Sister?

The poor maid quickly returned to the villa to report what had happened. Dimitri and the man accompanying him hastily got up to see what was going on.

"What's happening? Why are you shouting like that?" Dimitri asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The mistress has fallen, she hit her head and won't wake up," she said, deeply alarmed.

"Where did she fall from?"

"She insisted on riding her horse," she said, bowing her head deeply in embarrassment.

"Where is she? Take me there immediately," Dimitri said, feeling his heart start to beat faster.

They got into a vehicle to go to where Laura was. Upon arrival, Dimitri got out and ran to her side. She remained motionless, and he examined her carefully.

"I'll call a doctor. The nearest one by plane will arrive in about forty minutes," Dimitri nodded in agreement with what his partner said.

He lifted Laura into his arms. She felt so fragile, so small. Despite what he thought she had done, he felt a terrible remorse.

He carried her to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. As he paced back and forth, desperate, his partner tried to calm him down.

"Relax, friend. The doctor shouldn't take long. He left as soon as he received the call."

Dimitri didn't respond. He approached Laura and stared at her.

"I'm a fool for still loving you. I think I would love you even if I died a thousand times and woke up in other lives," he whispered so his partner wouldn't hear.

He was convinced that he had awakened in this body for revenge, but now he wasn't sure if he wanted to anymore. Perhaps Laura had changed, and perhaps he could love her again.

The doctor arrived shortly after and was immediately taken to Laura's room. He asked Dimitri and the other man to leave so he could examine her.

He wasn't an old, balding doctor as Dimitri had imagined; on the contrary, he was blond, with clear eyes, very tall, probably around thirty years old.

"You can wait in the lounge," he said to Dimitri's partner, who left immediately.

"Aren't you leaving?" the doctor asked Dimitri.

"I'm not. Proceed with the examination," Dimitri replied.

The doctor examined her carefully, and at that moment, Laura began to wake up, slowly opening her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked, bewildered to find herself back in the room and not near the beach.

"What happened? I don't know how you could be so foolish to get on that horse when you've never ridden in your life," the doctor scolded Dimitri, realizing that the patient needed rest and medication, and being spoken to in that manner wouldn't help her at all.

"I believe your sister needs peace and rest. She has suffered a concussion and needs to be taken to the clinic for further examination. It's better to make sure there's no internal damage."

The doctor smiled at Laura as he spoke, which infuriated Dimitri. What did he think he was doing? Was he just a decoration?

"My sister!" Dimitri felt his face flush with anger.

"I apologize if I'm mistaken; it's just the impression I got."

"Save your impressions for another patient, not for my wife. Do you understand?"

"I apologize again. As I was saying, it would be best to take her to the clinic. There's one at the port."

The doctor thought Laura was very beautiful, looking very young next to that man, but he also noticed she had a terrible temper.

He scribbled something on a prescription, then handed it to Dimitri, who was eager for him to leave.

"Luckily, I have some medications in my bag. Some may be missing, but I'll send them as soon as I get to town."

"Will she need a nurse to take care of her?" Dimitri asked as he watched the doctor clean the wound on Laura's head and then apply a bandage.

"I don't think it's necessary. I've checked her reflexes, and everything seems perfect. The MRI would just be to confirm it, purely as a precaution."

"Well, thank you. Tomorrow morning I'll take her to the clinic," Dimitri said.

The young doctor bid farewell to Laura and hurried out; he had noticed the intense gaze of Dimitri, who seemed to want to strangle him.

Laura observed everything in silence, feeling dizzy and with a strong headache from the blow. Dimitri approached to give her the medication, placing the capsule directly in her mouth and then giving her water to drink.

"Thank you, I apologize; I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"But you did. Your recklessness could have cost you dearly. Avoid doing foolish things if you don't want to leave your son alone."

Dimitri was extremely upset, about Laura's accident, about the passionate night they had shared, about still loving her, really about everything.

He felt stupid for caring about the woman who had caused his death in the past. He clenched his fists, then turned around and left the room without saying anything.

The maid, Anne, was sitting on a bench in front of the breakfast bar, nervously moving her feet back and forth. She let out a squeak when she saw Dimitri standing in front of her, staring at her intently.

"Why did you allow it? You should have informed me," he said in a tone that made poor Anne realize she wouldn't get away unscathed; some punishment would be imposed on her.

"I'm sorry, sir. I asked the lady to wait for the steward so he could guide her," the poor girl kept her gaze fixed on the floor, unable to look at him.

"The first thing you should have done in the face of her insistence was to come and inform me. My wife could have lost her life in that accident, so pack your things and leave."

"Sir, I really am sorry. I need this job."

Dimitri crossed his arms over his chest, truly annoyed. He stared at the girl for a moment, then, after analyzing the situation, allowed her to stay. He needed her to take care of Laura, as he would feel uncomfortable doing it himself.

Laura

I woke up feeling afraid. At first, I couldn't recognize where I was, but I managed to wake up a bit and remember that we were on the island. A tremendous headache was torturing me.

A handsome young man in a white coat was beside me; I realized immediately that he was the doctor, and there was Dimitri too, with his deep blue eyes fixed on me.

While he tried to argue with the doctor, because knowing him, I'm sure that's what he was doing, I could only gaze at his nearly two meters of muscle, the same two meters that had been over me... well, not exactly; there was a part that was inside, and when it moved, it made me feel like I was in heaven.

But then, remembering that I betrayed Luke, he mercilessly threw me into hell. I've tried to make my mind understand that Dimitri Petrov is an idiot, besides being completely insane.

Sometimes he talks as if we've been together before, and that's impossible. I try to remember if I've ever suffered from amnesia and forgotten knowing him, but no, it's impossible. I firmly believe that this behavior is due to the sequelae from the coma he was submerged in for years; his brain got damaged, or something like that.

I constantly wonder if he ever really knew Luke. He never mentioned him. Perhaps he forgot to.

I've heard of Stockholm Syndrome, the one that causes you to fall in love with your captor. Sometimes I'm drawn to it too much, but other times I hate it so much that I imagine how much I would enjoy strangling him.

I feel fear when I'm around him. I don't know what a person like him is capable of. Unstable. I've been trying to find a way to escape from him. I imagine he knows because he increased the number of guards.

I constantly reproach myself for comparing his gaze to Luke's. It's the same intensity, I could even swear they're the same color, deep blue. I've been studying him; it's as if he's learned every gesture from my beloved.

His voice becomes hoarser when he's angry, and his face reddens immediately. I'm curious to know how he behaved when he was in the military. I have a feeling he was very ruthless.

I've been thinking about his father's proposal. Is it true that he wants to help me? I'm aware that if he does, it's because it suits him, or because Yulia has asked him to. That woman is like a snake, she oozes poison. When she slithers after Dimitri, she wants to coil around him and consume him.