Stan's car was already in front of the house. "Okay babe, I'm going to miss you badly." Stan said while making a sad face.
"Please come again next time." Karen begged.
"I sure will and I hope that the next time I'll be here these awful bandages won't be on your head anymore." He said while pointing to her head.
Karen touched the bandages on her head and smiled. "I'll take it off."
Stan smiled back. "Thats a good girl. I think you deserve a reward." He moved his face very close to Karen's that she could feel his warm breath fanning her face and could smell his cologne.
Karen's mind wandered away, but later came back to the fact that Stan's face was inching closer to hers.
He was finally close enough and he kissed her forehead. "Bye babe and remember to keep our little secret." He opened the door for her.
Karen touched the place he had kissed and blushed a little. She got off from the car and after looking back at him continuously, she entered the house.
"Wow boss. You are such a good player." Kevin praised him.
"Yeah, I almost thought you were gonna kiss her." Ian laughed as he spoke.
A smirk appeared on Stan's face. "Don't worry, the kiss will happen soon. Let's go."
Kevin drove the car away.
....
Jane opened the double doors and she saw Karen coming from the garden. "Where were you?" Jane asked her.
"Just here." Karen replied without looking at Jane and she went straight into the house.
"Karen baby!" Lauren said in relief immediately she saw Karen and went to hug her. "Where were you?" She asked her sweetly, but Karen didn't say anything.
"She said she was just there." Jane answered.
"Whenever you want to go outside you can come to me or grandma and we would keep you company no matter how busy we are." Lauren assured her and Karen nodded. QQq
"Come with me, I made you a smoothie, it's very healthy for you." Lauren held Karen's hand and they went upstairs.
Jane was also about to go up the stairs, when Kai came into the living room.
"Sorry to bother you, Miss Anderson, I just wanted to give you this." said Kai to Jane.
She looked at Kai's hand and he was holding the textbook she thought she had forgotten in Charlotte's car.
"I hope classes went well even without the textbook." He tried so hard to hide his mocking smile.
Jane knew he was trying to to tell her that he knew she did not attend classes. She roughly collected the textbook from his hand, glaring at him. "Non of your business." She went up the stairs.
....
The next morning, Karen woke up feeling really energetic. The previous day was so much fun, and she couldn't help but wished that the events of the previous day would repeat itself.
She got up from the bed and went to the bathroom. She looked at her reflection in the mirror for the first time since she regained consciousness. She touched the mirror, admiring the image she saw.
She touched the bandages on her head and that immediately reminded her of Stan's request. She had to take it off this very moment. She began yanking on it.
After a few tries, she was finally able to loosen it and unwrapping it became easy. As she was unwrapping it, her hair came into view. It was a rich black color and it almost looked like it had been polished.
When she unwrapped it completely, her hair turned out to be long. It went past her shoulders and was quite longer compared to that of Jane. She totally fell in love with the image in the mirror. Like damn! She was really good looking.
"Karen! Are you in the bathroom?" Karen heard her mother's voice coming from her room.
She came out from the bathroom and saw Lauren holding a tray which she had used in bringing her breakfast.
"Good morning, baby." Lauren said and then she noticed that Karen's bandages were gone. "You already took off your bandages. Was it uncomfortable?" She asked and Karen replied with a nod.
"I was also planning on taking it off for you. Finally, your scalp gets to receive some air, and I'm sure it would do you some good." Lauren noticed that Karen wasn't listening, as her eyes were focused on the waffles and pancakes which were on the tray. "Oh, I brought these for you. I thought of having breakfast in bed with you, just like old times." She set the tray on the table next to Karen's bed. "Come, let's eat."
Karen immediately came over to the bed and sat next to her.
Lauren took a fork and stabbed one of the pancakes. She brought the pancake close to Karen's mouth. "Say ah."
Karen whose stomach had already started growling from the moment she saw those beautiful pancakes and handsome waffles immediately said 'ah', and then into her mouth the pancake went. Karen also picked up a fork and did the same as her mother. "Say ah." Karen said and it came as a surprise to Lauren, but it did warm her heart.
"Ah" Lauren said and Karen put the pancake in her mouth, which made the both of them laugh. Lauren chewed on the pancake and her eyes got teary. She just had one wish, and that was for the old Karen to come back... For her to get her daughter back.
That same morning, Hendricks's limousine drove into the Wilson's building. He was dressed simple. He wore a white T-shirt and denim shorts.
The servant's greeted him with respect, that one would think he was the boss of the house. He greeted them back with his usual sweet smile and headed straight for the stairs.
"Hendrick." He heard his name from the very person he came to see. He stopped in his tracks and looked back to see Karen in the living room.
He noticed that her bandages were gone and he could now see her gorgeous hair which really enhanced her beauty.
"Hey, didn't see you there." He went down the stairs to the living room and sat next to her on the sofa while she smiled at him.
"I see you are starting to get comfortable in your house. That really pleases me." He wanted to start a conversation, but Karen didn't say anything. She just kept staring at him with a smile still plastered on her face and this made Hendrick a little bit uncomfortable with the awkwardness.
"Why don't we take a walk in your garden or what do you say?" He asked her, trying to divert her attention from his face.
"Okay." She replied and when she remembered how she and Stan held hands at the park, she decided to do the same with Hendrick.
Hendrick was caught by surprise with her sudden clinginess, but decided to take it as nothing.
They both went to the large garden, with entwined hands, taking a stroll, with Hendrick doing the talking and Karen doing the listening while still smiling foolishly.
Hendrick suddenly paused and stood in front of Karen. "Okay, spill it. What are you thinking about? Does seeing me remind you of anything?" He curiously asked.
"You remind me of Stan." Karen finally said what was on her mind, and Hendrick froze.
"Stanley?!.. you remember Stanley?" He asked her with a shocked expression.
"Yes, he took me to a place called the park. He would take me there again today." Karen explained excitedly.
"Stanley took you to the park?!" He asked her loudly and in a more surprised tone. "What is that guy up to?" He mumbled to himself.
"Is he your brother?" She asked him curiously.
Hendrick gently placed his hand on Karen's shoulders. "Look here, Karen, Stan isn't someone you wanna hang out with. The old you hates him very much, because you knew what he is capable of." He explained to her.
"Why did I hate him? He is nice and he wants to help me regain my memories." Karen defended Stan.
"Help you regain your memories by taking you to the park?… Just like everyone else, Stanley knows very well that you don't like visiting the park. The park is on the top ten of the list of things you hate." He tried explaining things to her, but the expression on Karen's face showed that she wouldn't give in and that got him wondering what Stan told or did to her.
Hendrick thought of something else, and immediately changed the topic. "Remember I told you I was gonna tell you something about us when next we meet?"
Karen was successfully distracted from the discussion about Stan and she nodded.
"Okay here's the thing. We were friends since childhood, because the friendship between your dad and mine, and when we grew up, they both made a decision that changed our lives, but it wasn't without our consent… We are engaged to be married. You have been betrothed to me, Karen."
A/N: Oops 😬 Didn't see that coming, did you? Lol