Chapter 11 11
Jenna's POV:
As Nathan’s words replayed in my mind, I felt my stomach twist. ‘How did Caesar's friends never once cross my mind?’
Maybe because for the last four years, I’d built my entire university life around one strict, unbreakable rule to avoid Caesar Greywood. And I took that rule far more seriously than anyone expected because it wasn't just Caesar I avoided, I avoided his biker friends too. So now, imagining myself stepping out of a car with him, I could already picture the explosion it would cause and the attention of every person in the university would be on us including then Caesar’s friends.
And once his friends started putting two and two together, and connecting dots, everything would lead back to the Alpha. And with Alpha Roman’s health deteriorating, the last thing I could ever live with was being the reason something happened to him because I would never forgive myself.
Still, Caesar and I were in our final year so we both needed to return for lectures, complete our courses, sit for finals, and graduate. My life can't be paused just because Caesar lost his memory and from everything I’d learned from Nathan so far, Caesar could function completely normally. He understood the world, routines, and behaviour, he just remembered nothing personal about himself, his past, or his life.
So technically, he could go to school just fine.
Besides, me leaving him behind to attend lecturers wouldn't work because he would never give me space or let me out of his sight. So what are we supposed to do? Stop him from going to school? Hide him in the Packhouse until exams arrived?
I let out a deep breath and finally answered Nathan. “I don’t see how that’s a problem.”
He stared at me as though I’d just said something insane. “Jenna, what do you mean you don’t see how that’s a problem? If even one of his friends notices he’s lost his memory, it’ll turn into a rumor and that rumor will reach the Alpha’s ears.”
“We can find a way around it.” I insisted, tightening my arms across my chest. “If we’ve managed to keep the Alpha and Luna in the dark this long, then we can definitely do it for a while longer at least until he fully recovers. Besides, finals are only a few months away and I believe that he’ll be fine before then.”
Nathan exhaled sharply. “Keeping Caesar’s friends in the dark won't be as easy as you think.”
“We can still do it.” I shot back. “We can show Caesar pictures of his friends so that can memorize their names, and little facts about them. That way, when he sees them, he’ll know how to act, dodge the questions that bring up the past and throw them off balance.”
Nathan dragged a hand down his face. “Okay, let’s say that actually works, there’s still another problem. His friends are definitely going to find it weird that he’s suddenly clingy with you because that's not Caesar Greywood.”
“We can fix that too.” I said immediately. “We’ll make it seem like he’s changed after falling in love, and finding his mate, so now he’s different. People love that story anyway, the bad boy turns good for the good girl.”
Nathan just stared at me. “Jenna, can you listen to yourself? This is real life.”
“Okay then.” I snapped. “What exactly do you suggest? How will you convince the Alpha and Luna that Caesar should remain hidden in the Packhouse for months instead of attending lectures, when finals are practically around the corner? What excuse are you planning to give them? Because trust me, they will ask.”
Nathan opened his mouth, shut it, then muttered. “I’ll… figure out something.”
“There’s nothing to figure out.” I said quietly but firmly. “This is the only way to keep things under control. You just have to make sure he recovers quickly and I’ll keep him away from people who might bring up the past.”
Nathan rubbed his forehead, defeated. “You know what? Fine. Fine. I give up.” He sighed heavily. “Let’s go with your plan and let’s hope it works.”
With that, he stepped out and less than an hour later, he returned with his arms full of papers, photos, notes, and everything Caesar would need to “remember” about his three closest friends. Jerry, Jackson, and Samuel the handsome, rich and arrogant biker kings of the university.
So, Caesar spent the rest of the day memorizing every single detail until he could recite them like multiplication tables. And after he finally finished, he rubbed his eyes, yawned, and went to bed. The next morning, we woke up early to get ready for lectures.
Normally, Caesar rode his motorbike to school but there was no universe in which I was going to cling to his back on a motorcycle or any universe in which he’d allow me to take a different ride. So, I told him that he would be driving us today because she still remembered how to drive. After dressing up, we stepped out of the room just to run into Luna Elsa sitting in the living room, flipping through a magazine.
“Oh, you two are up quite early.” She said sweetly. “Breakfast is still being served so stay a bit and eat.”
“I rarely eat before morning lectures.” smiled politely. “I’ll grab something from the cafeteria later but if Caesar wants…”
“I’ll do whatever you do.”Caesar cut in instantly. “If you’re not eating, I’m not eating.”
Elsa laughed warmly. “The two of you look adorable. Go on, have a good first day back.”
Then we stepped out and headed to the car which was driven by Caesar, who didn't know the way, so I had to type it into Google Maps and guided him. When we arrived at the university and he parked in the departmental lot, we both stepped out. Immediately, Caesar jogged to my side, reaching for my hand.
“Caesar.” I hissed. “Yes, we’re doing the whole ‘boy in love’ trope, but you still need to maintain a little bit of old Caesar Greywood energy so let's walk side by side.”
“I don’t want to maintain anything.” He grumbled. “I don’t care about deceiving anyone, I just want to hold you and I’m going to announce it to the world that I…”
“No!” I slapped my hand over his mouth. “Okay, fine you can put your hand over my shoulder since it gives the bad boy energy.” He reluctantly agreed, sliding his arm around my shoulders as we turned toward the building. But just as we began walking, someone shouted his name.
“Caesar!” The unknown voice rang out and we both turned to Samuel and my stomach dropped because I had forgotten that Samuel was the only friend in Caesar’s group who took the same major as Caesar and I. Which meant Caesar would inevitably spend time with him and Samuel knew Caesar better than anyone. So if anyone would notice something was off, it would be him.
Samuel marched toward us. “Where the hell have you been, man? The last thing we heard was that you were going to introduce your mate to us after introducing her to the Alpha but then you went completely off. We even thought about going to the Packhouse later today.” He shook his head. “I’m genuinely surprised you’re here. Where have you been?”
“I took a break.” Caesar said smoothly. “I wanted to be with my woman.”
Samuel’s gaze shifted to me. “Oh. She’s the one?” He smirked. “Lone wolf Jen-Jennifer is your mate?”
I rolled my eyes.
Everyone called me the lone wolf because I was the girl who ate alone, studied alone, avoided drama, avoided boys, and everyone.
Caesar straightened. “Don’t call her that. I don’t like that name. Her name is Jennifer. And yes, Jennifer Washington is my mate.”
Samuel raised his brows, impressed. Then he let out a low whistle. “Bro… Mirabella is gonna lose her mind.”
I frowned. “Are you talking about Mira Nightingale?”
Samuel nodded.
“Why would Mirabella be upset?” I asked.
Samuel stared at me like I was the one who lost memory. “Unless you’ve been living under a rock, there's no way that you are not aware that Mirabella is Caesar’s ex-girlfriend.”