Page 41 of Deadly Sights

He releases my hands and clams up.

I narrow my gaze at him. “Julian, what aren’t you telling me?”

“Take a number, Nadira. There’s a lot I haven’t told you, and you know this.”

I contemplate him and his odd response. The only things he refuses to talk about relate to my missing memory. “So this goes back to when we were kids?”

His reluctant nod confirms my suspicion.

“Do you think what we shared was beautiful?” I ask.

“Of course. I wouldn’t have our first time any other way.”

“And I want it to remain beautiful for me, too. For that to happen, I need to know what you’re not telling me.”

Unlike when Julian was in the throes of passion, his face gives nothing away. “In my mind, I’ve been your husband since I gave you a flower ring. What man would I be if I stepped out on my wife?”

“Flower ring?” I feel the blood draining from my face. I struggle to get the next words out, but I have to know. “Was there only the one?”

“Nadira?”

“Was there only one ring?” I demand in the face of his growing concern.

“No. You outgrew them as you got older. Whenever they no longer fit, you transferred them to a hemp necklace you made.”

“Oh, my God.” I cover my mouth as an image of a teenager with bright golden-brown eyes flashes in my head, so similar to the image of the boy I remember from before and almost a replica of the man in front of me. In what I recognize as a memory now, he’s sliding the ring on my ring finger and promising to wait for me because they’re moving him to a different facility and it was our last minutes together.

“Nadira, what’s wrong? Tell me what to do. What do you need?” Julian’s voice sounds far away like he’s underwater. He shakes me, bringing his current panicking image into focus. “Nadira!”

“That necklace… It was in my belongings when I survived the crash. I always wondered why there were so many rings and why the sizes and flowers were different.”

“I always made them based on what was in season.”

“And the last one you gave me, that happened on the day of my accident. But there was more than one that day.”

“You remember?”

I nod as tears spill down my face. “I was heartbroken when you walked away, but I tried to be hopeful at the same time. I felt like I was losing another person… Wait, who did I lose that would cause this crushing pain inside my chest?” I rub the area above my heart as if I’ve reopened a fresh wound instead of one long-healed and hardened with scar tissue.

“Do you remember anything else?”

I try, going so far as closing my eyes to recapture the memory to see where it goes. But only teenage Julian’s stiff spine as he walks away from me replays over and over behind my closed lids. With a frustrated growl, I admit defeat. “Nothing.”

His disappointment reflects mine, but his arms enclosing me in a comforting embrace eases my pain and dwindling hope. He kisses my forehead. “When you leave this place, there’s somewhere I want to take you that might help you regain other memories.”

I close my eyes and breathe him in. “You promise?”

Julian pinches my chin until I match his stare. “You said you needed this, right?”

I nod.

“Then I’ll do whatever I can to ensure you get it.”

“I need something else.”

Julian quirks his brow in silent question.

“Undress me and cuddle with me until I need to leave.”

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