Loved You Once But He's My Forever (Chloe)

Twenty years of captivity. Her long-gone family members. The nights and days of torment, where no one ever cared about her will.

Taylor thought she must hate him so much that she hadn't even spared him a glance when she left.

He didn't dare reveal who he was now, and he could only suppress his emotions.

"Ms. Sander," he said, voice even and distant, "you're still running a fever. You need to keep a positive mindset-being upset won't help your recovery."

He was clearly worried sick about her, yet he stood there pretending they were strangers.

Anna's heart was a whirlwind of emotions.

Relief, joy, and rage. She was furious that he never sent a word when he had been alive all this time.

Taylor handed her the thermometer. When she was unconscious, he could check it without hesitation. But now that she was awake, it wasn't convenient for him to

do so.

Anna didn't take it. Instead, she just stared at him with her wide, tear-filled eyes.

It was a silent storm of accusation.noveldrama

Taylor sighed and stopped pretending. "Anna ...

He reached out and gently touched her face. "Don't cry. If you don't want to see me, I'll leave right now."

The moment he said that, Anna broke down even harder.

"Don't cry. Tell me if there's something you want. Don't punish yourself like this."

Taylor thought he knew her. After twenty years together, he believed he had figured her out. But now, he realized he understood nothing. Her heart was deeper and more mysterious than he'd ever imagined.

Before he could finish the thought, she threw herself into his arms.

"You jerk! Why did you lie to me? I thought you were dead!"

Taylor wrapped her in a tight embrace. "I thought ... "

His voice choked. "I thought you hated me so much you'd never want to see me again. And this plan was dangerous. The fewer people who knew, the better. That's why I didn't tell you. I'm sorry, sweetheart. Don't cry, okay? If you want my life, it's yours."

"Taylor, I regret it."

Anna's tears burned against his neck like fire. "If I hadn't gotten sick, would you have stayed away forever?"

"Yeah," he admitted quietly.

"But I missed you. What was I supposed to do about that?"

The man holding her froze as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Anna... what did you just say? Repeat it."

She sobbed harder, choking on her words. "Taylor ... I missed you... so much. I missed you so much."

She should've faced her feelings a long time ago. The truth was, she had fallen in love with him years ago-she'd just never realized it.

Clinging tightly to his shirt, she whispered, "I never hated you touching me. Not once."

Anna knew that saying these

heartfelt words was, in a way, a betrayal of the Sanders. But after everything she'd been through over the past few days, all her bottled-up emotions came pouring out.

She had been torn between Taylor and the Sanders.

But she didn't want to keep holding it in anymore. She didn't want to regret anything ever again.

She was in pain, but hadn't Taylor suffered for twenty years too?

"Anna, are you sure you're not just delirious from the fever?"

Taylor felt like he was dreaming. For so long, Anna had been

distant-especially after Chloe's death. She blamed herself, and maybe him too, for taking Chloe's heart to save her. She hadn't spoken to him gently in a very long time.

"Taylor."

Anna held him tightly, breathing him in like he was the only air she needed. They had spent twenty years together. Their bond had gone beyond family, beyond lovers. It was something no words could fully explain.

"Don't cry anymore. Let me take your temperature. You've been running a fever on and off for almost two days now."

He wiped her tears away gently as he tried to soothe her. Then he held out the thermometer again.

Anna rested her forehead against his. "Can you feel it this way?" she whispered.

"Anna ...

Her nose brushed against his nose

intimately. Before he could react, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Taylorpl missed you."