Slaves of Unforgotten Past

HAPPY DAYS

CHAPTER FOUR

FLASHBACK

It was a few years ago when Troy courted me to be his girlfriend.

Though we are already engaged, I never claimed that he was mine nor was he.

We also made clear to each other that we will not live together if we are not sure that we love each other.

And I also made it clear to him that it depends on me, alone, if I will indeed marry him and let him be part of me.

Moving forward, during those courting days, he never fails to surprise me every Friday.

Yes! Every freaking Friday! I don't know why he only gives me surprises every Friday. I mean, why can't he just make it… like… every day? Right?

Not even once did it come to my mind that surprising someone requires a schedule.

Well, though I am not fond of receiving surprises, I still feel happy if someone does it for me.

Well, anyway, I am still grateful for all the efforts Troy made to show his love for me.

He indeed made me feel like I'm the luckiest woman in the world for having him as my soon-to-be life partner.

Despite us being engaged due to our families, he never made me feel like we were dating for our family's convenience.

He made me feel and experience what genuine love is.

I did not expect that a perfect man like him would still make efforts to win my heart. His face was already enough. Haha!

Kidding aside, every Friday, as part of his surprise, he gives me bouquets of different colored roses. Well, Troy knows that I love roses because I honestly told him about it once. And he also gives me his delicious self-cooked lunches.

I do love his food because it smells delicious and it tastes according to my taste buds. It made me think that he cooked those dishes full of love.

Shoot! Troy certainly knows how to impress me and knows my weak spot!

Ugh! He's magnificently perfect.

Moving forward, I know that I am not born as a chef but a glutton and I already accepted that hurtful truth.

And maybe that's why heaven and earth gave Troy to me.

The heavens meticulously molded him perfectly for me so that I wouldn't hurt my kidneys by eating foods in fast food chains.

Going back, on some Fridays, Troy also brought me to different places with a cat cafe since he knew how obsessed I was with cats.

And, during this time, I have no idea about what he is yet.

What I know is that he doesn't like cats and he doesn't want to be in those places, however, he still chooses to be there with me. And it indeed made my heart flutter.

I do love the patience and efforts he made to make me happy.

And I appreciate him as well when he does all the "boyfriend-material" sweet stuff to me every day; he does carry my bag wherever we go even if I don't ask him to and he helps me in making my assignments and school projects.

He also gives me honest opinions about my designs and he gives suggestions to improve it. He indeed made me feel that my art was valued and appreciated.

Moreover, I know that I am not good at Math so he taught me numbers, formulas, and equations during our free hours.

He indeed ignites the "womanness" living inside of me.

It felt like I was living in a fairy tale story.

To be honest, seeing the most handsome man approach me to be his girl, overwhelms me.

To a woman who had never been in a relationship, it was such a shock to me.

I really can't help but ask random stupid questions like "Why? Why me?".

Yes, I admit that I am pretty but men never approached me like he did.

At first, I was like… where did he find the courage to approach me? Through his handsomeness or was it because we were engaged due to our family's decisions?

Well, the decision us be engaged wasn't mutual at all, my parents did not approve of that engagement yet.

So, we are not that "engaged" engage, right?!

Jeez.

Anyway, moving forward, for you guys to have a better understanding of our relationship, I will share with you guys how Troy and I met… even if you don't ask me to.

Troy and I first met when we were still in our high school. Though it was ages ago, what happened back then is still fresh in my memories.

It was when my parents and I visited a not-so-crowded place on the outskirts of town in Sanders City.

It was during the summer holiday when my parents decided to pay a visit to an old friend.

And I was so clueless that we would be visiting their friend in a grave. Yeah, he's dead, and may his soul rest in peace.

I even dressed up to look beautiful and elegant so that my parent's friends would like me and give praise to my parents for having such a beautiful child, but guess not.

My parents did not even give me a heads up that their friend was dead, it made all my efforts go in vain.

Going back, when we arrived in that small town, our family was welcomed by the people with open arms and warm smiles and most of them knew me as well.

I am full of wonders about what is happening in my surroundings. I don't know any of these people and I haven't met them at all, so why do they know me?

At that time, I didn't know what to do. Being surrounded by people claiming they have known me since I was a child was overwhelming and I felt overly awkward facing them.

And I know, at that time, my smile was so stiff and awkward. It wasn't pleasant to look at.

It might be that my mom sees my confusion and shock, she holds my hand and rubs it gently.

My mom then explained to me that we used to live there when I was still in high school but due to an incident, they decided to live in our current place now.

I never asked much as I am aware that all of my memories from when I was a kid and a young adult were gone due to a car accident.

I was diagnosed by my doctor with amnesia.

It felt so sad that I don't have any childhood memories but it's also fine since all of them were in the past anyway.

I continued to walk with my parents heading to their friend's grave when I noticed a young man, sitting in the corner, all alone.

His head was facing down but I could sense that he was crying. My heart immediately sank for him.

I have no idea about what is happening to me, but when I saw him wiping his tears it made me want to go to him and wipe them for him.

I don't know if I'm just attracted by his tempting handsomeness or if I pitied him.

Then suddenly, my mom waved her hands at him.

The young man immediately composed himself.

'OMG! What a handsome man! Is he a Greek god?! Is he real?' I thought as my jaw dropped inwardly.

I gulped as he slowly stepped up and walked toward us.

"Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, welcome back! It is nice seeing you here again," he said as he welcomed my parents with his embrace.

His mood immediately changed. It seems like the lonely man whom I saw earlier was just my imagination.

Looking at my father and mother, they were so happy to meet this man as well.

I am curious about this man's role in my parents' life.

I mean, how can my parents act like he was their long-lost son?

"We miss you, Troy," my mom said.

'So his name is Troy,' I thought, never realizing that I spoke his name with my mouth.

The young man looked at me with a bright smile on his face. A smile that could make every woman die in an instant.

"Cassandra, right? I heard a lot of things from you before,"

He extended his right hand towards me as he waited for me to accept it.

"Yeah, my name is Cassandra and I hope those things you've heard about me were all good and even if it is not, please remember that it was all in the past," I said as I confidently smiled back at him showing my beautiful and just-cleaned teeth.

I extended my hand as well to reach for his hand but as soon as our hands met, I could feel the electricity flowing into my veins. It was a bit painful but it also made me feel excited, happy, and I don't know… I can't explain. I was stupefied.

Then he softly growls.

I have no idea why he makes that growling sound. Was it to tempt me?

Anyway, I looked at his eyes and somehow his eyes changed their color.

I was amazed by it but somehow I realized, 'Maybe it's because of the sudden electric current that I felt earlier that I'm seeing stupid unexplainable things right now?' I thought.

I withdraw my hand.

"Mate," he said in a low voice but it was enough for us to hear it.

My parents' eyes widened. They looked at the young man with shocked faces.

Oh, wait! This handsome man has a name, so let's address him properly.

Yeah. They looked at Troy, bewildered.

I was confused too.

Mate? What does he mean by it?

Oh! Haha! Maybe we heard him wrong. Maybe he meant "friends", right?

And yes, I assumed that he said friends so I answered him.

"Alright, we're now friends," I smiled at him again.

"I am so sorry to interrupt you two, but Troy, could you bring us to your dad's grave?" My mom stepped closer to us and immediately held my hand as if I was leaving them behind.

"Sure," Troy shortly replied.

"How I wish my dad and brother were still alive and be here with me so that they could see my beautiful soon-to-be wife," he added.

'What? He's getting married?' I thought. Somehow, my heart felt sad at the thought of him getting married.

'Her soon-to-be wife might also be so beautiful,' I said inwardly.

However, Troy looked at me passionately as if I were his long-lost beloved.

'Was this engaged man flirting with me?' I crease my brows at the thought of him being unfaithful to his other half.

'I am born and raised as a queen, not a paramour,' I thought again.

Troy and my parents were now walking slowly heading to Troy's father's grave.

I was left behind them since I was secretly heartbroken knowing that Troy was already engaged. I don't want anyone to notice my loss.

Then, they suddenly stopped their pace and I accidentally hit my dad's back.

"Aw!" I hissed, slightly in pain.

"I never knew that you were our daughter's, destined mate. All this time, we thought that your late brother, Shawn, was meant for her," my dad commented.

'What… me?!' I was taken aback by what I heard from my dad.

'Troy and I are getting married?' I happily thought.

Then suddenly, I could feel that the atmosphere suddenly dropped.

"I'm sorry to mention your brother," my father immediately apologized as he noticed that Troy's expression became gloomy and intensely terrifying.

"It's fine," Troy replied.

"I'm sorry as I suddenly lose control of myself. It's just hard for me to move on from the past. What happened to my family during that night instilled in my heart and mind," he added.

I've been observing Troy's face and he's indeed sad about it. I wonder what happened that night.

My father tapped his shoulder to comfort him. Then again, he smiled. But this time it's somehow a forced one.

"We understand where you're coming from Troy," my dad said.

"I was told that your daughter… Cassandra was present when that incident happened," he stated.

My parents looked at each other.

"Yes, she is. But I'm sorry that she lost all her memories due to a car accident," my mom explained.

"So, she won't be a help if you would like to know the truth," she added.

Troy nodded his head. Never saying anything.

'Wait? What?! I was there when Troy's family got killed?' I thought.

The curiosity inside me intensified when I heard them talking about me being present in an incident.

"What do you mean I was there?" I asked to feed my curiosity.

"When my father and brother died, you were there," he calmly replied, looking me straight in the eyes.

He looked at me but for once, his eyes felt like it was carrying a sharp dagger that was ready to stab my heart. I couldn't help but blink.

Wait? What happened? Why do I feel that the atmosphere becomes somber?

I think I'm just so hungry as I am now starting to see and feel inappropriate scary things.

"So, I was hoping that, in some ways, you might have an idea of who was the one behind it. But… But it's just sad that you won't be able to remember it since you have lost your memory. And I'm so sorry to hear about your condition," he added.

"Could we talk about this matter later?" My mom requested.