Page 103 of Unapologetic Obsession
The ridiculous part?
I would have saidyeshad he come clean about our past and then asked me to marry him. Instead, he made me dance under the guise of conquering my fear of the public eye. In reality, the spectacle was meant to seal the deal, leaving no room to thwart the engagement. I hated humiliation and attention, and he usedit against me, leaving me with the bitter aftertaste of betrayal. These elaborate lies weren’t a sign of love; it was manipulation.
There was an irresistible urge to return to Caden and demand answers, but I trampled over the desire. The anger was still too raw, and I didn’t want to make a scene at this fancy event. I needed a moment to cool off.
From my peripheral vision, I saw various cliques staring at me. When a woman in a blue mermaid dress detached herself from her group, I straightened.
“Rose!” Amelie pulled me into a hug. “Congratulations! I can’t believe you’re engaged.” She pulled back, placing a warm hand on my shoulder. “You have no idea how difficult it’s been to keep this a secret.”
Judas!
Two people had been deceiving me, not one. Caden hadn’t confessed to our past, and Amelie was willing to let me be conned into a marriage built on lies. Some friend.
My heart filled with disappointment. I glanced at her hand on my shoulder and didn’t return the warm greeting. She brushed off my stoic reception with a smile. “He planned everything down to the menu,” she gushed, eyes bright with secondhand romance. “Lollipop chicken. Risotto balls. White roses for the centerpieces. He wanted to give you one hell of an engagement party.”
He forgot the part where he asked me to marry him, I wanted to shout.
She grabbed my hand and gushed over the ring. When she realized I hadn’t contributed much to the conversation, her face dimmed. Her composure started to shred at my extended silence. “A ring this beautiful deserves a proper celebration. I’ll grab us some champagne.”
She walked to the bar, but not without a concerned backward glance. While she waited for the bartender, Amelienervously peeked at me. The guilt was evident on her face. She probably realized that my memories had returned based on my demeanor.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. I gave Amelie and Caden the benefit of the doubt when they withheld the truth. I even blamed myself for whatever had gone wrong with Caden in the past. I assumed he’d eventually come clean once our relationship was more established. Instead, he had doubled down. He thought I was at my most vulnerable without my memories and tricked me into an engagement. A new life and a fresh start were supposed to be built on trust and honesty. But he was entirely comfortable lying to me for the rest of our lives. And Amelie was going to help him cover it up. I had excused their pathological behavior for long enough.
“Rose.”
My back froze at Amelie’s unsure voice. I slowly turned to her and accepted the offered champagne flute.
I couldn’t bear to look at her and averted my gaze. “Thanks.”
My ice tone made her flinch. “Are you mad at me?”
I tore my gaze from the crowd of strangers and locked eyes with her. Bitterness flooded me. “Is there something I should be mad about?”
She shifted under the weight of my glare and decided against beating around the bush. “You remember, don’t you?”
I said nothing, polishing off my drink and handing it to a passing server.
“I’m sorry for keeping the truth from you.”
The last thing I had expected was an immediate admission of guilt. I thought she would try to extend the lie, say stupid things like,You must have me confused with someone else.The fact that she owned up to it so quickly gave me a modicum of relief.
“Why did you lie to me?” I asked. “You were my friend.”
“I still am and always will be.”
My temper flared. “Really? Because I have been trying to remember my life, and you just sat back and watched me suffer. Do you know how scary it is to wake up with no recollection of who you are?”
I started to draw away, but she stepped in my path. “I wanted to tell you the truth. But Dr. Maxwell approached me the night he found you. He said you might go into shock if we pile on too much at once and asked me not to say anything. He said it was in your best interest if your memories returned organically.”
“You two don’t get to make a unilateral decision about what’s best for me and expect me to be happy about it.”
“It wasn’t like that, Rose.”
“Then what was it like?”
She gave me a tight smile. “I don’t know how much you recall, but you used to be extremely OCD. You couldn’t talk on cue or look someone in the eye. Imagine my shock the first time you made eye contact with me. It’s like your past was holding you back, and without it, you were…free. Dr. Maxwell’s approach was getting you exactly what you’ve always needed, and you seemed happy about adopting a healthier version of yourself. I didn’t want to ruin that for you.”
Some of my ire seeped out at her explanation. Annoyingly, a lot of what she said made sense. There were monsters in my past that had held me back, I knew that. Not remembering the trauma had freed me.
