by J. R. Ryder
“Tenderness?” The doctor asked, pressing his fingers against the large gash on the side of Jasper’s head.
He flinched. “A bit.”
“That’s perfectly normal.”
“He can’t remember…” I whispered before I could stop myself.
“Hmm, you’ll have to speak up, dear. My hearing isn’t what it used to be.”
“He can’t remember,” I said again but I choked on my words, tears springing to my eyes. I couldn’t handle this.
Suddenly, I got up from my chair and rushed out of the room. How could he forget about me? It wasn’t fair. Keith had nearly destroyed my life twice now but that wasn’t enough for him. He had to take away the one person that had finally made me happy.
In my hurry to get away, I ran straight into Andy. “Whoa. Where’s the fire?”
I shook my head, trying to get away from him but he held me tight.
“Mandy. What’s wrong?”
“Everything.”
“Is Jasper okay?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
I refused to answer him, still trying to get away from him. “Let go.”
“I can’t. Not when you’re acting like this. Tell me what happened.”
“He… he can’t remember.”
“What do you mean he can’t remember?”
“He doesn’t know who I am,” I said, shoulders sagging with defeat. “He has no idea.”
He frowned. “I feared something like this would happen.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before we arrived at the cabin… he was already starting to forget. It must have been that blow to the head.”
“ how can he forget about me?”
“I wouldn’t take it personally.” Andy sighed. “And, even though he couldn’t remember you, he still went after you. He said he could remember you here.” He took my hand and guided it to my heart. “I think he loved you, Mandy.”
Still, I couldn’t face the reality of this situation. It was too painful. Finally, I managed to get away, slipping through the doors into the parking lot.
There, the air was heavy with afternoon rain. I slumped into a nearby bench, hanging my head in my hands. This couldn’t be happening.
For a long time, I just sat there, feeling numb.
After Jasper’s collapse, I was tasked with driving him to the hospital while Andy handled the Hitchcocks. They were all arrested and were now being processed by the department.
I didn’t care about all that. All that mattered was Jasper and his well-being. I was so scared that he wouldn’t make it out of this alive. I had stayed by his side, just praying that he would wake up.
In all that time, I never expected this.
I never expected that he would forget about me. I replayed countless memories in my head. The first time I woke up to see his face. Our time together in his bed. Our mornings together in his kitchen. We hadn’t been together for a long time but somehow, it felt like I had known him all my life.
what was I supposed to do now that he no longer remembered me?
Did I start from scratch? Or did I try to make him remember?
I took a shaky breath, just trying to think things true but my emotions were making it hard to focus. I needed him and yet, the Jasper I knew was gone.
“Mandy.” Andy was standing beside me. How long had he been there?
“Leave me alone.”
“He’s asking for you.”
I looked up, my eyes wide. “Does he remember?”
He didn’t answer.
“He doesn’t, does he?”
“No.”
Tears ran down my cheeks. “Why did this have to happen?”
“Look.” He sat down beside me. “I know it’s hard, but you can’t just abandon him. If you love him as much as I think you do, then you’ll stay by his side even as things get hard.”
I thought about his words. He was right. This was just a trial in our relationship – something for us to conquer.
“I have to go but I think Jasper would really appreciate your company.”
I nodded, finally getting up.
“Good luck.” He said before disappearing into the parking lot.
“Thank you…” I mumbled. I was going to need it.
Slowly, I headed back to his room.
There, he was just looking at the TV screen. It wasn’t on.
As soon as I walked through the door, he looked at me. Even though there was a glaze in his eyes, I could tell that this was the same man I had fallen in love with. I smiled and sat down by his side, taking his hand in mine. “I know you don’t remember but I still want you to know that I’m here for you and that… I love you.”
He looked at me for a long time before he squeezed my hand. “I don’t remember what happened but I know, deep in my heart, that I love you too, Mandy.”
Chapter 26 (Jasper)
As I looked up at this beautiful woman, I tried to remember who she was. Her presence alone was enough to get my heart beating fast. Beside me, the bright green line on the heart monitor was going crazy. “Can you tell me what happened?” I asked.
She frowned, her lips pressed so tightly together that they nearly disappeared. “It’s all my fault…” She whispered, hanging her head. “If you hadn’t met me, none of this would be happening to you right now. I bring bad luck wherever I go.”
“Hey.” I once again squeezed her hand. Tugging on it gently, I got her to sit down on the edge of my bed. “I’m not blaming you for anything. You were just as hurt by this experience as I was.”
“I’m not the one in a hospital bed.” She mumbled underneath her breath.
“I rather be the one lying here,” I said.
“Why?”
“Because I want to protect you.”
“You shouldn’t have to.”
“It’s not an obligation. It’s something I want to do.”
“ you can’t even remember who I am. Why do you want to protect me?” She protested, looking out the window with tears in her eyes.
Even though it pained me to do I lifted my arm and wiped away her tears, letting my thumb gently graze against her cheek. “I may not remember you or our relationship together but the feelings are still here, lingering inside my chest. Trust me.”
She turned, looking me straight in the eye. I held her gaze.
Suddenly, she fell into my arms and began to sob. “I’m so sorry… this is all my fault.”
“Shh. Shh. No one is blaming you, Mandy. I’m okay. Please, don’t beat yourself up over this.” I whispered while gently running my fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down. “Please, just take a deep breath for me and try to calm down. I can’t stand to see you like this.”
Just then, the doctor walked in. He was a young man with an optimistic expression painted on his face. As soon as he saw us, a soft pink hue crept across his fair complexion. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Would you two like a minute? I can come back.”
“No.” Mandy shook her head, roughly wiping her tears, eyes puffy. “I want to know what’s wrong with him.”
“Actually, I have some pretty good news.” The doctor said with a smile. “As far as we can tell, Mr. Kilroy only has a few minor injuries. A hairline fracture of the skull. A few cracked ribs. And a minor concussion. The concussion, no doubt, is what made him lose consciousness. This is very common during head trauma. there was no internal bleeding or bruising.”
“What about his amnesia. Will he get his memories back?” Mandy asked, eyes wide with hope.
“In most cases, the patient regains their full memory during the course of a month. Sometimes, it returned suddenly or piece by piece. It all depends, really. It’s different from case to case.”
“I see.”
“If you ask me, there’s nothing to worry about. Just a month of rest and relaxation and you should be as good as new, Mr. Kilroy.” He placed his hand on my shoulder while offering an encouraging smile. “
Do you have any questions?”
“Yeah, when will I be able to leave.”
“In a couple of days. We just want to make sure that we didn’t miss anything.”
“Right.” I nodded.
“Besides, it's not like money is an issue, is it, Mr. Kilroy?” He said with a wink. “You could probably buy out this entire hospital with your billions.”
I cringed at the doctor’s attempt at humor. Cautiously, I looked over at Mandy who had her brows knitted together in confusion. Of course, I hadn’t told her about my fortune. All too often girls claimed they were in love with me just so they could get my money. I didn’t want Mandy to become one of them. I wanted her to know who I really was – to put money aside and see if anything could blossom organically. It had. And, I think that’s what made me love her even more.
“Anyway, take care. Don’t hesitate to call a nurse if anything comes up.” He flashed one more smile before leaving the room.
As soon as he was gone, Mandy looked to look at me. “What was all that about?”
I sighed. There was no point trying to hide it from her now. She knew my last name. All she needed to do was google ‘Jasper Kilroy’ and she would know everything about me. I rather she hears it from the horse's mouth.
“Have you ever heard of Kilroy Kilowatts?”
Her eyes widened. “You mean the electric company that powers most of America?”
“That’s the one.”
She was silent for a moment. I could tell she was letting the information sink in.
“Look, Mandy, I don’t want this to spoil our relationship. I honestly cannot remember whether I told you or not but if I had to guess, I didn’t. That’s why I was living in the woods. I wanted to get away from the corporate life. There were too many people trying to weasel themselves into my life just to get to my money.”
“You mean, you can remember all that but you can’t remember me… am I the only thing you forgot?” Her voice cracked halfway through her sentence.
“I don’t know…” I wet my lips, suddenly feeling like I had said the wrong thing.
“I need some air.” She said, suddenly getting up.
There was no way for me to stop her. One second she was sitting on my bed and the next she was gone.
Chapter 27 (Mandy)
I honestly didn’t know what to make of the situation I now found myself in. So much had happened in such a short expanse of time that it was making my head spin. One second, I was investigating my ex-boyfriend delinquent family. The next, I’m suspended from my position. Now, here I am, with the billionaire who saved my life not once but twice. He had taken down most of the family and now they were comfortably behind bars.
This was what I wanted. To find out the truth revolving the Hitchcock family. I always knew they were up to no good but I never thought they were sex traffickers. Just the thought sent a shiver through my spine. If I had remained with Keith, what would have happened to me? Would I have ended up like those girls I saw? More animal than human.
Although, despite all this, the Hitchcocks weren’t really the thing that bothered me. What bothered me was that Jasper had lied to me all this time.
Okay, maybe he didn’t lie explicitly but he still withheld pretty critical information. The guy was a billionaire. The CEO of an electrical company that supplied most of the States. What was he doing out in the woods, living like a hermit? It didn’t make any sense. Why hadn’t he just told me the truth?
Not only that but… why had he forgotten about me? He remembered everything else but it was like someone had taken an eraser and just blotted me out of his life. Did I mean so little to him?
The thought alone was enough to make my heart ache. I didn’t even want to think about it anymore. I tightened my arms around my chest, trying to push away this sense of dread but it had wrapped around my heart like a boa constrictor.
What was I supposed to do?
I still loved him.
That would never change.
I couldn’t help but feel betrayed by the whole situation.
Breath, Mandy, breath, I told myself.
After a while, I turned around and headed back inside. In the end, Jasper needed me during his time of recovery. After all, he had nursed me back to health when I had nearly frozen to death. The least I could do was return the favor. Emotions and memories could wait for the time being.
When I returned to his room, he was flicking through the TV channels. He immediately stopped as soon as he saw me. “Mandy… I’m really sorry.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. All I want is for you to get better. I know you don’t remember but there was a horrible snow storm while I was hiking through the mountains. If it wasn’t for you, I would have died, buried in all that snow.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “From what you told me, you carried me all the way to your cottage and made sure I survived. The nearest hospital was too far away so I was legitimately in your hands.”
He was quiet, looking at me with a tender expression. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay.”
Gently, I ran my fingers through his hair before leaning down and kissing the top of his head. “And, I want you to be okay too.”
“I will be.” He assured with a confident voice.
I sat down on the side of the bed. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why did you decide to live in the woods? If you truly are the CEO of Kilroy Kilowatts then why aren’t you living in some fancy mansion?”
He chuckled. “I do own a fancy mansion but I gave all that up.”
“Why?”
“I came from a humble background. My parents were immigrants who came to America with a couple bucks in their pockets. When they had me, they did everything they could to support me. They got me into the best schools, scraping every penny to pay for the private tuition. Sometimes, they sacrificed themselves just so I’d have a clean uniform to wear.”
I listened to his story, slightly surprised by how genuine he sounded. I knew that businessmen were especially gifted in the art of lying but I could tell, without a doubt, that Jasper was telling me the truth.
“ I was able to excel in my education and got into MIT. I graduated with a 5.0 GPA and took that knowledge into the real world where I invented a new power generator that held electricity much more effectively than any other in the past. It was a huge success. One minute, I was the son of immigrants, the next, I was a self-made million.”
“That must have been quite the lifestyle shift.”
“It was. At first, I didn’t know what to do with this newfound financial freedom. I went a little crazy with my spending. I didn’t know how to control myself so I ended up getting into debt during the first few years of my career.”
“And then…?”
“Well, I got my act together. I hired an accountant to take care of my money and make sure that I didn’t overspend. That was fine for a while but I still ran into problems.”
I was starting to think that this was a rather long explanation. nonetheless, I enjoyed listening to him and I appreciated how honest he was being. I could tell that he had never told this to anyone. He was constantly wetting his lips or moving his hands in an almost nervous fashion.
Gently, I placed my hand on his arm and smile. “You know, you don’t have to tell me every nitty-gritty detail. I trust you.”
“And, that’s exactly why I want to tell you everything.” He said, returning the smile.
Chapter 28 (Jasper)
It’s hard to find someone you can genuinely trust. Most of the time, people are fake. They paint on a smile, feign interest, and reel you in. I’ll admit that I’ve been a sucker for a pretty face before but I knew, without a doubt, that Mandy was much more than that. Even though I could no longer remember our relationship together, there was some ethereal connection between us that was almost palpable.
“Anyway, as I was saying, once the acc
ount was in place, I still ran into my fair share of trouble. From that point forward, I adopted a rich man’s lifestyle. I did what other rich men did, thinking it was what I was supposed to do. I threw parties. Had elaborate dinners for my “friends” and colleagues. Played golf, despite hating it. I did all these things, thinking it would help my status in New York Society. It did. at the same time, I was miserable.”