Chapter 81 CHAPTER 81
Evelyn’s POV
I sat uneasily on the bed after Stefan left the room. I closed my eyes and tried to reimagine the faces of the two women. It had been just a glimpse and I had heard that name again. That name gave me uncomfortable knots in my stomach.
Evelyn.
Was the lady calling me Evelyn?
It was becoming clearer that perhaps I had another life somewhere else. It was either I was a very bad person or something else had happened. So I decided I would stop taking any of the pills.
My first suspicion came from the story that I had a car crash. I had no injuries and when I asked the nurse who was taking care of me, she said she had no access to my medical records. And she walked away before I could ask any more questions. Then, the name. I felt no connection whatsoever with the name at all. It felt like it belonged to a stranger.
Then the dream.
My eyes remained closed as I pictured the dream again. I've been having these dreams every night. A cave. Symbols on the wall and someone calling a name. Evelyn.
Who is Evelyn?
I picked up my phone. There was still no connection to the internet. Stefan had promised to get me connected a few days ago when I asked him but each time I reminded him, he had one excuse or the other to give. He would mumble about some delays with the subscription and then change the topic.
I stood up and paced around the room. I needed a phone. Urgently.
—
When he returned minutes later, he had dinner in his hands. He smiled like he had won the lottery.
“These are a must in Ibiza,” he said. “Fried octopus and chips.”
It sounded like something I would give to a pet.
“I need a phone, Stefan,” I said, ignoring the food in his hands.
His smile faltered. “You have one, Stella.”
“No,” I said, tossing the phone on the bed. “A phone with internet connection. You keep telling me you’d do it and you don’t.”
He moved quietly to the small table in the corner of the room. The nurse had told me to cooperate with him, that he was taking care of me. I felt a tinge of guilt watching his happy smiles disappear with my persisting problems.
He laid the food on the tray quietly.
“Won’t you say anything, stefan?” i asked, watching him.
“What do you need it for?” he asked, his head buried in his task.
I could think of a lot of things I wanted to use it for. He knew them. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Is there something you are trying to hide from me?”
He didn’t turn around. He continued laying the meal with dedication. “I’m only protecting you, Stella.”
“From what?” I asked.
He sighed. “It’s better you don’t know,” he answered.
I took three steps closer to him. “I want to know. What is it?”
He looked at me this time. “Those women you saw moments ago, they know you,” he said. He walked away from the table and ran his fingers through his hair. “I lied to you about your name and who you really are.”
My heart thrummed against my chest and I felt a sinking gut feeling. I knew it. There was no way my real name would be Stella.
“My real name is Evelyn?” I asked.
He nodded.
I let out a deep sigh. “So why did you lie to me about that?”
He faced me. “Those women,” he said, raising his arm and pointing out of the window. I followed the direction of his hand with my eyes. “You scammed them, Stella. You were the city’s biggest scammer. I took you away from the city when you were about to be arrested. I had to run away with you.”
He walked back to the table. “You had an accident, hitting your head dangerously on our way and you were in a coma for a few days.”
He stopped. That was all?
“Where did we run away from?” I asked.
“New York,” he said. “You offended a very powerful family there. I had to keep you under the radar, so we agreed to take fake names when we get to Barcelona.”
I pondered over what he said. Yes, I heard the woman in the crowd screaming something like the greatest scammer of New York.
“These are the news articles,” he said, showing me pages of online newspapers' headlines and blogs describing a certain Evelyn Moon with not very charming names.
“I kept the truth from you after i learnt that you lost your memory to protect you, Stella -”
“Don’t call me that,” I said. Still reading the articles. “Call me Evelyn. It feels like mine.”
“We can’t let these people find you,” he said, taking the phone away from me. “They are ruthless. They will throw you in prison for a long time and I won't be able to help you.”
I still felt uneasy. It seemed like there were some things he wasn’t mentioning yet. “Who is she?” I asked. “The woman who called out my name.”
“I don’t know her,” he said. “But I know the other woman who was standing beside her. That’s Rosaleen. She is your biggest enemy.”
“And you,” I said. “What is your original name? It’s not Stefan. Is it?”
He looked at me. “I had no reason to hide my real name, Evelyn. It’s Stefan. So do you trust me now?”
I nodded slowly.
“Will I get my memories back?”
“Yes,” he replied. “As long as you continue taking your pills. Very soon.”
As we sat together to eat our meal, I watched him. He had lied to me. His real name wasn’t Stefan, but Xavier. I knew it because I had seen it in one of the articles.
‘Evelyn Moon eloped with her lover, Xavier Heart.’
Why did he lie to me about his name?