Chapter 72

Freshia Ava's POV

After this afternoon's therapy session, there was some improvement in my memory. While the hypnotherapy was going on, in my sleep I saw again the figure of the same woman who appeared in my previous dream. Apart from waking me up from my sleep and reminding me to go to school, this woman was also present at my birthday celebration.

The funny thing is, he was the person who stood next to me clapping when the candles on the birthday cake were lit and people told me to blow out the candles. However, again I could only see his lips and nose. I couldn't see his face in full because at that time I heard George's voice calling my name and I woke up from my sleep. After that, George stopped today's therapy session because he said that I was using too much of my brain function trying to remember.

At that time I was still in the dining room, just finishing my dinner with Eros of course. “Freshia,” Eros exclaimed as he held my hand. Suddenly I turned towards him. “I called you several times but you kept daydreaming. Are you still thinking about the fragments of memory that you managed to remember earlier?" he asked later.

"I'm sorry, Eros," I said, then rubbed my face slowly. “Yes, I was thinking about a memory that just came to mind this afternoon. I'm increasingly curious about that woman, Eros. Of course, he must be the closest person to me considering he was at my birthday celebration and was standing right next to me. But I still can't see his face." I continued. Then I took a deep breath.

Eros' hand which was still on top of my hand began to grip tighter. "Hey, remember what George said earlier about getting enough for today? Save everything first but don't keep thinking about it. I'm afraid your headache will attack again if you think about it too much, Freshia.” Said Eros, who looked really worried about me.

I, who caught his concern, could only nod my head. "Okay Eros, I'll try not to think about it too much."

Eros smiled faintly. “Good job.” He then raised his hand which had been on top of my hand and adjusted his sitting position to be back upright as before.

“Oh, yes, Freshia. Coincidentally, tomorrow I was invited to attend a masquerade ball held by one of my colleagues. Actually, I didn't intend to attend, but in order to maintain the cooperation that had just been established between us, it seemed like I couldn't be absent from the event. So, so that the party doesn't get boring for me, I want you to also attend it with me. How about it, Freshia?”

It's true what people say that it's not easy for someone to change. Eros and all his decrees are still the same as before. Instead of giving an invitation, his words sounded more like an order and an obligation for me to accompany him to the event. I used to hate his attitude which showed so much authoritarianism. But now I can accept his attitude more and think that it is his characteristic. Moreover, now, the command ends with pleasantries in the form of a question that seems to ask my opinion. Even though I knew that he actually only wanted me to answer his invitation with one word, namely, Yes.

I suddenly smiled when I thought about it. “Yes, okay, Eros. I will attend the event with you tomorrow.” My answer gave him what he expected.

Eros smiled. “Thank you, Freshia. Then tomorrow I will prepare everything for you. As usual, you just need to wait for the maid to come to your room.” I just answered with a nod of my head.

The next afternoon, what Eros said yesterday came true. As he treated me before, that afternoon several servants gathered in my room to help me prepare to go to the event that would be held tonight. A long black dress with a one-shoulder model with a thigh-length slit on one side of the bottom was brought by one of the waitresses. After I stood in front of him, the maid immediately thrust the black dress in front of me with a polite gesture.

“Please wear it, Miss. Sir asked Miss to wear this dress for tonight's event," he said.

I sighed and just tried to obey Eros' wishes. After changing clothes, the maids helped me to style my hair and put make-up that was quite on point on my eyes and lips. Remembering that the concept of tonight is a masquerade party.

Thirty minutes passed until I finally finished dressing and immediately left the room to meet Eros, who he said was waiting for me downstairs. With high heels of approximately seven centimeters that had the same color as the clothes on my body, I started walking down the stairs until I realized that Eros was waiting for me right at the last step.

He looked at me who kept walking towards him and kept showing me his smile. When I got quite close to him, he stretched out his hand as a sign for me to accept his outstretched hand. I again complied with his wishes and after that, he took the time to kiss the back of my hand briefly before saying, "You look very charming tonight, Freshia." he praised.

“Doesn't this seem excessive?” I said contrary to his opinion.

"Not at all. I'm sure you'll attract people's attention at the party later.”

"That's enough. What if we should go now." I said with the intention that Eros would immediately stop his rant. Eros, who caught my meaning, immediately laughed and after that, he immediately put my hand on his arm which had formed a right angle, and then led me to the car that was parked in front of the house.

After traveling for approximately forty minutes, the car we were traveling in entered the grounds of one of the famous hotels in the city center. Then, Eros and I immediately got out of the car when our car stopped in front of the hotel lobby. Wearing the gold mask that Eros had given me in the car, I stepped beside Eros and took his arm towards the hotel ballroom where the event was being held.

Many guests had come to attend the event that evening. Eros immediately looked for his colleague who was the organizer of that evening's event, Mr. Julio Robert. Then after searching for several minutes, he finally managed to find Mr. Julio and immediately invited me to approach his colleague. Mr Julio, who seemed to know Eros' presence, immediately walked over to us, so that when we were close, he immediately hugged Eros. "Good evening, Eros. Thank you for taking the time to attend this Old Man's event." He said accompanied by laughter.

Eros just smiled. “Yes, thank you again for inviting me, Mr. Julio. "Let me introduce myself, this is my partner," Eros said casually as he put his arm around my waist and shifted my body slightly to the front, closer to them. I, who had already been introduced, immediately held out my hand in front of Mr. Julio also immediately responded to greet me.

“Your partner looks very beautiful. If only I could see the face behind the mask.” Said Mr. Julio, to which Eros only answered with a smile. But I felt Eros tighten his arms around my waist even more. He didn't seem to like what Mr. Julio did. Therefore, he immediately excused himself from Mr. Julio with the excuse of meeting another colleague.

Eros immediately invited me to walk towards the table filled with dishes at the edge of the room. It didn't look like there were many people there. Before finally a woman tapped him on the shoulder and greeted him. "Good evening, Eros. We haven't seen each other for a long time." The woman said which made Eros, who was standing facing me, turn towards the woman.

At the same time, I could see the appearance of a woman who was also wearing a mask standing in front of us. But my focus couldn't shift from the shape of her face, lips, and nose. For some reason, the shape of her lips and nose reminded me of the woman who appeared in my dream. Since then, I continued to pay attention to her face until I heard Eros reply to the woman's greeting. “Hi, good evening, Mrs. Winston, long time no see. How are you?"

Instantly my mind was filled with many images of something and it made my ears ring loudly. My head was again hit by a headache that was more than the previous night and after that, I lost consciousness.