AUDREY POV
I laid in a soft bed. I felt someone brush my hair. As I opened my eyes I was surprised to see Xavier staring at me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."
How long had he been staring at me?
"It's alright, you didn't wake me up."
I looked him in the eyes and then his nose and lips. I observed every inch of him like he had done before when we saw each other again for the first time.
He was a complete stranger to me. I didn't recognize him. However there was something familiar about him.
Although I felt nervous around him, he made me feel safe. I wasn't scared of him.
As I looked down I realized Xavier was shirtless. He was well built and had defined abs. I suddenly felt shy and I turned to the other side.
"Were you checking me out?" He said in a teasing manner.
"No, I was simply examining you and seeing if I recognized you but it's clear I don't."
My cheeks were probably very red at this point from embarrassment.
I suddenly felt Xavier's arms around me. He kissed my head and then he moved away as he got off the bed.
"I have to get ready for work."
I turned toward him as he headed toward the large closet.
After a while he came out fully dressed. He then headed toward the restroom.
I got out of bed and quickly changed before Xavier got out of the bathroom.
I then began to fix the bed.
Xavier finally got out of the restroom with his hair styled.
I couldn't deny it, he was a very handsome man.
He walked toward me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"You look beautiful in that dress."
He pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear as he smiled at me.
"Thank you." I said.
He moved closer to me, giving me a gentle kiss on my forehead.
"I'll wait for you downstairs so we can have breakfast together."
He then left the room.
I held my hand to my heart feeling my rapid heart beat. What the hell is wrong with me?
I just wasn't used to this much kindness and attention from a person I viewed as a stranger.
After I brushed my teeth and got myself ready, I headed downstairs to meet with Xavier.
I followed the same route from the previous morning and eventually I found the dining room.
However before I arrived I heard Xavier speaking on the phone.
"No, she has no idea. Please don't tell her anything. All she thinks is that she's my wife. Yes, I know that's not true. I have everything under control. If she were to figure out the truth it would be too painful for her. For now let me take care of her. It's going to be alright, I have to go, she'll be here any minute."
Was he talking about me? What was Xavier hiding from me?
Did he say that I thought I was his wife? Does that mean it's not true? Are we not actually married?
I began to feel very worried. My stomach hurt and I suddenly felt scared.
I needed to calm down. If Xavier was lying to me then I needed to figure out the truth one way or the other. I needed to pretend like I didn't know anything.
But most importantly I needed to make him believe that I cared for him. I needed to take on the role as his wife, whether it was true or not. This would allow me to have him trust me.
I needed him to let his guard down and this was the best way to do it. This way I would be able to figure things out on my own without him suspecting I was on to him.
I needed to be strong and not let my emotions get to me. Although remembering my life would be the easiest way to know the whole truth, but I didn't know how long that would take.
After a while of just standing in a corner I headed toward the dining room.
"You're finally here my love. Come take a seat beside me. Dorothy said the chef made pancakes."
I wasn't going to tell him what I heard. I needed to figure out information on my own. But I needed people I could trust.
Maybe Dorothy could be that person but I wasn't sure yet.
I sat down next to Xavier and ate my breakfast.
Occasionally he would grab my hand and kiss it.
I could help but get a bit nervous when he did it.
"I plan to call my grandmother today."
Xavier looked at me.
"That's great. I hope talking with her will help you remember something about your life. At least your childhood."
I wasn't sure whether he meant it or not. From what I had heard earlier, he didn't want me to remember anything.
"I really hope so."
I wasn't lying. I at least wanted to remember my childhood. I wanted to remember my grandmother who raised me.
After we finished eating, Xavier left for work.
We hugged goodbye. He kissed my forehead knowing very well I wasn't ready for anything more than that.
"I love you." He said to me before leaving.
Every time he said that I felt butterflies in my stomach and my heart started to beat fast.
I really didn't want to have feelings for Xavier. I no longer trusted him after hearing him talk to someone about me in secret.
I knew there was something he was hiding from me.
I finally found Dorothy and we headed to the garden.
"I've been wondering, how did I end up in the hospital?"
I must have gotten hit in the head pretty badly to have gotten amnesia.
"Well you were heading into town for work. But on your way there you got into a terrible car accident. When Xavier found out what had happened he immediately went to see you. He made sure you were taken to the best hospital with the best doctors. I had never seen him so worried or so out of it. He's usually a very composed person. But all of us could see how much pain he was in."
Hearing her say that made me want to think Xavier was a good person who was telling me the truth. But I ignored that thought.
"Oh, I see. Thank you for telling me what happened. I guess the accident was pretty bad."
I was glad it was only amnesia I had. The doctor had said I was healthy which made me really happy.
After spending some time watering the flowers I headed towards the library.
"I will be here for a while so you can go do anything else you need to do."
"Alrighty then, I'll bring you some citron tea and leave alone."
She smiled and then left.
I grabbed my phone and looked for my grandmother on my contact list.
I saw the name granny and I pressed on it.
I felt a bit nervous but excited at the same time.
"Hello? Sweetheart is it you?"
"Yes it's me Audrey." I felt like crying for some reason.
"My dear Audrey. I'm so happy to finally hear your voice. I just found out you got out of the hospital. I hear you're doing great. However Xavier did inform me you have amnesia."
I could help but wonder if it was my granny whom Xavier had been talking to earlier on the phone.
"Yes granny. I've forgotten everything. Although a couple of things do seem familiar like this citron tea I've been drinking lately. It's my favorite."
I drank some of the tea Dorothy had brought me.
"I'm so glad. I would make citron tea for you from scratch when we lived together. You've liked it ever since you were a child. I'm glad you at least remember the tea." She began to laugh.
I already felt much better talking to my granny.
"Well I've been meaning to ask you, why did you move to Oregon? I would have loved to have you live nearby." I'm sure she had her reasons. I just wanted to hear it from her.
"Well, you see, your aunt got cancer about a year ago. I knew I needed to be beside her for the treatment and the entire process she was about to endure. You were engaged to Xavier at the time and I knew you wouldn't leave with me to Oregon. You had a whole new life in New York. But we stayed in contact. We talked to each other practically every day. You were actually on the phone with me the day of the accident."
My grandmother stopped speaking. I then started hearing sniffles.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, just recalling that day is painful."
I felt tears running down my cheeks.
"Stop, you're going to make me cry granny."
After talking for about an hour with my granny about my childhood and my life before I met Xavier we ended the conversation.
I began to recall a few things but I knew it would all take time.
"Goodbye granny. I'll call you again tomorrow."
"Alright sweetheart. I'll be looking forward to your call."
We said our goodbyes and I hanged up.
I looked for a book and began to read.
It was getting late and I was hungry.
Xavier had arrived from work.
I walked toward the entrance and saw him come in.
As soon as he laid eyes on me he smiled. He had a charming smile that made him way more attractive than he already was.
I looked away not wanting to be charmed by him.
"Hello Audrey. How are you feeling today?"
He gave Dorothy his briefcase and then walked over to me.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close like he had done the day before. This man liked to keep me close.
I looked up at him.
"I'm doing great actually. I talked to my granny. Talking to her made me feel normal, like I didn't have amnesia. It was great."
I was smiling. I hadn't realized how much it meant to me to get to talk to her. I wished I could see her right at that moment. For some reason she made all my worries go away.
I knew I could trust her. I felt she cared for me.
"Well feel free to talk to her as much as you'd like if you'll smile at me like that again."
He smiled at me with adoration on his eyes.
He kissed my head and then led us to the dining room without letting go of my hand.
We began to eat our dinner.
"Caroline called. She's coming to town to visit you. She's my younger sister. You two are best friends. I know you don't remember her but you two were pretty close before the accident. It's actually thanks to my sister that I met you. I'm thankful to her for having introduced us."
The name Caroline didn't ring a bell but I was looking forward to meeting her. If she was my best friend then she would know a lot about me.
Xavier had just said it was her who introduced us. Meaning she would be able to give me useful information on whether Xavier and I were really married and it is we met.
"I'm excited to meet her. Maybe she'll help me remember a thing or two."
"I'm sure she will." Xavier said.
We finished eating and headed to our bedroom.
I got ready for bed and then laid under the blankets. I quickly turned to my side and pretended to fall asleep before Xavier came back from the bathroom.
After what had happened last night I wanted to avoid a similar scenario from happening again. Xavier was kind, sweet, caring, and extremely handsome, but I couldn't trust him. Not after what I had heard him say this morning.
Maybe if I pretended to sleep he wouldn't hug me and just stay on his side of the bed.
However I was completely wrong.
As soon as he got in bed he wrapped his arms around my waist, rested his head on my neck and fell asleep.
"Good night my love." He said before kissing my neck and falling asleep.
He seemed to like having me very close to him at all times.
I couldn't move since he would realize I was only pretending to sleep.
Eventually I fell asleep.
END OF CHAPTER 3
(I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to VOTE if you enjoyed it. Thank you all so much for reading. Until next time!)