Serena stared at the water in front of her, but her mind was elsewhere. Specifically, it was on her lips, which still tingled from the kiss they had shared earlier. She patted her cheeks, trying to dispel the warmth that spread through them. Why was she still blushing, damn it? He’d kissed her hours ago and she still seemed to be stuck on that!
The memory of that kiss seemed to be playing on a loop. She’d always imagined him to have cold lips.. and yet they were so warm and soft. And why did he have to cup her face so gently? It was giving her butterflies in the stomach. She hadn’t even had the chance to react before he’d moved back and then he had smiled, and not that fake strained smile that looked as if he had constipation! A real smile, boyish almost that had made her heart skip a beat!
And then, just like that, he was gone, leaving her sitting there, feeling like her world had tilted on its axis. Serena narrowed her eyes and cursed. That Ice man! How dare he invoke the butterflies! Even eating all the pancakes that he’d prepared had not been able to erase his taste.
"Serena!"
She looked up from the water she had been gazing at, and her expression softened as she saw Owen approaching. She waved at him casually, happy to see him. She had been thinking of how to go back to Vancity to look up her past but with Owen’s message that he was here, it solved that dilemma at least.
She waved casually, and watched him come over, trying to see if maybe any of his features could match that of the person she had seen in her dreams. But that person seemed to have more sharper features. Owen was a handsome man and there was no doubt it. However, his features were almost warm and inviting. That man in her dream seemed to have cold features... almost like Aiden’s.
She shook her head, at that name, worried that he would overtake her thoughts again and quickly turned her attention to the man, "Owen, hey."
"How are you? Are you alright? You disappeared so suddenly—I was worried." The moment he saw her, he began to speak worriedly.
Serena’s smile widened at the tone. He sounded like a nagging uncle, and she she shook her head. "Did you think I had an accident again?"
Owen blinked, momentarily taken aback but shook his head then scandalised, "Imagine you hurt? No way. I would never do that."
Serena laughed at his horrified face and shook her head."Relax! I was only teasing."
Owen let out a breath and sat down opposite her. " Oh. Sorry. But seriously, I was concerned about you. Is everything okay now?"
Serena nodded and then looked at him, "So. Were you able to find much about me?"
Owen nodded and quickly took something out, " when you were living in Vancity, you stayed with a couple. They were called..."
"The Thomason’s." Serena asked excited about the possibility. She was staying with them? That could be why no one knew that she had been missing. If she’d left home after some fight, as she had in her dream, and then come to live with the Thompsons, then it was quite easy to imagine that no one knew her to be missing.
Owen glance at her in surprise, "You remember them?" Under the table, his hands clenched. No! His parents had assured that that she did not know them after he told them that she did not have her memories. But if she remembered them then...Before he could worry more, Serena grimaced and shook her head, " I don’t remember them." He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard this. She didn’t remember then.
But then, she continued," However, I do remember all the troubles I had to face because of them. So, if I find them, I will make them...
Owen’s eyes widened. Trouble because of them? Did she mean about them marrying her off to Aiden Hawk?
"What kind of trouble?"
Serena glanced at him and opened her mouth before closing it again," Just something to do with the creditors.
At this moment, Owen’s heart sank as he realized the depth of the new problem before him. Serena’s hesitation, the way she carefully chose her words—it all pointed to one thing. She didn’t fully trust him. And that hurt. If she did, she wouldn’t be holding back. She’d tell him everything she remembered, everything she suspected. But here she was, glossing over the details, keeping her guard up.
In the past, he had been her closest confidante. She’d even shared the problems that... He shook his head. No. He knew already that she was a changed person and not the girl who loved him with everything. Forcing a smile, Owen leaned back slightly, trying to appear more relaxed than he felt. "Creditors, huh? I guess they weren’t the kind of couple that would make life easy."
"You could say that."
Owen watched her for a moment, then reached into his bag, pulling out a small stack of photos. "Well, I did manage to dig up a few things that might jog your memory. Take a look. Maybe something will stand out."
Serena hesitated before taking the photos from him, her fingers brushing against his as she did. Owen felt a jolt at that. It had been so long since... but he also didn’t miss the way she tensed slightly at the contact, and mentally kicked himself for not being more careful. He needed her to feel comfortable with him. Not on the edge.
Serena sighed and opened the photo book, staring at the first picture. It was her and yet it wasn’t her..
She looked at the girl in the picture and her strained smile. Why did she look troubled in the picture? As if she was not happy. Carefully, she placed it aside and then looked at the other one...