Desire for you - ALPHA ILAY

NAEL

I must have dozed off, because when I opened my eyes, I saw Delilah with teary eyes, wiping the tears from her eyes at the sight of me.

"I didn't want to wake you," she whispered softly, clutching her legs.

A small smile flitted across my lips and I shook my head "No, you didn't," I replied and straightened up.

"Sorry, I should never have let your father tell you everything..." I looked honestly into her beautiful blue eyes. Her hair was slightly dishevelled and she had dark circles under her eyes. She was pale and looked as if she had lost weight in the last few days.

For a brief moment, she glanced at her hands and it seemed as if she was lost in her thoughts.

Yes, that was her, that was my brooding Delilah!

"I really did kill him, didn't I?" she whispered softly, looking at me sadly. I shook my head and felt as if a stone had been placed in my chest.

"What happened was like Russian roulette ... You were forced to pull the trigger, only you didn't shoot yourself, you shot someone else... If anyone is to blame, it's Ilay my brother and nobody else," I at least tried to make her realise.

She didn't respond, but crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Would you like to go out for something to eat?" I finally asked her and watched her for a moment.

She gave me an irritated look and thought about my words. I remembered how I had invited her to have dinner with me.

"Who are you to me?" she asked quietly, so that I could just hear her. Her gaze was uncertain, she kept scrutinising me, but she didn't know who I was to her. My Delilah was a clever woman because she had asked the right question.

I smiled at her and nodded slightly: "It all started when your father brought you here... brought you here to protect you from Ilay. You worked for me and did all the tasks that had to do with the finances. Eventually it ended with me confessing my love for you and us going to Italy. Just before we left for Italy, we went to New Orleans and had fun at a spa... Hmm, have I forgotten anything else?" I had given her a rough outline of the most important events so that she could make up her own mind for the first time.

There was no way around the fact that she had to process everything in order to get a clear head. We talked about seven centuries that she had to process, but the only thing that struck me was that she couldn't remember anything but the most recent events.

She was silent and seemed to drift off with her thoughts.

"I feel so weak..." she finally said and again I saw her eyes drift shut.

"You've been through a lot and I feel like the harder you try, the more tired you get.... You should eat something, Delilah," when I said her name, she got goose bumps and squinted her eyes in pain.

"Delilah?" I asked uncertainly and walked towards her. She scared the life out of me.

"I'm sorry, I have a headache," she said suddenly and I didn't know whether it was a memory or an actual headache.

"We can have lunch together," she finally replied, looking up at me uncertainly.

I couldn't help but smile and nodded: "Get ready, I'll wait for you outside the door," I replied and was already on my way out of the room.

Shouldn't I help her after all? I turned back to her and then stopped in front of her again.

"Do you want me to help you?" I asked her sincerely. She shook her head in the negative and stood up. I walked out of the room and waited a moment for her to come out again.

She had put on a pair of light blue mom jeans and a black turtleneck jumper. Half of her hair was tied back in a bun, the other half fell over her shoulders. Delilah was used to wearing make-up, but this time she hadn't put any on at all. I thought she looked better than ever, and her outfit made me rethink my own. I sat around in expensive suits all the time, but this time I would take my cue from her.

With a snap of my fingers, I had changed. Now I was also wearing jeans, a Diesel shirt and a cream-coloured teddy jacket.

I saw Delilah scrutinising me from the side angle without saying a word.

"Shall we?" I asked her and she just nodded mutely.

I had come up with the idea that we could do here what we hadn't been able to do in Italy

I'd had everything prepared for dinner on the mini island of Lostland. I could only hope that it would bring back memories for her.

I went with her to the garage and got into the same car she had been in last time. Before I got in myself, I held the door open for her and let her get in first.

She seemed surprised that I was making all these little gestures to her and she didn't really react to what I had said earlier.

The journey went quietly and it was a challenge for me to jog her memory.

I drove faster and looked out of the window calmly. I supported my head with one hand and held the steering wheel with the other.

Delilah seemed to be getting nervous as she clung tightly to the seat and looked over at me.

"Can't you drive a bit slower?" she asked me, as if she had done something wrong with those words.

"You know I like high speeds, if you want, we can even go to a racetrack after dinner," I said, winking at her with a smile.

"If you want me to throw up in your car, we can do that, but please..." she said, still holding on tight.

"Do you want to know where we're going, Delilah?", I asked her as I slowed down a little.

"Yes."

"We're going to a small island in Lostland, last time you liked it..."

She looked at me with a furrowed brow and bit her lower lip: "Are there any fish out there that look like they've swallowed a light bulb?" she asked me suddenly, her words bringing a smile to my face.

I nodded slightly: "Yes, there are."

"But I hope we're not going to eat them, are we?" she asked me with a wry look.

I couldn't help but laugh and shook my head: "No... Fish is always good, but I had something other than fish in mind..." I explained to her and stopped the car in front of the little bridge.

We both got out of the car and she looked around the area a little.

I nodded for her to follow me and we walked over the little bridge and there we saw a table already decorated and a demon in the shape of a flame there to serve us.

Lots of little fireflies were buzzing around us, making the whole thing look very romantic and beautiful.

The sky gradually darkened more and more and the moon could already be seen.

Delilah looked around and marvelled. Then she looked at me again "I've actually been here before..." she said quietly, biting her lower lip.

I nodded slightly, "Yes," led her to the table and pushed the chair towards her.

She sat down and looked round again. "This is the first time a man has done something like this for me," she said, looking at me.

I shook my head with a smile "That's not quite true... We've already been here together," I replied, looking her in the eye.

The food was brought to us and I'll give you three guesses.

It's pizza that was teleported from Italy.

"Smells delicious," I admitted and picked up the cutlery, while Delilah agreed with me.

"And it tastes very good too," Delilah had already taken a bite.

I couldn't help but smile and the moment was almost perfect, except for the fact that she had lost her memory. Still, I had the impression that she was comfortable in my presence.

"Your brother... Ilay, why did he make me shoot someone?" she asked me, placing her hands at her sides.

I paused, wolfed down my slice of pizza and thought. It was important to find the right words, I didn't want to lie to her, but I didn't want to panic either.

"That night when Ilay was on the verge of despair when he read his girlfriend's letters... That night, you were there for him and tried to comfort him. Ilay is special, and you know that deep down, since his break-up he has been out to destroy everything that is not in his favour, including your partner... He's tried to get revenge for selling you out."

I paused and looked at Delilah, who was listening to me with a furrowed brow.

"It goes on... When he wanted to kill him, the judge, who was Zamiel's father, decided to leave you to your fate. Indirectly, he had to bring you to the courtroom, he had no choice in the matter, it was already underway and yes... that's what led to your father bringing you to me," I explained to her again.

She shook her head and sighed softly: "It's like a thunderstorm in my head.... You can't imagine, with every word you say, something shoots up inside me and I have no idea how and where to categorise it, it's as if everything is scattered inside me and the doubts as to whether it's really true are huge," she tried to explain to me.

"You have to take it slowly, Delilah... It's putting you under pressure, take the time you need." As long as Ilay didn't turn up, everything was still fine, but my gut feeling told me that it wouldn't stay that way for long.

I ate my pizza and watched Delilah eat hers. She leant back in her chair and looked at me.

Suddenly she looked at me, startled: "You... You had a fight with your brother, didn't you?"

Wait ... She actually remembered an argument with Ilay?

"Yes, one of many. What else do you remember, Delilah?"