Chapter 4- We are going home

Zander hesitated with a little scowl on his brow. He appeared to choose his words carefully when he talked.

"I was in Los Angeles acquiring a new company, believe me," he continued, "I never wanted to be so far away from you."

"Okay." Elvie had the impression that he was keeping something from her. Was it her own bewilderment playing games with her? In this foggy, empty world, she couldn't trust anything, not even her own thinking!

"I miss you, dear. And yes, you are so beautiful," he remarked as he cupped her face. He breathed quickly. "I almost feared I'd never see your face again."

What the hell was wrong with him? She thought.

"You mean when you heard about the accident? Were you concerned about me?" she said quietly. She licked her lips when he didn't respond. She took a deep breath and voiced the question that had been bothering her. "Because we love and care about each other? "

He took a big breath, and his jaw clenched.

"Yes. My late grandma arranged for us to marry five years ago, sweetie. You were a virgin when I had you, and we loved each other, you know," he remarked quietly. "You'd never dated a man because you'd had a crush on me since university days, and I'm your brother's best friend. You can trust me."

He didn't answer her question.

Why? Odd.

But trust him?

Why was it difficult to believe? She thought to herself.

"Wait, I have a brother?" Elvie muttered in shock.

"Yes, dear, he—I'm sorry to say this, but he was now, um, in the mental um,institution."

"Why?"

"He was not well. But don't worry. I have taken care of him for the last six years. No need to worry," Zander smirked as he paced towards the windows and pretended to adjust the curtain.

A rush of relief, though, poured over Elvie. It had been a huge shock to discover she was a mother and with a spouse she couldn't remember. She'd pondered why they fought—she'd questioned everything. But if Zander was her one and only lover, if she was a virgin, didn't that say something about her character?

But does it also signify love?

She raised her eyes to his lovely face and opened her mouth to ask, "Do I love you? Do you have feelings for me?"

Then she came to a halt.

Something was lurking under his darkly piercing gaze. Something he didn't say. There's something underlying his words.

"Of course. You are my wife." Zander placed his wide palms over hers before she could realise what her instincts were telling her. His fingers scorched her as they interlaced with hers. Trapping her without her approval. Her heart beat quicker.

"Don't think too much, okay? For now, get ready to leave," he murmured as he dipped his head to kiss her on the forehead, his hands sliding up and down her bare forearms. "I really want to take you home."

"Why?"

"Because it's where you belong, dear."

She nodded her head.

As he caressed her flesh, her breathing became short and shallow. Sensational prickles raced up her arms and down her back, making her hair stand on edge.

What was wrong with her? She pondered.

The tingle sensation from his touch swirled across her earlobes and down her neck, making her naked breasts beneath her thin hospital gown suddenly feel tight and full. She tried to remember the question she’d been asking, but it had already swept through her mind.

"All right," she said as she looked up into his lovely face.

Zander assisted her out of bed, gently raising her to her feet. She was more conscious than ever of how much taller and stronger he was. He was at least six inches taller and a hundred pounds heavier. She forgot everything as she looked up at him, except her own need and riveted desire for the guy looming over her like a god.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get to you," he added quietly. "But I'm here now," he said quietly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. "And I'm never going to let you go. I will find our daughter in time, but for now, let's focus on your recovery, okay?"

Elvie nodded, silently praying for a quick recovery because she knew somewhere her child was waiting for her. "Do you have any idea where I left her?"

"I already have a team of experts to look for her, dear. Maybe in a day or two, she'll be with us, okay?" Zander said with a hint of anger in his voice. And I swear, woman, I’ll let you pay for keeping the child away from me and for not telling me about her. He thought to himself angrily.

Few minutes later, Zander observed Elvie as he walked her to the black limo, purring on the street in front of the hospital, behind heavy, tired eyelids.

He scowled as he stared at her, realising she wasn't faking her amnesia. Despite his initial scepticism, he now had no doubt. Elvie had no idea who he was or what she'd gotten herself into.

She was now with his child. That was the fact he tried to remember. But where did she left her? How on earth did he function with that knowledge? He had a daughter, a four-year-old child, for whom he had no idea. And why on earth did Elvie not tell him about her before?

Yes, he was a jerk toward her but...

Was it too late?

How could he let her go five years ago? How stupid could he get about trusting Kristal and his lawyer? And why does it feel like he felt a tinge of regret for divorcing Elvie?

Was he losing his mind?

Could this be karma for ignoring the woman he secretly cares about but couldn't forgive because she was related to the man who killed his parents? Could he forgive her for lying to him? For making up such lies about her brother? Yes, her brother was his former best friend during his university days, but that was not an excuse for him to forgive the person who killed his parents.

That changed everything. With that in mind, he sighed and gently assisted her. She didn't have any bags. After the accident, her handbag and phone were gone, and she had nothing in her name, not even an ID.

What if... she's not single anymore? What if, like him, she had married someone? What if...

Fuck! He muttered to himself.

And now he was the father of a missing child? To an ex-wife without a memory of him?

Damn it! He has a daughter! And for the past five years, Elvie has kept it from him?

How dare she keep it from him? How dare…

He groaned irritatingly and looked at his ex-wife.

One of his men had taken her rented car to the garage, while the other had gone to make quiet amends for the smashed mailbox. She wore a black silk dress from her parents funeral yesterday.

The black dress clung to her breasts and hips when she walked, the silk shimmering and sliding against her hips. Her blonde, glossy hair had been brushed into a fresh ponytail. Yet, she wore no makeup. It made her look different. Zander had never known her to go out without lipstick before—although God knows, with her lustrous skin, full pink lips, and sparkling blue eyes, she didn’t need it to cause every man she met, from the elderly hospital porter to the teenage boy walking past them on the sidewalk, to stop and catch his breath.

He never noticed her like this before, not even when he was still good friends with his brother and he always visited their home. Not even when he married her. Yes, he found her beautiful and kind, and—well, maybe a little demure and boring, but never like this. She was now so raw, so pure, and so innocent that he wanted nothing but to save her from any danger or harm.

Was he losing it?

Was he really losing his mind?

Was he seriously changing his mind about this woman?

No! Impossible. He still hated her, her family, her brother, and her. He still hated her.

But ever since that night, that night when they made love five years ago, her moan and her warmth have been his constant companions—even when he married Kristal.

And as Elvie turned back to face him on the sidewalk with a sweetly innocent smile, Zander was grimly aware that he was far from immune to her charm. Was she this sweet and innocent?

God, I seriously need a drink. I'm losing it. He thought to himself.

"Where are we going?" Elvie asked, crinkling her forehead. "You never said."

"Home," he replied, guiding her into the backseat of the limousine. He closed the door behind her.

"Where?"

"Scotland." 

She gaped at him. "Oh." She bit her lips but nodded in response.

His body’s reaction to her was irritating and troubling. He didn’t like it.

When he’d first seen Elvie in the hospital, she’d been curled up on the single bed beneath a thick blanket. She’d looked pale and wan, nothing like the vivacious, tempestuous vixen he remembered that night. Sleeping, she looked innocent, far younger than before.

She looked small. Fragile.

Zander had come to London specifically to destroy her. For the last five years, he’d been dreaming of it.

Yes, maybe he was being dramatic, but he wanted her. He wanted to—

Yeah, he wanted to hurt her for leaving him, for signing the divorce papers, and now for keeping his child from him.

Yes. He wanted to hurt her.

Badly.

But how could he take his revenge if she not only had no memory of her crimes but was also so alone and fragile?

And so beautiful?

Tightening his hands into fists, he stalked to the other side of the car. Though it was only September, the sun had abruptly fled London. A steady drizzle was falling from low, grey clouds.

He climbed in beside her, and she turned to him without missing a beat.

"Don't worry, I have a private jet. It won't take long. We are going to the airport."

"Oh!"

"It’s where we lived before; do you remember?" He gave her a brief, tight smile.

"No."

"Don't worry, you'll remember it soon enough. Familiar home, familiar places and people. Doctor’s orders."

"So I live there with you?"

"No."

"We don’t live together?"

"You like to travel," he said ironically.

"So where are my clothes?" she said in a small voice. "And my passport? My purse? My phone?"

"Likely at your hotel. But your purse was missing from the accident. Don't worry, my staff will collect your things and meet us at the airport."

"But…" She looked out the window, then turned back to face him and said in a rush, lifting her chin, "I want to see my home. My childhood home. Where is it?"

He gave her an assessing glance. "Your parent's estate is here in London, dear, I believe. But visiting there won’t help you. You spent one night there before the funeral. It hasn’t been your home for a long time," he lied.

"Please, Zander." Her sapphire eyes gleamed. "I want to see my parent's home."

His brow furrowed as he looked down at her pleading face.

Elvie really had changed, he thought. His ex-wife had never begged him for anything. She’d never even said please.

Except…

Except for the first night he’d taken her to his bed, when all her defences had been briefly stripped away and he’d discovered against all expectations, a virgin. As he’d thrust himself inside her, she’d looked up at him in a breathless hush with those azure-blue eyes, and he’d thought—he'd almost thought—

He cut off the memory savagely.

He wouldn’t think about how it had once been with her. He wouldn’t think about how she had nearly made him lose everything, including his mind.