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• Luna •

"Hello," Luna said, gazing at Amir as she held her newborn baby in a hotel lobby in Islamabad.

"Assalamualaikum," he greeted. 

Her cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry. I don't know what you just said. I can't speak the language here."

He laughed lightly, unable to take his eyes off her. "I was just saying a greeting our people say to each other in Pakistan. It means peace be upon you."

Luna pushed back for a moment, wondering what she is seeing in Amir's head.

Moving forward, she kissed him again.

"Oh. That's nice. Thanks, I guess?" She chuckled and glanced around her surroundings.

"What is her name?" he asked her, marveling at the baby. 

"Sarah Marie Davidson. Or maybe Carlyle. I haven't decided yet." Luna graced Sarah's cheeks with her fingertips. "Her father was Samuel Davidson. He passed away here recently."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Amir?" she mumbled, in the middle of their first kiss.

"Yeah?"

"Are you seeing that?"

He nodded. "What do you think it is?"

Luna's eyes welled up as she shook her head. "I think it's a lost memory of ours. Maybe a reflection?"

"I think I would've remembered meeting you and Sarah when she was a newborn."

She pushed back and stared at Amir, her eyes filled with tears. "Not if I was drugged by a controlling maniac and the memory somehow filtered away from my mind, slowly erasing your memory too."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked, and Luna nodded. "Chase made you forget you met me when Sarah was a baby?"

"It was the drugs he gave me all those years. He . . . he erased the memory of my trip to Pakistan. And now I'm remembering it with you."

"I don't understand. Luna, how could our memories get altered like that?" he choked.

She shrugged, quivering in his arms. "Our souls are connected, Amir. They always were."

Amir's lips trembled as Luna's heart pounced. She met him before she met Chase and their pairing had now become stronger. There was a reason she felt connected to him the second they'd met in her studio. All she wanted to do was move in closer and reflect on their first real meeting . . . together.

"Was he, by chance, an American who was visiting the country?" 

Luna blinked, wondering why this stranger was asking about her daughter's father. 

But she still nodded back, a few tears slipping from her eyes. "He was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, and he had hope when a scientist here said they could check him out."

She was so heartbroken over this, and it was difficult for her to talk about it.

"If I may . . ." Amir said, scooting over to her side of the couch. "Could I be honest about something?"

She gave him a strange look, but then gazed down at her baby girl and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "All right."

"I was the man who tried to revive Mr. Davidson," he said, shocking her with his statement. 

She didn't expect him to be that direct and never thought she'd meet the man who tried to help her child's father. She felt a sense of compassion coming from him. He seemed genuine and sincere with his approach.

Instead of walking away, Luna turned her head his way and gazed into his honey-brown eyes, hoping he was as real as he seemed.

"Okay. What do you want?" Sarah yawned in her arms.

"Oh, nothing, miss. I was about to meet someone for lunch, and I ended up talking to you. It's a coincidence."

Luna chuckled, realizing his honesty wouldn't hold too long. 

"Hm. You don't have to tell me the truth. I get it."

Luna ran her nose along Sarah's cheek. She hoped one day she could tell her daughter about her father and how she came to the location he passed away at. She needed to say goodbye to Sam. 

"No, Ma'am, seriously. I want to express my condolences to your family. Especially for your deceased loved one."

"Thank you. You can call me Reneé. I go by my middle name, most of the time."

He slightly chuckled in his seat and smiled back. "Pleased to meet you, Reneé. I'm A. I go by my first letter." 

Luna shook her head, laughing. "I'm guessing it's short something?"

"Something like that."

"Hm. I know. It's Aidan."

"Do I really look like an Aidan to you?" 

She knew he didn't look like an Aidan, but she wanted to see him smile.

"I should scratch Aidan out. How about Ali?"

"That's a good one. I will give you a hint. I have four letters in my name," he said, placing his elbows on his kneecaps.

Luna was delighted to have this odd but pleasant conversation with someone she didn't know. It made her light up inside, even in the darkest of times.

"That is . . . very difficult to figure out," she murmured, and Amir chuckled at her comment. "That is one thing we have in common."

"What?"

"We both have four-letter names," she said.

"Well, if you tell me yours, I will tell you mine," he insisted.

"Deal, but we say it at the same time."

"All right, Reneé."

Luna couldn't believe she was about to play a name game with this man. Their conversation was going well for her as sunshine floored her soul.

"One . . ." he said.

"Two . . ." she continued.

"Three . . ." they said at the same time.

"Luna." "Amir."

"Ah, Amir, is it? That means prince," she said, smiling.

"Yes. It is. My parents named me that because . . . Well, I don't remember." She giggled softly, and he like that. "Luna. Like the moon. I think it suits you."

"Thank you, Amir." She gazed down and reached for a white cloth to pat around Sarah's mouth. "Amir suits you. I was thinking maybe A stood for another name."

"Really? Which one?"

"Angel."

They stayed mute for a moment, staring at one another, breathing slowly. A few seconds later, Amir cleared his throat and stood to his feet, then glanced over at the reception desk. 

"It was nice to meet you, Luna, and little Sarah. I should be going now."

Giving her a nod with his chin, he turned around and took a step forward. 

"Amir?"

"Yes, Luna?"

"Thank you for keeping me company. I was bored in my hotel room, and I came down here for some fresh air. And thank you for trying to help Sarah's father. I am sure you did all that you could." 

He gave Luna a soft smile and peeked at her baby. "Just keep this one safe and healthy. Doctor's orders." She laughed quietly, holding Sarah tightly in her arms. "Babies are amazing. They are God's gift from the universe."

"Would you . . . like to hold her?"

"You don't mind?"

Luna shook her head. "I trust you. I mean, I feel like I could trust my daughter with you. You tried to save her father, after all."

Amir grinned back as she passed him baby Sarah. Looking at him holding her daughter, Luna sensed he'd be a great father one day if he wasn't already. He was like a warming sun, who brought a sense of brightness and light into her life. Even though they were strangers, she felt it in her heart that they were two souls who were destined to connect. He tried to save her late boyfriend, who was, in turn, a complete stranger to him. 

Catching her gaze, Amir said, "Take care of Sarah. That would be enough for me." 

Pulling away from him, Luna's eyes scattered and wouldn't stay still. She and Amir had now experienced a shared reflection of theirs that almost didn't seem real. How could they have forgotten their first true meeting?

"Did . . . did that happen, Luna?"

She nodded and wiped her tears on her sleeve. 

"I remember that moment now. I flew to Pakistan two weeks after Sam's death. I had to see where he died. I had to . . ." She paused, bringing her hands up to her forehead, laying her head in her palms. "Sarah and I needed to say goodbye to him. I'd just visited the location he took his last breath shortly before you and I met."

Amir wrapped his arms around Luna and pulled her close to his chest. "That must have been so rough for you."

"You walked up to me at the right time, Amir."

He chuckled. "I can't believe you thought my name was Angel."

"I was teasing and being playful with you. You distracted me from feeling down about life during that moment."

"I can't believe we really met six years ago," said Amir as Luna sighed. "It'll be seven years coming up."

"The twelfth of July," she murmured. "I'd just turned seventeen, graduated high school, and was a new mother, who didn't know how to raise a child. My parents were with me during that trip, because they knew I would've flown to Pakistan with another relative. Liberty was twenty-two and focused on an internship with a fashion magazine in London. So Sarah and I were alone, while we waited for my parents to come back after grabbing something to eat." 

"What did you guys end up eating?"

She shrugged. "I don't remember. I think I had a salad. Sam and I used to eat salads in the school cafeteria all the time."

Amir brought his fingers up to the top of her scalp and traced her skin as she continued.

"I remember how the guys on the basketball team gave him a hard time for eating a salad with me." 

"What is so bad about eating a salad?" Amir asked, raising the blanket to her waist.

"Nothing's wrong with eating a salad, but the guys on his team were always pushing him to eat meat and 'manly foods', as they called it. A salad was a sissy item to them."

"I love salads. So, I must be a sissy." Luna burst out laughing and jabbed at his side. "I love it when you're happy and smiling, Moon. You should do that more often."

"Have you looked around? How can I smile in this place?"

"Point taken. That's why I'm here. I'm going to smuggle you and Cami out of here."

"Amir . . ." Luna uttered, twisting her body around to face him. "I know we've just reflected on some kind of lost memory, but are you sure about me and how you feel?"

"I wouldn't be here if I weren't Luna Reneé Carlyle. Or should I call you Reneé?"

Luna chuckled. "Just like you coming to St. Matthew's, I wasn't sure about giving you my first name upon meeting you."

"True. But you did give me your name when we met in your studio, remember?"

"I did. But we saw each other in my business. That was on a professional level, and I needed to give you my name. In case you were a new customer of mine."

Amir grinned while she adjusted herself in his arms, sighing deeply.

"I loved meeting you. Both times." He moved closer and cupped her cheek with one hand, then stared softly into her eyes. "Luna, I understand why you doubt my feelings or doubt your capability of moving forward with someone else after what Chase has done to you. I'm also new to caring about someone like this, and I've never fallen in love. But I know what it feels like. You are the other piece of my puzzle."

"Really?"

"Really, really," he whispered.

She sniffed, wiping more tears from her eyes. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Okay."

"I saw Sam. He came to me like an apparition."

"Do you think you're hallucinating?"

Luna shook her head. "No, but I think it was him this time. When I saw Sam while I was with Chase, there was a different essence about him. He didn't seem as genuine as he did this previous time. He even mentioned you."

"Me? What did he say?"

"He told me you were chosen for me for a reason. Since our reflection, I understand what he meant."

"It's okay, Moon. Take your time," Amir said, soothing her.

"Sam was eighteen when he was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor. No other doctors would take a look at his case to release him of the pain he was in until you stepped up. He was in Pakistan to bring us together."

"You think he knew we were paired?"

Luna nodded. "I believe he knew the only way we can be in the same room together and not get sick is by making sure we were immune."

"What are you saying, Moon?"

"I'm saying, Sam made sure I would see you on camera so when we do meet in person, we would never be a danger to each other. When Tethered Souls catch a glimpse of their partner before their powers become active, they are immune to the consequences. And they can live life as . . . one."

━━━─── • ───━━━

Yes, there's more to Amir and Luna's pairing that's slowly unraveling. These two Tethered Souls were destined to connect, even physically. More about that is in the following scenes. Also, Amir will come face-to-face with his mortal enemy. Chase.