Chapter 112: Memories

Cecilia

I raked through my brain, which felt as heavy as if it were stuffed with bricks. But eventually, I found the person who weighed heaviest on my mind. "You're Arthur."

The sound that came out of him was somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

"Yes," he said, and his voice cracked. "Yes, I'm Arthur. I'm your—" He stopped, seemed to struggle with something. "Do you remember what we are to each other?"

I frowned. "We're..."

The memories wouldn't quite come into focus. I knew him. Knew his face, his voice, the way his hands felt against my skin. But the details, the context—it all felt slippery, like trying to hold water.

"It's okay." He was already reaching for his phone. "It's okay, just stay with me. I'm calling Dr. Morrison."

"Doctor? Why?" I asked, genuinely confused. "I'm fine. Just tired."

"Ceci, baby, you're not fine." His free hand found mine, squeezing gently. "But you're going to be. I promise."

Dr. Morrison arrived within twenty minutes, moving with the calm efficiency of someone who'd dealt with countless medical emergencies. He checked my vitals, shined a light in my eyes, asked me questions about what day it was and where I was and who the man sitting beside me was.

I answered them all—some easily, some with more difficulty. Yes, I knew it was Saturday. No, I wasn't sure what month it was. Yes, that was Arthur. No, I couldn't quite remember why he looked so worried.

"It's not uncommon," Dr. Morrison said finally, addressing Arthur rather than me. "The combination of the sedative and the psychological trauma can cause temporary memory disruption. Gaps, confusion, difficulty forming new memories or accessing recent ones."

"How long?" Arthur's voice was tight.

"Could be hours. Could be a few days." Dr. Morrison's expression softened slightly. "But from what I'm seeing, the cognitive function is intact. She knows who she is, where she is, who you are. The specific memories will likely return as the drug fully metabolizes."

"What should I do?"

"Have her revisit some old memories and go to places she’ve been before. Don't push too hard if she can't remember something—just give her time." He stood, packing his medical bag. "And Mr. Winston? She's going to be fine. This isn't permanent."

After he left, Arthur pulled me into his arms, holding me like I might break.

"Arthur," I said, my face pressed against his chest. "What happened?"

He was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Nothing happened. We had our engagement party last night. You were so happy you fainted."

"Our engagement party?" I pulled back to look at him, trying to process that. "We're engaged?"

"Yes." His voice was firm, certain. "We're engaged. You said yes."

I looked down at my hand and saw the rings—two beautiful rings that caught the light and scattered it in a way that made my breath catch.

"I said yes," I repeated slowly, trying to make it feel real.

"You did." He brought my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles gently. "You said yes, and we celebrated, and then you got so excited you fainted. That's all. Nothing else happened."

Something about that didn't quite fit, didn't quite make sense. But when I tried to focus on the inconsistencies, they slipped away like smoke.

"Really?" I asked.

"Really." He pulled me back against his chest. "Just rest now. Everything's fine."

I let myself relax into his warmth, feeling safe despite the confusion, despite the gaps in my memory.

But as I settled against him, I found myself studying his face.

"I have good taste," I murmured, surprising myself.

Arthur's arms tightened around me. "What?"

"You." I reached up to touch his face again, marveling at how beautiful he was. "I have really good taste. You're so handsome."

Something that might have been pain flickered across his expression before he smoothed it away. "You're the beautiful one, Ceci. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Heat flooded my face, and before I could think better of it, I leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

He froze, his whole body going still, and for a moment I thought I'd done something wrong. But then his hand came up to cup the back of my head, holding me gently, and he kissed me back with a tenderness that made my chest ache.

"I love you," he murmured against my lips. "More than anything."

"I love you too," I said, and meant it with every fiber of my being, even if I couldn't quite remember all the reasons why.

But I thought there was no reason needed to love someone. Just standing there, he made me want to throw myself at him.

He held me for a long time after that, his arms wrapped securely around me, his face buried in my hair.

Then his phone buzzed, and I felt him tense slightly before pulling back to check it.

"I need to take care of something," he said, his voice carefully neutral as he read whatever message had come through. "Work emergency. It shouldn't take long."

"Okay." I tried not to feel disappointed, tried to remind myself that he had responsibilities beyond sitting here holding me. "I'll be fine."

"I know you will." He pressed a kiss to my forehead, lingering there for a moment. "Alice is going to come stay with you while I'm gone. I don't want you to be alone."

I tried to figure out who Alice was.

Arthur seemed to sense my confusion and spoke. "Alice Reynolds. Your best friend."

My brain conjured up Alice’s face. I smiled. “Yes, Alice Reynolds, Cecilia’s best friend.”

He kissed me once more before standing and heading for the door. I watched him go, noting the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides.

Something about that didn't feel right. But before I could think too much about it, Alice appeared in the doorway, her face bright with forced cheerfulness.

"Hey, babe!" She crossed the room and flopped onto the bed beside me with her usual lack of ceremony. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused," I admitted. "And tired. And like there's something important I'm forgetting, but I can't quite figure out what it is."

Alice's expression softened, and she took my hand in hers. "Arthur told me about the memory gaps. He said Dr. Morrison thinks it's temporary—that everything will come back once the... once you're fully recovered from fainting."

"Yeah." I frowned, trying to focus on the edges of what I couldn't quite remember. "He said I got so excited at the engagement party that I fainted. Is that really what happened?"

"That's what happened," Alice said, a little too quickly, and something in her eyes made me think there was more to the story. But when I tried to focus on that feeling, it slipped away like smoke.

"Come on." She stood and pulled me up with her. "Arthur wanted me to show you something. Help jog your memory a little."