Chapter Six

Naila

I fought my way through the thick fog clouding my mind.

A soft protest escaped my lips as my eyes fluttered open. I didn't want to wake up.

Sleep was easier and safer. 

In the darkness, I didn't have to remember that my life was nothing but an empty void.

The only thing I knew was my name.

Naila.

I searched desperately for something more, maybe a face, a memory, a voice anything. 

But every time I reached for the answers, they slipped through my fingers like smoke.

My past stretched before me like a barren wasteland empty and lost. 

Empty.

With a weary sigh, I turned my head on the pillow, hoping to drift back into oblivion.

Before I could close my eyes again, a large, warm hand wrapped gently around mine as fear shot through me.

My heart lurched violently before I remembered where I was, the hospital.

I was safe but still instinct took over.

I jerked my hand away as my breathing turned quick and uneven.

"You mustn't go back to sleep yet, my love"

His voice was deep and warm but somehow familiar.

Slowly, I turned to look at the man sitting beside my bed, was he a stranger?

Or someone I was supposed to know?

Did he know me?

Was he, my gaze dropped instinctively to my rounded stomach, the baby.

Was he the baby's father?

My hand moved protectively over my abdomen before I looked back at him.

He was striking tall and powerfully built.

Every inch of him radiated confidence and control.

His golden eyes watched me so intently that I struggled to breathe. He wasn't American.

The thought came so suddenly that I almost laughed.

Of all the questions I should have been asking, that was the one my confused mind settled on.

"Our baby is fine," he said quietly, following my gaze to the hand resting over my stomach.

My body tensed at the way he had said our baby, he was claiming us.

Shouldn't I know him?

Shouldn't I feel something?

I searched desperately for even the smallest flicker of recognition but there was nothing only fear. 

"Who are you?" I finally managed to whisper. 

Something flashed across his face before disappearing so quickly I wondered if I had imagined it.

He pulled a chair closer and sat beside my bed.

When he reached for my hand again, every instinct told me to pull away but this time I didn't.

"I'm Toby Anetakis," he said quietly, "I'm your fiancé."

I searched his face for any sign that he was lying but there wasn't one. He looked calm and controlled, almost unreadable.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, swallowing hard as my voice cracked.

"I don't remember."

"I know."

His voice remained gentle.

"I've spoken with the doctor."

He squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"What you remember isn't important right now."

His golden eyes held mine.

"What matters is that you recover, so I can take you home."

The word home, it sent another wave of panic through me.

"Home?"

He nodded, "Yes."

I licked my dry lips.

"Where is home?"

I hated asking and hated feeling so helpless.

This man wasn't supposed to be a stranger, I was carrying his child and we were engaged.

Shouldn't my heart recognize him even if my mind couldn't?

"You're trying too hard, my love," he murmured.

"I can see it."

His thumb brushed gently across my hand.

"The doctor said your memories will return in time."

I tightened my grip on his fingers.

"Will they?"

The question trembled out of me.

"What if they don't?"

Fear tightened around my chest until it became difficult to breathe.

His hand lifted to my face.

"Calm yourself, Naila."

His touch was surprisingly gentle.

"Getting upset isn't good for you,or the baby."

Hearing my name spoken in his voice felt strange.

As though he were talking about someone else.

Someone I no longer knew.

"Can you tell me something about myself?" I asked quietly.

"Anything."

Tears burned behind my eyes.

I was dangerously close to begging.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later."

He brushed my hair back from my forehead with unexpected tenderness.

"For now, I want you to rest."

He offered me a faint smile.

"I'm making arrangements to take you home."

He still hadn't answered my question.

"Where is home?" I asked softly.

His expression tightened for the briefest moment before smoothing out again.

"We have been living here in the city," he explained.

"My work takes me away often, but we've shared an apartment here." He paused.

"As soon as you are well enough to travel, I'm taking you to my island."

Something about the way he spoke unsettled me.

The words were right but they lacked warmth, there was no happiness or excitement just facts.

As though sensing another question coming, he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

"Rest, my love."

"The doctor says you'll be discharged in a few days if everything continues to improve."

Too exhausted to argue, I simply nodded.

A moment later, I heard his footsteps moving toward the door.

When it closed behind him, I slowly opened my eyes again.

Warm tears slipped silently down my cheeks.

I should have felt relieved that I wasn't alone anymore, that I had someone, a fiancé, the father of my child.

So why did Toby's presence make me feel even more uneasy?

Pulling the blanket higher around me, I closed my eyes and surrendered once more to sleep.

The next time I woke, a nurse was fastening a blood pressure cuff around my arm.

"Oh, good," she said cheerfully.

"You're awake."

She smiled warmly.

"I have brought your dinner. Do you think you can eat something?"

I shook my head.

The very thought of food made my stomach churn.

"Leave the tray."

A familiar voice sounded from behind the nurse.

"I'll make sure she eats."

I looked up in surprise as Toby stood in the doorway, his expression calm but determined.

The nurse smiled at him before gently patting my arm.

"You're very lucky to have such a devoted fiancé."

She left before I could answer.

"Yes"

I whispered after the door closed.

"Lucky."

For reasons I couldn't explain, tears threatened again.

Toby pulled the chair closer before placing my dinner tray across my lap.

"You need to eat."

I looked at him uncertainly.

"I'm really not hungry."

His eyes searched mine.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"I"

The answer caught in my throat.

How could I tell the man I was supposed to marry that he intimidated me?

That I couldn't remember loving him?

That I couldn't even remember touching him?

The thought alone sent warmth rushing into my cheeks.

"What are you thinking?"

His fingers found mine again, gently stroking the back of my hand.

I looked away.

"N-nothing."

"You are frightened."

His voice remained calm.

"That's understandable."

I turned back to him.

"It doesn't upset you that I'm afraid of you?"

My voice shook.

"Because I am."

I tightened the blanket around myself.

"I don't remember you."

"I don't remember anything."

I looked down at my stomach.

"I'm carrying your baby"My voice cracked, "And I can't even remember how that happened."

He was silent for a long moment and then he spoke.

"You said it yourself."

His gaze never left mine.

"You don't remember me."

"So to you."

A faint sadness flickered across his face.

"I'm a stranger." He paused.

"I suppose it's my responsibility to earn your trust."

He said the last word carefully almost awkwardly.

"Toby"

I tested his name aloud and It didn't feel unfamiliar. But it didn't awaken anything either. My mind remained completely blank.

"What is it, my love?" I blinked.

I had forgotten he was waiting for me to continue.

"What happened to me?" I asked quietly.

"How did I end up here?"

"Why can't I remember anything?"

Once again, he took my hand.

His other hand gently cupped my cheek.

"You shouldn't force the memories."

"The doctor was very clear about that."

He offered me a reassuring smile.

"The only thing that matters right now is your health"

His eyes drifted to my stomach, "and our baby's."

He gently squeezed my hand.

"The rest will return when you're ready."

He wasn't going to tell me.

"Get some rest."

He stood before leaning down to kiss my forehead once more.

"Soon we'll leave this place."

I wanted those words to comfort me.

Instead, they only deepened the uncertainty growing inside me.

My chest tightened and my breathing became shallow. Sweat broke out across my forehead.

The little food I had forced myself to eat churned uneasily in my stomach.

Toby noticed immediately.

Without saying a word, he pressed the call button for the nurse. She hurried in moments later.

The sympathy in her eyes was immediate.

"You mustn't panic," she said gently as she rested a cool hand against my forehead before administering an injection.

"You are safe now."

But how could I feel safe when I was about to leave the hospital with a man I couldn't remember? A man who claimed to be my fiancé. The father of my baby.

Someone who was supposed to mean everything to me and yet felt like a complete stranger.

As the medication slowly pulled me toward sleep, I felt Toby's hand covering mine.

The fear gradually dissolved and his voice was the last thing I heard.

"Sleep, my love, I will watch over you."

For the first time since I had opened my eyes, I believed him.