Chapter 11
Xander’s POV
“We went to her doctor the other day. Her MRI result was normal and also her EEG. The doctor said she’s fine but she needs more time to recover. She suffered severe depression that causes her memory loss.”
“Really? I don’t know that there’s such
thing as that.” My brother Franco said.
We just finished our business meeting with the Italian investors.
“There is. A condition called dissociative
amnesia.”
“Well, good luck brother. I know this is
hard for you.”
“It is. It breaks my heart seeing her this
way. She became a totally different
person. So daring and outspoken. She
even loves to provoke me, testing my
patience.”
Franco laughed. “Did you ever think that
she’s just acting?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like she’s not having an amnesia at all. She’s just pretending to forget everything. You in particular.”
The thought made me stop for a while.
“For what reason?”
“Hmm… maybe to get back at you?”
“What for? I haven’t done anything to
hurt her.”
“Are you sure?”
“I never stop loving her, she’s everything
to me. I showed her all my love and I
know it was enough.”
“What if…”
“Stop it, Franco. I know Mia, she’s not
like that.”
“Okay fine.” Franco looked at his watch.
“Come on. It’s time to join the men.
Manuel have the hotel bar closed for us
tonight. Time to celebrate the deal, man.”
“No, I’m going home. I can’t leave Mia
alone.”
Franco chuckled. “Whoah! Is that you
talking Xander? You used to leave Mia
alone in the house on weekends. She’ll be
fine with it.”
“I can’t. Not anymore.”
“Why, because she’s different now?”
“No. Not just that.”
“I think you’re worried with her personality change. But think of it man, she’s still Mia. She usually understands you. She always does. The sweet, understanding, caring and submissive Mia. She just lost her memories, but still, she’s the same.”
“NO.” I shook my head and leaned my
back on my chair. “I love her and I want
to be with her as soon as I can. You don’t
know how I feel working my ass here,
trying to concentrate on the business but
my mind won’t stop thinking of her. I’m
worried about her. I want to know what
she’s doing, what she’s thinking and what
she’s feeling.”
Franco looked at me strangely. “Damn,
man. That’s serious.”
“Yeah. I’m afraid of losing her again. I
want to make up for the things I’ve done
to her. To make a fresh start.”
“Okay. If that’s what you want.” He
exhaled heavily.
“Thanks, bro.”
“You’re lucky that she has an amnesia. She can’t remember the way you behaved before.” Franco stood up and left the room.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know sir.” Betty, my housekeeper
said.
I was in a hurry to go home to take Mia
out for dinner. I was so disappointed
when I learned that she was not home
when I arrived.
Damn it. Why didn’t you ask her? What time did she left?” I put the bouquet of red roses and box of chocolates I brought for her on the center table.
“Around ten in the morning.”
I looked at my watch. It was six in the evening already. She was gone for eight hours! Where the hell is she?
I called her phone but it was busy. Dammit.
I had a sudden ill feeling inside me. I was nervous as hell. My heart was pounding so fast and my pulses were in riot.
I ran upstairs to our room and checked her wardrobe. My suspicion was right. Most of her clothes were missing. The luggage she used when she arrived here was gone too.
Oh God!
My world suddenly crumbled down. I felt shattered, body and soul. Mia left me again.
No… NO….
I called her again, but still her phone was busy.
I have to find her.
I rushed downstairs and took my Ferrari. I didn’t know actually where to go. The first thing that came across my mind was there family house in San Bernardino. It was about one and a half hours drive there but I had no choice but to go and find out if
Mia was there.
I called three times, but her phone
couldn’t be reached. Where is she?
I arrived in San Bernardino in an hour. I
had never driven a car so fast in my life. I
was desperate to find Mia. My phone rang
when I turned the car to the curb where
Mia’s family house was located. It was my
housekeeper, Betty.
“She’s back sir.”
I was upset and yet, relieved. The feeling of happiness overpowered within me. She was back and that matters most. I didn’t give a damn if I’ve driven the whole night, as long as she was back.
“Okay. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I
said to Betty then turned the car back to
Beverly Hills.
***
Mia was watching TV and eating the box of chocolates I brought for her when I arrived. The bouquet of roses was on the table in front of her.
She was sprawled on a couch wearing a
skimpy worn out denim shorts and a red
top. She looked so pretty and very s£xy
sitting there comfortably. Her hair was in
a mess bun and a smudge on her red
lipstick.
She was so engrossed watching the TV. I
wondered what she was watching.
I entered the TV room and sat beside her.
She hardly noticed me. Her eyes were
fixed on the TV screen.
It was a Zombie TV series.
I never knew that she liked watching
Zombies. This surprised me. We used to
watch TV series before. Mostly my favorites. Game of Thrones, Hawaii Five-O and Person of Interest. I realized, she just watched what I wanted. Or maybe because I never bothered at all to ask her what she preferred to watch.
“Hi.” I said to Mia when the TV was
playing ads.
“Hi. You’re home late. Sorry, I had my
dinner already.”
I smiled. If only you knew where I went
Mia.
“Did you enjoy your day?” I asked her, trying to sound so calm. It was hard though since all parts of my body wanted to yell at her, to ask where the hell she went. She made me so worried of her. I thought I would have a heart attack of being so frantic. I didn’t even know where to find her. The thought of losing her again was so frightening. “Yeah, I did.”
“That’s great. Where have you been?”
“In the neighborhood.”
That made me stop. “Particularly where in the neighborhood?”
“In the women’s shelter at the end of the
road. I saw it when we went to the doctor
the other day. I donated my old clothes
there.”
I was surprised. Now, that explained why
many of her clothes were gone. I was
totally relieved.
“I pitied the women there. They are
victims of abuse and homeless. I don’t
want to be one of them.” She shook her
head.
“Of course not. I won’t allow that to
happen. I’ll take care of you, Mia and I
won’t hurt you. Ever.”
“Physically?”
“Yeah. Physically.”
She heaved a sigh. “What about
emotionally.”
“Um… yeah. That too.”
“And mentally.”
“Of course.” I held her hand, my thumb
caressing her knuckles. “I promise you
Mia, I’ll never hurt you. I’ll make you so
happy. Please. Let’s start all over again. I
love you so much, Mia. I never stopped
loving you.”
She was staring at me blankly, then slowly she pulled her hand away. “Sorry Xander. I’m engaged.”
“No. I won’t let you marry that douchebag telenovela actor. I’ll fight tooth and nail for you Mia. I swear.” “I love Dylan.”
“No. You don’t love him. It’s me you
love.”
“How could you say that! I forgot all
about you.”
“Because you have amnesia. Once you’ll
recover, everything will be back to
normal. You will love me again.”
“It’s my brain who has an amnesia, not
my HEART.” She stood up and stormed out
of the TV room.
Mia’s POV
I went to the bathroom in a rush. I
couldn’t help myself but cry.
I hate you, Xander. And I hate myself so
much.
He said he never stopped loving me. Oh God. I never stopped loving him too. I ran away, a thousand miles just to forget him. But still, he was always in my mind and in my heart.
Seeing him again was heartbreaking. I realized how much I missed him and I still loved him so much. That moment, I wanted to throw my arms around him and kiss him desperately. With him, it was like coming home.
But, he was not a good man for me. He hurt me so badly. My brother, Tristan was right. He was a Casanova. Girls were like ants crawling on him like a picnic basket. I shouldn’t have come back and I shouldn’t have pretended… to have an amnesia.
.
RUNAWAY FIANCÉE