Chapter 101: The Unseen Truth

It was much later in the day now, and the sun had come up higher in the sky and was shining warmly on the city below. Both Taylor and Alex had spent the morning in a state of euphoria, still basking in the aftereffects of the previous night. Each time they touched, each time their eyes met, there was something new, something that went beyond words and was more profound than language. They had to go for a walk; it was necessary to cool their heads after what they experienced emotionally. The noise of the city surrounded them as they walked down the streets, but to Taylor, they seemed to be in their own private universe, wrapped in the embrace of their young love. As they walked in the park, Taylor realized that she had never paid much attention to Alex, and now she watched him carefully. She always admired him and perhaps loved him, but now there was something more—she wanted to know the man who won over her heart. She wished to know all his thoughts and all his feelings all the time. “Alex,” she said gently, touching his hand. “You know, I have been pondering about us and the progress we have made. ” He looked at her, and there was the same passion in his glance as there was in her, which she had been struggling with. “So have I,” he said almost solemnly, speaking about the fact that they are no longer young and have traveled a certain distance in life. “I want to know more,” she whispered, feeling the words echo in her heart. “I need to know it all about you.” Alex smiled, but there was something in his eyes that Taylor could not identify. There was this air of secrecy that surrounded him, as if there was something that he was withholding. It was midmorning now, and the sun was out with its warm light over the city below. Taylor and Alex woke up in the morning still basking in the aftereffects of the night that had just passed as if wrapped in an aura of a perfume. Each and every time their hands would touch, each and every time their eyes met, there was a new vulnerability, a sort of bonding that was beyond words. They felt they had to get out for a walk as they could not contain their emotions after the events that had happened to them. The noises of the city could be heard through the streets, but Taylor and her lover were in their own little world. So while they walked through the park, Taylor could not help but observe Alex, as she had never done before. She had been attracted to him right from the start, but there was something more—an ambition to know the man who had so enamored her. She desired to know each and every thing that ran through his mind at each given time, and his feelings. “Alex,” she said, gently touching his hand as they were walking leisurely. “Ten years ago, who would have thought that we’d be here today?” He looked at her, and his gaze held the same intensity of emotion as the one that she has been struggling with. I nodded, “Yes, so have I." There was a tone of war in his voice, as if both of us had been through a lot. “I want to know more,” she whispered, the words full of emotionally charged sincerity. It’s not a secret that in many relationships it is essential to know every detail, and this man wants just that. Alex looked at Taylor and smiled; however, there was something in his eyes that the latter failed to decipher. It was like some part of him was locked up, and he wasn’t ready to open that part of himself yet. “I was not always this man, Taylor,” Alex went on, but his attention remained on her face. “For a long time, or maybe I could say in any point of time in my life before now, I was... different. I was not making the right decisions.” Taylor could hardly breathe anymore and anxiety was doing a good job at clouding her mind. She had thought so much about the possibilities, but when one was speaking straight about regrets in front of everyone, it became so much more tangible. She held his hands firmly, and with an encouraging gesture, she wanted him to go on. “There’s one thing I did,” he said, softly, almost as if he were ashamed. These words are one thing that haunts me every day: I was involved in something—something dangerous—that is why I can’t give myself to you completely. The floor appeared to turn with the words Taylor heard from him. With her thoughts racing with questions and worst-case scenarios, she decided that she couldn’t avoid hearing him out, no matter how painful it might be. “What happened?” She questioned, her tone shaking with both terror and empathy. Alex breathed deeply, and for the first time he felt as if he was preparing himself for some kind of revelation. “Before you, I was in love with another,” he uttered the words with such force that she almost did not understand him. “A person who was affected negatively by me; it was my mistake, Taylor, and to date I have been bearing the conscience of it. Taylor realized her heart broke into pieces at his utterances. She had always been aware that Alex had a past, but she could not have thought that it would be like this. He sounded as if he were in terrible pain, and the word ‘pain’ made her wince. “But I am not that man now,” he went on in a tone of pleading with her to see the change in him. “He has grown, thanks to you, thanks to what we have together, but that is not the past he wishes to share with you any longer.” Taylor could barely contain herself; tears filled up her eyes as he made the confession. There she could see the sorrow, the remorse, and the affection in his eyes, and they pulled at her heart. She then understood the fact that that was it—the moment of truth in as much as their relationship was concerned, and that moment could either make them or break them. “Alex,” she said, and her voice was trembling with passion. “I love you all of you, including your past, the present, and the future; whatever happened before does not matter anymore; you are not alone anymore. ” Alex gazed at her and said, ‘Wait! As I am surprised and grateful.’ He had anticipated her to turn him down, telling him she did not want him or that she could not accept him with his defects, but she had thrown herself at him, warts and all. Taylor moved her hands up and wiped his cheek, which had a teardrop on it, and looked into his eyes. “We will not give in to them,” she said with a lot of determination. “Whatever it may be, we shall overcome it, you and I.” It was in that very instance that Alex felt that he had landed on something very special, a love that could endure all the clouds of the past and even the present and is still as bright as before. He bent forward, and with all the love, passion, and hope that he had been pent up, he kissed her passionately on the lips. As they drove off with their heads against each other's, Taylor realized that they were just beginning their journey. There were always going to be difficulties in the future, but knowing that she had Alex with her, she knew she was ready for it. With the hope in their hearts, they both moved ahead, and the darkness of the past that led them to this point was replaced with the light of the future and a love that would never die.