So now she's awake.
Nathan watched Ema stretch out her hands and run her eyes before she opened them to reveal the darkest chestnut brown orbs.
This kind of beauty only belonged to his wife. If she was truly a lookalike, they couldn't share the same features.
"Where am I?" Ema mumbled, shocked to see herself in the hospital.
"The hospital. Isn't it obvious?"
Ema turned to see who was talking.
"Nathan…"
"I see you know my name. Do you like it?"
Nathan got up the bed he was in and approached her.
Ema could feel her breath slipping away when he got too close for comfort.
He was so close to her face that she could see his peach soft lips were natural.
"You must be Ema, Ema Contreras," Nathan noted.
Ema ran her hands her short hair just to get the awkwardness of the situation out of her mind.
What she didn't understand was why he was talking differently. His stance had even changed. She suspected he wasn't the man with a fragile mind she had met earlier.
"You're ok...How...Why are you here?"
Nathan went for Ema's ear and whispered,
"You can stop pretending now Adriana."
What the heck was he talking about?
She already found it hard trying to concentrate with his lips gently pricking her ear and sending sensual sensations she didn't want to feel.
"If you know my name, You must know I only look like her." Ema retorted.
Nathan walked back to his bed, making a sudden stop right at it.
"Did you grow up in the village?"
"Yes," Ema affirmed.
" So you must have friends?"
Ema was beginning to wonder why she was even answering his questions. He was surely heading somewhere so she kept playing along.
"My mom said I wasn't the most social as a kid."
"She told you all that. You must be dumb if you can't remember your childhood."
His words enraged Ema and she got up to face him.
"How dare you!" She spat, pointing a finger at his face.
"Calm down Adriana, why so angry? I was just wondering why you have no memory of your childhood."
Ema dropped her hands on her waist in a seductive manner.
"I lost my memory." She bluntly said.
"Oh...really..."
"Now I see where you're going. You just want to prove I'm here."
Nathan grabbed Ema's hands and pulled her closer, so close that they could feel each other's breath.
"I know you are Adriana. I just want you to think hard. Have you..."
Mrs. Contreras burst in suddenly.
"Ema, the doctor... Holy crap!" She gasped at such an eye-opener.
She rushed at the two and pulled Nathan's hands-off Ema.
"What are you doing?" She demanded, sending her glared at Nathan.
She then turned to Ema,
"Your Dad is waiting for you outside."
Ema obeyed her mother and walked out.
"Stay away from her, You hear me!" Mrs. Contreras warned when she was sure Ema was outside.
"Why? Does it make you afraid you'll lose her?" Nathan teased, enjoying her torture.
"I can't lose Ema..."
"Adriana!" Nathan corrected, getting up to face the lady.
"And you will lose her. I'll make sure of that, I promise you."
Mrs. Contreras scoffed and walked out.
Nathan sighed, his heart felt like it was being ripped out, losing his soulmate when she was so close to him.
He would get her to remember, that he could not fail.
***
"I just want a DNA test." Mrs. Romero said.
"I know Duena but it's against the rules." Doctor Suarez responded.
Mrs. Romero was getting sick of his strict policy rules. She could lose someone if he didn't let go of those rules.
"Suarez, I'm begging you. She looks just like Adriana. I know this is not a coincidence."
"I understand your plight Duena but I'm trapped as it is." The doctor refused to comply, upholding the rules he had to follow.
Mrs. Romero knew she had enough,
"If she happens to be Adriana and I lose her...again. I hope you rot in your grave."
"Ok." Suarez finally gave in, "But I'm only doing this to get you off this path."
"I think I'm sure of this Suarez. Adriana's body was never found and someone who looks just like her just pops up. Not possible."
"And if she happens to be Adriana?" Suarez quizzed.
"I don't know what I'll do. But, one thing I'm sure is, we have to do the test. I need to get this weight off me."
"It's ok." Doctor Suarez assured, holding Duena's hands.
"Thank you, Suarez."
***
Miranda house waa a bloomy area today. The gloom was gone, her child was back.
She had prepared the beat meals for his arrival back into the house but for some reason, he didn't want to eat.
"Aren't you hungry?" Miranda quizzed.
"Not really. It's just so weird that I hardly remember anything from the accident till now."
Miranda could still see there was something he wasn't saying.
"Is that all?"
"No... You said Thomas shot me. I don't think it was him. It was someone else. I just can't seem to remember."
Miranda stopped eating.
"I think you're just stressed out. Rodriguez told me what transpired that day. Just think about tomorrow."
Yes, he was resuming tomorrow at the place that brought back so many memories.
"Mother, I was also thinking about Ema."
Miranda groaned.
"Can you forget her Nathan? She's not Adriana and besides, why would you want Adriana back into your life after everything she made us go through?"
"Because she's still my wife. I don't trust that woman.."
"Who? Ema?" His mother inquired.
"No. Her mother. She's hiding something, I know it."
If he was threading this path, she had to stop him.
"Don't do anything rash, Nathan. She's just overprotective. It must be a lot for her to process knowing that her daughter looks like someone who is dead."
"Ok."
Nathan was sure of one thing, he wasn't going to back down.
***
"Mom, I was thinking, I haven't seen any of my childhood photos and it never occurred to me to ask," Ema said from the backseat.
"Why? What do you need them for?" Mrs. Contreras quizzed, a light smile knitted on her petite face.
"I don't know Mom, maybe it can trigger something."
Mr. Contreras hit the brakes and swiftly turned to the side of the road.
"Ema, Did that boy say anything?" Her father demanded. For the first time since she had known him, he was authoritative.
"No! Does he have to say anything before I ask? Or is it too much to see my childhood photos?" Ema asked, puzzled.
She didn't understand why they kept on trying to cover up her past like it had skeletons.
Ema had grown to trust them both but something was getting fishy and she had to admit, it all began when they met Nathan.
They were hiding something.