Chapter Three: You Came From Nothing

The ride home was long and unbearable. I rested my head against the cold glass of the window, watching the blur of the road. The silence inside the car was suffocating, but I kept my mouth shut. I was the pity case here, anyway.

I wanted to ask Cole why he’d shut down the doctor’s attempt to help me regain my memory, but I forced the thought down. If I was going to figure out what was actually happening, I had to play dumb. I didn't trust either of them.

Kira flipped down the passenger sun visor, checking her reflection in the small mirror to fix her makeup. For a brief second, as she adjusted her lipstick, her eyes caught Cole’s in the glass… a single, unblinking stare… before she snapped the visor shut. My stomach twisted with a hollow, churning hunger, but I forced my gaze forward, focusing on Cole sitting beside me. He looked completely detached, lost in his own world.

When we pulled up to Haven, Kira jumped out immediately, grabbing my luggage from the trunk before anyone asked. She was practically vibrating with eagerness.

I stared at her.

Why was she suddenly trying so hard to be helpful?

“You shouldn't be carrying those,” Cole said, his voice flat as he stepped out. “Leave them for the housekeepers.”

“She’s not in any shape to carry them herself, Cole,” Kira said, flashing a sweet, tight smile as she dragged the bags past him. “As her best friend, it’s the least I can do.”

Cole led me through the front door of Haven, and the sudden craving for water tightened my throat.

“Water,” I rasped.

Cole snapped his fingers at a waiting housekeeper, who hurried off and returned seconds later with a chilled glass. I took it with trembling hands and drained it in one long swallow. All the while, Kira’s eyes remained pinned on me, sharp and calculating.

“Take it,” Cole ordered, and the housekeeper scurried away with the empty glass.

Silence descended on the foyer, thick and heavy. I locked my fingers together, keeping my eyes on the floor to hide the panic rising in my chest.

“Why did you do it?” Cole’s voice cut through the air.

I forced myself to lift my head, meeting his eyes without uttering a single word.

Kira stepped in smoothly. “Come on, Cole. She lost her memory. The last thing she needs right now is you making anything hard on her.”

Cole didn't even look at her. His gaze remained locked on mine. “Why would you think I was cheating on you? Why go so far as to track my every move?”

My mind spun. Tracking him?

So before I lost my memories, I had actually suspected my own husband of cheating?

I looked down at the floor, desperately searching for something to say. If Kira was really my best friend, this was where she was supposed to step in and defend me. Instead, she walked over and knelt right in front of me.

“Honestly, Quinn,” Kira murmured, her voice dripping with fake sympathy as she brushed a strand of hair from my forehead. “How could you be so selfish? You kept all of this hidden from me. If you’d just told me, I would have stopped you. You know Cole would never cheat on you.”

Cole leaned in, his dark eyes demanding an explanation.

“Were we... married?” I asked softly.

“That isn't an answer,” Cole snapped.

“What do you want from me?” I pressed, holding my ground. “I don't remember anything!”

“You came from absolute nothing, Quinn,” Kira interjected, her tone dropping its sweetness, revealing a sharp, icy edge. “Cole gave you a life, a status, a name… and this is how you repay him? By invading his privacy and breaking the marriage contract?”

My throat tightened. “What contract?”

“The marriage agreement. Quinn, please don't do this to yourself,” she said, her tone filled with quiet, condescending pity. “Cole rescued you from absolute rock bottom, but his condition was non-negotiable… zero prying into his affairs. If he decides you've violated his trust, he can strip your status away in a second. I just don't want to see you left with nothing over a misunderstanding.”

The words landed like physical blows. You came from nothing.

“Cole,” Kira turned to him smoothly. “Since she’s lost her memories, she needs someone she trusts to help her recover. I’ll take care of her.”

Cole’s eyes shifted to Kira. He didn't raise his voice, but his tone was firm and clear.

“She doesn't need to be 'taken care of,' Kira,” Cole said quietly. He turned his gaze back to me, his expression unreadable, though a quiet heaviness lingered in his dark eyes. “If you truly don't remember anything, Quinn, then there's no point in having this conversation right now.”

He took a step back, creating distance between us.

“You look exhausted,” he added, his voice flat but free of malice. “Take a rest tonight. We’ll talk when your head is clear.”

Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked down the hallway, leaving a quiet, heavy silence behind him.

Kira watched him leave, her jaw tightening for a brief second before she turned back to me, her soft, motherly smile sliding right back into place.

“Go wash up,” Kira instructed me, pointing toward the hall. “You stink of the hospital.”

I paused, clutching the edges of my jacket. I didn't want to make a scene, but her coldness made my guard go up instantly.

“Where am I supposed to go?” I asked, keeping my voice level despite the anger flaring in my chest.

“Take the guest room on the ground floor,” Kira said. “Right after the stairs. You definitely aren't staying in Cole's room tonight.”

"I wasn't even going to. Besides I don't even know if he's a devil in disguise." I turned and walked down the hallway, finding the room right where she said it was. It was cold and stripped of any personal touches.

Inside the bathroom, I stripped off the hospital clothes and stepped into the shower. I turned the handle, letting the warm water stream over my head and wash away the grime. I closed my eyes, trying to breathe, trying to process everything they had just thrown at me.

Then, a sharp, blinding pain slammed into the back of my skull.

The sound of rushing water vanished, replaced by a sudden, echoing laugh.

“Doll...” a voice whispered.

My hands violently slapped against the wet tile wall as my vision whited out… replaced not by the shower room, but by the horrific, metallic smell of iron, and the sight of my own body drowning in a dark pool of blood.