Chapter 82: Silent

~ Anyssa's Pov ~

I was pregnant? I couldn't respond to the bomb he had just dropped on me. For some reason, my mouth could barely open. I was still in shock.

“How many?” I finally asked.

He took a deep breath before responding. “Three. They were triplets.”

Three babies?

I had three babies, and now I have lost them? How?

I didn't say a word. I just held his hand, and we walked around the park. I noticed children running around with their toys, their parents picking them up off the ground when they fell.

The smiles on their faces whenever they played with sand or came down a slide. Willow Creek looked like a normal park, which had a children's side and an adult side.

Yet it felt homely. Yes, I did feel a pang in my chest from watching them. Somehow, it felt like that should be me watching my own child run around with sand in her or his shoes.

Honestly, I usually wouldn't think about children because I had always made up my mind that starting a family wasn't something I would love.

Growing up not knowing who your father is, and then living in a house with a chronically ill mother, and then all of a sudden, you find out who your real father is and he doesn't even like you…and he has a family of his own.

I know that was the past, but it would always be a thing that defines me as a person.

“Mom! Look, it's that woman on the television.”

A child pointed at me, staring as he held his mother's hand with his other hand. The mother saw my face and was shocked; she held her daughter close and covered her eyes.

It felt…strange.

Why the hell would she do that when she hadn't met me before?

“It's okay, baby. You're just seeing things.”

As we continued walking, I tried to shake off her comment or her expression, but I couldn't. Why did she refer to me like she had just seen some ghost?

I looked back at Ronan, who just stared, enjoying the natural beauty of the park. It looked like he was deep in thought, and I didn't want to disturb him. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled.Right now, I was here with my husband. I somehow felt a connection to this place, but it wasn't just because of that. I was here with Ronan, and while I might not remember much about our marriage, I thought I cared about him.

I did care about him.After what felt like hours, we had a quick ice cream break at a roadside ice cream spot. I had chocolate ice cream with no toppings, while Ronan had vanilla with toppings.

I didn't peg him as a toppings guy.

We sat by the corner on the long bench, facing the clear river ahead of us. A couple stopped at the ice cream stand to get some when the lady turned to look at me. I noticed her staring, and it made me uncomfortable for a bit.

“I'm sorry, do I know you?” I asked.Ronan stared at us, watching.

“I'm sorry for staring. It's just that…you look very familiar.”

“Oh…I don't think I've met you before in my life.”

She nudged her boyfriend as she slipped out her phone and showed him a photo.

“It's her, right?” I heard her whisper.

Ronan tried to take my mind off it, trying as much as he could to bring up small talk.I looked back at her.

“I'm sorry, but if you've seen me anywhere, you should tell me about it. I’d appreciate that rather than creating small talk where I can obviously hear you.”

She kept quiet, as did her boyfriend.

“I apologise. You just look like the lady on the news three years ago—”

“I think we're done here,” Ronan said. He held my hand and stood up.

“Hold on, I need to hear her.” I paused. “You were saying?”

“Yeah, I think it was you. I thought you died—”

“We would appreciate it if you minded your business. Nothing like that has happened to my wife, and next time, if you think you know someone and you're not sure, you can keep your mouth shut.”

He didn't wait for her to respond as he walked us out of there. I was confused, but more curious because that lady was sure she had seen me somewhere.

If she was sure, why did he take me out of there?

“Stop!” He came to a halt. We were far from the ice cream stand, away from the population even.

The cold wind blew across my face so hard I didn't notice the tear that slipped from my eye.

Why the fuck was I even crying?

“Why did you do that? Why did you drag me out like that? Who gave you the right?”

“Baby, I couldn't stand and watch her talk to you like that. That was disrespectful, and it is a public place.”

“But she was sure she had seen me on the news.”

“She wasn't.”

“No, she was! Before we got here, a woman and her kid recognized me somehow. They stared at me like I was some kind of ghost.”

He kept quiet.

“What aren't you telling me, Ronan? You left me in the dark, and the only way I could get my memories back, you're trying so hard to stop it.”

“Nyssa—”

“You told me I had lost our kids…not one, not two, but three. And how did you expect me to react to that? To just go about my day?”

My chest was heavy. My eyes were blurry, and I wasn't even mad. I was just frustrated…

My life was frustrating.

“Nyssa—”

“I trust you. I trust you because I believe you're the only one who could help me remember, and now you're avoiding that. It hurts so much, and you don't even know half of it. What are you hiding from me, Ronan?”