by J. A. Delese
“What do you want from me?”
She looked at him back after hearing his question. It seemed she didn’t expect him to say this.
What? Isn’t it natural that I asked this question? Whether you recovered your memory or not doesn’t really matter to me. he grumbled in his head, but she captured his attention.
“Help me to run away,” she said.
WHAT?
He felt surprised to hear this, but he didn’t show it to her. He smiled to her, so that she could understand how ridiculous what she was demanding now was. He leaned back on the sofa.
“Why would I do that? I don’t want to hurt my son,” he said simply.
“You don’t want me to be your daughter-in-law, right?” she asked in a challenging tone.
How dare you, he wanted to tell her in his low voice but suppressed it.
“Susan said you are the only one who can help me. Please, Mr. Sharpe. Help me,” she said in a begging tone with teary eyes.
Susan, why did you suddenly say something so unnecessary.
He clucked his tongue. Susan had never done this previously. Maybe Susan thought that this girl had suffered too much, or she did it to protect his house. He could say that she’d been very loyal to the house of Sharpe until now.
But either way….
“I can’t help you,” he said. “He loves you greatly. He said he can’t live without you.”
And what can parents do if the child says this?
“I’m sure you are wise enough to know that it’s a lie. He doesn’t love me. He loves another woman named Liz. I don’t exactly know why, but something of me reminds him her. He calls me Liz whenever he dreams. I’m sure that’s why he’s so desperate to keep me with him. I actually saw her photo once. She doesn’t look like—”
“You have her voice,” he said, cutting her off. He thought it was a bit rash, but he needed to say it.
She also needs to know the truth.
He was aware that she was in a shock and might not be eager to hear the truth, but if he were her, he would ask for the truth in this circumstance.
“Elizabeth is his sister, my daughter, who passed away about twenty years ago. You have her voice,” he said composedly.
He could see her face register shock, and tears began falling from her eyes. He felt sick. He thought it was so ridiculous to think that Tom thought of her as Liz. He thought she just happened to have Liz’s voice and that she was nothing like Liz.
But now….
He felt uncomfortable seeing her cry.
“Just because of that?” she asked.
“Just because of that he locked me up for two years?” she asked in pain.
He couldn’t answer her question.
Poor thing, you are…, but would you rather to listen to sweeter lies? Or bitter truth? Truth is always better than lies, no matter how bitter it is. And…. He looked straight at her. I can’t allow you to be my daughter in law.
“Yes,” he answered.
He could feel that she was holding her breath. She looked away from him and held her breath. She was probably suppressing her emotions. He understood how shocking this was to her. She was the sort of girl who tried so hard to achieve her goals, and all of them were ruined just because of a tiny thing—her voice.
She started to shed tears again. He gave her some tissues, so that she can wipe her face.
“You’d better stop crying, Catherine. If your eyes are too swollen, he will definitely suspect that something happened, and once he suspects, he will find out what happened in this room. Then, it would be very difficult for me to help you. Do you understand me?” he said gently.
She stared back at him for a while and nodded.
Tom
He was on his way back home. He was thinking about her as he sat in the car. Yesterday, she had dropped the cup she was holding. Her right hand was shaking severely. He hugged her to calm her, and it took a long time for her to be calm again.
He rubbed his forehead with his hand. It seemed like she was having trouble. He knew that she couldn’t sleep lately. She kept having nightmares every night.
How funny. I finally sleep without nightmares and she starts to have them.
It was like a contagion. He didn’t know nightmares could spread like this.
Or maybe she’s just recovering her memories.
That thought gave him a headache. He was not ready to go back to what they used to be. He didn’t want to go back. He wanted to maintain this as long as he could.
But you can’t stop it from happening, he reminded himself and sighed deeply.
It was true. He couldn’t stop it. She would have her memories back someday, and he would have to face that moment.
I have to remove her phone first.
The car stopped. He got out of the car and walked inside. She was probably waiting for him now. She welcomed him at the entrance with her beautiful smile these days. The door opened, and he saw her smiling.
“Welcome home, darling,’ she said.
“Thanks,” he answered shortly and hugged her for a second.
“Are you very hungry?” she asked cheerfully and was about to walk to the kitchen, but he grabbed her arm. She turned back to look at him like she didn’t understand.
“What is it, Tom?” she asked.
“Why did you visit my father?” he asked, and she seemed surprised at his question but smiled in the end.
“It’s just a casual visit to see my future father-in-law.”
Bullshit.
“Don’t lie to me, Catherine,” he asked, lowering his voice. He held her arm tighter.
“I’m not lying…it’s just…,” she tried to say something more, but something held her back. It seemed she was very hesitant.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s just….”
She breathed out heavily once and looked up at his eyes.
“He’s just worried about us.”
“Of what?” he asked in confusion.
“He’s worried that we’re rushing the wedding. There may not be enough time for the preparations.”
He released her arm.
“Just ignore him.” He moved to the bedroom.
She followed him into the room. “How can I just ignore this? He’s your father. I think we should listen to him first.”
“I’m the one you’re marrying, not him. No need to listen to him,” he said as he untied his tie.
“Tom, I was married before. I believe my ex-husband loved me very much, but it didn’t save our marriage. He eventually chose his parents and left me. If you ignore what your father says now, our marriage will end in the same way.”
He turned to face her. She was standing there with teary eyes. He held her tightly in his arms.
“Don’t compare me to him. I’m better than that one. I know how to protect the woman I love. So, please don’t worry, Cathy,” he said as gently as he could.
“I believe in you, but I hope we can take things slowly. I think we should postpone this wedding a bit. Like about a month? What do you think?”
She made little kitten eyes at him again.
“No,” he answered shortly. “We are going to get married next month as we planned.” He hugged her tighter. “Don’t talk about a postponement any more. I’ll make sure none of my family will talk about this to you.”
“Alright…as you wish,” she said weakly.
“I love you so much. I can’t wait to see you in a wedding gown.”
“I need to lose weight.”
“What?” He loosened his arms and looked at her. “No way! You are too skinny now. You actually need to put some weight.”
She slipped out of his arms and snapped, “Yeah, that’s what men say, and the next day, they are drooling over Victoria Secret models!”
“What? Come on! I’m not one of them! I’m just telling the truth!” he appealed, but she just walked away. Suddenly, she turned back.
“Then…may I ask not to invite my mother?” s
he said.
“Why?”
“I don’t want her to be here. She and the other families…embarrassing….”
When she said it, she blushed. She lowered her head to hide her tears.
“Catherine.” He didn’t know what else to say. Honestly, he was fine with this arrangement. It seemed like what she was saying was the truth. It would be so embarrassing to see her families at the wedding. So, he was okay with it, but he didn’t want her to feel that way.
“I love you and support you no matter what kind of decision you make,” he said.
“Thank you.”
He wiped her tears with his hand and kissed on her cheeks and lips.
Catherine
She was looking at him. He was changing clothes, and as she was looking at his body, she honestly thought that he looked quite handsome. She didn’t understand why she didn’t like him that much when she first met him.
Rich, handsome and relatively young. Why didn’t I like him at the beginning? Is it because of the interview?
She recalled that moment. She remembered how insulting it was.
But I didn’t like him even before that.
She recalled the night they met for the first time. He introduced himself and shook hands with her. She remembered his eyes—his blue eyes. She sensed something from his eyes at the moment—some sort of excitement.
It was like his eyes were telling me “I found you.”
“I’ll take a shower first,” he said.
“Sure, honey,” she answered cheerfully.
Now I understand why.
He heard her voice and felt excited to hear the voice of his beloved Liz.
And that’s how this whole thing began.
She felt a bitter taste in her mouth. No matter how many times she thought about this, she couldn’t describe it as anything else but madness. This was real madness. You kidnap someone just because she has a same voice as your dead sister?
That’s insane.
She drank a sip of the ice water beside her. It may sound odd, but she almost felt sad to leave this. She could say she was happy here. He was usually so kind to her, and everything was so comfortable here. She didn’t have to worry about doing laundry or cleaning the condo or cooking dinner and most importantly, money. He always gave her enough cash and credit cards for her to buy anything she wanted, anytime.
It’s actually not so bad to live like this. Maybe I should just pretend that I don’t remember anything, she said that to herself and realized how ridiculous it was. She started to giggle.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Nothing. It’s a secret,” she said, smiling.
“You promised me you wouldn’t keep any secrets from me,” he complained.
“Oh, yeah! Then I should tell you!” she said and laughed out loud. Tom frowned and looked at her.
“It’s not really a secret, Tom. I’m just happy to try on wedding gowns tomorrow.”
I’m a natural born liar.
“Oh, yes! It’s tomorrow!” he said excitedly and lay beside her on the bed.
“Could I go with you?” he asked.
“Of course not! That’s a bad luck, you know!”
“It’s just a superstition!”
“It’s tradition!” she snapped and tapped his nose with her finger once. She walked into the bathroom to get the hairdryer. “You’ll see it soon.”
She plugged the dryer in and began to blow-dry his hair.
“I can’t wait,” he said.
“Be patient, please.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” He dragged her hand and kissed it. She smiled back at him and continued to dry his hair.
“Your forehead became bigger, Tom,” she said in a concerning tone and disheveled his hair to blow-dry it.
“I know. I’m afraid that I inherited that from my father.”
“But your father looks okay!” she said.
“He’s trying hard to maintain it.”
That made her laugh. She laughed out loud.
“Why? What’s so funny?” he asked her, turning back.
“Sorry. It’s just I can’t imagine him becoming bald headed. He looks so perfect, you know,” she explained, trying her best not to laugh.
“Only on the outside,” he said.
She stopped the hair dryer and hugged him from behind.
“Be appreciative to your father, Tom. He’s a good father. Not many people in this world are so lucky to have a father like yours. Look at me! One of the poorest and easiest examples!” she said cheerfully as if it was funny. He turned again and held her in his arms.
“You have me now. You have nothing to worry about from now on,” he said.
She closed her eyes and smelled his scent.
“Would you love me even if you had met me like twenty years ago?”
Even before your precious Liz left you?
“Of course,” he answered right away. He held her tighter.
“I wish I had met you earlier.”
In a different way, Tom.
“Doesn’t matter when we met or how we met, Catherine. What matters is that we are together now and we are going to be together for the rest of our lives.”
“Yes, that’s more important,” she agreed.
“So…can we…?” he began.
“No. Wait a bit,” she snapped lightly.
“How long is this a bit? Don’t tell me you are going to make me wait till the wedding!” he complained like a little child, and she laughed again. She gently touched his face.
“Not that long, Tom. Soon, very soon.”
Tom
He was humming all day long. He knew it wasn’t what he usually did, and that was why his secretaries were laughing behind his back, but he didn’t mind it at all. He kept humming. He felt like he has never been as happy as today.
I’m too childish, he laughed at himself, but he felt it was okay to be childish for a while.
Since I’ve been acting like I’m a hundred years old till now.
He had never imagined that he could love someone more than Liz. He definitely felt guilty about that, but it was the truth. He thought he loved Catherine more than Liz.
Don’t be angry, Liz. It won’t last long, he said bitterly to himself. Soon, she’d recover her memory, and then she would probably be as cold as ice again. Then, he wouldn’t be happy like today anymore.
Hopefully we get married before that happens. Hopefully she gets pregnant before that.
He hoped they had a girl. He wanted a pretty baby girl. Then he would shower his daughter with everything she wanted. He pictured Catherine holding a beautiful baby girl. Then he felt full of happiness in his heart and began to hum again, but he soon stopped humming to answer a phone call from his mother.
Mother? What is it?
He felt odd. She was supposed to be with Catherine by now and choosing a wedding gown together.
“Hello?”
“Thomas! Are you with her?”
“You mean Catherine? No. I thought she was with you now. Where are you?”
“I’m at the shop, waiting for her! She kept me waiting over thirty minutes. I called her phone, but she never answered. Where is she now? Is she still at home?”
As soon as he heard what his mother said, he felt something—something very strong and dangerous.
She ran away.
“I will call you back, Mother.”
He hung up the phone and called his security guys. They said they were also waiting for her at the entrance in the car park.
“What’s happening?” He typed a text message to Susan, but he realized that she was on leave this week. He felt like someone was hammering his head.
Suddenly Susan’s on leave and….
He called Mr. Macson and asked him to find her. He called her phone more than ten times in a row, but no one answered. He couldn’t wait. He couldn’t just stay in the office. He walked out of the office and drove his car, in person, to his home.
What�
��s happening…what’s happening…?
He didn’t want to imagine it, but he already pictured her running away.
“SHIT!” He punched the handle roughly with his fist.
Don’t tell me you fooled me, Catherine. I’m not going to forgive you.
He hadn’t felt any difference in the past few days. She was the same as usual. She smiled at him, she hugged him, and kissed him. She even woke up in the middle of the night, because of her nightmares.
Maybe she went out somewhere for a while.
He told himself a sweeter scenario. Maybe she suddenly wanted some air and hadn’t returned yet. Maybe she suddenly felt scared to wear wedding dresses and didn’t go out at all.
If that’s the case, I will only scold her.
He, however, also thought of the possibility that she passed out at home. She had that severe shake in her hand a few days ago. She even dropped her cup on the floor.
If that’s the case, I need to be at home as soon as possible!
He accelerated and headed home.
When he reached the car park, he could see the guards waiting there. They said they checked the whole building and nearby area, but they didn’t see her.
“Check the cameras,” he said.
He got on the elevator and went to his office.
This building is the problem. There is no door between the elevators! I couldn’t put guards in front of the door! No, I should have put cameras at home. She said she didn’t like it, but I should have done it!
He felt so angry at what he’d missed.
No. No. Maybe she’s at home.
He shook his head and rushed into the condo since the door stood open.
“CATHERINE! CATHERINE!”
He checked the living room and bedroom, but he couldn’t find her. He checked other places in the house, but he couldn’t find her there either. He called her cellphone, and he could hear the ring this time. It was from the bedroom. He went into the bedroom and found her phone in the drawer.
She put her phone here. Like she was going to leave this place forever.
He checked the dressing room and found her clothes there. It seemed like she didn’t bring anything from home, but he thought he needed to check one more thing. He opened the safety box in the study and found her passport there.
She didn’t even bring her passport? Where did she go, then?