Ten!

Author's pov

A few days passed, and Liam still didn't let Glenn call Elena's Aunt to take her away.

Day by day, he was becoming increasingly protective of her, and he had no idea why. He makes sure she has eaten probably and no one is bothering her.

Elena has recovered somewhat; she is no longer afraid of people around her, but she has lost her memories. They might come back later but right now she is a blank slate and she is aware of it.

She has gotten comfortable with Liam's family. She doesn't talk but she is no longer afraid of them.

Liam came back from work in the evening and went directly to check on Elena, it has become a habit.

She was not in her room. He started searching for her in the house and finally found her in the garden. Same place where there are potted plants and Liam has seen her there many times.

God knows what she does there; today, he decided to check.

He stood there quietly and watched her. She was wearing a beige dress, her hair was flowing down to her mid-thighs, glowing under the evening sun. She was looking beautiful.

She bent down and picked the marble, she already had a few in her hands. When her hands were full, she placed them in a jar which was kept near the pot.

He raised eyebrows amused, she had collected almost half a jar of marbles.

"Why are you collecting marbles?"

Liam asked curiously.

She turned around, looked at him with her doe-like eyes and went back to minding her own business.

Liam sighed. No one has ignored him as she does. He has tried so many times to make her talk but she doesn't. He is curious to know how she sounds.

Glenn approached Liam.

"Milan is dead, they killed him before he could tell us anything."

Liam looked at Glenn.

"Not possible. Milan was one of the best spies... He must have left some hint."

"We found this code written on his hand."

Glenn handed the paper to Liam.

Liam grabbed the paper.

“8 – 1 – 22 – 5 – 14

19 – 5 – 3 – 18 – 5 – 20

18 – 15 – 15 – 13”

He frowned.

"What does this mean?"

"Exactly, Milan has never used numbers to code anything... How do we understand what this means? Is it some password or message?"

Glenn questioned.

Liam scratched his head.

"Show this to our cybersecurity head. He is skilled with numbers."

The paper slipped from his hand and flew away, near Elena.

She grabbed the paper along with the marble and stared at it.

"Elena, bring it to me."

Liam said as he continued talking to Glenn.

Elena walked to Liam, staring at the paper. She handed paper to Liam.

"Heaven's secret room."

She mumbled.

Liam's head snapped towards her.

"What did you say? You said something. Did you really talk?'

She gulped looking at him. This is the first time she has spoken in front of him.

Liam couldn't understand if he should react to her words or voice. It was a mere whisper but it touched something in his chest.

She pointed at the paper.

"Heaven's secret room"

"Wait, how do you know this place?"

Glenn questioned.

"Liam, this place is owned by Milan."

"Elena, how did you know about it?"

Liam asked her again. Gently this time, not to scare her.

"This code means Heaven's secret room"

She mumbled again. Looking at him confused.

"It means Milan has hidden something there."

Glenn exclaimed and walked away to investigate.

Liam smiled.

"You solved the puzzle? You know how to do it!"

She just stared at him.

Liam out of amusement cupped her face and pecked her lips.

"You are so cute."

He turned back to leave before realising what he had just done.

He froze in his place, his heart picked up the race like never before. He shouldn't have done that, he wasn't supposed to do that. And it was too late to realise that.

He turned around and noticed that Elena was also frozen like him. She averted her gaze and walked away like she was equally embarrassed as him.

Liam closed his eyes and cursed. He walked away with the same awkwardness.

That night Liam couldn't sleep. That soft touch of her lips was still lingering on his lips. He has been with many women before but none felt like her. It was a mere touch but still powerful.

He got up from his bed and poured a glass for himself. Yet the weird feeling in his chest didn't let him settle. he walked back and forth restlessly.

He didn't realise when his feet led him to Elena's room. She was sleeping peacefully, completely forgetting what had happened to her.

The memory loss is a boon in disguise of curse. She has got another chance to live her life.

Liam sat on the chair beside her. Admired her silently. The peace of her face reached his heart slowly. He smiled at her innocent face.

Also amused how she solved that puzzle so easily even in this state of mind. He would love to know her real self. What was she and how was she? She is definitely smart and he can guarantee that.

He leaned down and kissed her head.

"I have different goals in life, Elena... And you are distracting me from it... I can't let that happen."

He sighed and caressed her head.

"You need to leave."

The next morning everyone was in the hallway and Elena's Aunt was present there.

"Is it true that Elena is leaving with her Aunt?"

Lisa questioned Liam.

"She is fine now. She doesn't need us."

Liam answered, colder than usual. Even though he was restless inside.

"Thank you for saving her life. Elena was always in touch with me. I am glad I found her. I owe you big one, Mr Liam."

Her Aunt, Shaya said with gratitude.

"I don't know her."

Elena mumbled, looking at Liam. She was not ready to leave Liam and definitely not ready to trust anyone except Liam.

"She is your favorite Aunt, Elena. She will take care of you."

Liam said coldly and walked away.

Elena looked at him sadly, feeling that he was abandoning her. Her eyes never looked so sad and Liam had no courage to meet them.

Lisa noticed the tension between them but she couldn't do anything.

"Elena, you are a sweet girl. If you need anything, please call me."

She hugged her.

"Shaya, come I'll give you her medical documents..."

Liam was in his study, his heart was heavy that he had to let her go but it was necessary. The attachment he was feeling towards her was not good. It was hard but he had no choice.

He was lost but turned around when he heard her footsteps. She was standing at the office door with a jar of marbles in her hand and a gift ribbon tied around it.

She collected them like a treasure all these days, just to give them away to a man who was abandoning her.

She kept it on his desk and looked at him sadly.

"Thank you."

She waited for him to say something but he didn't.

Liam stood there coldly and she realised that he was not going to do anything. She slowly walked away from him. Probably never to come back in his life.

Liam closed his eyes and cursed silently as his heart filled with something heavy.

He didn't like the feeling, not even a bit.