Owen paced the room, glancing at the clock for what felt like the hundredth time. They were supposed to meet at eight, but it was now approaching nine, and there was still no sign of her. Anxiety gnawed at him. Why was she taking so long? Had her husband found a way to stop her from coming?
After seeing her yesterday and spending some time with her, a bit of his anxiety had lessened. At least she was doing well. He’d asked her generally about her health and seen a glimpse of her old reticent self when she’d answered his question with a question of her own.
He paused his pacing then and could not help but smile at last afternoon’s meeting. Seeing her exploring the market, he had been doubtful that she would talk to him so casually like she had. Unexpectedly, they’d even ended up recreating the scene from when they first met. The only thing missing had been her glass of iced tea.
Owen’s smile widened as his thoughts drifted back to that day, years ago, when their paths had first crossed. He had been wandering through the university grounds, trying to familiarize himself with the sprawling campus. He’d been so nervous then, finding the city too big for him. Not just the city, everything inside seemed to be bigger and grander than his little town.
As he walked down a narrow lane lined with trees, he’d been lost in looking through the materials, mapping out his schedule for the semester, when suddenly, he felt a cold splash across his chest, followed by a pair of hands on his shoulders which disappeared as quickly as they appeared.
Startled, he’d looked down to see his shirt soaked in iced tea and then looked up into the eyes of the culprit. In the next moment, he’d almost lost his own heartbeat as he stared into her eyes.
"I—I’m terribly sorry," she’d said, her voice soft and measured, with a refined accent that made him think she had come from a world far removed from his own. She seemed to weigh each word carefully before speaking, as though every phrase had to be just right. "I didn’t mean to bump into you."
For a moment, Owen was too stunned to respond. It wasn’t just the iced tea soaking into his shirt that had rendered him speechless—it was the calm, almost detached way she held herself, as if she were above the chaos of everyday life.
When he finally found his voice, it came out more flustered than he’d intended. "No, no, it’s... it’s really okay. It was an accident."
She’d nodded then,’ Thank you. You’re very kind." and then walked away, almost leaving a chill in her wake.
Owen returned to the present with a sigh. There was a world of difference between that first meeting and everything that had followed. It had taken him months to coax her out of her shell, to get her to open up and agree to go on a date. Even when they had finally started dating, conversations had often felt like delicate negotiations, each word carefully chosen. She had been so guarded, so cautious—so unlike the vibrant, outgoing woman he had seen yesterday.
Could amnesia really change someone so drastically? From an introvert to an extrovert—it seemed almost impossible. And surprisingly, he’d thought that he would not like that. He’d never wanted her to change even when she was the most delicate person in the world. But yesterday had shown him the difference. This warm and open girl was just as attractive to him as the cold and reticent Rena. Maybe it was because he was stupidly in love with her.
Owen glanced at the time again, anxiety creeping back in as he debated what to do next.
He’d planned the day so carefully, wanting to fulfill the dual purpose of having a date with her, thus helping him get close to her again while he showed her the places of their shared past and keeping her away from her husband on the other hand and finding out more about their relationships.
He’d tried that yesterday after seeing the wedding ring on her finger, if she was seeing anyone. She’d almost seemed oblivious to the wedding ring on her finger as she’d shrugged that she wasn’t seeing anyone. On anyone else he would have thought that the person was going to step out on their relationship, but he believed her. No matter how much she changed, she would never cheat. So, this could mean that maybe she wasn’t really with her husband.
He couldn’t just sit here and wait. The longer he stayed, the more his mind wandered to the worst-case scenarios. Before he knew it, he grabbed his keys and headed out determined to find out what was going on. But the only way to get any answers would be to get close to her.
"I’m looking for a guest," Owen began, choosing his words carefully. "I dropped her off here yesterday. Her name is Serena... Serena Hawk. Can you tell me if she has left the resort?"
"I’m sorry, sir. We cannot give out any information about guests without their consent. You can leave your message with us or we can call their room and ask."
"Their room? Then her husband is also here? Is he... is he in a separate room?" Owen asked carefully.
"Of course not, sir. Mr and Mrs Hawk are staying in our honeymoon cottage. They are a newly wedded couple. Why would they stay in separate rooms?"
Owen gave a strained smile then and said,"I was just making sure that everything was alright, as a well wisher."
The receptionist warmed up then and leaned in,’ Initially,they indeed have separate rooms available but then, Mr Hawk had his assistant call and book the entire resort and them into the honeymoon cottage. It is our separate cottage you see, away from the rest of the resort and cottages. So, when they arrived and asked for separate rooms, we pretended that there was none available. That was so romantic..."