Loving My Future Murderer

The First Lie

Aira caught her breath right in her dry throat. Elian's cold whisper kept ringing loud inside her ears. That apology was delivered with such a freezing tone. The creak of the hospital door signaled Elian stepping out into the hallway. His heavy footsteps echoed farther down the long corridor.

Aira was not actually sleeping. The sedative meds from the doctor definitely made her limbs feel limp as lead. Yet Elian's whisper shot like electric lightning straight through her survival instincts.

Inside the quiet room, Aira squeezed her eyes shut tight. She forced her chest to rise and fall in a steady rhythm.

Her heart pounded like crazy against her ribs. Aira strained her ears, listening intently to the outside world. Right past the cracked door, Elian's footsteps came to a dead stop.

The phone inside Elian's jacket pocket vibrated low. A soft rustle of fabric echoed as the guy pulled his device out.

"Yeah," Elian's voice sounded totally flat from the hallway.

Aira shifted her head slightly on the pillow.

"She is asleep," Elian said again. A pause stretched out for a few seconds. Elian listened to whoever was on the line.

Aira bit her bottom lip hard. Elian's tone out in the hallway was completely alien. Zero warmth. Nothing like how he talked to her earlier.

"Everything is going according to plan," Elian continued. His voice dropped low, holding back intense anger. "The doctor said her long term memory will not be coming back anytime soon."

Aira held her breath in terror. Her hands under the blanket clenched into tight fists.

The sound of Elian's dress shoes shifted slightly. He took two steps away from her door. But the quiet nighttime corridor reflected his voice right back into Aira's room anyway.

"Do not call me first," Elian snapped sternly. "We have to protect this timeline. We cannot let anything leak out."

Timeline. Aira repeated that exact phrase in her head.

The person on the other end talked for a while longer. Elian let out a long sigh.

"I know," Elian replied. His tone turned sharp as a blade. "I have been carrying this heavy burden for seven whole years, and I am not going to ruin everything right now just because you are being impatient."

Seven years.

Aira's mind spun out of control. The doctor and Elian himself just told her earlier that they had only been married for five years. The photos on the table showed their fourth anniversary celebration in Paris. So why on earth did Elian say seven years to that stranger on the phone?!

"Hang up the phone right now," Elian whispered bitterly before the call cut off completely.

click

A soft click echoed as Elian ended the call. The hallway fell dead quiet again.

Aira rushed to relax her body back onto the stiff sheets. She shut her eyes tight, smoothing out her face.

The room door slid open quietly. The friction of Elian's suit jacket rustled as he stepped back into the room.

Elian walked over to the side of her bed. The guy stood there totally still for a long time. Just staring down at Aira without saying a single word.

Elian took a slow breath. He reached his hand out and gently brushed away the bangs hanging over Aira's forehead. His touch was warm. It was completely opposite to his icy tone on the phone seconds ago.

"Good night, Aira," Elian muttered low.

Elian turned around. The scrape of the chair legs sounded as Elian sat down next to the wooden desk. He pulled his laptop out from the travel bag and flipped it open. The steady clack of keyboard typing began filling up the quiet room.

TAP TAP TAP.

Aira lay completely stiff on the bed. Behind her closed eyes, her brain was working frantically, trying to assemble all the scattered puzzle pieces together.

That short text on Elian's phone this afternoon asking if she was awake. Elian's overly protective behavior. Her body's terrifying panic reaction when looking at their wedding picture. And now, that sketchy phone call about a timeline and the number seven years.

All of Elian's kindness throughout the entire day felt like an elaborate staged act.

Aira tried wiggling her fingers gently. She really wanted to open her eyes, but she was terrified Elian would catch her moving.

"Still feeling dizzy?!" Elian's voice suddenly echoed from the work desk.

Aira gasped inside. The guy actually noticed her tiny movement. Aira was forced to open her eyes slowly, pretending she just woke up from a short nap.

"A little," Aira answered in a raspy voice.

Elian stopped his typing instantly. He stood up and walked toward Aira's bed. The guy poured some warm water from the pitcher into a glass.

"Drink some water first," Elian said, holding the glass up to Aira's lips.

Aira took the glass. Her fingers accidentally brushed against the skin of Elian's hand. That uncomfortable skin-crawling sting shot right back into her chest, but Aira forced herself to sip the water anyway.

"You haven't rested at all today," Aira said low while handing back the empty glass.

"I still have a bit of work to finish," Elian answered with a tiny smile. "I will be done in a minute."

"Is it work from your office?!" Aira asked, trying to probe further.

Elian set the glass on the table. "Yeah. Just some project documents I need to wrap up tonight. You don't have to worry about that at all. Just go back to sleep."

"Elian," Aira called out.

"What's wrong, babe?!"

"Did you step out of the room earlier?!" Aira asked on purpose.

Elian blinked once. His facial expression stayed totally calm and flawless. "Yeah. I stepped out for a quick sec to answer a call from a client. I didn't want my voice bothering your sleep."

Aira stared straight into Elian's eyes. The guy answered so smoothly. There was zero hesitation or nervousness on his face whatsoever.

"An out-of-town client?!" Aira pushed a bit more.

"Just an old business partner," Elian replied casually. He stroked Aira's cheek with his fingertip. "Regarding the raw material supply for your factory. He was just asking how you were doing after hearing about the crash."

Aira gave a tiny nod. "Oh."

"Why?! Did I talk too loud outside?!" Elian asked.

"No," Aira lied straight to his face. "I just woke up feeling thirsty."

"Alright then, go back to sleep," Elian said gently. He fixed the blanket over Aira. "I'll wrap up my work shortly, then I'll sleep on the sofa."

"Aren't you going back home first?!" Aira asked.

"No way," Elian said firmly. "I am not leaving you all alone in the hospital. Our home means nothing if you are not there."

Those words sounded ridiculously sweet. If Aira hadn't overheard that phone call earlier, she would have been touched to tears by Elian's care. But now, every single sweet word coming out of Elian's mouth sent massive chills straight down her spine.

"Thank you, Elian," Aira whispered.

"You're welcome," Elian answered. The guy stroked Aira's head one last time before heading back to his work desk.

Aira settled her body back down on the mattress. She turned onto her side, facing away from Elian.

The rhythmic clicking of the keyboard filled the room again.

TAP TAP TAP.

An hour passed by slowly. Elian's typing finally stopped completely. The quiet snap of a laptop closing shut echoed. Elian pushed himself up from the chair and walked toward the exit, carrying his laptop bag and jacket. It looked like he was taking his extra gear down to his car.

"I am going downstairs for a second to drop off my bag," Elian muttered low near the door, checking if Aira was still awake.

Aira didn't answer. She lay totally stiff, holding her breath steady.

The second the door slid fully shut and Elian's heavy footsteps completely faded down the long hallway, Aira opened her eyes wide.

The hospital room was super dim. The main ceiling lights were off, leaving only the small nightlight near the bathroom glowing softly.

Aira sat up slowly in bed. Her head was still pounding a bit, but she completely ignored the pain. She raised her left hand up into the air. She stared down at the two rings sitting neatly on her ring finger. The plain white gold wedding band and the engagement ring with the small diamond crown.

Aira shifted her gaze to the framed wedding photo sitting on the side table. The picture showed the two of them smiling wide at the camera, wearing a super fancy bridal gown and tuxedo.

Aira clutched her racing chest tight. The wave of nausea that went away earlier was now creeping right back up into her throat.

Aira stared straight at the tightly shut door.

Aira realized one horrifying truth.

The guy claiming to be her loving husband, the guy who cared for her so flawlessly the entire day, had just lied straight to her face.