From Best Friend To Fiancé (Savannah and Roman) novel Chapter 481

Chapter 481

Chapter 273: It Never Left

Savannah

I died in that moment.

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Not figuratively. Not poetically. I actually, genuinely, literally felt something inside me collapse so completely that breathing became optional.

Roman had forgotten me.

My greatest fear–the one I wasn’t afraid to say out loud, even to myself–had now crawled out of the dark and wrapped its hands around my

throat.

Who is she? Those three words echoed in my head like gunshots.

Everything we’d been. Everything we’d survived. Every whispered promise, every fight, every argument, every laugh in the middle of the night when sleep wouldn’t come. Every memory came crashing down on me all at once, brutal and merciless.

Memories of us. Memories that suddenly belonged to only one of us now. Me.

Because Roman didn’t remember.

Reese looked down at his hands like he couldn’t bear to witness the damage anymore. River finally caught up with me. The machines kept beeping–steady, cruel, indifferent–like the universe was mocking me for thinking I could ever get a happy ending.

And then I broke.

I burst into tears so hard it felt like my ribs might crack. I didn’t care how looked. Didn’t care how insane I probably seemed–some strange woman sobbing in front of a man who had no idea who she was.

My knees buckled and if River hadn’t rushed forward and caught me, I would’ve hit the floor.

I clutched her like she was the only solid thing left in a world that had just tilted off its axis, sobbing into her shoulder so violently my entire

body shook.

“Savannah?” River asked, panic flooding her voice. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

She hadn’t seen him yet.

“He’s awake,” I choked out. “Roman is awake–but he doesn’t remember me, River. He doesn’t know who I am anymore.” My voice cracked completely. “What’s the point? What’s the fucking point of surviving all of this if he doesn’t remember me?”

That was when she turned. That was when she saw him.

“Oh my God,” River gasped, visibly jumping like she’d just seen a ghost. “Roman! You’re awake!”

My heart shattered even further when he smiled. Not at me. But at them.

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Chapter 481

Does that mean he remembers his siblings but not me?

“Gotcha,” Roman said.

Reese snorted. Actually snorted.

I hiccupped mid–sob, my brain lagging behind reality. “…What?”

River blinked. Once. Twice,

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And then Reese laughed. A full, unashamed laugh.

I pulled back from River, my face soaked, fat, ugly tears probably running down my cheeks like I’d lost a fight with gravity. “What is going on?”

I asked hoarsely.

And then they all laughed. All of them.

Roman’s laugh didn’t last long because he winced after a few seconds, pressing a hand weakly to his chest–but the damage was done.

I stared at him. At his face. Really looked at him.

He was looking at me the way he always did.

Warm. Soft. Familiar. That unmistakable affection in his eyes that I’d memorized long before he ever fell into that coma. Not the distant

confusion of a stranger.

Realization hit me like a slap.

“…Did you just prank me?” I asked shakily.

Reese lost it completely. “I swear to God, I told him not to–but then I thought about it for half a second and realized it was way too funny to

stop.”

“Reese!” I shouted, half sobbing, half furious.

Roman grinned, utterly unrepentant. “You should’ve seen your face, my love.”

I stomped my foot like a child on the verge of a meltdown. “That’s not funny! I thought-” My voice cracked again. “I thought you didn’t

remember me.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” he said gently, his tone immediately softening. “I couldn’t resist.”

“That was mean.” I pouted. “I’ve been miserable for weeks without you.”

He smiled.

“No hugs for me?” he added weakly. “I just woke up from a coma and this is how you treat me?”

I hesitated for exactly half a second.

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Then I crossed the room in three steps and threw myself at him–careful the tubes, mindful of the machines, but still desperate enough that

my heart was pounding violently against my ribs.

I pressed my face into his shoulder and sobbed. Real, ugly sobs.

Roman wrapped his arms around me slowly, cautiously, like he was afraid breaking me–or himself.

“I’m here,” he murmured into my hair. “I’m right here. I remember you. I remember everything.”

I clutched his hospital gown like it was the only thing anchoring me to reality. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” I whispered fiercely, “I swear

to God, Roman, I almost died.”

He chuckled softly. “You’re dramatic.”

“You left me,” I shot back.

“I didn’t,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “I would never leave you.”

River cleared her throat loudly. “Okay. This is adorable and all, but I’m emotionally scarred. Reese and I are leaving before things get weird.”

“Already weird,” Reese muttered. “I’m telling everyone. And I’m calling a doctor.”

They slipped out, closing the door behind them and finally giving us a moment alone.

I pulled back slightly, cupping Roman’s face in my hands, scanning him like I was afraid he might disappear again if I blinked too long.

“You’re really awake,” I whispered.

“Last I checked,” he said dryly. “Unless this is the world’s most elaborate dream.”

I laughed through my tears. “You scared me.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

I rested my forehead against his. “Do you remember… everything?”

His expression sobered.

“Most things,” he admitted. “Some parts are fuzzy. The headache is brutal. And apparently, I’ve been asleep for long enough that my own

brother tried to give me a heart attack.”

I smiled weakly. “That sounds like Reese.”

He studied me carefully, eyes lingering on my face, my swollen eyes, my trembling hands. “You’ve been crying, baby,” he said.

“I’ve been living in hell,” I replied.

His jaw tightened.

“I remember the shots,” he said slowly. “Before everything happened. I remember not saying goodbye properly. I remember you crying.”

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Chapter 481

My throat closed, “I thought I lost you,” I whispered.

He swallowed. “I thought I lost you too.”

We sat there in silence for a moment, the weight of everything unsaid pressing down between us. Then Roman glanced downward.

“…Why do I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck?” he asked.

I laughed. “Because you were in a coma.”

“That explains it,” he said thoughtfully. “I knew sleeping wasn’t good for my back.”

I snorted despite myself. Then his hand drifted–slow, tentative–toward my stomach. “You’re still here,” he said softly.

“It never left,”

His eyes flicked up to mine. “Good. Because I’m not letting you do this without me.”

Tears welled again, but this time they weren’t from pain. They were from relief. From love.

From the simple, miraculous fact that he was alive… and he still knew me, And still wanted me.

And for the first time since everything went wrong, I allowed myself to believe that maybe–just maybe–we still had a chance.

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I love this book

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