PMS1: President's Forgotten Wife

CHAPTER 17 [III]

CHAPTER 17, part III: GOING BACK MEANS REMEMBERING THE TRUTH

IT PAINS to see him madly in love with his wife and not her. It was unacceptable to feel something for someone who is meant to leave and hurt her in the end. She made a deal with the devil. And a devil's consequences was more than a mere mortal can handle.

"Eisen,"

"Let me sleep with you tonight. Let me occupy the remaining space in your bed. Let me be there to hug you. Let me be there for you, even just for a single night."

Jade did not immediately respond to the young man's remark. She can hear her mind screaming inside her head while her heart continues to throb on her ribcage. Jade wanted to listen to both mind and spirit before weighing her words to respond. But she ended up listening to her heart, not taking into consideration the pain she will soon feel.

And that is to lie in bed, with Eisen beside her.

But before Jade could respond, she felt the same pain she felt earlier, seething through her muscles. The adrenaline she's feeling earlier seemed to subside, draining all her remaining energy.

"Are you alright?" Eisen curiously asked as he reached for Jade's hand and squeezed it lightly. However, something felt painful on her hand when Eisen drew circles on her skin. "Jade, are you alright?"

His voice was firm, but somehow, it sounded so comforting. Jade wanted to lean into the comforts of Eisen's touch, but she needed to stop this. She needs to leave his room and stop the growing feelings she had for Eisen. She removed his hand from hers and looked away.

"I need to go get—" Jade instantly stood up from the bed and attempted to escape.

"Jade—"

"Ouch!" She almost screamed when Eisen pulled her arm, causing her to feel more pain in her hand.

"You don't seem fine to me. You were still okay this morning, so I bet something happened a few minutes earlier. Now, tell me what happened to you before coming into my room to help me."

It seems that it will be difficult for her to close her own heart because Eisen appeared to retrieve the key to where she threw it.

__________

THE SUN was already up in the sky when Eisen opened his eyes. An instant smile grew on his face as soon as he saw the reason why his morning became even brighter.

Jade was soundly sleeping beside him, and as they faced each other while they sleep. They were close to each other and but not too close to fulfilling his desire of her skin against him.

Last night, Eisen had the most vivid and realistic nightmare that has ever occurred in his life. He was not prepared for it, which made him rethink the situation he had now. It was so real that even his body can feel every movement Eisen made in his dream. And now that he's awake, his nightmare started to haunt him down up to his core.

But every time he looks at Jade, he can't stop wanting to know what happened. The desperation that blossomed in his heart grew wider when he saw the woman's reaction last night.

Something was odd when Eisen told her about his dream. She seemed stuporous and agitated that made Eisen refrain from telling her about everything that he saw in his dream. He thought that hiding a little bit of detail from someone is essential at the moment.

And besides, Eisen wanted to sleep with Jade. He did not want to sleep alone while trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Eisen wanted the woman to sleep next to him, and taking the initiative is something he's been thinking about for a long time.

Jade is currently lying on his right while he lies conscious beside his wife. Eisen can't stop himself from smiling ear to ear while forcing herself not to touch her face to wake her up. But worry washed over his expression after remembering what happened last night.

"Jade," he called for here, wanting to know if his wife was already awake or not. When jade doesn't even budge, Eisen decided to touch her cheeks with his knuckles, reminiscing what had happened last night.

[FLASHBACK]

"You don't seem fine to me. Now, tell me what happened to you earlier before coming into my room to help me." Eisen knew that Jade trembles because she's still not used to his presence. Everything is still awkward between them if his instincts were right.

But not because Jade didn't want him close to her, that doesn't mean that Eisen would shrug the idea that Jade seemed to hurt—physically.

"I'm fine, really," Jade answered, which irritated Eisen even more. He hates lies, and Jade should have figured it by now.

"Then I'll come over into your room to sleep." He attempted to leave his bed when the woman raised her hands to stop him from continuing.

"N-no!"

"Then I won't allow you to leave my chambers without letting me check up on you!" If Jade is persistent, so is he. Jade has been taking good care of him, and all he did in return is cause her dilemmas that entirely caused his wife such tremors.

And he wanted to make things right tonight. Yes, he's jealous after seeing those romantic photos Jade and his brother has, but if he wanted to make this relationship work for the second time, he needs to act like a man of his words! Eisen still owes Jade an explanation. He still needs to know her side of the story because it will never do him good to make such accusations.

"Fine!" Jade shouted before giving up. "My room, my rules, okay?"

"As long as you keep your hands to yourself, wife, because the moment you let your hands slip on mine, I won't back down easily."

After that, Jade assisted Eisen in her room and excused herself from putting on some clothes. Eisen took the opportunity to scan his wife's room, shockingly surprised to see that there are many things scattered somewhere— everywhere, somewhat.

He thought he knew Jade already. But it seems like what he knows about his wife will never be enough until he remembers everything between them.

It took 30 seconds for Jade to get dressed, and after that, five more minutes had passed before she could clean her room and finally welcome Eisen into the bed.

"So, what happened to you earlier?" Her face fell blanch as they stare at each other.

"I accidentally—I was feeling tired, and my body felt numb. That's all there is to say," Jade started fixing the bed, trying to avoid Eisen's gaze. Of course, the young man had noticed that his wife is trying to avoid something.

Noticing that Jade has been twitching and cringing, her body movement made an assurance that it must have been a hard fall.

"Really? Because the word 'I accidentally' doesn't sound like it refers to the word 'tired and numb.' Don't you agree?" Eisen would not stop at anything until he figured out what happened to Jade.

"F-fine! I—I accidentally slipped on the floor when I came rushing to check up on you. Happy?" Jade felt embarrassed; at least it was what Eisen felt after detecting her sudden change of facial expression.

"Where did you—" Eisen stopped in mid-sentence as he cleared his throat before averting his gaze away from Jade when he realized where Jade could skim.

Jade sat on the bed as her arms wrapped around her body. She felt discomfort, and Eisen has no intention of making her feel like that. So, she stood up from his wheelchair and unhurriedly went on the bed, sitting beside her.

"Jade, sorry if I shouted at you earlier." he enunciated, not wanting to look her in the face or her eyes. The reason why he wanted to be with her is that to make things right by being sincere to every single word he says

"I know that I don't," Eisen took a long deep breath when he uttered those words, capturing Jade's full attention. "I don't have the right to look into your phone without your consent. And—I was just jealous of the fact that you have a picture with Lewis, and you were too close," his voice cracked as his throat runs dry. He scratched the back of his head, starting to feel regretful for what he did.

"I just don't like the fact that you are my wife, and you're closer with my brother than with us, knowing that we're actually married. I know that using the word jealousy as my alibi to get mad at you again is unacceptable. I was just waiting for the right moment for you to tell me about you and my brother and what is your relationship with him aside from being your brother-in-law. I wanted us back even though I can't remember everything yet. And I was thinking that your reason for leaving me and for Lewis to push me to sign that divorce paper is that you're having an affair behind my back," there! He finally told her what he felt! Eisen wanted Jade to know what he feels, and he hopes that she'll do the same

"Well, it kinda sucks to know that you think of me like someone who doesn't value marriage at all. It is also not right for you to get into my stuff to ruin me, but I understand your reason. I'm a married woman, and I still use Lewis and my picture together as my wallpaper is because I made a promise to him," her voice sounded bitter as she reminisced the moments she shared with Lewis before continuing her story.

"Your brother Lewis was a classmate of mine during my college years. We were best friends when we began college until he became the most popular student in the school, making him earn a spot in the student council. It was no big deal at first since I understand that a man like him with a face like that would become sensational one day. But as time passes by, we grew distant. The routine of going to coffee shops in the morning, visiting the library at lunch, and him sending me back home before dinner became just a fragment of my memory I shared with him." Eisen intently listened as she saw how Jade played with her fingernails.

"And the picture you saw on my phone happened. It was a simple masquerade ball held by the St. Clair's, your family. The gathering was a charity ball, and your brother asked me as his date that night. I couldn't say no because I missed hanging out with him. Don't get me wrong because what I felt for him back then was pure friendship and nothing more.

At first, we were happy laughing at each other's jokes, not noticing that many photographers were taking stolen pictures of us; then, in the morning, they made a colossal scandal under my name with Lewis. It made him mad at me at some point, and it was too late for us to realize that we were shouting at each other at the back of the principal's office. So, I made a promise to myself to use that 'scandalous' picture as my wallpapers to remind me of my failures as a young woman. And if I ever forgive your brother for what he has done to me, I will remove that photo as my wallpaper." The woman smiled in his direction before clapping her hand and gestures for Eisen to go to bed. But the conversation didn't end there when he asked,

"And what about me? Why don't we have a picture together? Why do I feel that I was never a part of your life before, Jade? Why do you make me feel that way?"

[END OF FLASHBACK]

When Jade moved beside her, Eisen waited for her to open her eyes and greet him early in the morning. And when she did open her eyes, a smile formed on her lips before greeting him.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Jade asked, making Eisen's heart flutter in so much delight.

"Yes, thank you for asking. And good morning to you too." Eisen replied before removing her hair away from her face. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Instead of answering, Jade merely nodded her head and decided to stand up, making Eien's brows furrow.

"Please don't tell me that you're about to prepare breakfast and you intend to leave me alone in here?" He pouted while asking the question. Jade chuckled and messed up with his hair, turning it into a best for the birds.

"I have no intention of not doing my work today. So you should get up and go back to your room if you want to rest some more." His wife stood up from the bed and tied her hair into a messy bun before smiling at him once again.

"Thank you for letting me crash in here for the night. I don't want to use my nightmare to trick you into letting me sleep with you, but that's the only alibi I could think of. So, thank you for allowing me to be with my wife when just for the night," Eisen said before smiling back at Jade. However, the woman remained silent and continued her way towards the wide curtains and immediately opened them, letting the rays of sunlight wake up the remaining sleeping cells in their bodies.

The scenery outside is breathtaking— beautiful enough to make his smile reach the sky. The picturesque outside was ethereal, and it was hard for him not to stare.

And at the same time, Jade was starting outside like it was the last remaining thing an innocent eye would see. And the deeper Eisen stared at his wife, the clearer he remembered what happened last night. They both shared a slow yet passionate kiss that happened so fast. The moment he kissed her last night was a sign that he can't stop himself from kissing his wife. But remembering how Jade's heart pound against her chest made him doubt everything. He's not even sure if Jade enjoyed the kiss or made her feel a bit disgusted at him.

It was just a simple kiss where two lips collided. However, Eisen wasn't able to convince himself to pull away from Jade's soft lips until he felt her discomfort regarding his sudden action. And the moment he was able to make himself stop, he started to regret not even moving his lips to know whether Jade would respond or not.

Because of their argument yesterday, the kiss they shared, and when she ended up sleeping in her room, Eisen was already expecting her to leave before he could even wake up. He felt that his woman force herself to talk to him last night because Jade seemed concerned about his condition. That's why he expects her to leave his side when he falls asleep.

But to Eisen's surprise, his wife was still sleeping peacefully beside him before she wakes up. That is why the joy he felt remained intact in his dear old heart to make his heart leap in delight.

"As long as you assure me that you're alright now, then we're even." Eisen reached for Jade's hand and started to drew small circles on the back of her palm using his thumb. Touching her skin made him smile. But the smile that was written all over his face was soon replaced by unknown emotion as he remembered his nightmare.

In his dream, he was drinking. He was getting wasted, trying to forget about something that wasn't clear enough for Eisen. Then he stood up and went to the bathroom. He tried to sober up as he saw how pain and sorrow reflected on his physical appearance. Eisen looked like a speck of dirt all over the place. Then as he went out of the bathroom, he saw Jade wearing a dress that almost showed other parts of her body.

They were fighting. Eisen knew that even though he heard nothing of their conversation. But she was sure of one thing— Jade wasn't the reason why he's drinking. There is another reason why he is hurting, why he turns out to be like bags of s**t compiled together.

He then recalled a man called his cellphone, telling him about referring to something he doesn't remember doing. And that person might be connected to the person behind his accident. Is everything just a dream? Or is that thing part of his forgotten past?

"You'll regret leaving her," Eisen remembered his exact words as he remembered the text message he had received in his dream.

"Are you alright?" Jade asked, taking him back to reality. Eisen smiled and slowly nodded his head before letting Jade's hand go. The woman excused herself after that, leaving Eisen alone in the room.

"It was just a nightmare, Eisen. Don't overthink things. You'll go crazy thinking about it if you don't stop now," he convinced himself before reaching for his head and raked his fingers in his hair.

But it was hard for him to believe this now. It became overwhelming for him to trust what other people tell him and what his dreams or memories dictate. It became arduous for him even to want to know the truth that his mind had buried deep because he's scared of what he'll learn that will hurt him more than he could imagine.

Should he believe? Should he trust? Does he still want to know the truth? Does he want to go back?