"I MISSED you, Bianca!"
Helen said as she pulled me in for a hug.
I smiled as I inhaled her familiar scent. Damn. It's been two years since we last saw each other. "I couldn't believe you're here."
An hour ago, she surprised me by calling and saying she was already boarding at Burbank Airport.
"I told you. One of these days, I'm going to visit and here I am now!" She pulled away and grinned at me.
"I'm happy you're here, Helen."
I gave her a grateful smile as I stared at her.
We had lived together in college for four years. She's the closest friend I've got. Seeing her right now, in front of me, was making my heart warm. Finally, after living in a strange place for almost a year, a familiar face showed up to me.
"Me, too. Damn. I missed you." She pursed her red-painted lips as she motioned for the small luggage beside her. "I'll only stay here for a night, though. I can't leave Andrea for long."
"How's Andrea?" I asked her as we walked to my car.
"She's already in remission for months."
I smiled. "That's great. Your daughter is a fighter. I hope to meet her soon."
"Well, she asked me to hug you for her."
"That's so sweet of her," I said. I fished for my keys as we headed to the parking area.
"Bianca…" Helen muttered when we entered my car. She looked at me with a somber face. "I'm sorry about what happened to your child."
I went silent for a moment. Then I turned to her and managed to give her a small smile. "It's okay, Helen. Maybe it's not really for me."
"I hope you've already forgiven yourself. What happened to her was not your fault."
I removed my right hand from the steering wheel and placed it on her arm. "Thank you."
"Aren't you gonna drop me off at a hotel?"
Helen asked when I drove past the famous hotels in the city.
I cleared my throat. "Gideon said you can stay at his house. Well, do you prefer to sleep in the hotel?"
From the window, she turned her head to me. "Really? Your asshole of a husband said that?" Her eyebrows were hitched up to his forehead.
I couldn't help but chuckle at Helen's reaction. "I told you. He's become different after he lost his memories. His personality shifted three sixty degrees."
Thirty minutes later, we had already reached Gideon's house in Pasadena.
"Where's your bastard of a husband?" Helen asked when I showed her the guestroom.
"He's in the hospital right now. For his therapy. I didn't come with him because I told him you're coming."
She sat on the corner of the bed and looked around the room. "Are you sure I can stay here for the night?"
"It was Gideon who insisted. He said you should stay here so we could have more time together."
She raised her perfect brow. "Wow… amnesia really changed him, huh? And how are you holding up to that, Bianca?"
"I'm okay… but I can't wait to get out of here."
She stood up and pulled me in for another hug. This time, tighter than what she gave me at the airport.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Bianca."
"It's alright." It was my choice to not tell her my problem. "I'm sorry for hiding things." And for still not being truthful.
She sighed. "You're such a beautiful soul, Bianca. I didn't know how you're able to do this. If I were in your shoes, I couldn't take care of the man who ruined my life."
I let out a small smile. "Gideon is still my husband, Helen. He's my responsibility. Besides, things between us are a lot easier now because of his amnesia."
I could walk the house without worrying about anything. Gideon… he's been good to me.
Too good actually. That it never crossed my mind that Gideon's sudden change in personality could be a problem for me.
Helen and I spent the next hours catching up. She told me things about her everyday life in Houston. I told her I would start working again.
"I'm happy for you, Bianca."
She helped me cook dinner. I felt like we traveled back to our college days, when we used to cook dinner together in the apartment.
We prepared ribeye steak, caramelized vegetables, and lemon meringue.
We were having a good time plating the food like Masterchef wannabes and so we hadn't noticed that Gideon was already at the entrance of the kitchen.
"Gideon." I wiped my hand on my apron. "I didn't know you're already here."
"We just got here. Hannah's still talking to Chris."
He was there. Looking professional in his business attire. I didn't fail to notice the bunch of flowers in his hand. This time, they were a bouquet of pink tulips.
I frowned when he handed it to me.
"Gideon… stop wasting these flowers."
His eyebrows hitched a little. "You're the one wasting them… by throwing them away, wife." The corner of his lips curled up. "Aren't you gonna introduce me to your friend?"
I blinked. Then I cleared my throat. I turned to Helen who was already giving me weird looks.
"Gideon, this is Helen, my college friend. Helen, this is Gideon, my h-husband."
"Nice to meet you, Gideon." Helen walked and extended her hand to Gideon.
Her face was flat and void of any emotion. I knew she was stopping herself from raising her brows.
Gideon smiled. "It was good to finally meet someone close to my wife. Please, feel at home."
"Thanks, Gideon. Bianca said you went to the hospital for your therapy. We prepared dinner while you're gone." Helen motioned to the food on the counter.
Gideon smiled. "Thanks, Helen." He turned to me. "Well… I'll just change."
"Jesus!" Helen turned to me after Gideon left the kitchen. "He looked like a very good-looking angel. Far from the ruthless devil, you were telling me before."
"I told you, amnesia changed him."
Her eyes turned into slits. "You didn't tell me he's giving you flowers every day! Why is he acting as if he's in love with you?"
"THIS is good."
"Your wife cooked that, Gideon," Helen said. She smiled while watching Gideon devour that ribeye steak on his plate. "Bianca is a good cook."
Gideon glanced at me before looking back at Helen who was sitting across from us.
"I know. She cooks for me every day for the past four weeks."
"How about you, Gideon? Do you cook?"
"Well… I don't remember if I really can but once I'd finally get rid of this wheelchair, I'll start cooking for my wife."
The crease on my forehead deepened as I sliced the meat on my plate.
I didn't know what was with Helen and why she was suddenly being chummy with Gideon.
"She likes anything with cheese, aside from pasta, of course," Helen muttered. "You could give her cheese-baked mac and she'd already be over the moon."
I gave Helen a look. My best friend just grinned at me.
"Thanks, Helen. I didn't know that." Gideon turned to me and smiled. "I'm still learning things about her. What she likes. What she doesn't…"
I frowned at Gideon. I knew Helen was watching us with a fascinating look on her face.
"Bianca…"
"What?"
His eyes went to my lips.
"You have sauce on your lips."
"Thanks."
I saw he raised his hand, but before he could reach for me, I already picked up the napkin and wiped my mouth.
I glanced at Helen who was still watching us.
"So, Gideon…" Helen said as she poured some red wine into her wine glass. "I have a question."
I watched as my best friend slightly raised her brows.
Oh. I knew that look.
"Helen—"
"Those flowers earlier, what are those for?"
Now, she's playing with the wineglass in her hand while looking directly at Gideon. "Why do you seem so interested in your wife now?"
"Isn't it normal for a husband to give flowers to her wife?"
Helen pursed her lips. "If you're in a normal marriage, yes. But then you're not."
I gave Helen a warning look. She knew I hadn't told Gideon the real reason why we got married.
Helen cleared her throat. "I'm Bianca's best friend, Gideon. And she has told me things about you. I don't really know you personally but Bianca said you're an asshole in your entire marriage."
My lips parted at Helen's words. I knew she was straightforward but I didn't expect she could talk like this in front of Gideon.
I turned my head at the man beside me. He also looked surprised.
Damn. If this was old Gideon, he would surely throw Helen out of the house in a heartbeat.
"I knew I was an asshole in our entire marriage…" Gideon started.
I stopped eating as I listened to him. Helen… she was just calmly sipping her wine while watching Gideon.
"I'm no longer interested in finding out what kind of a bastard I was before the accident. I just guessed that I survived the accident without any memory of my past because I'd been given a second chance to straighten out my life.
What I wanted right now is a second shot at life… that includes a second chance with my marriage."
Gideon turned to me. His face was serious, his blue eyes boring holes into mine.
"I know Bianca and I started on the wrong foot," he said to Helen while looking at me.
I didn't know why my heart felt like it stopped beating. Why were my hands sweating?
"But I wanted to make it right. I wanted a second chance with her. I would do everything to earn her forgiveness… to gain her trust. I would do everything to make our marriage work."
"Why do you want your marriage to work when you don't even love her?"
"Who says I'm not in love with her?"