Chapter Four

Naila

I drifted somewhere between sleep and waking up, trying to open my eyes, trapped beneath a heavy fog that refused to lift.

A soft groan slipped from my lips as awareness began to return.

I didn’t want it, sleep was easier and safer.

In the darkness, there were no questions just emptiness.

No terrifying realization that my entire life was gone.

I turned my head slightly against the pillow, willing myself back into the void but a hand closed firmly around mine.

I jerked, panic surging instantly through my chest.

My breath came fast and uneven, as fear climbed up my spine, until memory caught up with me.

I forced myself to breathe.

“You shouldn’t go back to sleep just yet, Naila." he said, his voice low and controlled and strangely familiar in a way I couldn’t explain.

Slowly, I turned my head and looked at him.

He was watching me, he was tall, broad shoulders. Commanding in a way that filled the room without effort.

His eyes were golden, piercing held mine with unsettling focus.

This man didn’t feel like a stranger but yet he was, I knew nothing about him.

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach, resting over the gentle curve there.

I had just found out I was pregnant and this was his child.

“Our baby is fine,” he said, his gaze dropping briefly to where my hand rested.

Something in the way he said it made my chest tighten but not warmth or softness, it was something more certain

“Who are you?” I whispered.

The question hung in the air between us.

For a fraction of a second, something flickered in his eyes but it was gone just as quickly. 

He pulled a chair closer and sat down beside the bed.

Then, slowly, he reached for my hand again, but this time I didn’t pull away.

“I am Toby Anetakis,” he said calmly.l

“My fiancé.” I said slowly, my voice low

The word hit me harder than it should have.

I searched his face desperately for something recognition, familiarity, anything

But found nothing.

Just a man watching me carefully.

“I am sorry,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I don’t remember you.”

“I know.” He said, the words came easily to him. 

“I have spoken with the doctor. What you remember right now isn’t important.”

“Then what is?” I asked 

“That you recover,” he said. “That you remain calm for yourself and for the baby.”

The baby, he said again. 

The only thing anchoring me to anything real.

“Home,” I murmured faintly. “You said we would go home”

His gaze sharpened slightly.

“Yes.”

“Where is that?” I asked, unable to hide the tremor in my voice.

There was a brief pause, so slight most people wouldn’t notice it.

But I did.

“We have been living here,” he said finally. “In the city.”

The way he said been, something about that unsettled me.

“And after that?”

“My island,” he said simply. “It’s private, you will recover better there, the fresh air, no press disturbances and all.”

An island, this man who was apparently my fiance and father of my child owned an island. 

I tightened my grip on his hand without realizing it.

“Will my memory come back?” I asked quietly.

Fear pressed against my ribs, making it hard to breathe.

“What if it doesn’t come back?”

His thumb brushed lightly over my knuckles a soothing gesture.

But his voice remained steady.

“It will.”

“Can you tell me something about me?” I asked, my voice softening. “Anything.”

I hated how close I sounded to begging and hated how helpless I felt.

“There will be time for that,” he said smoothly.

“Right now, you need to get some rest.”

I nodded slowly, though unease settled deeper in my chest.

He leaned forward then, pressing a brief kiss to my forehead.

The gesture should have comforted me or felt natural, Instead it felt practiced.

“Sleep, Naila,” he murmured as I closed my eyes.

But I didn’t fall asleep right away.

Because for the first time since waking up from this nightmare, a thought formed clearly in my mind.

Why won’t he answer my questions?

When I woke again, a nurse stood beside my bed, wrapping a cuff around my arm.

“Oh good, you are awake,” she said brightly. “Let’s check your vitals.”

I nodded faintly, still heavy with exhaustion.

“Would you like to try eating something?” she asked. “You need your strength back for you and the baby.”

I shook my head.

The thought of food made my stomach turn.

“Leave it,” a voice said behind her, “I will make sure she eats.”

I turned my head and there he was, Toby just watching. 

The nurse smiled warmly. “You are very lucky to have such a devoted fiancé Naila.”

“Yes,” I murmured softly. “Lucky.”

But something inside me didn’t believe it.

When the nurse left, Toby pulled the chair closer once more.

“You should eat,” he said.

I hesitated. “I am not hungry.”

His gaze lingered on me.

“Do I make you uncomfortable Naial?” he asked.

The question caught me off guard.

“I” I didn’t know how to answer, because the truth was

“Yes,” I admitted quietly. “A little.”

Something shifted in his expression.

“That’s to be expected,” he said after a moment. “You don’t remember me.”

“No,” I whispered. “I don’t.”

And that terrified me more than anything.

“What happened to me?” I asked, gathering what little courage I had. “How did I end up like this?”

His hand tightened slightly around mine then loosened.

“You shouldn’t rush for your memories to be back,” he said again.

The same answer he had given me, frustration rose, hot and sharp in my chest.

But before I could push further, a wave of dizziness hit me and the room tilted as my 

chest tightened painfully. Toby was on his feet instantly.

“Nurse.” His voice was sharp.

The nurse rushed in moments later, her expression shifting immediately.

“It’s alright,” she soothed, administering an injection. “You are safe.”

The word echoed faintly as the medication began to pull me under again as my vision blurred and my body started feeling heavy. 

The last thing I felt was Toby’s hand closing around mine again.

“Sleep, Naila,” he said quietly, “I am here.”

And strangely despite everything, that was the only thing that brought me any comfort.