Game of fate

THE UNSEEN TRUTH

Dominic

Meeting Adora was a breath of fresh air. Her honesty and humour broke through the pretentious facade that surrounds me daily. She, not knowing who I was, made our conversation special and genuine, taking the weight of having to live up to the expectation of a ‘golden boy’ off my shoulders.

A message popped up:

“Hey, Gemini.”

“Speak of the devil, I was about to text you.”

“I guess we have a telepathic connection. This sounded better in my head.”

I let out a chuckle. She is an adorable chaos, and my adorable chaos, to be exact. “Yeah, it should have stayed in your head,” I replied mockingly.

“Are we still meeting on my birthday?”

“Yes, we are.”

“Okay.”

As her birthday approached, I planned our first meeting in real life. I wanted it to be special. The anticipation of seeing her in person made my cheeks flush a little. There hasn't been a day where I don't dream of her smiling and hearing the sarcasm in some of her cockiness. It was close to her birthday, and I had the perfect gift in mind, not just because I wanted to but as an expression of how special she was to me. I wanted to give her the rare edition of whatever she wanted. More importantly, I wanted to reveal my true identity to her. I spent weeks rehearsing my words and imagining her reaction, not just to the gift but to me.

The day of the meeting came. It was a rainy day. I left early, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I spent weeks anticipating this day. My mind was filled with thoughts of Adora—her laugh, her smile, the spark in her eyes. I barely noticed the black trailing car. Without warning, my brakes failed. Panic set in. I tried to control the car, but it was no use as I crashed into a trailer coming in my direction. Drenched in the rain, blood rolling down my face, my vision blurred. The last figure I saw was a woman with piercing green eyes and Louboutin heels. That woman was Vivian.

Vivian, my stepmother, has always seen me as an obstacle to her claim to the family fortune. I always thought of her as a dog that barks and never bites, but I underestimated the extent of her greed and entitlement. In my world of pain and confusion, I got a glimpse of her. Her features were my last memory before everything went black.

As I woke up, everything seemed blurry. The harsh light and the pungent smell of the hospital overwhelmed me. I was interrupted by a nurse rushing in with a sign of urgency.

“Mr. Dominic, you are awake. We need to run a few more tests on you,” she said.

I frowned in confusion. “What's going on? What tests? How did I get here?” I asked.

The nurse hesitated but proceeded to say, “You have been in a coma for two weeks.” She continued, “Do you remember what happened?”

I was silent, trying to remember, but my memory felt blank. All I remembered was a woman, and I was going somewhere.

She looked at me with a strange expression on her face.

“Hold on, let me get the doctor.”

The doctor came, and a few tests were run. The doctor said I had selective amnesia. I only remembered some events or some people.

My dad came, alongside him a strange woman. Something about that woman was familiar, and I didn't like the feeling.

As the doctor offered to speak to my dad outside, I was left with my thoughts and this strange woman. “Who is this?” I asked myself. A glimpse of what looked like a memory appeared, but it was too faint for me to picture. The answer I feared would be more devastating than my anticipation.

Adora

Today was the special day I had been looking forward to for months. Putting on my best dress and sitting in the far corner of Masa's Restaurant, looking like a princess waiting for her prince charming, I nervously caressed the table, my heart filled with excitement and anxiety. After months of communication online, I was finally going to meet my Gemini. And on my birthday, that's what I like to call killing two birds with one stone.

Time went by. I checked my phone, hoping for a message from him saying he was on his way or he was close, but all I got was nothing. It was my third drink. I tried to think positively as minutes turned into hours. My patience began to turn into worry and anger as my text messages and calls went unanswered. As the restaurant began to empty, it dawned on me that my prince charming was not going to show up. My heart, crushed and filled with disappointment and suffocation, I dashed out of the restaurant. Barely controlling my tears, I called my best friend Isabella. The tears I had been holding back poured out. I sobbed over the phone, “He didn't show up, Isa. He didn't call or text. How could he do this to me?”

“He promised,” I said to Isa.

“Addy, listen to me. It's okay to feel sad. It’s okay to feel the way you are feeling. You looked forward to this and wanted it to be special, so I understand. There will be better days ahead. You are Adaora Wilson; you are strong, and I am here for you. I will always love and support you. I don't want you to be hard on yourself. I will see you at your place later.”

“Thank you, Isa. I don't know what I would do without you.”

“I love you, and I am your best friend, remember?”

Isa always had a way with words. She always knew the right thing to say. With her words of encouragement, I wiped my tears.

I went home feeling betrayed, and I vowed to never let anyone hurt me like this again.