Noah’s I barely slept that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, the same fragments returned.
A laboratory.
Rain against a window.
Adrian’s voice calling my name.
And that silver emblem.
I still couldn’t remember everything, but the pieces were becoming harder to ignore.
By morning, I had made a decision.
I needed to go back to the university.
Not because I wanted to revisit the past.
Because I needed answers.
I was standing in the kitchen preparing breakfast for Ethan when Adrian walked in.
“You didn’t sleep.” I looked at him.
“Neither did you.” “I had work.” “So did I.” His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You’re planning something.” I sighed.
“I’m going to the university.” His expression immediately changed.
“Why?” “To look through the old research records.” “No.” I blinked.
“No?” “You’re not going there alone.” “I didn’t say I was.” “Good.” I frowned.
“You don’t get to decide everything for me, Adrian.” “I know.” “Then stop acting like it.” He was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, “I’m coming with you.” I stared at him.
“That’s different.” “How?” “Because you’re impossible.” A faint smile crossed his face.
“Apparently.” Before I could respond, Ethan wandered into the kitchen.
“Daddy.” I immediately crouched.
“Good morning.” He held up his stuffed fox.
“Fox hungry.” I smiled.
“Is Fox hungry?” Ethan nodded.
“Eat.” Adrian looked at the toy seriously.
“What does Fox want?” Ethan pointed toward the table.
“More.” I placed a small portion of food on the table.
“Here.” Ethan climbed into his chair.
“Thank you.” I paused.
He was becoming more talkative lately, but his words were still short and simple.
Adrian sat across from him.
“Good morning, Ethan.” Ethan looked at him.
“Uncle.” “Yes?” “Eat.” Adrian looked at me.
I laughed.
“He’s telling you to eat.” “I gathered that.” For a few minutes, the room felt normal.
Almost like a family.
I immediately pushed the thought away.
After breakfast, we left Ethan at the daycare.
The daycare was directly across from Ashford Biotech, so we walked there together.
Ethan held my hand while Adrian walked on his other side.
When we reached the entrance, Ethan stopped.
“Bye.” I crouched and hugged him.
“I’ll come back later.” He nodded.
“Okay.” Adrian crouched too.
“I’ll see you later.” Ethan held up his fox.
“Fox too.” Adrian smiled.
“Of course.” We watched him walk inside.
Then Adrian turned toward me.
“Ready?” I nodded.
“No.” He raised an eyebrow.
“But I’m going anyway.” “That’s better.” We crossed the street.
The drive to the university was quiet.
I watched the city pass through the window.
The closer we got, the more uncomfortable I became.
Two years ago, I had left this place without looking back.
I had been close to graduating.
My entire future had been planned.
Then everything changed.
I dropped out.
Moved to another town.
Had Ethan.
And built a completely different life.
Now I was returning to the place where it had all begun.
When we arrived, I remained in the car for several seconds.
Adrian looked at me.
“You don’t have to do this.” “I know.” I opened the door.
“But I need to.” We walked toward the research building.
The hallway looked almost exactly as I remembered.
My steps slowed.
There.
The old laboratory.
The door had been replaced, but the silver emblem remained.
My breathing became shallow.
“I remember this.” Adrian stood beside me.
“What?” “This is where we worked.” He looked at the emblem.
“Project E-17?” I nodded.
Then a memory flashed through my mind.
A computer screen.
A compatibility chart.
Adrian standing behind me.
My hands trembling.
Someone opening the laboratory door.
I grabbed the wall.
“Noah?” “I’m okay.” Adrian moved closer but stopped before touching me.
“Take your time.” I closed my eyes.
Another fragment surfaced.
A voice.
Not Adrian’s.
A man saying: “You shouldn’t have seen those results.” I opened my eyes.
“I remember someone threatening me.” Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Who?” “I don’t know.” “Try.” “I can’t.” He nodded.
“We’ll find the records.” The laboratory door opened.
An elderly professor stepped into the hallway.
He stared at us.
Then his eyes settled on me.
His expression changed.
“Noah?” I froze.
“Professor?” He looked genuinely shocked.
“I thought you were never coming back.” I swallowed.
“Neither did I.” His gaze moved toward Adrian.
Then back to me.
“You two shouldn’t be here.” Adrian frowned.
“Why?” The professor lowered his voice.
“Because the people who shut down this research are still looking for the missing files.” My heart stopped.
“Missing files?” He nodded.
“And one of those files contains the results from the night everything changed.” I stared at him.
“What results?” The professor looked directly at me.
“The compatibility results between you and Adrian.” I couldn’t breathe.
Adrian went completely still.
And for the first time, I realized that the secret I had been protecting for two years might have been recorded somewhere all along.
The words echoed inside my head.
The compatibility results between you and Adrian.
I stared at Professor Hale.
“What results?” He looked uncomfortable.
“Come inside.” Adrian didn’t move.
“What exactly was tested?” Professor Hale glanced toward the empty hallway before answering.
“Designation compatibility.
Scent response.
Genetic markers.
Several other factors.” My stomach tightened.
“Why were Adrian and I tested together?” “You weren’t supposed to be.” I frowned.
“What do you mean?” “The original study wasn’t about you two specifically.
You were assisting with the research, and Adrian’s information was already in the system.” I remembered sitting in front of that computer.
The numbers.
The charts.
The strange result that had made me stop breathing.
“Then why did my name appear on the report?” Professor Hale sighed.
“Because someone added your information.” Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Who?” “I don’t know.” “You expect us to believe that?” “I was told to stop asking questions.” The professor opened the laboratory door.
We followed him inside.
The room was smaller than I remembered.
Most of the equipment had been removed, but the old computers were still there.
Professor Hale walked toward one of them.
“This machine hasn’t been connected to the university network since the division closed.” He switched it on.
I stared at the screen.
My hands became cold.
There was a folder on the desktop.
E-17 — ARCHIVED I stepped closer.
“I’ve never seen that folder.” Professor Hale looked at me.
“You weren’t supposed to.” Adrian stood beside me.
“Open it.” The professor hesitated.
Then he clicked the folder.
Several files appeared.
Most were corrupted.
One remained intact.
SUBJECT COMPATIBILITY — A.A.
/ N.E.
My heart stopped.
Adrian looked at me.
I couldn’t look back.
Professor Hale opened the file.
A chart appeared on the screen.
The numbers meant almost nothing to me anymore.
But one sentence at the bottom did.
Compatibility: Exceptionally High.
I swallowed.
“That’s it?” Professor Hale shook his head.
“No.” He scrolled further.
There was another section.
Recommendation: Immediate clinical observation.
My breathing became uneven.
“Why?” Professor Hale closed his eyes briefly.
“Because the results were unusual.” “How unusual?” He looked at Adrian.
“Rare enough that certain people believed the two of you should be studied further.” I stepped away from the computer.
“No.” Adrian looked at me.
I pressed a hand against my neck.
The mark beneath my collar felt warm again.
A memory flashed through my mind.
Adrian standing close to me.
His scent.
My own heartbeat.
His voice telling me to calm down.
Then another voice.
Someone shouting.
The laboratory door opening.
I stumbled backward.
Adrian immediately moved toward me but stopped a short distance away.
“Noah.” “I’m okay.” “You don’t look okay.” I closed my eyes.
“I remember the report.” Professor Hale looked at me.
“What do you remember?” “Someone was angry.” “Who?” “I don’t know.” I opened my eyes.
“But they wanted the results.” Professor Hale nodded slowly.
“Yes.” “Why?” He didn’t answer.
Adrian stepped forward.
“Professor.” The older man finally looked at him.
“What happened to the original file?” His face became pale.
“It was taken.” “By whom?” “I don’t know.” “Then who ordered you to stop the research?” Silence.
Finally, Professor Hale whispered, “Someone connected to the Ashford board.” My heart dropped.
Adrian’s expression turned cold.
“My family?” “I said connected to them.
I didn’t say your family ordered it.” “Who?” “I don’t have proof.” “Then give me a name.” Professor Hale shook his head.
“I can’t.” Adrian’s voice grew quieter.
“Why?” “Because the last person who tried to expose them disappeared.” The room fell silent.
I looked at the old computer again.
There was something else on the screen.
A date.
Two years ago.
The same week I left.
My chest tightened.
“Professor…” He looked at me.
“Why did I leave?” He stared at me for a long moment.
“You don’t remember?” I shook my head.
“Not everything.” He lowered his gaze.
“You were frightened.” “Of what?” “You came to me the morning after the incident.” My heart began pounding.
“What incident?” “You said you couldn’t stay at the university.” I swallowed.
“What else did I say?” Professor Hale hesitated.
Then he answered quietly.
“You told me that someone had marked you.” Everything around me seemed to disappear.
I touched my neck.
The mark.
The secret I’d hidden for two years.
Adrian was staring at me now.
His eyes moved from my face to my collar.
“Marked?” I couldn’t speak.
Professor Hale looked between us.
“You didn’t tell him?” I shook my head.
Adrian’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Noah.” I finally looked at him.
His expression wasn’t angry.
It was confused.
Hurt.
“Who marked you?” My lips parted.
But before I could answer, the computer screen suddenly went black.
A second later, every light in the laboratory went out.
Professor Hale froze.
“What happened?” Adrian immediately moved toward the door.
Then the emergency lights flickered on.
On the computer screen, a single message appeared.
YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO COME BACK.
My blood ran cold.
Then another line appeared beneath it.
HE STILL DOESN’T KNOW THE TRUTH.
I looked at Adrian.
And I knew exactly who he was.
After that night, he discovered he was pregnant with Ethan.
The shock, emotional trauma, exhaustion, and physical strain he went through afterward caused his memories of that period to become fragmented.
That’s why he remembers certain moments but can’t remember the entire night clearly.
And now that he’s back around Adrian and the places connected to his past, those memories are slowly coming back.
So don’t worry—the missing memories have an explanation, and we’re going to uncover exactly what happened that night little by little.
And yes… the truth about the mark is coming.
See you in Chapter 16!
— Ari1