PMS1: President's Forgotten Wife

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4: QU'EST-CE QUE TU M'AS FAIT?

JADE woke up from the comforting heat of the sun rays caressing her almost tan skin. She slowly flutters her eyes open as she adjusted her vision to the blinding light in front of her. As soon as she was able to scan the whole area, she felt like a bucket of cold water wake her up from her dreamy sleep! She's not sleeping in her bed, which only means she's in someone else's room! She can't believe what was happening.

Jade looked around the place once again, looking for something she recognized, but she's not familiar with the room. Wait, is this happening? Did she get drunk, and Everything that had happened was just a part of her dream, then someone took her home and took advantage of her? But that's impossible!

Everything felt so real. Jade's gaze landed on her fully covered body with a thick, comforting blanket. She gulped her saliva as she slowly tugs the blanket out of her body. And when she was able to see her whole body thoroughly. She sighs in relief as soon as she saw her body enveloped in an oversized green shirt. But she started screaming when she realized that she's only wearing a shirt and underwear!

She rushed outside the room, trying to find her way towards the stairs that would lead her downstairs. And after running in a maze-like house, she finally saw the grand staircase of the house, leading her directly to the living room where a man, described in relation as a god, was sitting on the luxurious sofa, a newspaper in his hands. The man was flipping through pages and did not notice Jade's presence.

Jade wanted to make sure that she's in good hands, and nothing happened as soon as she passed out. She cleared her throat, trying to steal the man's attention.

"Finally, you're awake." He uttered so casually without even glancing at her side. It pained her so much to see that the man she once knew was now mature and cold-hearted, acting as if they were a stranger.

Her jolly, softhearted friend way back in high school is someone she cannot recognize. Lewis was the one who left without saying goodbye, and now, after six years of not seeing each other, here he was, standing so tall like he never did something to hurt her.

"Did you get a nice sleep?" his voice was deep but not as cold as the night they met after six long years. But instead of answering, she angrily grabbed the newspaper in his hand and threw it just across the living room. Lewis didn't seem bothered as he stares blankly at her, not even affected by the painted emotions on her face.

"What are you doing in the hospital? Why did you suddenly show up in front of me and acted like you never knew me before?! Why treat me like this, Lewis?!"

"We're not here to talk about the past-"

"Then why bring me here? With you? Why didn't you leave me alone in there? Why?!" For a moment, Lewis's eyes were wondering on hers, like reading her, uncovering her emotions and all.

"You're unbelievable." He irritatedly answered as he stood up from where he is seated and started walking away, trying to avoid the situation. But when Jade felt her eyes began to cloud with tears, she couldn't control her tears from caressing her cheeks.

"Well, after leaving without saying goodbye, do you think it was nice just to mistreat me?" Lewis stopped from his tracks as he gave Jade a sideways glance. After a couple of seconds, he fully faced Jade and walk towards her.

"I don't need to say goodbye to anyone... and you know what? I don't need to explain it to you."

"Just as I thought you were gonna say." She wiped her tears away and started walking away from Lewis. But before she could even turn the doorknob of the front door, a hand wrapped around her arm, causing her to stop from leaving.

"You can't leave wearing that! Are you out of your mind?!" he angrily commanded, not wanting to let go of her.

"You let me go, dumbass! I don't need your care, and I don't need your opinion!" she started shrugging Lewis's hand, but he won't just budge! Why is he so persistent?!"

"Are you stupid or what?!"

"I was stupid when I befriended you. So, let me go before I punch you in the face." She doesn't want to say those words, but she can't control herself anymore. She thought that she and Lewis were friends, but Jade guesses that she's wrong.

"Sir-" their conversation was shortly interrupted when a maid, holding a tray of two coffee mugs and croissants, entered the living room. Lewis raised his hand to stop the maid and drove her away without breaking their eye contact. And in an instant, the maid left with the breakfast in her hand.

"Is that what you want? Punch me in the face? Why don't you do it then?" his eyes were burning with anger, regret, and unexplainable emotions. She knew that he was at least hurt by what she said, but Jade didn't want to regret her words. So, she'll own them like a tough guy.

"Just f*****g let me go!"

"You're not leaving looking like that!!" and with one swift move, Lewis scooped her into his arms and carried her like a sack of rice. He started walking towards the second floor, not minding Jade's screams. And before she knew it, Lewis opened a door and immediately closed it before letting her down on her feet.

"Jade, I brought you here because I need to know what happened three days ago! So stop embarrassing yourself and talk to me!" Lewis shouted out of irritation, not in the mood to deal with Jade's unsolicited mood swing that loves to pop up out of nowhere!

"I am not embarrassed about what I am doing. While you? You should be ashamed of yourself. After all the memories we've shared, yore here now acting like a cold-blooded b***h!" Without restraint, Jade screamed back. Pain pooled on her chest, ready to drown her from inside.

"Why are you making it a big deal that I left without even informing you?! It's not like we dated, Jade. And as far as I'm concern, I don't have to report to you every single time!" Lewis angrily answered.

"Yeah, asshole! We didn't date, and I would never want to date you back then! But we were best friends! We were—" she wanted to take it all out, her smiles that turned into a gritted teeth, her vibrant eyes that pooled to tears. She hated being vulnerable.

She hated it so much!

"Jade, I just wanted to know what happened to my brother! So, please stop talking about how an asshole I am and help me find the lead of who the suspect is!" Did she hear it right?  Did Lewis actually told her that the man who was following her last night was his brother?!

"What? He's your brother?!"

"After you fainted that night in the waiting area, I had to bring you here because your phone is dead and you didn't wake up until now. Just like my brother, the accident occurred three days ago. He's still sleeping. I talked to the doctor, and they told me he's recovering fast."

"Oh, my God. Is this—" she can't believe it. She's been with Lewis her entire high school life, and she knew the existence of Lewis's brother but what she didn't expect is that she never knew who is his best friend's brother!

"This is all my fault..." silence cowered as she stared at her fingers intertwine with one another.

"This is not your-"

"That night at the bar, he kept on calling me Alicia or Ali. I know he's just mistaken me for someone else, but I can't stop thinking if I didn't leave the bar that night. The accident wouldn't occur if I stayed inside.." What happened was too explicit for Jade not to forget. The kiss, the fear, the accident, and then blood everywhere. Everything was playing over and over again in the back of her mind, reminding Jade of what had happened.

"How did you crossed paths with him?" He asked, crossing his arms around his chest.

"I was looking for my friend, Keyaria because I need to leave that night. I still have a job to do in the morning, and I was not comfortable inside the bar since a lot of people were already catcalling me... And when I was—I was about to go to the C.R., I accidentally bumped into your brother. He was super drunk, and then he started calling me Alicia or Ali or something like that." She paused for a moment before taking another deep breath as she recalled what happened next.

"I was scared that he might do something to me that is against my will, and a kiss happened. He forced me to kiss him, so I pushed him away and decided to leave. I didn't know that he will follow me that night. And then the accident happened. I wasn't able to do anything. I'm sorry." It wasn't very comfortable to say the kiss with a straight face, but Jade had to include that.

"Your presence that night is enough to save my brother. The doctors told me that the first aid you performed helped Eisen to avoid danger. So, thank—" his words were interrupted when the room filled with a ringtone she was able to recognize.

Lewis rolled his eyes in frustration as he took his phone from his pocket and stood at the doorway, making sure that Jade wouldn't be able to leave the room. As she heard Lewis's voice talking through the phone, she roamed her eyes around the room, studying each side and corners.

Three perfectly combined colors painted the place: mint green, white, and black. The ambiance is welcoming because the colors were fresh and clean. But she was interrupted when Lewis cleared his throat, a mixed emotion written on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Eisen... He's awake."

__________

She can't help but walk back and forth inside the hospital room where the doctor admitted Eisen. Her hands were shaking, desperately wanting to know if Everything is fine. And when the door swung open, revealing Lewis standing with his parents. Her palms started to sweat with worry. She wanted to go inside earlier to see for herself if Eisen was already doing great.

But because she felt uneasy, Jade decided to let Lewis enter the room without her. And now, she's growing more uncomfortable just by the sight of Lewis's awkward gaze. The doctor and the nurse bid their goodbyes as they went to their other patients, leaving her with Lewis.

"How is-" Jade couldn't finish her statement when Lewis crashed himself at Jade. Lewis tightly wrapped his arms around her body. What is going on?

"Tell me what happened, Lewis. Please." The cold and insensitive man she argued with earlier immediately melted when she saw how vulnerable Lewis is.

"He can't remember me anymore, Jade. He can't even recall his name. He can't even recognize mom and dad. Goddamn it!" he shouted in anger, and he punched the wall hard! Jade was shocked at what she saw. She had never seen Lewis so vulnerable and angry before.

"Hush now, son. Hush now," a woman in her 40's showed in front of them, making Lewis stop from punching the wall. The woman hugged Lewis, and Lewis rested his forehead onto the woman's shoulder. And to think about it, this has to be Mrs. St. Clair!

Mrs. St. Clair released Lewis from the hug and darted her attention to where Jade was standing. She started walking towards her with confusion painted on her face.

"Alicia? Hija, is that you?" the woman asked, but before Jade could even answer her, an overwhelming and heavy slap landed just across her face, causing her almost to lose her balance.

"Mom?!"

"Tout ça c'est de ta faute! Si tu ne faisais pas de mal à mon fils, il ne serait pas allongé sur ce lit, incapable de nous reconnaître comme sa famille! (This is all your fault! If you didn't hurt my son, he wouldn't be lying onto that bed, not able to recognize us as his family!)" Jade wasn't able to react to what just happened while Mrs. St. Clair kept talking in a different language. Even though she can't understand it, she knew that the woman might be cursing at her.

"Mom!" Lewis's voice raised as he shielded Jade from his angry mother. Lewis then grabs her by the shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Ce n'est pas Alicia, maman. C'est mon amie Jade. Et vous ne pouvez pas gifler quelqu'un comme ça en public! (She's not Alicia, mom. She's my friend Jade. And you can't just slap anyone like that in public!)"

"Oh, no. My dear, I am so sorry. Please forgive my manners. I thought you were my son's wife or ex-wife."

"I understand, Mrs. St. Clair. My identity gets mixed up these past few days."

"On behalf of my wife, I am deeply sorry for the mistaken identity. But please do come in, hija. I wanted to thank you for performing first aid at my son before the ambulance arrived. Without your help, he could've suffered worst. My wife prepared something for us to eat." Mr. St. Clair apologetically looked at her before they entered the room.

As soon as they entered, Mrs. St. Clair excused herself to prepare the meal. Then Mr. St. Clair followed her, leaving her and Lewis in front of the hospital bed where a handsome man was lying still onto the bed.

But then Lewis's phone started to disturb the silence, so he excused himself to take the call. When she was already alone in the room, she started walking near the bed to get a clearer view of Eisen because up until now, Jade can't believe that she finally met Lewis' brother, and it just so happened in the worst-case scenario.

As she took a closer look at Eisen's whole body, she noticed that his right foot has cast. She recalled that he had a minor injury. somebody bandaged his forehead.

As far as Jade could remember, Eisen injured his head when it collided with the road. Lucky enough, it was just a minor head injury. There are a lot of small cuts on his face up until his bare neck. Jade can't help herself but feel guilty about what happened. If she didn't leave the bar, the man would still be in a stable condition, but no. and now, his family is looking into the investigation, hoping to give justice to the man who caused this accident.

Jade found herself lifting her hand as she reached for the hair of Eisen that scattered on his face. She slowly stroke Eisen's hair in one direction because it felt right. But her heart almost exploded in shock when a hand grabs hers, stopping her from doing what Jade does. And when she traces who own the hand that halted hers, her eyes widen as the realization hits her.

This cant be! She can't help her own heart when it started to beat a different rhythm when her eyes met his. Something doesn't feel right. His deep green enchanting eyes that look into her feel like his gaze searched into hers as if her soul would have an answer to satisfy his question. But the man immediately let go of her hand as his hands crawl towards her hair, starting to pull his hair.

"Sir, are you all right?! Mrs. St. Clair!" she started shouting and heard footsteps approaching her destination.

"I'll just go and get a doctor!" Jade said, but before she could even take a step, Eisen grabbed her hand, causing her to stop in her tracks. His hands were warm as his warmth lingers on her skin. This sudden feeling, what is going on?

She wasn't able to stop her eyes from getting wider as she saw how his expression softened. But a tear came running down his eyes, and it pains Jade to see him shed a tear. What did she do wrong this time?

"Sir-" she wasn't able to finish her sentence when Eisen immediately pulled her closer to him, making her almost brush his face against his chest. The man placed Jade's hand on her chest where his beating heart is. Eisen's heart drums inside him; the sound made its way to her skin and through her veins, reaching her heart.

And yet, she hated that feeling.

" Tu ... (You...)" he said and touched Jade's cheeks, followed by a whisper from his lips. She won't understand the meaning, but she's hoping that Eisen was not cursing or performing black magic on her.

She looked at Lewis and his family before darting her attention back to Eisen, and a group of words came out of his lips, causing her heart to almost explode in confusion as her hands lay on Eisen's chest just above where his heart,

"Pourquoi est-ce que je ressens cette émotion inexplicable ici? Qui êtes-vous et que m'avez-vous fait? (Why do I feel this unexplainable emotion in here? Who are you, and what have you done to me?)"