CHAPTER THREE: What She's Hiding

Elias stared at her like she was a puzzle made of jagged pieces. His body was tense, chest rising unevenly with each breath, as if he was trying to decide whether to trust her, or tear her apart with words.

“What kind of game are you playing?” he asked finally.

Sera didn’t flinch. “I don’t play games.”

“You show up out of nowhere. Say we’re married. Say I vanished. Then drop a line like that?” He narrowed his eyes. “You want me to stay alive just so I can chase some mystery?”

“I want you to stay alive because you nearly died,” she shot back. “And there are people who still want you dead.”

Elias leaned back against the pillows with a groan, his body reminding him he was still broken. “I’m a billionaire. I probably make enemies every time I open my mouth.”

“And not all of them play fair.”

He didn’t reply. Instead, his eyes scanned her face again, slower this time. She could almost feel him studying her, measuring her reactions, her expression, her voice.

“You said we had a deal,” he said. “Why you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You could’ve picked anyone. Or I could’ve. But why you?”

Sera looked away. Her throat tightened. She remembered the day she’d signed that contract. She remembered the sick feeling in her stomach as she agreed to marry a stranger. And the helplessness of knowing she had no choice.

“My sister was dying,” she said quietly. “She needed a surgery I couldn’t afford. Your father found me through a third party. Said you needed to marry fast. That it would only be for a few weeks. I didn’t care what the reason was. I said yes.”

Elias blinked slowly, something flickering across his face.

“So we both used each other.”

“Exactly.”

He looked at the ceiling for a long second. “Did I ever thank you?”

She let out a short, bitter laugh. “No. You disappeared before sunrise.”

He closed his eyes. “Of course I did.”

The truth was, he didn’t even sound surprised.

The Elias she once met was cold, direct, and untouchable. The kind of man who made deals, not promises. But the one in front of her now, half-broken and half-lost, was somehow even more dangerous.

Because if he ever remembered everything, if he remembered her, then the wall she’d spent years building could come crashing down.

“Why didn’t you annul the marriage?” he asked suddenly, eyes still closed.

“I tried. Your father blocked it.”

That got his attention. His eyes snapped open.

“Victor did what?”

“He said it would look suspicious. That once your death was confirmed, it didn’t matter anymore. So I gave up trying.”

“Of course he did,” Elias muttered under his breath, jaw tight.

Sera stepped back toward the chair in the corner, needing space from the intensity of him. She sat slowly, her hands in her lap.

Elias shifted in bed, trying to adjust himself, and groaned.

“Don’t move too much,” she warned.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not,” she said, softer now. “You have two fractured ribs, internal bruising, and a concussion. You’ll be in this bed for weeks, maybe longer.”

He cursed under his breath. “I don’t have time to be stuck in a damn hospital.”

“Maybe you don’t have a choice.”

Their eyes met again. There was something new behind it, frustration, yes. But also fear. He was a man who had controlled everything… and now, he couldn’t even trust his own memories.

“You said I nearly died. What happened?”

Sera hesitated. “Your private jet went off radar. They said it was a mechanical failure. It crashed into the woods outside the city. They found wreckage. Burned. Scattered. Nobody.”

“But I survived.”

“Yes. According to the report, a man with no ID was found barely alive near the site. The only thing intact on you was a piece of your watch. It took days before they confirmed who you were.”

He looked at his arm, as if checking for the watch. Then winced again from the pain.

Sera stood. She moved to his IV bag, checked the dosage, adjusted the line.

Her hands were steady, her voice calm, like this was just another patient.

But inside, she was unraveling.

“You’re not telling me everything,” he said.

“I told you the truth.”

“Not all of it.”

She met his gaze again. Something inside her trembled, but she refused to show it.

“You’re hiding something, Sera.”

She nodded once. “I already told you that.”

“So tell me now.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Not yet.”

Elias stared at her, and something shifted behind his expression. It wasn’t rage or arrogance. It was something darker. Something more human.

He hated not knowing. Not remembering. And most of all, not trusting anyone.

“I want to remember,” he said suddenly. “I need to know what kind of man I was.”

Sera’s breath caught. “You really want to know?”

“I deserve to know.”

She looked at him for a long time. Thought of Lily’s face, her giggles, bedtime stories. The way she asked if Daddy was a superhero.

Sera swallowed hard. “Then you’d better recover fast.”

Elias nodded slowly, like it was a deal.

Then he asked the one question she hadn’t prepared for.

“Did I ever love you?”

The air in the room stilled. Sera blinked, stunned by the ache the question left in her chest. She didn’t answer right away. Hell, she didn’t know how to.

She thought about that night. The quiet tension between them. The kiss that felt too real. The way he held her like she was more than just a contract.

“No,” she said finally. “You never loved me.”

But it wasn’t entirely the truth.

Elias watched her closely, like he knew she was leaving something out.

After a moment, he said, “I want to know what you’re hiding.”

She turned to the door, not ready to face what that meant.

And then, without looking back, she said, “You will. But not yet.”

“Why not?”

She stopped in the doorway, her heart pounding.

And with her hand on the knob, she whispered without turning. “Because if you knew… you’d never look at me the same way again.”