THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 410: I’m Alive, My Love

He swallowed hard again, suddenly unsure of what to say. He had rehearsed this moment in his mind a hundred times, but now that he was here, words failed him.

Lauren’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widening as she continued to stare at him, tears pooling in her eyes.

She took a step back, her breath hitching as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing.

"Steffan?" she whispered, her voice breaking, raw and filled with a blend of hope and fear. It was as if saying his name would shatter the illusion, and he would disappear again.

"It’s me," Steffan said, his voice soft but laden with thick inexplicable emotion. "I’m here, Lauren. I’m alive."

Lauren’s knees buckled, and she reached out to steady herself against the doorframe.

The tears that had polled in her eyes, finally spilled down her cheeks as she kept staring at him, taking in every detail as if trying to imprint him in her mind.

She took a tentative step forward, her hand trembling as she reached out to touch him, afraid that he might vanish at her touch.

She had seen him disappear from her grasp each time she tried to reach out to him and she desperately prayed this was not another one of those dreams that she’d wake up from and cry till dawn.

This had better be true and if indeed it was a dream, she never wanted to wake up from this particular one... she’d sleep on forever just to keep him with her.

But unlike before that she would end up catching air, her fingers brushed against his cheek, it felt warm and real, and she let out a sob that was equal parts relief and anguish. She blinked her eyes and went as far as slapping herself to be sure.

Steffan’s heart looked like several needles were pricking his heart at the same time when he saw her action. He didn’t know when his own tears started flowing down his cheeks.

"You... you’re really here?" she choked out, her voice quivering. "Y-You’re... alive... you’re not dead..." It sounded more like a question than a statement

Steffan nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes before reaching out to catch her hands in his, holding it tightly. "I’m alive, my love. I’m not dead."

Lauren threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace, her body shaking with the force of her sobs.

Steffan held her close, burying his face in her hair as he let himself feel the full weight of the moment he’d anticipated countless times. Finally, he was back, holding the woman he loves in his hands.

Lauren pulled back slightly, searching his eyes as if needing to confirm once more that he was truly there. "How? How is this possible?" she asked, her voice still tinged with disbelief. "They told us you were dead."

"I didn’t believe it but with each day passing without you returning to me made me realize I was wrong. But I never wanted to accept that reality... then the dreams... no matter how I tried, I just couldn’t get hold of you,"

Lauren cried, her words muffled against him. "I... I didn’t know how to go on without you."

"I’m so sorry," Steffan murmured, his voice choked, "for the pain you had to go through, but I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere."

Lauren pulled back slightly, her hands trembling as she cupped his face. She looked at him like she was memorizing every line, every feature, as if to convince herself that he was truly there. "I still can’t believe this," she said, laughing through her tears. "You’re alive. You’re really here."

Steffan nodded, his own eyes misting over. "I am. And I’m never letting anything come between us again."

They stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, the past few weeks melting away as they found solace in themselves.

Stanley watched from a few steps away with a soft smile.

Lauren wiped her tears, her smile radiant despite the remnants of disbelief lingering in her eyes. "I love you, Steffan," she said, her voice steady but brimming with emotion.

"I love you too," Steffan replied, pressing a passionate kiss on her lips. All their emotions were packed in that one kiss that felt like their last. When he noticed Lauren was out of breath, he gently broke the kiss.

He didn’t dare allow himself to dwell much on this moment before because it was torturous to imagine not being able to taste the sweetness of her luscious lips. But here he was, finally feeling and tasting her sweetness. It’s still like a dream "It’s your love that kept me going, darling."

He pulled back and placed his forehead against hers, gazing into her eyes... breathing into each other’s nose helped to make the moment more real, especially for Lauren.

"Do I leave you two alone or you want to see the others now?" Stanley asked, breaking into their world.

Steffan wanted to ask Stanley to leave first but Lauren thought otherwise. She wasn’t the only one that suffered although they always put up a strong front just to comfort her.

She wanted them to experience this untold joy, she also had this weird notion that if the rest of the family sees him, she’d be more convinced it wasn’t a dream.

We will go see them now. But we can’t be going from place to place for that," Stefran pointed out. It will be so tiring.

"Yeah, it’s best we converge at a particular spot.

"I know just the right place," Lauren suggested.

"Where?" The two brothers asked at the same time.

"The Masters place," she announced.

"Isn’t that too public for such a sensitive gathering, besides, we need to book in advance," Stanley pointed out. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Have you forgotten the place is owned by my godchildren? They gave me a wing in the penthouse which I can go to any time I want. I’m a rich woman, you know," she boasted and this time, the smile found its way to her eyes and that liveliness was back.

"Please forgive me for the oversight," Steffan said. It was then, Lauren remembered that Steffan had lost part of his memory.

"I totally forgot you can’t remember some things, I’m sorry," she said but instead of explaining, Steffan just smiled and nodded in understanding.

He would play around with her for a day or two first before telling her that his memory was fully recovered after that fight.

Seeing that his brother was not yet ready to reveal to Lauren that he had recovered his full memory for whatever reason, Stanley kept quiet.

He only prayed he wouldn’t come to him when it was time to answer for all his lies.

At present, Lauren was overwhelmed by the joy that he was alive, but when she cools down she would definitely want to know why he hid the truth from her.

Stanley quickly sent a message for everyone to gather for something urgent that Lauren wanted to see them about.

Hearing that Lauren was the one calling for the meeting, everyone dropped whatever they were doing and headed to the destination in the message, including her own parents.