Chapter Three

The First Lie

Isla POV

My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my throat as I followed Lila down the long hallway. The gold bracelet on my wrist felt like it weighed ten pounds with every step.

“Remember,” Lila whispered, glancing back at me. “He’s been asking for you every single day since he woke up. When you walk through that door you are the only thing keeping him together. Don’t give him a reason to doubt that.”

“I know,” I muttered. “I’ve got it.”

Lila stopped outside a heavy wooden door and gave me one last nod before stepping back. “Good luck.”

I wiped my sweaty palms on the soft cream dress, took a slow breath, and pushed the door open.

Elias Hargrove sat propped up in the hospital-style bed, morning light falling across his face. He looked pale and tired, with messy dark blond hair and warm blue eyes that lit up the second they landed on me. Monitors beeped softly beside him. A breakfast tray sat untouched on his lap.

“Celeste?” His voice came out rough, like he hadn’t used it much. “Is that really you?”

I forced a soft smile and stepped closer. “It’s me, Elias. I’m here.”

He reached for my hand right away. His grip felt weak but warm, like he was afraid I might disappear again.

 “I thought I lost you. Where have you been?”

The question landed like a stone. I had rehearsed this moment a hundred times last night and still felt the ground shift beneath it.

I sat carefully on the edge of the bed. “I’m so sorry I was gone so long. I was scared after the accident. I didn’t know how bad it was for you and I hid. I shouldn’t have.”

He lifted my hand and pressed his lips to my knuckles. The kiss was soft and real. The softness of it caught me off guard. “You should have come anyway. Even if it was bad. But I’m just glad you’re safe now. That’s what matters.”

I swallowed hard. “How are you feeling today?”

“Honestly, better now you’re here.” He gave a small smile, but pain flickered behind it. “The doctors say my memory will come back in pieces. I hate being like this.” 

His hand tightened suddenly around the bedsheet. “Everyone keeps looking at me like I’m fragile. I’m sick of it.”

“Elias, these things take time.” I held his hand. “Right now the only thing that matters is that you are getting better.”

“Five months away and everything changed,” he said quietly. He paused. “When I woke up the first name I called was yours. It was just there. I don’t even know why.” 

He looked at me. “I don’t remember much about us. But I want to. What was it like?” 

My mind raced through the folder I’d memorized all night. “You used to bring me flowers every Friday. Yellow roses because you said they reminded you of my smile. You would leave little notes with them.”

His eyes softened. “Yellow roses. That sounds like me. What else?”

“You always opened doors for me,” I continued. “Even when I told you I could do it myself. You said it wasn’t about that. It was about showing me I mattered.”

Elias squeezed my hand. “I wish I could remember everything. I will make it up to you.”

Guilt burned in my stomach like acid. He was looking at me with so much open trust, like I was the only steady thing left in his world. I wasn’t. I was a stranger wearing his fiancée’s face.

“I’m here now,” I said quietly. “We’ll figure out the rest together. One day at a time.”

“Stay a while longer?” He shifted slightly, wincing. “Everything feels better when you’re sitting right here.”

I stayed. We talked for what felt like hours. He asked small questions and I answered using everything from the file plus whatever felt natural. He never pushed. He never doubted. He just listened with those warm blue eyes and held my hand like it anchored him.

“You look a little different,” he said after a while, “I can’t quite place it. Probably my memory.” He chuckled softly. “The accident changed things for both of us, I guess.”

“Trauma does that,” I said. He smiled like those words meant everything.

A nurse eventually came in to check his vitals. I used the moment to stand.

“Will you come back later?” Elias asked, still holding my fingers a second longer. “I sleep better when I know you’re close.”

“Of course,” I said, squeezing back gently. “Rest now. I’ll be here.”

I slipped out of the room and closed the door behind me. Lila was waiting in the corridor, arms crossed.

“Well?” she asked quietly. 

“He believed every word,” I told her. The words tasted bitter on my tongue.

Vivienne appeared at the end of the hall like she had been listening the whole time. She fell into step beside me.

“Naomi came through the surgery,” she said without greeting. “She is stable for now.”

I kept my face straight ahead. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mistake this for generosity. Just hold up your end of the deal and she will continue receiving everything she needs.”

“I understand,” I said.

She stopped and looked at me directly. “Good. No improvisation. No mistakes.”

Vivienne turned and walked away without waiting for more.

I made it back to the bedroom and shut the door. The second I was alone, I crossed to the window and pressed my forehead against the cool glass. My shoulders started shaking.

Naomi was alive. Actually alive because of this.

But I had just sat with a kind man and lied straight to his face while he looked at me like I was his salvation. The weight of it pressed down until I could barely breathe.

I wiped my eyes fast when a soft knock sounded.

“Mr. Elias is asking for you again,” Lila called gently. “He says he can’t rest without hearing your voice one more time.”

I closed my eyes for a second. Then straightened.

“Tell him I’m coming,” I answered.

I suddenly became too aware of the gold against my skin as I turned toward the door.

And somehow, walking away was already becoming harder.