I'd Give Up The World For You

No. This couldn't be happening! Rukelion was having an internal meltdown as Daisy looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. 

She didn't remember him right now so he couldn't let her think of him as some weird stalker who showed up at her house professing his undying love for her. He had to make a good second first impression. That was absolutely vital so he needed to pull himself together!

Rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact so he wouldn't break down sobbing at the lack of recognition, he pasted on his friendliest, most nonthreatening smile. "Sorry, I think I have the wrong apartment number. This isn't 417, is it?"

Daisy shook her head. "No it's 407. 417 is down the hall and around the corner to the left." 

"My bad! Sorry for disturbing you." 

"Don't worry about it. Have a good one!" 

"You too," Rukelion managed to get out as she shut the door behind her. As soon as she was gone he squatted down and crouched into a ball on the ground trying hard not to scream. 

She didn't remember him. How could she really not remember him after all they had been through together? He wasn't sure how long he stayed there stewing in torturous thoughts about the woman he loved more than anything—all he had left now that he had abandoned everything to follow her—not even knowing who he was, let alone that they were married. 

Eventually someone tapped him on the shoulder and asked him half concerned, half judgmental if he was okay. That snapped him out of his despair and he stood and took his suitcase with him after saying he was fine. 

Rukelion might not be fine now but he would be. He hadn't come all this way to give up now that he had found Daisy. Not by a long shot. 

If she didn't remember him he would make new memories with her. Maybe they would come back, maybe they wouldn't. In fact, this might not be such a bad thing. This version of Daisy didn't know how badly he had screwed up with her. He had a chance to start fresh. 

That kind of overly positive thinking was the only thing that kept him from completely losing his mind as he left her apartment complex and found himself a hotel for the night. Once he was there he started thinking of a plan. 

Planning had gotten Rukelion through every obstacle he ever faced and it wouldn't fail him now. That was all this was. Yet another obstacle in his path to obtaining peace and happiness. 

He couldn't think about the potential consequences of Daisy not loving him anymore. He would have to make her fall in love with him all over again and this time he would put her first from the beginning! That would make her happy, wouldn't it?

This wouldn't be so difficult. He knew her preferences better than anyone. As long as he didn't slip up and let her know that or show how desperately he loved her too soon there was absolutely no reason he wouldn't be able to pull this off. He vividly remembered what she said the day she finally told him she loved him about how he wore her down by being so good to her. He could do that again no problem. 

Rukelion couldn't lose hope. He couldn't think about the fact that he had lost the wife he knew and loved. All he could do was focus on getting her back. 

This wasn't the end of the world. It wasn't! He had experienced the end of the world twice now and this wasn't it. He could work with this even if it was going to be hard. Even if all he wanted to do was bury his face into her neck and sob.

He might not be able to do that but he could worm his way into every facet of her life. He had gotten her to fall in love with him by being her best friend first. That was where he needed to start doing this all over again. 

The information Maxwell had given him might help him out with that. He knew where she worked so the best thing to do would be to get a job at her company in order to spend more time with her. He should also move into her apartment complex if they had any openings. Anything he could do to get closer to her, he would. 

Rukelion had fought in countless battles; he was an expert strategist. This was no different. He had to come up with a successful battle plan no matter what! More was riding on the success of this one than any of the others. 

That was what he told himself and that was what he spent more than half the night doing. He wasn't upset. This was fine. Everything was going to work out. 

But when he finally did fall asleep his nightmare changed. In addition to seeing Daisy die he saw her looking at him like she had never met him in her life. Then in the dream she slammed the door in his face. It hadn't actually happened but he still woke up in a cold sweat before breaking down, his earlier bravado gone. 

Wasn't it better to get it all out now so he wouldn't crack in front of her later and blow his chance? He had never been one to let his negative emotions out like this but he hadn't been able to control them as well as usual since losing the one person keeping him grounded. 

Rukelion had to do better than this. He had one last chance to make things right with the love of his life and that would not happen if she thought he was crazy. Even if he truly was. He had to hold himself together in front of her if nothing else. 

He had managed to do it before. Back when he was fresh from the trauma of seeing everyone and everything he ever loved destroyed before his very eyes he had managed not to let his emotions out in front of her. He acted like everything was normal and ended up becoming her best friend by accident. 

Now he needed to act like everything was normal and become her best friend on purpose. Though nothing about this situation was normal. 

Going after his dead wife's soul in another world where he was nothing but a fictional character only to discover she didn't remember him and that he had to woo her all over again was about as far from normal as things could get. But it was what it was. 

Rukelion had to work with it. No matter how ridiculous or miserable the situation was. 

He had been able to pretend he wasn't in love with her and be her friend before…although that became much more difficult to do once he had confessed his feelings and gotten a taste of what being in a relationship with her was like. 

They had been living as a real couple for a long time now. Would he be able to stop himself from doing what he normally did around her so he didn't freak her out? Or would he ruin everything in his desperation and eagerness to be with her again for real?

No. He had to hold it together. To lock away his feelings and focus on his battle plan. That was what would get him what he wanted in the end. 

Rukelion was going to pull this off. Even if it took him a while to do it. He would spend the rest of his life chasing after Daisy if that was what it took. He didn't have anything else to live for. 

He was all alone in a strange new place he was still trying to learn about. Juliet was NOT an option so he had no one to rely on but himself. He was going to fix this no matter the cost and get his life back! Without his revenge, Daisy was his life. 

The former was out the window now so the latter was all he could focus on. He was going to get her to marry him again and they would have a happy family and live peacefully in her world. No more restricting her in order to accomplish his goals. It was whatever she wanted from here on out because all he wanted—all he needed—was her.

She had already sacrificed what she wanted for his sake. Now it was his turn to do the same for her. 

At this point it wouldn't really feel like much of a sacrifice. He had already made his choice to come here the second he knew it would allow him to see her again. And he had with his own two eyes. 

Daisy may not look anything like she used to but he had still been so glad to see her he thought he might burst until he realized she didn't recognize him and his heart shattered into pieces. But in that split second before it happened she had been the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. 

The months he had spent suffering alone in Juliet's apartment had been worth it solely to experience the moment he saw his wife alive and well again. No matter how brokenhearted he was, how could he let himself get discouraged knowing she was here and he had another chance?