Chapter 3
1375 Words
Angel’s pov
I didn’t plan to run into her, that was the cruel joke. I was halfway down the corridor, counting my steps, focusing on not breaking down in front of strangers, when heels clicked behind me, my whole world, the man i gave up my identity for doesn’t even remember me.
“Excuse me.” I didn’t turn.
“Excuse me,” the voice repeated, sharper now.
I stopped anyway.
“Yes?” I asked. She stepped into my peripheral vision. Tall, perfect posture, dressed like the hospital was an inconvenience she tolerated, not a place she belonged.
“I’m looking for Bradely James,” she said. I faced her, something cold settled in my chest. She was beautiful in a way that felt deliberate. Everything about her looked curated, from her hair to the faint, knowing smile on her lips.
“He’s not receiving visitors,” I said.
She blinked. Once.
Then smiled wider. “I’m his fiancée.”
There it was. “I know,” I replied.
Her gaze sharpened. “Do you?”
“Yes.”
“And yet,” she said lightly, “you’re blocking my way.”
“I was leaving.”
“Good.” She studied me openly now, not rudely, assessing.
“You were in his room,” she said.
“Yes.”
Her smile didn’t waver. “And you are?”
I hesitated.
For half a second, I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to watch the certainty c***k on her face.
Instead, I said, “No one, just a concerned passer by.”
She laughed softly. “you seem quite nosy, for someone who is just a passer by”
Her eyes flicked toward the door to his room. “He didn’t mention you.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because he doesn’t remember me.” That finally caught her attention.
“I’m sorry?” she asked.
“He lost some memories,” I said. “Selective amnesia.”
Her lips pursed. “And you’re… part of what he forgot?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re comfortable telling me this because…?”
“Because it doesn’t change anything,” I replied. “You still belong there.”
She held my gaze. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether you’re a threat.”
I smiled faintly. “If I were, you’d already know.”
Her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen, then back at me. “Excuse me.” She stepped past me and answered, already turning away.
“Yes, jules,” she said smoothly.
The name hit differently when she said it. “I’m here,” she continued. “I’ll be in shortly.”
Pause.
“No, I’m fine. Just… handling something.” She hung up and turned back to me.
“You should go,” she said. “Hospitals aren’t kind to people who don’t belong.”
“I know,” I replied. “They’re very good at reminding you.”
She tilted her head. “You care about him.”
“No.”
She nodded slowly. “That’s fair enough.”
“For you?”
“For both of us,” she said. “But mostly for you.”
She walked away.
I stood there longer than I should have, then I left.
Two days later, my phone rang.
Unknown number, I stared at it.
Then answered.
“Angel Coubly,” I said.
“Ms. Coubly,” a man said. “This is Blackwood Holdings.”
My pulse jumped. “Yes?” “We’d like to schedule an interview.”
I frowned. “For what?”
“An executive assistant position.” I almost laughed.
“I didn’t apply.”
“You were recommended.”
“By whom?”
A pause, “Mr. James.”
The room felt smaller. “I don’t think that’s appropriate,” I said carefully.
“We disagree,” the man replied. “He specifically asked for you.”
My heart pounded. “He doesn’t know me.”
“Mr. James requested someone he felt… familiar with.”
I closed my eyes. “When?” I asked.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“I need time to think.”
“You have until tonight.”
The call ended. I stared at my phone.
Then I laughed, soft, hysterical, of course he reached for me without knowing why. The office was worse than I imagined, too clean powerful, and more6 like his world.
The receptionist looked up. “Name?”
“Angel Coubly.” Her fingers froze on the keyboard.
“Oh,” she said. I raised an eyebrow. “That bad?”
She hesitated. “Mr. James is… particular.”
“So I’ve heard.” She smiled nervously. “You can go in.”
The door opened. Bradely stood by the window, phone in hand.
He didn’t turn around right away. “You came,” he said.
“Yes.”
“That surprises me.”
“It am surprised too.” He turned.
For a second, something crossed his face, relief, frustration. Something dangerously close to longing.
Then it vanished. “Sit,” he said.
I did, “You don’t look like someone who wants this job,” he said.
“I don’t.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because you asked.”
“I don’t remember doing that.”
“You don’t remember a lot of things.”
His jaw tightened. “Careful.”
“You hired me before,” I said.
“As what?”
“As your wife,” I replied calmly.
Silence.
Then “You’re persistent.”
“So are you.”
He leaned against the desk. “My fiancée doesn’t like you.”
“That’s mutual.”
He blinked. “You’ve met.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“At the hospital.”
His expression darkened. “She didn’t mention that.”
“She didn’t need to.”
“You think you know her.”
“I think she knows exactly what she’s doing.” He studied me. “You speak like someone who’s been here before.”
“I have.”
“In my office?”
“In your life.”
Another silence. Then he said, “I don’t trust you.”
“That’s fair.”
“But I trust my instincts,” he continued. “And they’re telling me to keep you close.”
“That’s a terrible idea.”
“I’m known for those.”
He slid a folder across the desk.
“Contract,” he said. “Sign it.”
I didn’t open it.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because if I stay,” I said, “things will get complicated.”
“They already are.”
“You’re engaged.”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t remember loving me.”
“No.”
“Then this ends badly.”
“Everything worth something does,” he replied.
I looked at him, really looked. “You’re playing with fire,” I said.
“So are you.”
I picked up the pen.
Before I could sign, the door opened.
Kathie walked in, she stopped when she saw me.
Her smile was immediate.
“Oh,” she said. “Her.”
Bradly frowned. “You’re early.”
“I was nearby,” she replied, eyes never leaving me. “I wanted to see the assistant you couldn’t stop talking about.”
“I didn’t talk about her,” he said.
She laughed lightly. “You mentioned her name three times last night.”
I froze. Bradley’s expression shifted. “I did?”
“Yes,” she said sweetly. “In your sleep.”
Silence crashed down, I slowly placed the pen on the desk.
Kathie stepped closer, her hand slipping into Bradley’s arm.
“So,” she said to me, “are you staying?”
Bradley didn’t answer. He was watching me.
Waiting, I met his gaze. And for the first time, I understood the real danger.
Not forgetting me, but choosing me, without knowing why.
I straightened. “Yes,” I said. “I’m staying.”
Kathie’s smile sharpened.
Bradley exhaled slowly, and somewhere deep inside me, something whispered, this will destroy us all.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD