Chapter 176 Fragmented Memories

Chapter 176 Fragmented Memories
Roman's expression flickered—a shadow passing over his eyes. He quickly masked it with a smile, but Evelyn caught it.

"What are you saying?" He twirled her gently. "You know everything about me."

"Roman."

He was about to twirl her again, but she held on, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders.

"Roman, I need you to listen to me."

His hand, which had been resting comfortably against her waist, stilled. Roman closed his eyes for a brief moment. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat when he opened his eyes and saw her serious expression.

Evelyn nodded, seeing he was finally allowing her to talk.

"Okay…" She cleared her throat. "Why do you… act like everything is fine? You act like everything is perfect, but I know it's not."

Roman's brows furrowed. He let out a short laugh to lighten the mood. "Everything is fine. You're just overthinking."

"No!" Evelyn's voice rose. Realizing her loud tone, she turned quickly toward the crib. The baby stirred faintly, then settled.

She took a deep breath.

"Roman, what is happening? You have to tell me. I'm your wife. You can't keep doing this. As much as I love how perfect things are, I want to share the burden. I want you to tell me."

She tilted her head up to stare directly into his eyes.

"You… only let me know what you want me to know. I don't know everything about you, Roman."

Roman's jaw clenched hard, the muscle ticking in his cheek. But he remained silent.

Evelyn stared at him, waiting for him to at least say something.

He finally reacted and shook his head. "We should focus on the baby right now." He patted her hair. "There's nothing I can't handle."

Evelyn scoffed, trying to keep the tears from falling. She broke out of his embrace and stormed out of the room.

Roman pinched the bridge of his nose and followed after her.

"Lyn…"

She paid him no attention.

"Lyn, I said—" His expression darkened when he saw her walking directly toward his study. His breath became heavier as his pace turned faster.

"Lyn…" He pushed the door open just as she pulled open his drawer, bringing out all the bottles of pills inside.

His eyes widened. "How did you—"

Evelyn burst out crying.

"Roman, what the hell is happening?" Her voice cracked. "Why do you have so many pills in your drawer?"

Roman stood frozen. His gaze darted from the bottles scattered across the desk to Evelyn’s trembling hands. His lips parted slightly.

"And don't you dare lie to me." Her gaze hardened. "I saw you taking these drugs when I was craving snacks in the middle of the night during my pregnancy. And ever since then, I've been watching you. Every single night, you swallow these pills.”

The pills rattled in her shaking hands. “I didn’t even know they were this much.” She wiped at her tears. “And that is not even all."

Evelyn took a shaky breath.

"You hide the fact that your eyes strain more than they used to. You never talk about your father's illness. You just keep saying it's fine. You think I don't feel bothered?"

Roman's face paled.

"Yeah, I noticed your glasses," she continued. "You seldom used them. But now you wear them almost all the time when you think I'm not looking. I just didn't want to bring it up when I was still pregnant, because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to control my emotions."

She let the words settle.

"Roman, your body is fighting something. And you've been hiding it from me. From the woman who loves you. From the woman who carried your child. Don't I at least deserve to know the real side of you? Not the perfect you."

Roman stood frozen. His jaw worked, but no sound came out.

Evelyn's voice dropped. "I have so many questions, but I can't ask.” 

She pressed two fingers against her temple. “Because every time I do, my brain feels disoriented, and I can't seem to pick up the pieces. Everything just feels—off."

She lifted a bottle of the pills.

"Is this connected to your past? How you stopped being a doctor and—and—"

Roman immediately walked toward her and pulled her into a tight hug. He buried his face in her hair.

Evelyn felt the light tremor of his body before it stopped.

"There's nothing wrong. Those drugs are just—for my eyesight." He said, patting her back gently. "I had an incident years ago when I was still a doctor, and it almost cost me my eyesight. So those drugs are for it. Nothing to worry about."

Evelyn's shoulders shook hard as she wrapped her arms around him. “Then why didn’t you tell me?” she whispered, her voice breaking. “How am I supposed to believe everything is okay when every answer only gives me more questions? I feel like something is missing… like I’m reaching for a memory that disappears every time I get close.”

"Shhh. Just calm down. You're okay. And I'm really sorry." He kissed her forehead. "I didn't want to upset your emotions. Just like now. It's just a minor issue. Okay?"

Evelyn nodded, sniffling on his chest. "You don't have to always keep everything to yourself, you know." Her voice was muffled.

Roman let out a deep sigh. "I know. I'm just trying to protect you. Everything I do is for you."

A faint cry echoed from the room. Evelyn let out a shaky laugh. “I think our son disagrees with emotional conversations.”

Roman chuckled quietly. “Probably hungry.”

He brushed a tear from her cheek. “I’ll try. I don’t know how yet… but I’ll try to be more open from now on.”

Evelyn lifted her head to gaze at his eyes. “What about your father?" 

Roman smiled. "He's doing okay. Do you want to see him?"

“Hmm.” Evelyn wiped her snot all over his chest, making Roman laugh out, his chest vibrating.

"I think… Noah would like to see him. Don't you think so? He seems to be the only family member we have, other than our friends."

Roman bent to kiss her jaw, seeing her slightly upset expression. "We don't need many people. We'll go see him, okay?"

Evelyn nodded. "Let me go make you something. Mrs. Chen taught me a new recipe." She paused. "And I need to check on Noah."

Roman kissed her gently before releasing her. "I'll be here."

Satisfied, Evelyn left the study.

—

As soon as the door closed, Roman's expression darkened. He stared at the medicine bottles scattered across the desk. Then quickly reached into his pocket for his phone.

He pressed a familiar contact. The call connected on the second ring.

“Theon.”

Roman rarely called first. Theon immediately noticed the tension in his voice.

"Roman?"

Roman rubbed a hand over his face. “Something… strange happened with Evelyn. She was asking questions, and I got flustered."

Theon was quiet for a moment. "Hold on. What happened? Is she okay?”

Roman leaned against the desk, pressing his fingers against his temple. "She’s okay. We were having a quiet moment when she started asking some questions. She found the pills, Theon."

Theon let out a long breath. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her they were for my eyesight."

"That's not going to hold forever."

"I know." Roman paused. "But that's not why I called. She said she felt disoriented. Anxious. Like she couldn't pick up the pieces of her thoughts."

Theon we t quiet. "Did you say something that might have triggered something?"

Roman's brows furrowed as he tried to remember anything that might have triggered her.”

"What's dancing?" A tiny voice asked in his head.

"Dancing is an activity where you move your body to music."

"But there's no music."

"I know. I don't need music to dance with you."

Roman closed his eyes as the voices clouded his head. A loud ringing filled his ears. White light flooded his vision.

"Ahhhh—!"

He let out a scream, dropping his phone. His hands flew to his head.

"Roman! Roman!" Theon's voice came through the speaker, frantic. "What's happening? Are you okay? Roman!"

Roman clutched his head tightly, breathing heavily as his body shook uncontrollably. 

Then, slowly, the ringing faded. His breathing steadied again. He picked up the phone with trembling hands.

"Theon."

"I'm here. What happened?"

Roman swallowed hard. "Other than calming the chemical reactions in my body... what are the side effects of the drugs?"

Theon exhaled, relief mixed with concern. "It depends on the patient. Side effects vary. But why are you asking me this? Even though you made the drugs contraband, you developed most of the components. You know how they work."

Roman pressed his fingers against his closed eyes.

"Theon, I think… some parts of my memories are becoming fragmented."