Milena was stunned by what she heard. Her mind went blank and it couldn't process what the handsome man in front of her just said. She blinked her eyes once then twice then a third time.
She could feel her heart racing as she stared at the man who was holding her snugly in his arms. She wasn't fond of being hugged by others, especially men. As a matter of fact, aside from her father, and although she was close to Gabriel, it was the first time that she had been held so tightly by a man, but she didn't feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, she felt quite at home.
At home? With a stranger? That felt odd for her because she has always been a shy person and it normally takes time for her to warm up to people but over the past two days, she welcomed the hugs of two new people in a heartbeat-- the little boy Aric and his father. The longer she looked at him, the more she appreciated how handsome the man was. He was tall, had toned muscles, elegant posture, fair skin, thick black hair, passionate brown eyes, strong nose, pink lips, and a deep charming dimple on his left cheek. Milena could understand how she could fall in love with that man but she has no memory of him so what he just said did not make sense at all.
For a few minutes which seemed like forever to everyone else, she gaped at Rien and didn't speak a word. Aric, Sophie and Mister Samuel, all nervously stood by and fidgeted. Only the seigneur calmly looked into his wife's eyes and leisurely caressed her soft hair.
After Milena recovered, she chuckled and shook her head, shaking his hand off in the process. Everyone else in the room including Rien were surprised at her reaction. When she saw the shock on his face, Milena laughed even harder and took advantage of his shock to slip out of his embrace. "Okay. How did Gabe put you up to this?" She giggled. "I must say, I'm quite impressed. He really went all out this time just to prank me. Even rented an impressive room and hired such good-looking actors. This must have caused him a fortune, too bad I caught on quite fast, huh?" She winked at Rien and smiled smugly.
Hearing another man's name spoken from his wife's lips, Rien immediately sobered up. "What nonsense are you talking about?" The seigneur was obviously angry but his natural instinct to be gentle to his wife made him sound less terrifying, however; Aric, Mister Samuel, and Sophie understood that if Milena kept talking more about Gabriel in front of Rien with that smile, the poor man should start praying for his life.
Milena wasn't scared at all and grinned at Rien. "Are you still acting? Where's the camera?" She looked around the room then turned to Rien again. "How much did he pay you? I'll pay you double to get back at him. I can't believe that stinky man would do it again."
The seigneur's seething rage could be seen through his clenched fists, red ears, tight jaw and a vein that throbbed on his forehead. His jealousy of the man who could make his wife speak so cheerfully with just the remembrance of him was enough for Rien to wish he could snap that urchin's neck right then and there but something Milena said made him curious. He asked gently, "What has the urchin… I mean… Mr. Madrid done before?"
Milena slightly frowned at Rien's slip but still answered with a pleasant smile. "Well, over a year ago, a man approached me too. He was elegant, tall, handsome and looked rich like you." She described, not noticing how the seigneur gritted his teeth as his eye twitched but he stopped himself from going berserk over his wife admiring another man. He not-so-patiently waited for her to continue her story.
"So, this guy comes up to me and told me that he knew me from the past before the accident, that he helped Gabe save my life, and that my memory maybe confused so I probably don't remember a lot of things. That man claimed to be my fiancé. He showed me some pictures from my childhood and teenage years. He told stories about me. He was quite convincing. The only problem was, I felt really uncomfortable around him and he seriously gave me the creeps. Anyway, I was still nice and agreed to see him another time but I didn't intend to go. Who knew Gabe would angrily come up from behind me and flick my head so hard when he heard that, then scolded me nonstop for talking to a stranger like I was a three-year old? I had a bump right here from that flick. It really hurt." Milena pouted and rubbed her head like she could still feel the bump that Gabriel made. "It turns out that he set the whole thing up to test me then he warned me about talking to men like that guy and reminded me to never believe anything strangers claim about me."
Rien sighed as he sorted his complicated feelings about his wife's story. Based on what she said, Gabriel does a great job at protecting her and seemed sincere towards her but on the other hand, he wanted to break the man's fingers one by one for hurting his beloved. Who gave that urchin the guts to do that? Although, he would have done the same thing to the silly woman, the urchin had no right to lay a finger on his wife.
"Well, Mr. Madrid was right to do so but he shouldn't have hurt you like that. I won't let him do that to you again." Rien spoke gently but his voice carried authority as he caressed her head. "Did it really hurt so much?"
She nodded her head then looked at him with wide eyes. "Why do you talk like you can actually stop Gabe from doing it again?"
"Because I can." The seigneur answered patiently and smiled at her tenderly. "I'm your husband."
"But…"
"You don't remember me." He finished the sentence for her.
"Yes." She replied frankly. "And…"
"Mr. Madrid already warned you." Rien swallowed his reluctance to say Gabriel's name again.
Seeing that Rien was determined to finish all her sentences, Milena nodded in response.
"Milena, I can show you all the evidence to prove that you are my wife and Aric's mother but that would all be useless if you won't even give us a chance. You said that when the man approached you, you felt uncomfortable. What about me? How do you feel about me?" The seigneur asked gently as he hopefully looked into her eyes.
"I…" Her words faltered but the fact that she has not shrunk away from his touch gave them an answer.
"Ugh!" Aric who has exhausted all his patience waiting behind his father to see if he can convince Milena, suddenly groaned in frustration and jumped up on the bed. He squeezed in between Rien and Milena then held his Mommy's face between his little hands. "Mommy, if you don't believe my annoying Daddy, look at me. They say that I look like my father a lot but I have your eyes. Look, Mommy. Can you see how my eyes are like yours?"
Milena stared into the little boy's eyes and felt her heart quiver. His eyes were like her own and she felt an inexplicable warmth and a powerful need to protect the precious boy. She wanted to tell him she could see it. She wanted to say that she believed him but can she really trust what she was feeling when she has no memory of them at all?
When she didn't speak, Aric spoke in a heart-wrenching voice as his tears brimmed his eyes but he held them back so he won't make his Mommy worry. "Do you know how much I miss you? I miss you so much that it hurts here." He said as one of the hands holding her face let go then clutched his chest. "But I never let my Daddy know because I know he misses you so much too. He looked for you everywhere. I did too. I'm really good at it, Mommy. Mommy, I worked hard you know? I worked very hard to be a good boy so when we find you, you will see that I'm a good boy and that you will love me and never leave me again. I'm a good boy. Can you see it, Mommy?"
Hearing what his son said, Rien's heart seemed to be smashed into pieces and his own tears threatened to escape but he held them back too. If the little boy could be strong for them, why couldn't he?
"Yes." Milena whispered. "I could see it." Tears slipped from her eyes one by one and she felt a painful lump in her chest. She didn't care to be polite anymore, she just went with the urge to pull the little boy into her arms ang hug him tight. Whether what they said was true or not, whether he was her son or not, Aric needed him. She saw it in his eyes.
Being held by the Mommy he longed for, Aric let go of his tears and cried his heart out. He finally had his Mommy back.
Rien quickly wiped away his own tears and wrapped his arms around his wife and son. What he hoped and prayed for over the past three years has finally happened but he couldn't help to feel a dull ache in his heart for the loved ones they lost. How beautiful it would have been if they were still with them!
"Oh my God! It's true!" The passionate exclamation of the man who just came through the door broke the solemnity of the family's heart-warming reunion.
Everyone turned to the door and found a handsome man in white coat with a medical bag in his hand. His curly ash blonde hair was in disarray and his gray eyes gaped open as he stared at Milena.
"My fairy!" He ran to the bed and directly grabbed Milena from Aric and Rien then hugged her tight. "My yellow fairy, you're back! You're really back!" He said excitedly. "You still love me so much, don't you? How can you stay away from your darling for so long?" He whined as he rubbed his cheek on her shoulder like a spoiled little boy.
"Charles, if you don't let go of my wife in the next three seconds, you will be dead on the fourth." Rien warned and his ice cold eyes told everyone that he wasn't joking.