Chapter Five: Lies Between Us
865 Words
Rain poured relentlessly over the city, turning the hospital windows into blurred sheets of gray.
Isabella stood quietly beside Lorenzo's room, clutching a photo album against her chest. It contained the happiest moments of their lives—their engagement, family dinners, quiet evenings at the De Luca estate, and countless candid photographs that proved they had once shared a life together.
She hoped the pictures might stir something inside him.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked softly.
"Come in," Lorenzo called.
She stepped inside and found him staring out the window.
"Good morning."
He turned and gave her a polite nod.
"Morning."
"I... brought something."
She held out the photo album.
"I thought maybe looking through these would help."
Lorenzo hesitated before accepting it.
He opened the first page.
There was a picture of the two of them dancing under fairy lights during their engagement party.
He frowned.
"We look... happy."
"We were," Isabella whispered.
He turned another page.
A photograph showed him wrapping his coat around her shoulders on a cold evening.
Another captured him laughing—a rare sight—with Isabella beside him.
His brows knitted together.
"I don't remember any of this."
"I know."
"But it feels..."
He paused.
"Strange."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like I'm looking at someone else's life."
The words stung, but Isabella forced herself to smile.
"Maybe your memories just need time."
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Without waiting for an answer, Bianca entered carrying an elegant bouquet of white orchids.
"Lorenzo! I brought your favorite flowers."
She stopped dramatically when she noticed Isabella.
"Oh... I didn't realize you were here."
Lorenzo closed the album.
"Come in."
Bianca smiled sweetly before placing the flowers on the table.
"I heard the doctors say your recovery is going well."
"They're hopeful," Lorenzo replied.
Bianca nodded, then glanced at the photo album.
"What's that?"
"Pictures," Lorenzo answered.
"Isabella thought they might help."
Bianca let out a soft laugh.
"Oh."
She looked at Isabella with feigned sympathy.
"Sometimes photographs can be... misleading."
Isabella's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
Bianca shrugged.
"Anyone can smile for a camera."
The room fell silent.
Lorenzo looked between the two women.
Bianca continued, her voice calm and convincing.
"Lorenzo, I didn't want to upset you while you were recovering, but I think you deserve to know something."
Isabella's heart pounded.
"Bianca..."
"No, it's alright."
Bianca folded her hands.
"Everyone knows your marriage happened very quickly."
Lorenzo frowned.
"It did?"
Bianca nodded.
"Some people thought Isabella was more interested in becoming a De Luca than in becoming your wife."
"That's enough!" Isabella snapped.
Bianca blinked innocently.
"I'm only repeating what people said."
Lorenzo remained silent.
A dangerous silence.
One that made Isabella's stomach twist.
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Don't listen to her."
"I loved you."
"I still do."
Lorenzo studied her face.
He wanted to believe her.
But without his memories, every story sounded equally possible.
"I... don't know what to believe."
Those words broke Isabella's heart.
She quietly picked up her purse.
"I'll leave."
She walked out before the tears could fall.
As soon as the door closed, Bianca smiled to herself.
The first seed of doubt had been planted.
---
That evening, Marco arrived carrying a laptop.
"Boss, I found something you should see."
He opened a folder containing security footage from the De Luca estate.
The cameras had survived the attack.
The video showed the wedding reception.
Lorenzo watched himself walking beside Isabella.
Then something unexpected happened.
On the screen, he gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from Isabella's face before smiling at her.
A real smile.
Warm.
Tender.
Completely unlike the cold expression he wore now.
Lorenzo froze.
"I smiled."
Marco nodded.
"You only smiled like that with one person."
Lorenzo couldn't take his eyes off the screen.
The man in the footage looked deeply in love.
His chest tightened.
A sharp pain shot through his head.
Images flashed through his mind.
A woman laughing in a garden.
Wedding vows.
A ring sliding onto a finger.
Then—
"Aah!"
He grabbed his head in pain.
"Boss!" Marco rushed forward.
The doctor and nurses hurried into the room.
"What happened?"
"My head..."
Lorenzo groaned.
"It hurts."
The doctor quickly examined him.
"It's alright. Try to relax."
Within minutes, the pain eased.
But before it disappeared completely, one image lingered in Lorenzo's mind.
A pair of beautiful brown eyes filled with tears.
He couldn't remember the woman's face.
Only her eyes.
---
Outside the room, Isabella waited anxiously.
When Marco stepped out, she immediately stood.
"Is he alright?"
Marco nodded.
"Yes."
He smiled for the first time in days.
"I think... something is changing."
"What do you mean?"
"He remembered a feeling."
Hope filled Isabella's eyes.
It wasn't much.
But it was enough.
She whispered a silent prayer.
"Please... let him find his way back to me."
Unseen by either of them, Bianca watched from the end of the hallway.
Her expression darkened with rage.
If Lorenzo's memories were beginning to return, she had very little time left.
And she was willing to do whatever it took to make sure Isabella disappeared from his life forever.
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