I clicked on one of the articles. In it, I saw a photo of the late “Sienna”.
The similarities in our appearance were uncanny. We looked almost identical other than her healthier glow and stronger-looking physique.
Absorbed in my sleuthing, I didn’t notice that Marcus’ meeting had ended. He entered the office and commented, “What are you looking at? You look like you’re in a trance.”
He stopped right in front of me, lowering his gaze to the phone in my hand. When he saw the contents of my browser, he laughed carelessly. He walked to his desk and asked, “Did you think you were the same person?”
His words unraveled my suspicions.
I left my seat and took a chair opposite him. “Don’t you think we look very alike?” I enlarged the image before passing him my phone.
Six years could change a person’s appearance, but there were embedded characteristics that time could never remove.
Marcus crossed his legs on his office chair. He appraised my face seriously for a few seconds before he said, “Yes.”
If he had made up flamboyant excuses, I could have argued with him over the topic. His straightforward reply baffled me.
He’s confirming and denying my suspicions at the same time.
He was basically implying that while I was the spitting image of “Sienna”, that was where our similarities ended. That’s why his tone is so nonchalant
I collected myself as I stared into his eyes. I recalled that Marcus had never mentioned his past to me.
Since he’s so close to “Sienna”, why is he engaged to a woman who looks exactly like her?
“Come on, I’m getting off work. Let’s go out for dinner.”
Before I could make sense of the questions in my head, Marcus stood up and began herding me to the door.
I picked up my phone and followed his lead obediently.
I was struck with a thought. When I’m with Marcus, I accept all of his decisions unquestioningly. If he wants to change the topic of our conversation, I always let him.
As Marcus began to drive, a black vehicle suddenly shot out from nowhere, blocking his path. Marcus barely stopped his car in time.
Marcus honked at the vehicle several times instead of confronting the reckless driver.
A couple of minutes later, it seemed like the driver wasn’t going to apologize or move his car. Resigned, Marcus unbuckled his seat belt and approached the car.
Just as he knocked on the driver’s window, the car zoomed off.
Marcus was a good-natured person, though even he couldn’t help but frown at the driver’s rude and puzzling behavior. He didn’t want to waste time pursuing the driver whose car had already disappeared around the corner, so he merely came back into his car.
I didn’t ask him about the incident since there were a lot of things on my mind. Very quickly, I tossed the incident to the back of my mind.
As we got seated at the restaurant, I received WhatsApp messages from Emery. She had sent me a bunch of photos. They were all taken in the past from when she used to hang out with “Sienna”.
“Sienna” was holding two young kids in some of the photos. Her joy was evident; I could tell she had a loving family.
“Are you still thinking about the question earlier?” Marcus threw out the question cautiously while he tried to catch a glimpse of my phone screen.
I passed him my phone. “Emery said that these might help me to regain my memories.”
Marcus flipped through the photos for a moment before pausing on one where “Sienna” was making funny faces at her kids. His gaze softened. “It looks like ‘Sienna’ had a happy life with her kids before her death.”
“I guess so.” I smiled lightly. “I don’t think there are any mothers who wouldn’t be this happy to play with their kids.”
Another thought crossed my mind as I asked Marcus urgently, “What about us? Did we ever have kids?”
Stunned, Marcus pushed the phone across the table to me. “No. I brought up the idea, but you rejected it. Maybe you didn’t like kids.”
I didn’t like kids?
I thought I liked Gregory plenty.
Kids are the best! They’re all a bunch of chubby little things that are just bursting with innocence. Just looking at them makes me feel better.
Did my feelings towards children really change after I almost died?
I looked at the photo of “Sienna” and her kids. I replied absent-mindedly, “I guess so.”
I thought that might be one of the reasons Marcus and I were separated for such a long time in the past.
I felt a rush of guilt. If I had thought things through, I never would have allowed myself to reach this age without having any kids.
I felt unsettled as if every fiber of my being was fighting against some unwelcome virus in my body. Despite all this, I felt sorry for Marcus as well.
I didn’t want to live in this void any longer. I turned to face Marcus. “I want to see a psychiatrist.”
Marcus was taken aback at my request. He set down the silverware in his hand before looking at me. He explained seriously, “I did look into psychotherapy, and I talked to some doctors. Psychotherapy is more suited to patients who have difficulty overcoming emotional hurdles. Since your memory loss was caused by an accident, it might not be too effective for you.”
Just then, the waiter arrived to serve our orders. After he left, Marcus continued, “Why did you suddenly think of seeing a psychiatrist? Did something happen? You shouldn’t stress yourself out over this.”
I thought for a moment before lowering my head in despair. “I just want to recover my old memories. I don’t want to live in the shadows of a stranger.”
At my words, Marcus fell into a contemplative silence. He said, “Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll support your decision. We can contact a psychiatrist when we get home later. I’m still going to give you the same advice. Don’t hold out too much hope for this. There’s plenty of time for you to recover.”
“Ok.” I looked at him hopefully. No matter how small the opportunity, I had to try to regain every inch of my past.
“Let’s eat,” Marcus coaxed, a smile on his face.
It was already dark by the time we finished dinner. There was a drizzle outside.
The start of autumn brought plenty of rain to K City, which was somewhat frustrating.
My hair was wet as we walked to the car. Marcus focused on driving slowly in this weather. From time to time, he’d bring up a random topic.
We drove past an intersection as we left the city. Marcus stepped on the brakes, but the car continued moving no matter how hard he pressed on them. In fact, the car seemed to be speeding up.
Marcus tried to pull the handbrake, but we were moving at such a high speed that the brake wouldn’t catch. The car shot past a red light like an arrow released from a tightly-strung bow.
Marcus’ expression darkened. He kept honking to signal the nearby vehicles and pedestrians as he shouted, “Letty, the brakes are shot. I’ll try to control the car, but you need to get off now! Or it’ll be too late!”
I had already realized that something was wrong. More than ten vehicles were caught in a mess in the intersection we had zoomed past. The cars coming from the opposite direction were swerving away from us once they discovered how fast we were traveling.
I held on tightly to my seatbelt despite my nerves. “No, I can’t leave you alone!”
Marcus seemed infuriated instead of touched at my words. “I’m ordering you to save yourself! I used my life to save you once, and I can’t put you in danger again!”
I didn’t have time to unpackage the meaning behind his words. I gritted my teeth before unlocking the passenger door. I leaped towards a grassy patch on the side of the road.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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