Thea’s Point of view

I just woke up with a strong hand traveling down my tummy and the cold aircon wrapping around my body. When I cautiously opened my eyes, I found the gentleman peacefully sleeping next to me.

“Mmm…” He shifted a bit then hugged my stomach again.

I peeked outside and observed that it was a little dark. I didn’t realize that we slept that long.

I stopped moving as I recalled what had happened to the two of us earlier. I know it’s not the first time I’ve done that, but because I don’t remember anything, I feel like quadrupling the humiliation.

The moment I tried to withdraw his hand away from my torso so that I could get up and take a shower, since my body was still sticky, I was prevented from doing so by his suddenly waking up and pulling me further closer to him till there was no room between us.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to have to take a shower…” Because my voice was muffled, the sound of the air conditioner drowned out my words.

He was able to loosen my waist, which saved me from experiencing any more complications. Once my foot touched the floor, he gently pulled my arm again, forcing me to return to my lying position.

“Before you go, I will give you something.”

He was the first to come down while he was not wearing anything. Fortunately, the room was dark so I couldn’t see his whole body. However, I can see his shadow and the way his “army” swings in the dark. He walked over to the large white clothing cabinet while the two of us were just quiet.

He rummaged through the inside of his apparel and then he got dressed. In preparation for walking back, he switched on the light, and I was able to see the two phones he was carrying. He placed them in front of me, but I did not accept them. The distinction between the two phones, on the other hand, is unmistakable.

The white color has a lot of dried patches and broken screen, whilst the black color is brand new.

“Take those, please. The white phone is your old phone, and the black phone is your new phone. I’ve already saved my phone number there so that if I’m at the office and you need me, you can simply contact me.”

I accepted the cell phone from him and when he was about to turn around, I pulled him back to his position.

“Can you tell me who you truly are?”

“What do you mean?” He responded by asking me a question too. “Of course, I am your husband.”

“I get that, but… why isn’t that what my heart and mind are telling me? I -I feel… I’m not familiar with you. The way I feel towards you is… “ The moment I looked at him and saw his sorrowful eyes, I knew I couldn’t say anything else.

Because I was still seated on the bed and my feet were resting on the bitterly cold floor, he knelt in front of me and kissed the back of my hand. He leaned on my knees as if he were praying. There was a blanket draped across my body, so he couldn’t see my bare chest and shoulders.

“Thea… Sorry if you are confused and you feel like I am betraying you, but please give me some time.” I couldn’t understand what he was saying since he was simply bending down and holding my hands. “Give me a little more time…”

“What do you mean---?”

When he pulled my head back and kissed me on the forehead, I couldn’t complete what I was about to say. He pushed our foreheads together and then talked while our noses were near one another. “Just put your trust in me. All you must do is put your hope in me, please…”

I didn’t say anything, just nodded. Even though I had some reservations in my heart, someone told me that I should trust him.

“Take a bath, and I’ll make your dinner,” he said as he rose and kissed me on the lips once again.

I sat there and watched him go away until the door closed. I immediately went to the bathroom, carrying the old phone with me.

All I did was fill the bathtub with water and then lie down in it, staring at my cell phone. It seems to be brand new on the outside, but the dirt and shattered screen give it the appearance of an ancient vibe.

I attempted to open it, but the battery seemed to be down. When I was ready to give up, I tried it a second time and nearly jumped for joy when it opened. However, I was under the impression that I might uncover something here, but I soon realized that about half of the screen had turned black and that the password was still required.

In the end, I did nothing except sit back and let it all go. I just took a shower and soaked in water for almost an hour.

I just went downstairs when my stomach grumbled.

As I was heading down the stairs, I became conscious of the total quiet that pervaded the place. Because the lights are on, it is not frightening to look at.

I peeked into the kitchen, but Craig wasn’t there. I looked again in the living room, but he was still not there.

I walked outside to search for him when I became certain that I couldn’t locate him anymore. As soon as I went out the door, the brisk breeze wrapped around me, and I couldn’t help but listen to the insects buzzing around me.

After a period had passed and I had not been able to find Craig, I returned to the area of the second garden at the back of their house.

But my body almost stiffened when I heard his voice and what he said to whom he was talking to.

“No need to fret; I’ll keep it a secret from her.”

Thea’s Point of view

My body turned frozen in a few seconds before I decided to run. But before I could get away, I accidentally hit the vase with my foot, causing a loud thud on the ground.

When I saw that he had discontinued the phone call, I disregarded the shattered vase and dashed inside the house.

Nevertheless, before I could finally enter, I could not continue my walk when someone spoke behind me.

“Why are you outside?”

My pulse gets faster. I attempted a smile, but it seemed tense. I’m certain he would detect my anxiousness.

“I took a stroll around the neighborhood. I want to get comfortable with it since I’ll be living here from now on,” I laughed, but it was clearly uneasy.

He scrutinized my face in close detail. His eyes narrowed, which terrified me, since he may have discovered what I witnessed.

“Why are you pale? Are you alright? Do you continue to get a headache?” He wiped the sweat from my eyes and caressed my forehead.

I stared intently at him because I was uncomfortable with this treatment.

He took his hands away from my face while I averted his eyes. As soon as he saw I was hesitant, he hastily removed his hands.

“Oh.”

I gave him an apologetic look, but all he did in response was grin and tousle my hair. Did he like playing with my hair prior to my memory loss?

“Our dinner is now ready. Eat before it gets cold,” he grabbed my waist and assisted me one more. I would have removed his hand from me, but he spoke up.

“You are pale; you may fall. Please, this one alone, let me.”

Russian Pork Chops with Potatoes in Sour Cream Sauce were presented as the main course. Craig discreetly chopped his pork, following which he switched our plates.

“Why?” I asked. He doesn’t need to do this.

He didn’t say anything and just carried on with what he was doing. No one talked to us. I watched him and thought about what I had heard earlier.

“Thank you,” I couldn’t help but express my gratitude.

He came to a complete halt, and he was about to turn to look at me when his cell phone rang loudly on the dinner table.

Until the phone stopped, he looked at it in silence for a long time. He was just about to start putting the food on his plate when the phone went on again.

I took a deep breath before speaking.

“Why aren’t you answering that? I’m guessing you didn’t try to cheat, did you?” I triggered.

He clenched his teeth before picking up the phone and answering the call. I had a smile on my face. That demonstrates how powerful the term wife is.

“What?” he said on the phone, his voice firm.

A long, deep sigh came from him as he tightly closed his eyes. He rose to his feet and placed his hand over the phone’s speaker.

When he was about to come out of the kitchen, I asked. But my eyes still looked straight at where he was sitting earlier, “How important is that and why do you still need to get out?”

I proceeded to chew my meal as a means of showing that it didn’t disturb me.

“I’m sorry, but it’s a really important matter. Let’s talk after I answer this. Eat your dinner.”

He strolled out the door without a word.

I finished eating, but he still did not come back, so I went upstairs and entered the bedroom. I had fallen asleep while waiting for him, completely unaware of it.

When I felt someone kiss my forehead and caress my face, I cautiously opened my eyes.

“You’re back, what did you talk about and did it take you so long?” My question faded. Well, perhaps because I got tired easily and drowsy.

“It was only an old classmate and we chatted about business,” he said as he caressed my hair and cheeks, “did you wait for me?”

“Uh-hmm.”

My attention was drawn to him by his little chuckle, yet there was a tinge of melancholy in the air till I was fully asleep.

When the sun’s rays reached my face, I sprang out of bed. Craig was having coffee on the balcony of the room and reading a newspaper when I got up. It seems to me like I am quite familiar with him when I look at him from a distance.

When he placed the newspaper down, our gazes locked on one another.

He waved at me and motioned with his hands for me to come closer to him. I walked through the glass door and took a seat in front of him.

“Good morning, honey,” he said as he welcomed me with a mischievous grin.

“H-Honey? A-aren’t you getting chills from what you’re saying?” I stroked the sides of my two arms, as though the skin hair on my arms were rising. My back, neck, and head were all scorching from the heat, and he simply broke into laughing.

“Anyway, we need to go to the store so you can pick out a nightgown for later,” he said with a serious expression on his face once he stopped laughing.

“For what?”

“ A Corporate Appreciation Event will be held later in the year. They extended an invitation to all company owners to attend. If you don’t want to and you still aren’t able to, we can put them on notice.” He clasped my hand as he took it in his.

I spaced out for a long time and it occurred to me that perhaps someone could help me recover my memory.

It was precisely eight o’clock in the evening when we arrived at the event.

“Does it stand to reason that the disagreement over Mason and who would succeed the Paragon Corporation was the root cause of your accident, Miss Thea?”

As soon as we got out of the vehicle, a swarm of paparazzi swarmed around us and snapped shots of us. There were other reporters there who wanted to know what had happened to me. Craig threw his arm around my waist as I turned my attention back to the reporter who had piqued my interest in the first place.

Paragon Corporation is my company and why is he connecting it to my accident? And why is my brother’s name involved with that issue?

Thea’s Point of view

The hue of the light inside was purple, and we were surrounded by black drapes and spotlights in addition to the magenta lighting. Because of the presence of entrepreneurs and investors who are discussing their firms, the event seems to be beautiful.

What I was wearing at the time was a cocktail-length puffy dress with a cut on the legs, which I coupled with a black heel and a feathery white purse with a little silver hand hold. Craig was dressed formally in a cocktail-length black suit with a matching black bow tie.

With each passing minute, more and more people approached Craig and shook his hand, until they asked him to the other table so that he could introduce himself to other corporate executives.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t leave my wife,” he reminded them.

I shook my head because I didn’t want to be a burden to him taking advantage of the chances that were presented to him at the time. “No! Go there and come back; just make a beeline for me where the food is in the queue.” I pushed him towards them so that he would be unable to say no any longer.

Because he had already departed, I proceeded to the area where the meal was.

While I was eating sushi, a woman tapped me on the shoulder.

When I turned around to see who it was, someone was excitedly hugging me. I let her stay with me and waited for her enthusiasm to subside before gradually separating her from me.

“Sorry?” I looked at her with a puzzled face.

She smacked herself on the back of the head before declaring, “Of course! You’ve forgotten everything that happened to you.”

She smiled again. “I’m Megan Thompson! Your best friend, without a doubt! You! You’ve made me feel alone! You didn’t even tell me you had a boyfriend, which I thought was odd. If you hadn’t been involved in an accident, I wouldn’t know! It had been a long time since we had seen one other!” she whimpered at me.

“Pardon?”

“Haa! You kept the fact that the Rach Group’s CEO is your lover a secret. Shortly after your accident, your demonic aunt Joana and your pretentious angel stepbrother reveal that you are intending to be married and that everything is set for you. Unfortunately, it has been postponed for a few weeks due to the fact that you have been in a coma.”

How could she have been uninformed? Aunt Joana informed me that I had known Craig for a long time and that I had been in a relationship with him.

When I peered at Craig, I saw that he was also staring blankly directly at me.

“What exactly is going on?” I muttered under my breath.

When we returned home, I worked on closing the gap between Craig and myself. He’s not saying anything and is just staring at the mirror that was still in place in the middle of the cabinet. I walked up behind him and glanced in the mirror in the same way. We are in the room now; he is unbuttoning his polo.

“What were we like as boyfriends and girlfriends, Craig?”

“What do you mean?” His eyebrows met as he returned my question.

Even after all this time, I still remember what Megan said. After all, she was the one I trusted. How could she have been ignorant that Craig was my lover? I mean… she said we are best friends…

“I-I mean, what was it that we used to do all the time back then? Wouldn’t it be better if I knew, so that I could help my memory restore as rapidly as possible?” I used my fingertips to ease the strain on my shoulders.

“We were happy then,” he replied, staring at me in the mirror as if he had memorized every aspect of my body and face before responding, “For us, if we care for each other, it is enough because we were miserable back then and we felt that no one would listen. Having one another’s shoulders and ears to lean on can alleviate the agony of life for us both. That’s the feeling we have.”

He glanced down at the floor, then lifted his face again before turning to face me. “It’s time to sleep. It’s already beyond midnight. Staying up into the wee hours of the morning is detrimental to your health.”

He grabbed my arm and took me towards the mattress. He was ready to put me down on the bed, but I held his hand and pulled him back.

“In that case, please answer one of my concerns…. Were you introduced by one to one of my friends while we were still together?”

“No,” he said emphatically, without hesitating.

“Why?”

“You said that you would ask just one question. According to the doctor, you cannot push information into your brain at an early stage.” As he lectured, he sat me down on the bed, “ and he told me that anything that activates your memory might cause you to collapse.”

He was about to leave, but I pulled out the white T-shirt he had just worn.

“Where are you going to sleep?” He is my spouse and the one who is responsible for me.

“In the other room, don’t worry, it’s just next to this room.”

“W-why? I read on the internet that the pair is required to sleep in the same bed together.” Because I didn’t want him to see my response or feel the discomfort, I turned my gaze away from his.

“I was under the notion that you didn't want to stay next to me because you couldn't remember who I was. Are you sure? Is it alright for me to sleep here?"

I shrugged my shoulders to indicate that there was no case. Who knows what will happen? Perhaps this was not the only thing we did before. I was instantly wrapped in bodily shame as soon as the thought of such a thing entered my consciousness.

He lay down next to me, wrapped a blanket around me, and hugged my stomach. At such moments, I didn't feel alone in my thoughts. With each sand slide in the hourglass, I get more and more comfortable with him, and I feel protected. As I closed my eyes, the thought that ran through my head was that the woman I had seen earlier at the gathering may have been only a guest of honor.

Yeah. Let's not think about it.