I WOKE up with the empty bed beside me. I didn't know what time I fell asleep last night. My eyes drifted to the alarm clock on the side table. It was already nine in the morning. Shit.
Xander… he didn't even wake me up. I hurriedly fixed myself in the bathroom before I left the bedroom.
I immediately found Xander. He was sitting on the couch near the fireplace. From there, he was looking at the window. The snow was falling down outside. I looked at Xander. He was holding a mug of coffee. His hair was slightly disheveled. Shit. He looked really handsome in my sight.
I cleared my throat. "Good morning."
He turned to me. I felt my heart slammed inside my chest with the way his eyes bore into mine.
He can't see you, Charity.
"Good morning," he said in an almost husky voice.
"I'm sorry I didn't wake up earlier. You should've have wake me up."
"It's okay, Berna helped me get breakfast coffee."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Charity. Berna already prepared breakfast. You should eat breakfast now."
I bit my lower lip. "Uh… yeah. I'll just go to the kitchen."
I left Xander and headed to the kitchen. I found Berna eating on the dining table. She cooked waffles, bacon, eggs, and French toast.
"Good morning, Charity. Come on, let's have breakfast."
"I'm sorry you had to do this," I apologized as I walked near her.
Her job was only to take care of Xander, but now she cooked breakfast.
"No. It's okay." She smiled at me. I really wanted to thank Austin for hiring her. The old lady seemed to be really kind. She had told me the other day that she went here to the States to work for her family.
"Do you want coffee?" she asked as she stood up from her seat.
"No. I can manage." I smiled. "Just continue eating." I made my own cup of coffee before I joined her on the dining table.
"Did you see Xander?" She asked me.
I turned to her and nodded. "May I ask what time he woke up."
"Around six, I think," she replied as she handed me the platter of corned beef. "I was already preparing breakfast."
I nodded as I put some corned beef on my plate.
"I hope you don't mind me asking this, Charity. But are you and Xander, okay?" Berna asked me in the middle of breakfast. "Sir Austin told me you two are a newly married couple. But from what I observed, you're both acting strange to each other."
I bit my lower lip and stared at the plate of food in front of me. "Well… ever since he woke up from the accident, he was treating me differently. I understand that he forgot about me and I'm a stranger to him right now." I looked at the old lady and smiled a bit. "But sometimes, he's being harsh to me and I don't know how to react to that."
"Just be patient with Xander," she said. "What he's been going through is hard. I know it's hard that he's forgotten about you but don't give up on him. Just continue to stay by his side."
"Of course, I won't give up on him." I said, smiling. "I love him."
"Well, I believe that he's going to remember you soon. You're important to him." She said as she touched my arm. "Just be patient, Charity. Everything will go back to normal."
I stilled. I stared at the cup of black coffee in front of me. I don't know. I don't know if I wanted Xander's memory to come back. If his memory comes back, he would be mad at me. He would hate lying to him.
"But if his memory doesn't come back, you can always make new memories with him." Berna smiled at me. "Remember the old saying? The brain might forget but the heart always remembers, Charity."
I gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Berna."
After eating, I went back to the living room. Xander was still there. I found him on the same spot I left him earlier. He was sitting on the couch, his eyes were closed, earphones on his ears.
I hesitated if I'd disturb him or not. But before I could step back, he already opened his eyes and turned his head to my direction. He took off his earphones.
"Charity, do you need anything?"
I cleared my throat. "No… Uh can I sit beside you?" I pursed my lips. "But if you don't want to be disturb, it's okay. I'll just ih, go back to my room."
"It's okay."
My lips parted, not expecting his answer.
"I'm sure you miss working," I said as I sat next to him, giving him a few inches of space from each other.
"Yeah." I heard him sigh beside me. "I've been working in the company for years. I wasn't used to this… spending the day doing nothing."
"Well, I've seen you work. And you're very hardworking. I'm sure your office misses you," I joked.
I looked at him. My lips parted when I saw the corner of his lips were curled up. Did he just smile at my joke?
"I hope you smile more," I couldn't help but say. I regretted it when his face turned serious again.
"Can I ask you a question, Charity?"
"Of course. Uh, what is it?"
"Why did you fall in love with me?"
My eyes widened in a fraction. I didn't expect that kind of question from him.
"Uh… well, I admit that at first I got attracted to you because of your look. But I fell in love with you with your personality." A smile automatically formed on my lips. "You're nice and kind to everyone. Even to your employee."
If only I could tell him that I've fallen in love with you seven years ago.
His face remained serious. "Tell me something about yourself. Your family. You're half Greek, right?"
I nodded even if he couldn't see me. "My father was Greek. But I only met him when I was eighteen. I stayed in the Philippines with my mother for eighteen years. When she died, that was the only time I met my father. Since he's my only family left, he brought me with him to Greece."
His forehead frowned. "If you're living in Greece, how did you become my secretary?"