop, the weight of these revelations was too much to process all at once.

After a while, as he began to catch his breath, he looked at Eve. "So, what are your intentions now?"

"To take you away from here," Eve said casually, yet there was a firm decision and determination in his voice.

"And what if you can't? What if I don't want to go with you?" Alpha challenged with a glare.

Eve smirked, his expression turning into madness again. "Then I'll kill us both because I won't let you live in this hell. It's either we leave successfully or we choose to end it all."

It was his turn to stare at Eve blankly. Not only was something off about him, but he's completely crazy in his head.

"W-What?"

Eve smiled brightly and cupped his face. "You love me, don't you?"

"I don't," Alpha answered coldly, checking the water.

Eve's smile froze, his heart ached at Alpha's harsh denial, and he pressed on, his voice quivering, "Can't you feel the connection between us?"

"I can, but I don't recognize your face. My heart races when you're near, but when I see your face, I feel nothing. It feels like I'm leaving with two people," Alpha removed his hands from his face, his eyes dark and icy. He couldn't hold back the anguish in his voice. "Why did you kill Lia? Was it because of some twisted love triangle between us?"

Eve remained silent, his silence painful.

"Why is it that an empty name with no face or body can pierce my chest more than your claims of love? Why is it—"

"Close your eyes, please," Eve inhaled deeply, putting his hand on Alpha's eyes. "Don't look at me with such love for that person. I can't handle it. Please don't break my heart."

The morning just began but instead of a sweet sunrise, there were dark and bitter clouds. Eve laughed suddenly.

"I was such a fool," His laughter was bitter and broken. "I thought you would be happy to see and find out that there's someone who loves you. The only person who cares for you."

Alpha couldn't see his face, but he could tell his eyes were filled with tears. "What were we like in the past? What kind of relationship did we have? Did you come between me and Lia, and that's why you killed—"

Eve interjected, and took off his hand and showed it to him. "We got these scars from holding each other's hands, even when there was a piece of glass stuck in our palms. We didn't let go of them. We didn't let go of each other."

His eyes widened, and he felt a pain in his chest. He quickly grabbed that hand and scrutinised it.

So, Nick lied to me about this scar. 

Leaving his hand, he began to leave, but Eve grabbed his wrist. "If you turn your back on me today, I'll go crazy."

Alpha looked back at him, his eyes burning. "Do you even love me? It doesn't seem like love, but more of an obsession. Stop playing with me."

Eve looked equally angry, his possessiveness and madness came to the forefront. "What the hell are you talking about? What even is love? I want you, and now you're finally mine. Isn't that love?"

Alpha roughly yanked his wrist back while glaring at him. "That's not…love. I don't believe you! You're lying. All I know is that you killed Lia and I'll never…forgive you for that."

Those words were like weapons, cutting deep into each other's hearts, leaving them both wounded and bleeding.

With a final anguish look, Alpha wore his clothes and left while Eve just stood there frozen for who knows how long, staring into space.

His lips trembled but they curled into a smile.

"How fucking loyal are you?"