PMS1: President's Forgotten Wife

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 18: LIE AS AN INGREDIENT

JADE didn't even realize that she's been chewing her fingernails while her other hand is holding her phone, waiting quietly and patiently for the person on the other line to accept the call.

She's still trying to let Eisen's words sink in on her head for her to understand his statement correctly. But whenever Jade tried to think about it, all she could feel is 10% anger, and the rest deals with TRUST issues that she never expected for the young man to break so easily and too early.

When Jade came out of Eisen's room earlier, she decided to give Lewis a call to notify him about the young man and what he dreamt, not even sure if Eisen has noticed that his dream wasn't actually a dream-but a part of his shattered memory box. And of all the memories Eisen could see in his dreams, why does it have to be the memory with her?

What Eisen said earlier given rise to Jade lose her composure. His words became a permanent tattoo, turning into a mark on her brain, making her unable to get it out of her head. The memory of that day on the bar became a trauma for her. She's frightened that night because of Eisen's dominant approach, making her almost stumble in anxiety. And now, that feeling was slowly occupying the spaces in her heart as questions formulated in her head.

What if he'll remember? Will he feed her to the sharks? Or kill me with his own hands for deceiving him? Will Eisen be able to forgive someone like her who had no choice but to help?

Any time soon, Eisen will remember everything. It pains to think about it, but what can she do? Jade should've known better than this day will eventually come. And by now, she should've been prepared for the consequences.

But judging by how she reached, she doesn't know when or how, but the mere thought of it scared her. It made her want to just disappear like a bubble up in the sky. Jade wanted to hide away and forget about everything. At that moment, she wanted to be just like Eisen, unable to remember everything to save herself from hurting.

Jade lightly massaged her nape as her other hand frantically grasp her phone. She can't believe that Eisen would reach up to that extent: to look into her phone to look for shreds of evidence. And that made the situation even worst.

Eisen already knew that they don't have pictures together, and things became depressing when he remembered something that had happened at the bar that day. If Eisen were born a detective, then it would be easier for him to decipher the situation. Jade has no photos on her phone that would scream the word husband, and now he remembers something from the past that scared him. Given the fact that Jade already revealed the truth to him that she is not his forgotten wife.

And that is a hard slap on Jade's cheeks because it became a reminder for her to remember that she's just an impostor in Eisen's life, hiding beneath the shadow of the real wife-the forgotten one, Alicia.

Jade is scared. That's how she feels, even though she's not sure why. Jade could not sleep all night because of the fear Jade felt. Not to mention the kiss they shared that until now, she could still feel the young man's lips gently caressing hers in the most mind-blowing, addictive movement he made. And Jade felt different. She felt insane.

"Is something wrong?" On the other line, Lewis finally answered with a hoarse voice. Jade forgot that she was waiting for Lewis to answer the call. If the man, on the other line, hadn't accepted the call, her thoughts would probably still be in the galaxy, counting impossible endless stars. With how he spoke from the other line, the young man sounded like he just woke up from a peaceful sleep.

Jade sighed and closed her eyes tightly. I'm really sorry, Eisen. She whispered to herself before announcing to the other line that she's still there.

"Eisen. He-" Jade's voice absentmindedly trembled while her hands tightly held the phone, "-he remembered something the night the accident happened," she uttered and abruptly stopped and waited for the young man on the other line to respond. But when Jade heard no response from Lewis, she spoke again.

"Can you make time to visit your brother? He seemed bothered lately, and I don't know what to do. Eisen is starting to suspect me, and I don't want to be the only one facing him once he remembered everything," Jade thought the young man on the other line eventually turned into a statue, just like fairy godmother on Cinderella III, because he's not making any movement or causing faint sounds. She thought Lewis went back to sleep already, so Jade was about to call out his name when she heard Lewis's crack voice.

"I'll be there before you know it." and Lewis himself ended the call.

Jade slowly placed her cellphone between her chest and sighed. She leaned her back against the cold wall and slowly took long, deep breaths to calm her nerves. Jade knew that something was definitely wrong with her the moment she laid eyes on Eisen, a f*****g married man who got dumped but can't let go. That's how love works when you cling too much into it, right?

If forgetting everything is possible to happen to Jade in the future, then she wanted it to happen now. She can feel her heart slowly breaking, but she's too persistent to keep on mending it. And this is the price she needs to pay, which is to keep on remembering the decision that she regretted making.

And now, she can't stop thinking about the young man's words last night that made her unable to sleep. He is concerned about the situation and how he sounded so jealous about something he shouldn't be getting jealous of.

"I know that I don't," Jade still remembers that short pause he made when he looked deep in her eyes. "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,"

"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,"

Jade never thought that things like that would exist in reality, not until he heard Eisen's words that reached her ears like a romantic song popping in the air. His words became like the typical romantic stories she reads when she's still in her college life or the movies she would pressure her brothers to watch with her. However, Jade immediately wore sadness as her makeup for the morning when she recalled one thing: Eisen's utterances are not intended for her in the first place.

But Jade's deep thoughts were disturbed when she quickly held her phone in her eye level and opened it, making her jaw dropped to see what is on her wallpaper. Jade can't help herself but react that way because she can't remember using her photo with Lewis as her wallpaper.

"Urgh! This is the reason why I hated being myself sometimes," she silently cursed out after realizing what had happened.

If she had remembered that she used her and Lewis's stolen shot way back college, then Jade could've removed it to stop Eisen from getting more suspicious.

A part of her was guilty, like a wife having an affair with her husband's brother and got caught in the process of getting intimate with her husband's brother. It was as if this was her darkest secret that no one else could and should know.

And what's worse, Jade doesn't even have a picture of Eisen. Except for family photos and workmates' groupies, she stored the remaining stolen images of her and Lewis when they were still close friends. And it was a bad thing because she's pretending to be his wife.

Jade immediately dismissed the thought and stared at her phone again. She then immediately changed her wallpaper and lock screen into one of the suggested pictures by the phone itself. Jade hid her phone in her pocket after Jade changed the phone wallpaper. She sighed before facing the kitchen.

Jade placed his hand on her chest before closing her eyes.

"Heart, please stop meddling with my mind. Because from now on, I will no longer listen to you. You have caused me nothing but trouble—too much trouble that made things harder to deal with,"

She sighed before opening her eyes with determination in the look on her face. Jade was sad for no apparent reason. And she doesn't want to know that justification anymore because confusion will worsen the situation. It will just meddle with her condition and steal the littlest fraction of peace in her mind.

And Jade did not want her life to be even more chaotic.

__________

AS SOON AS afternoon arrived before Jade could even finish cooking for lunch, Lewis appeared with his private helicopter. With their conversation earlier, with regards to Eisen's memory, Jade was even a little surprised because she did not assume that the young man would get to the island quickly.

What surprised her even more, was that Lewis arrived with their parents to visit Eisen, a sign that Lewis might have informed his parents they Eisen could remember something that Jade wished it will help for the investigation's progress. Jade saw how Eisen's chest grew beneath his shirt and then became still and stiff.

"Did you call for them to come and visit?" Eisen asked unannounced, causing Jade to look behind her. The young man's expression is indecipherable. Jade wasn't sure if Eisen was surprised, irritated, or curious with the look that the man is giving her. His jaw tightened, and his lips pursed into a thin line. It was a bit disturbing for her part when he clenched his fist, causing Jade to tremble inside her.

She thought butterflies would only exist when romantic things happen. Jade didn't realize up until now that butterflies would also disturb her stomach at moments like this. It's brutally scary, and it's shockingly undesirable.

But instead of answering, Jade chose to remain silent as the young man's family gradually approached their whereabouts. Family St. Clair will soon be completed once again with just a few more strides towards the house.

"Good morning," Jade warmly paid her respect as she greeted the couple and helped them with their belongings. Mr. and Mrs. St. Clair paid no attention to Jade's direction as they instantly gave their warm, longing hugs to their son, Eisen.

Lewis followed after while meeting Jade's pensive eyes with no intention of breaking the gaze between them. But before Eisen could grow another package of suspicion towards her, Jade instantly diverted her attention at the bags the couples brought and paid attention to it.

The bags were astoundingly hefty, so Jade wondered why.

"Good morning, too, my dear. How was your stay here? I suppose my eldest son hasn't brought you any headaches for the past few weeks? Or did my son suffered headaches?" the lady calmly asked as she pushed Eisen's wheelchair, volunteering herself to take good care of her son. Seeing how Mrs. St. Clair's eyes glimmer the moment her sights set on Eisen, Jade has no right to prohibit a mother from taking care of her son.

"Maman, come on. Don't ask silly questions. I don't have a headache, and I tried my best to cause Jade no harm. After all," Eisen stopped midsentence as his eyes searched for hers, inhaling her gaze into his like a fragrance she used when they slept together, "A husband should know how to respect his wife, am I right, Jade?"

Eisen, on the other hand, looked at his wife's behavior, and his words painted disbelief on Jade's face, followed by the pity on his family's faces. The smile on his mother's lips turned upside down as she averted her gaze away from Jade or him.

The young man did not want his mother to know how disturbingly annoying he is towards Jade for the past few weeks. It's not like he wanted his mother to know what happened between them, but he thought that this is not the right moment to be telling them about everything.

For the second time, Eisen tried to search for his wife's pensive eyes but was disappointed when Jade didn't look at him.

"Eisen has been nothing but a gentle and admirable man. He doesn't complain and doesn't give me a hard time at all. Eisen has been-" Jade looked at him, measuring his expression before continuing, "-an understanding and a loving husband. And he's been doing great for a while now. Eisen's making progress, and I'm happy that he didn't decide on giving up yet," Eisen was flabbergast at her words. The way Jade said those words sounded so sincere and honest. It was like he was the luckiest husband in the world for having someone like Jade; understanding, caring, authentic, and genuine.

And he hates himself for that.

"That's good to hear, hija. Thank you so much for not giving up on mon fils." The atmosphere became light as his family smiled and thanked Jade for her efforts in helping him. However, as he let himself stare longer at Jade, Eisen couldn't help but feel guilty about what he did. His pensive eyes were tired, sad, and bothered; however, nobody seems to notice it other than him.

"See? I'm a good patient and a good husband to my caring wife," no matter how honest Jade's words, the moment it skips out of her lips, her eyes were screaming the opposite. And that bothered him so much because of what he did back then. He was acting like an asshole, and he can't help but regret that.

But that didn't concern Eisen for the moment. Because in an instant, he felt the world altered when their smiles instantly faded away, leaving the room silent and breathless. Their smiles and words died down, acting as if he had said something wrong.

Everyone suddenly froze as they looked at each other, avoiding taking a glance at Eisen. It's as if his face is too much for any one of them to handle. Eisen was hoping to see a positive reaction from Jade, but the moment he turned his gaze towards his wife, regret became her mask to hide her face from him. With that uncomfortable gesture from everyone, Eisen tensed up as he suddenly felt ashamed; his throat blocked the words he wanted to tell them.

"So, tell us about it, son. How have you been? Any progress in your memories? We missed you, and we hope you can remember everything soon."

"Well, I-" Eisen was about to answer when he saw Jade turned her back on them with traveling bags on both her hands. As his mother pushed the wheelchair to the living room, his distance from Jade became farther. He wanted to protest and grab his wife's hand to pull her towards him, but when Jade was almost out of sight, an unwanted arm grabbed her by the shoulder, stopping her from stepping on the stairs. And before Jade is out of his sight, he saw Lewis got closer to her, starting deep in her eyes.

And absentmindedly, Eisen clenched his fist as he remembered the wallpaper on his wife's phone. Jealousy crept into his veins as anger ignited his blood. Why can't he stop himself from feeling such emotions towards Jade? Why can't he just stop it now?!