Her eyes fluttered in response to the bright light. Someone was standing beside the window with her back to her. Someone she doesn't recognize but all she could feel was the agonizing pain.
The moment she tried to lift her right arm she felt nothing. Something hard around her neck was limiting her to move her neck. With her left arm, she tried to touch her right side to find something wrapped around it. This is when she noticed a grey colored sling wrapped around her whole right arm. Realizing it wasn't her room she freaked out and tried to sit just to cry out hard in pain.
And this made the woman turn and say, "Oh, you are awake. Let me call the doctor." That woman left walking slowly.
"Where I,..." Before Sydney could ask something the woman was out of the room.
She winced in pain while a tear escaped her right eye. "Noah" She whispered. Not a moment later she found a middle-aged man, she couldn't recognize on her bedside asking something she couldn't focus on.
"Ms. Brook! When was the last time you injected her analgesics?" Mr. Connor asked,
"I forgot," That woman she saw earlier replied casually. No remorse could be seen on her hard face. She was tall with her hair wrapped in a high bun and wearing a collared black color dress. Without waiting for that woman to inject, Dr. Connor himself tried to inject some fluids in the branula attached to Sydney's wrist.
"Where am I,.." She asked as she tried to not let that person inject her.
"I am your doctor and please, it's necessary." He said and didn't waste much time to inject her.
"What's wrong,...with me?" She asked a little bit alarmed looking at that woman standing beside her. "You will recover." This was her doctor's answer but this time his voice came out a little reserved. "Where's Noah?" She asked hurriedly in her short breaths.
"He was with you for three days and just left three days ago." His answer made her breathing fast. "He can't leave me." She answered showing the lack of trust over these two strangers. "Why am I here? Who are you people"? She asked sobbing while her face looked alarmed.
"You don't remember what happened to you"? A voice coming into the room asked. Her eyes drifted to where the door was.
"Jasper?" She relaxed a little looking at someone she knew. "What's happening?"
"Umm, you were in an accident." Jasper's voice came out low.
"Where is Noah?" She asked not giving much thought about her condition. She could sense something was off. But what?
"Relax, Mrs. Miller. He is at work." Mr. Connor replied this time. She looked at Connor and that woman and asked Jasper this time.
"Who are these people?"
"Your doctor and the nurse."
She looked at all of them before saying, "Please call Noah."
"I am afraid he can't come. He is at work and has far more important things to do." That woman answered,
This time Sydney looked at the brunette woman who looks around in her late twenties with much apprehension.
"Miss Brook, Will you mind leaving this room?" Sydney heard Jasper say,
"I don't take orders from you Jasper." was that woman's reply.
"Will somebody please, call Noah"? Sydney pleaded with her dry mouth as she tried hardest not to freak out and contain her calm.
"Call him Mr. Miller." That woman named Brook ordered Sydney. Silence prevailed as Sydney stared at that woman while the two gentlemen stood silently.
"He is my Husband and your presence is not required anymore. Call Noah." Sydney said the last part shifting her eyes to Jasper.
"Sure, Mrs. Miller," Jasper replied but Sydney looked at that woman who didn't leave but took a seat on the couch at the far end of the room.
".....is awake, .....yes, Mr. Miller, .....I got it..." Sydney heard Jasper saying.
"I want to talk to him," She managed to say and felt her right eye heavy. She so badly wanted to see the mirror, leave this room and be beside Noah. She heard Jasper telling Noah about her talking to him and saw Jasper keeping the phone to her ear next.
"Noah, Are you fine?" She asked but heard nothing from the other side.
"Noah?" She asked again but heard the line cut.
"Hello?" She said on the phone and heard a snicker from that woman.
"Call him again," She asked Jasper while her heart beats wildly. Something is wrong. Is Noah alright? She thought.
"I think it's not a good idea," Jasper replied cautiously, not wanting to worry her but it wasn't in his hands.
"Why? Is he alright?" She asked again because there was no other explanation about him not being here when she needs him the most.
"He is. I assure you. But,..." He trailed off not knowing what to say.
"But?" Sydney's breath hitched.
"He suffered a great loss. Your accident and then his company's loss, he has been through a lot." Jasper lied,
"Is the loss too great?" This made Jasper look at Sydney with so much pity.
"He believes someone he trusted cheated." He replied getting to the other side of the bed.
"Was the person so close to him?" She asked.
"Yes, so close." He answered and tried hard not to break.
"Tell him to come to me once he is not busy." She requested while he looked at her bruised left eye and a cut on the side of her mouth that was making it hard for her to talk.
"I am so sorry," He whispered holding her left hand that was perfectly alright.
"Why?" She asked,
"For not being there when you needed me." He answered.
"But what happened exactly." She asked as she tried to sit but gasp when she couldn't
"You should rest for three more days. I would suggest it. Can I ask you some questions Mrs. Miller" Dr. Connor asked as he tried to set his glasses and injected some other injections in her infusion bag.
Sydney looked at Jasper like telling him she doesn't want these persons in her room but then shifted her gaze to Mr. Connor and replied, "Yes,"
"Do you remember your name or how old are you?" He asked,
"My name is Sydney Brown and I will turn 19 in a few weeks."
Everyone exchanged the stares before Dr. Connor asked,
"Do you remember marrying Mr. Miller?"
"Yes, I am his wife." She answered,
"What is the last thing that you can recall?" This time Sydney noticed that nurse walking to her bed but ignoring her she answered, "I was reading the magazine in my living room. Noah's birthday is in two days and I, I, I think I ordered my driver to prepare the car so I could leave for the mart."
He said he was with me for three days and left three days ago. For how long I was out. Did I confess my feelings? My card? That portrait?
"For how long? What's wrong with me?" This time the turn to answer was theirs and everyone looked at Jasper.
"You met with an accident going to the mart. Mr. Miller was with you all the time if it wasn't for his loss he must be here." Jasper tried to give the cover.
"I want to talk to him. Why you are not trying him?" She asked.
"He sent me to you. So, he can come to you once he resolves the matters. You can ask me if you need anything." He answered.
"But that doesn't mean that I can't talk to him." Her reply was innocent and reasonable.
"Mrs. Miller, the matters he is dealing with are quite serious in nature." He replied,
"I want to go out. There are things I need to get from mart and,..." She winced in pain before she could say anything.
"You should rest Mrs. Miller. I will be around all the time." Jasper replied before going out. Dr. Connor looked at her before saying, "You should rest. The swelling will take some time and fractures will take around two months."
"When this will come off?" Sydney asked pointing to the collar around her neck.
"Oh, it is not too serious. Let's say three more days. Try keeping your movements limited." He answered,
"Is there anything else you need to know?" He asked,
"No," She managed to say and Dr. Connor took his leave. She looked at that woman who was continuously staring at her. Closing her eyes Sydney, tried hard to recall any event she could manage.
Where are you, Noah?
*************
"It's complex. We aren't able to locate the person in the pictures, Mr. Miller. We can try again, get into more details but it needs time." David a person, Noah get on to the matters fill him on the progress while he looked at the skyline of San Francisco from his office.
"What about the pictures?" Noah asked,
"We can get the results in a few days" reply came.
"Call me anytime if you get that person's name. I want results." Noah replied before cutting the call but he knew that he was just wasting time.
The confession from her driver was enough to prove her guilty but he was desperate. Desperate to hear from any source, that she wasn't cheating. But no everything was against her. He chugged down the alcohol all the while looking at his portrait hanging on the wall.
"Sir, the board meeting has been called." His secretary came into his office to call him. He simply nodded before his secretary left.
For days he has been living in his office. A shiver ran in his spine the moment he recalled watching Sydney's bloodied face in the morning. No matter how much he tried to talk to her calmly he lost it. He lost it the moment he saw the things she bought for someone.
Knowing that she was deceiving him or laughing at him on his back made him lost his mind. And then she wasn't confessing any of her wrongdoings.
But she was right. She didn't know her bag got exchanged. A voice boomed in his brain. But it doesn't prove her innocence. He tried to reason but one look at the cup resting on his table made him think otherwise.
When a college student named Sasha, appeared in the evening the next day, to collect her things and return Sydney's, everything collapsed. By that time he already sent her to the house on her name along with Jasper.
This incident regarding Sasha made him investigate the matters. To find that man she was kissing in the picture. And another one she was giving out money to.
Though he trusted Jasper but to have his eyes there he arranged another woman who was also a trained nurse from his private detective agency to keep the eyes on Sydney.
His trust in Jasper wasn't the issue but the moment Jasper called to whine about her injuries to him he knew Jasper has sympathy towards Sydney.
He was about to get out of his office when he received the call.
"She is awake." He heard Jasper say,
"Is she around?" Noah asked,
"Yes," His answer came,
"I am bust right now." Noah tried to call him off but heard,
"I want to talk to him," and froze. Her voice was enough to make him recall all the memories he didn't want to,
"Noah? Are you fine?" She said, but why does he feel it was the worry in her voice and not a complaint and that make him cut the call.
After half an hour he got a call from Jasper. "She doesn't recall anything about her incident. The doctor says she had a little amnesia. There is more than half percent of a chance that she would recall the incident in a few days."
"She must be acting up, Jasper," Noah replied.
"Yes, Mr. Miller." Jasper's voice came sharp.
"Just keep an eye on her," Noah ordered before cutting the call.
"Yes," Jasper said but the call has already been cut.
Three days passed. That nurse was in Sydney's room all the time. She requested Japer every day for one call that he denied with anything he can come up with.
Sydney tried her best to don't ask anything from that nurse because every time she would be slow like a snail or shoot daggers at her with her eyes. Sydney's collar came off but she was getting sick looking at the same walls and always being alarmed by that nurse.
"Can I go out?" Sydney requested Jasper.
"Sure, Mrs. Miller," He answered and helped her to get her crutches for her left arm but when she couldn't get it he lifted her to get her out. Once out she realized that it was the same island but it seems off. Why I wasn't kept at home? She wondered but didn't ask.
Jasper gets her orange juice after making sure that she was comfortable on one of the beach chaises. It felt refreshing but all she could recall her last time with Noah here.
"Can we call him?" She asked,
"Let me try," He said but after a minute replied.
"It says out of reach. He must be on the plane or something."
"Jasper, I haven't heard his voice. He is fine, right?" She asked again, but before Jasper could reply they notice a private jet landing on the other side of the island.
"He is here," Jasper said and Sydney's face light up.
"Get me to him," She asked,
"Let me go and receive him first," Jasper reasoned and left before she could reply. She wanted to kill Jasper at that time but couldn't and saw her crutches with determination. Her feet were alright but it was her ribs that ached when she tried to straighten.
A wince escaped her lips when she tried to get to those crutches but soon she gets a hold on that thing and starts walking to the mansion. With her right hand in the sling and with a crutch on her left side she made her way inside the mansion.
She saw Jasper standing there and following his gaze found Noah getting far, she was about to call him when he disappeared taking a side on the left. Her heart feels heavy. She was about to follow him when Jasper's voice came,
"You shouldn't go there,"
"Why?" She asked all the while walking.
"Because I am here to keep you away from him,..." He trailed off when she looked at him shocked,
",....so, he can focus on his work," Jasper's voice came out lame.
"You are lying," She said,
"Well, not entirely," He answered,
But then both of them notice that nurse getting to where Noah went. "And, she is allowed to see Noah." She asked with her brows raised.
"Mrs. Miller, she might be going to fill in, on your state." Jasper blurted and only met with silence from Sydney before she starts getting to Noah's room. She did notice Jasper following her silently but this time he didn't stop her.
"I think you should knock," Jasper suggested but she pushed open the door without knocking.
It was a huge bedroom, she heard that nurse talking but on her arrival, she stopped saying whatever she was saying. She saw Noah's face getting tense before he asked,
"How are you?"
His voice was enough to make her feel home, safe and peaceful.
"I am fine, you can leave," Sydney said the last part looking at that woman but she didn't budge from her place.
"Leave," Noah too, ordered the same and only then she followed.
"She is weird," Sydney thought.
"I missed you, Are you fine?" Sydney asked as she made her way to where Noah was standing and getting his tie off.
"Where is Jasper?" He asked,
"I won't disturb you," She said as she tried to take the place beside him on the bed but stumbled to find his arms supporting her in the next moment.
She felt embarrassed about her clumsy act but it wasn't in her hands. That crutch was something new for her.
"I am sorry," She said but find his expression hard.
He looked at her relaxed face and doubt if she is acting about her memory or not. There was no way she could be this relaxed if she remembered about what happened,
"Tell me, what's wrong Noah?" She asked as she leaned against his arm.
"Nothing," He replied,
"Noah," She asked him like trying to tell him she knew he was lying.
"You won't understand Sydney and I don't have time." He replied as he stood up and made his way to the closet. Walking out he saw Sydney leaning to the headboard. He didn't talk and get to the other side of the bed after switching off the lights. He could feel her questioning stare but knowing she was cheating on him and only acting up he couldn't make himself look at her.
He was afraid he will lose it. How badly he wanted for all those pieces of evidence to turn out to be faked. He was burning inside. He wanted to be away from her but felt a hand in his hair massaging his head. A sudden stab of guilt pierced his heart and made him sob. She didn't ask any questions but felt him feel suffering. And only shed a tear thinking, "Make his pain go away, father."
She woke up the next day alone. But now she knew he was fine at least physically. There was something bothering him. It was something big and maybe Jasper knew about it. She thought. But she didn't want to ask Jasper. She wanted Noah to talk to her. So, she waited for him all day long until night came.
A thundering storm made her awake. It was far more horrible on the island. She rang her bell to ask for somebody to be here but no one came. Taking her crutch she made her way out to see that nurse sitting outside her room. It wasn't a surprise that this woman didn't come to help her. But for some reason, Sydney decided to stay away from her and closed the door behind her.
Some days passed and the day came when it was their anniversary, She didn't have anything special but ordered the staff there to make everything Noah likes and arranged her favorite cake from his favorite bakery with Jasper's help.
She knew he will visit today. So, this time she chose to wear a cream-colored dress and waited for him in the dining hall. Today, she made her mind to talk to him about her getting back to her old place. This place was beautiful but didn't feel like her own.
"Mrs. Miller," she noticed Jasper, coming into the dining hall with a gift in his hand.
"Do you have any news on him? Thank you," She asked accepting the gift. Before she could open to see it she felt dizzy. "Are you fine?" Jasper asked, "Yea," She replied but next felt all the things getting blurred
"Dr. Connor," She heard Jasper call at the last before welcoming darkness. She could feel herself being taken to the bed. Dr. Connor came to check on her and after asking some questions he said, "I think you are expecting Mrs. Miller."
"What?" Her eyes opened. If she was feeling a little bit sleepy it wasn't the case anymore.
No, it can't be. I was always taking the pills then how? She thought. All of a sudden she felt scared and lonely.
"Are you sure?" She asked,
"Yes," was his reply. Dr. Connor took her ultrasound and made her look at the picture. She didn't know how to feel but she wanted Noah beside her. How I was ever supposed to be a good mother when I am such a weak person. She thought grazing on the picture. But the father of this baby is not, a voice tried to reason inside her head.
"Jasper, can you please ask Noah to come," She requested and Jasper left nodding. After a while, he came to say he was out of reach.
Alone in her room, she started waiting on Noah. She couldn't help but caress her belly. Don't worry, don't be scared, I am here, She talked to her baby.
She recalled how her mother died giving birth to her and was even more scared. I hope you are a boy, She whispered, after a while.
"I am going to name you Nicholas, it starts from N and ends at S. What? You don't like this name. I am sorry, I don't know how to talk with kids, honey. But I love you."
She waited for six hours before the clock struck twelve telling her that her anniversary went spending all alone. The house was drowned in darkness when she came out with her crutch and walk to the dining hall. Everything was still there untouched.
"You like this cake, well, your father, too." She said before she started cutting the cake. But heard someone coming and turned.
Tears filled her eyes as she made her way to Noah standing only some feet away with the help of her crutch. She hugged him and started sobbing on his chest. "Happy anniversary," She said not caring if it was the day or not.
"Come sit," She made him sit on the chair and he followed looking at the things on the table but before he could say something she sits on his lap and buried her face in his neck, hugging him. It was after days she was with her beloved, with the love of her life.
She gave a kiss on his mouth but the moment she tried to pull he made the kiss more passionate all the while rubbing her waist with his hand. But the moment he started traveling up to her chest she winced in pain, "I am sorry," She said when she felt his body tense. She knew he was tense because of his work but also knew this news will light up his whole life. He always wanted kids.
"Noah!" She couldn't hold her eyes being moist when she held his hand to make it rest on her belly.
"It's here; we are going to be parents." She said making her face buried in his shoulder but soon realized the lack of response from him.
"Noah," She called him but only find the same hard expression.
"Say something, you are scaring me," She shook his shoulder.
"I want a paternity test," She heard him say and the moment his words got registered she let her hands fell from his sides. She knew her fate would play with her and it was happening.