Astraea

Lorcan looks around Lydia's bedroom and sees if he could find anything that Lydia had laid her hands on frequently. Until he spotted the bed, but he then thought she rarely used it and used it only if she was going to sleep.

Then an idea came to his mind.

He stood up from the bed and walked out of the bedroom towards the workroom.

He looked in a certain direction.

Her desk.

Of course, her desk! She spends most of her time at her desk sketching for new designs. It is where most of her time was spent. Sometimes he would find her asleep with her head on the desk when she got so exhausted that she couldn't even stand up to walk to her bedroom.

It was one of those times that he would get the chance to stare at her for a couple of minutes then scoop her up to take her to her bed only to be awakened as soon as her body touched her bed. Lydia would then stand up and would say that she has to go back to her desk to finish some designs but then Lorcan would reprimand her and would force her to go back to sleep.

During those times, Lorcan wouldn't have thought that those moments will someday become a fond memory that would make him long to go back in those moments. He should've treasured those moments.

He stood on the front of Lydia's desk, staring blankly at it as if in just a blink of an eye, the person he is longing now to see would appear in front of him. Sitting on her desk with her head down on a sketch pad, too engrossed in what she is doing that she didn't even notice his presence.

Just like Bell, Lorcan is a reticent person. There are a lot of things, thoughts, and feelings that he chose to keep to himself as he believes it to be for the best.

He didn't know how or when did he acquire it. In fact, he doesn't even have a word for it. He thought that it was some kind of psychometry where one could see something that is not ordinarily seeable may it be the past or the future.

While in psychometry, a person could see the history of a particular object when they touched it, Lorcan's ability is a little bit different.

He could see a person's memory by touching something that belongs to that person. And it is not just the memory, he could also sense the person's emotion during those moments.

It is something that he rarely uses unless his hunt asks for it.

And it is definitely something that he never used to his family and nieces, more so, to Lydia. He doesn't have to use it for Lydia or never wants to. She fully trusts him that she would tell him her secrets, fast experiences, and even her most fond memory. But there is something that he noticed that she rarely divulges in him, her painful memories.

She would rather keep it to herself than burden others with it.

And even if he has the ability to see it, he would not do it.

Lorcan raises his hand from his pocket and places his palm on Lydia's desk.

In a matter of seconds, images of Lydia's memory flash into his eyes. It was like scenes in a movie that he had to choose what scene he wanted to watch.

He saw Lydia's memory of her childhood in the orphanage. He didn't indulge himself in her childhood memories since Lydia had told most of it to him. And besides, he was never part of it yet. Then a memory of her caught his attention.

It was one during her college days. Lydia had earned herself a sponsorship until college that's how she managed to go to school and finish college. When she turned 14, she left the orphanage to find a job to support herself while studying. She became independent.

In her memory, Lydia is sitting on a metal bleacher on the sideline of her school's football field. Based on the location, Lorcan could tell that it was during her college days because it was the same school where he went. And he is very much familiar with the football field as he used to play there.

Lydia has her sketchpad on her lap but her gaze is fixed on the field. Then suddenly she stood up making the sketchpad fall on her feet. It turns out that there was a commotion on the field that made her look worried.

Lorcan frowned when he realized what was going on. It was during his last year in college, they were having a friendly match with another school when he sprained his ankle. It was bad that the game had to stop for a while. There was a commotion when his teammates became furious because they believed that he was intentionally hit making him sprain his ankle.

Then he noticed the sketchpad that Lydia didn't notice fallen. She was not sketching dresses or suits. Instead, she was sketching him!

Lorcan was surprised to see his own face on her sketchpad. He never knew that she could also draw faces. All this time, he had only seen her sketches of dresses and suits, never him.

He was certain that the memory was during their college days. Does that mean that she had known him since then? Does that mean that she already had feelings for him since college?

But he only met her that night when he was on a hunt when she happened to pass by then his target used her as a hostage.

Then he saw that memory when they first met when he saved her. During that night, he thought that he caught her blushed when their eyes met for the first time. Then seeing her memory of that night, he was now sure that she did.

He's not sure if it was his memory or hers but that night, he thought that he had never seen anyone as beautiful as her. Beautiful and vulnerable. But he set aside his thoughts that night because he has a fugitive to apprehend.

But he did seek after her the next day, he reasoned out that he just had to make sure that she was fine and safe. Then they started to become friends as Lydia named it. Surprisingly, he didn't mind.

He is not the type of person to keep a friend but if it was her, he didn't mind because during the time that they were friends, they rarely see each other or hang around each other that much.

They would see each other in her place on his pad once a week or sometimes a month when they feel like it. Lorcan and Lydia didn't mind, just the thought that they have each other is enough even though they don't see each other that much.

Though they would call each other just to see if they are doing fine.

The next images of her memory were mostly inside her workroom, some were in her bedroom or down her boutique. Then there were some in his pad. That made his suspicion that she never really gets out of her place unless she is going to the grocery or in his pad.

Then there is this memory of Lydia that made Lorcan flinch.

Lydia is lying on her bed and Lorcan could see that it is daytime by the lights coming from the window.

"Miss Lydia?" Lorcan saw her sales assistant enter the room.

Lydia moaned in response but he could see that she could barely open her eyes. The sales assistant walked towards her and placed the back of her hand on his forehead.

"God, Miss Lydia! You are still burning. I'll take you to the hospital." The sales assistant stood up and acted to leave but she felt Lydia's hand on her wrist.

"No need, I feel much better," Lydia managed to say despite her weak voice.

The sales assistant frowned. "But you don't look any better. You are in pain, you are burning up and you can't even eat food without throwing up!" She said in a concerned voice.

But Lydia stubbornly shook her head, "This is my body, I know how I feel. Just look after the shop. I'll be fine in a couple of hours." She tried to sound better than earlier but the sales assistant knows that she failed.

The sales assistant sighed. "Then just let me call Mr. Villan."

When his name was mentioned, Lorcan clenched his fist because he more or less knows what Lydia's reply was. Since he cannot remember ever being called and sees her in this condition.

And he was right. Because the moment Lydia heard his name, she opened her eyes and pleaded. "No, please! Don't call him. Don't tell him, please."

The sales assistant sighed defeatedly and left the room.

'Stubborn' Lorcan chastised her internally though it was just a memory that happened who knows when.