Page 204 of G.O.D.S Omnibus

“Hi,” I say, coming up beside her. She is running her hand nervously across a box that’s placed on the table in front of her.

“Jolie, you look... pregnant,” she says with a small chuckle.

I slide into the booth opposite her. “I feel very pregnant.”

A distant look of sadness washes over her, and I know it must be hard for her to not remember me. I couldn’t imagine how that would feel. The strong connection I already feel to my babies.

“I’m sorry it’s taken so long to meet up, but I have had so much on my mind with the letter and how weird Ziyon has been...”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. You’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

Marlow stops at our table and places an orange juice in front of me and a coffee in front of Melinda. “The lady said you ordered coffee, so I got you another one.”

“Thank you. What a sweet boy.” She offers him a small smile.

“He has his moments,” I tell her. Marlow smiles in return and goes to join Davis. “What’s in the box?”

“Ziyon has been out of town, and I went snooping around. I found these. With you being pregnant, I thought you might be interested.”

She opens the lid of the old shoebox, and there are photos and what looks to be a diary. She pulls out a photo and hands it to me. I look at the black-and-white image and can immediately tell it’s an old photo, definitely older than me. Upon closer inspection, I realise it’s a picture of Ziyon and Mr Z, and they don’t look to be more than a few years old. I study the picture carefully and hand it back to her. She places it back in the box and places the lid back on and slides it my way.

“Are you sure? What if Ziyon realises it’s missing?”

She shrugs. “I have come to realise there is so much he isn’t telling me. That he refuses to. He has been good to me all these years, but I have to ask myself why he didn’t tell me about you. Do you remember the story you told me about how you got your memories back?”

I nod.

“Do you think it would work for me?” She fidgets a bit in her seat as she asks.

“It’s funny you mention that. I was too afraid to ask you over text in case your phone is being monitored, but I talked toChester, and he really isn’t sure, but he is happy to try if you want it.”

“I do. I need to know. Having relied on him for so long, and now, after Zacari’s letter and finding you, I no longer know if he was protecting me or keeping me for himself.”

“Whenever you’re ready, we can do it.”

“What about today?” she asks.

I bite my lip and look at Davis. I hate feeling like I might not be able to trust her.

Davis gets up from his seat and walks towards us. He slides into the seat beside me. “What’s up?”

“I need to ask Melinda something, but I need you.”

Melinda looks confused, just as I expected her to be. “I need you to hold your arms out across the table.”

She looks at me, and I nod. “Davis is a human lie detector. I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you, but I have been lied to so much. I just need to get this out of the way.”

Melinda extends her arms across the table. Davis reaches out and holds her wrists, even though I know he can do this just by looking at her.

“Are your intentions with Jolie honourable?”

“Yes.”

“Do you plan to go back to Ziyon and tell him about anything you plan to do today?”

“Beyond telling him we had a nice lunch, no.”

“Lastly, do you really have no memory of having children?”

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