"D-don't you remember me?" She asked in panic as she felt him tightening his grip around her neck.
"What are you talking about? What is this place?" Avalie gulped in nothing; she knew fully well that the room was dusty but it could still be called a room.
"Why don't you sit down first? You will remember who I am if you see my face clearly." She suggested desperately; she could feel the glass shard almost slicing through the first layer of skin on her neck.
The man remained quiet, but he reduced the strength of his grip. His hand was still on her neck as he slowly turned around, casually threw the glass shard on the floor. Facing her, with his hand on her neck, he commanded, "Speak."
"See? I'm the person who saved you on that day." She smiled awkwardly.
"Saved me from what?" He asked and furrowed his brows. He gripped harder but realized it again, so she could speak and breathe properly.
"Huh?" Avalie frowned and held the hand on her neck with both arms, avoiding struggling to break free from his hold so she wouldn't be choked to death.
"Who am I? And what's the relationship between us both?" He asked with utmost seriousness.
'Are you for real?' was the question Avalie wanted to ask, but she held it in when she perceived the dangerous aura the man emitted. Now she was convinced that the man she saved is a criminal.
"You better start talking before I choke you to death." His eyes were cold, and she could sense the wariness in his voice. His words were not baseless threats but facts, things he could do.
She thought of a suitable answer to give him and remembered the soaked international passport that she found in his back pocket while changing his clothes. His name was a simple one, which was easy to remember, and since she looked after him every day, she did whisper words into his ears at times and called him by his name. Nicholas, Nicholas Connor.
"Your name... it's Nicholas Connor," Avalie muttered but was still in deep thought. If the man had just woken up after months of being in a coma, then he should not be able to walk properly. But he was walking properly, and his grip had enough strength, which meant that he had been awake for quite a while now, and he might have been the one who shattered the flowerpot. 'Thank heavens, I didn't mutter anything in his ears today,' Avalie muttered silently in her heart.
"Who are you?" He asked again and tightened his grip around her neck.
-Cough cough. She choked and slowly began to struggle. The only thing that could explain his questions was that he had lost his memories. If this was true, then she could escape from his grasp.
"P-lease," she breathed out, slowly running out of breath, just as he was slowly tightening his grip.
"Are you ready to speak?"
She nodded in response, and he immediately loosened his grip.
"Ha!" She drew in a long breath and coughed to clear her throat, which was slowly beginning to hurt. She knew she couldn't tell him that she was his sister since he would ask too many questions, and she couldn't tell him that she was his friend either. The easiest way was to tell him the truth, and she didn't hesitate to do it.
"I don't know who you are," she said boldly, though immediately regretting it.
"What?"
"Y-yes."
"Why am I here then? Locked up in your house," he asked with furrowed brows, still unable to accept that she knew nothing about him.
"I found you and helped you," Ava replied immediately.
"What about your family?" He asked.
"I'm an orphan," she replied again without any ounce of contemplation, then paused and quickly corrected, "Wait! That's not the point."
"Then mine?" This time he asked with a calmer voice and removed his hand from her neck.
"Like I said, I know nothing about you," Ava was almost in tears.
"Why am I here then?" He questioned and let her go before sitting comfortably on the bed.
"I found you lying unconscious and I brought you here; you've been in a coma for a long while too," Avalie fidgeted with her fingers, looking like nothing more than a little child being interrogated.
"And why would you save a man you know nothing about?" Now this question was a tricky one; she had to carefully think of a reasonable answer.
"I'm human, one with a heart," she answered to the best of her ability, and he scoffed at her words.
He then paused and asked after a while, while staring at his hands, "Why didn't you report or hand me over to the police?"
"You told me not to."
"I thought you said I was unconscious, how did I speak to you then?" His gaze hardened for a moment before it switched back to the aloof. "Tell me... what happened to me?"
"I would say you were involved in an accident, but I didn't see any vehicle or person when I found you," Avalie said and told him everything without keeping a single piece of information hidden.
"How long have I been asleep? I felt really sore when I woke up." He stretched a little, probably developing a little bit of trust. He acted freer and less cold too.
"Eh...a year? No, eleven months and a week." She put her hands together and pressed her lips into a thin line.
"You took care of me all along?" He raised his brow in question.
"Well, technically yes, except for the doctor who came in every once in a while to check on your health," Avalie told one of her few truths for today. She did hire a doctor to come check up on him once because she knew nothing about treating a person in a coma.
"That's what a loving wife would do." He nodded his head and narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you're not my wife who's trying to run away from her responsibilities?"
"W-why would I do that? Even if I was your wife and wanted to run away from responsibilities, I'd have suffocated you...with a pillow."
"Fair enough." He smacked his lips and suddenly went dead silent.
Avalie hid her frown behind an all-knowing smile. She looked around while thinking of something to say to reduce the tension, which was felt by just her.
"That...are you hungry? I'd prepare a meal for you, what would you like?"
"I don't know; I don't remember anything. What can you make?" He tilted his head, and his lips tugged up slightly. Even though it did tug up, it wasn't a smile.
"A few things," she replied, though his words sounded insulting, she couldn't bear to take any of it to heart.
"Fine, I'd take anything."