Chapter Five : Who are you?

THERA’S eyes remained close, but she could hear every single drop of water from the damaged faucet in Uncle Jaime’s sink. She remembered wrapping a rubber thread around it to lessen the leak before she went to bed last night. Aside from the leaking faucet, she could clearly hear the loud sound of the clock hanging in the small living room. Why was it noisy? And why does she only hear the faucet, the clock, and her own breathing?

The loud cheers of PBA fans from the pirated CDs Joshua was watching were gone. And so was Matty, her half-aspin, half-Terrier pet licking her face. What time was it? Why did her body and head hurt? Was she exhausted again? Did she finish washing Uncle Jaime and Joshua’s clothes by eleven PM?

Thera moaned. Her throat felt dry, and she could not move her body.

“Thera…” The voice was sexy. It was deep sounded… worried.

She slowly opened her eyes. She could not make out of her surroundings, but she could see a blurry figure of a man. He was towering over her.

She could not move. It was as if a heavy object was sitting on her chest. Who was this man? Why was his face blurry? Why was he watching her?

Thera started panicking. Was she going through this thing called ‘sleep paralysis?’ And this man over her… was he a ghoul or an ogre? Could he be the reason she’d die at seventeen?

No. She’s still too young. She had not experienced being kissed yet. She had so many dreams in life. She’d meet Jerry Yan first. She could not yet die. But how long should it take for the blurry face of the man to change into a monster? Scared for her precious life, she waited and counted…

eight, nine, ten… nothing.

The man did not turn into a beast. The transformation she was expecting did not happen. Her view of the man’s face became clearer.

The man watching her…

Oh. My. Gosh.

…was gorgeous.

So gorgeous.

THERA glanced at the tall man who was there when she woke up. He was standing by the kitchen counter inside the hospital room, talking to someone on the phone. He moved away when the doctor he called arrived. There’s no doubt that the man was wealthy based on the way he dressed and act. She had never seen a man in their town wearing long sleeves and a coat on days without occasion.

According to the nurse and the doctor who was taking care of her, she was hit by a car while crossing the street. Was this the man the reason why she was bedridden? Her arm had a cast, and she was wearing neck support.

Thera could not help a smile when the man turned to her unintentionally. She saw his creased forehead, then looked away afterward.

Well, he must not be expecting that she’d smile at someone who almost killed her. She smiled again. At least, she was still alive.

But if he was the car driver that hit her, shouldn’t he be apologizing or begging her to forgive him, perhaps?

But he was acting cold and reserved as if the relief she saw in his eyes when she woke up was not real. First impression, handsome. But as Thera continued to give him side glances, her seventeen-year-old eyes knew that the man was far from being handsome only.

He had an oozing homme fatale qualities; totally dangerous and seductive. The kind of guy that could only be seen in romantic movies and magazines. Very manly. If she was eight or nine years older, there’s not a doubt she’d be one of those who swooned over the man. But she was not the type who would fall for older men, regardless of how good-looking they may be.

If she got it right, he was already in his early thirties. Some men look better as they age, and this man was one of them. He looked wealthy and high educational background.

“Brother...” she called once he was done talking over the phone.

The man stopped, his forehead furrowed. If that was because she called him ‘brother’ or what, she was not sure.

“Can I borrow your phone? My relatives might be worried about me.”

She bit her lip. Would her relatives actually worry? If she knew, they only wished her dead.

The man glanced at the doctor in utter confusion.

THERA put her hand with the borrowed phone down. Joshua’s phone was turned off. Uncle Jaime’s too. Seemed like they did not even bother looking for her. She turned to the doctor who was reading her medical record.

“When are you going to release me, Doc? The man, a while ago, was he the driver who hit me? If he’s not going to pay the whole bill, he’d still help me with hospital expenses, right? You know, my uncle is going to get angry once he finds out I’m indebted.”

“Can’t you really remember anything, dear?”

Thera’s forehead knotted. “I remember everything, Doc. I did not forget. My name is Thera Baguio. Yesterday, I went to school.” She thought for a moment. “I remember taking the jeepney going home after the volleyball tryouts.”

It was the first day of class back at the university, and she joined the volleyball club that afternoon. Maybe after she got down from the jeepney, it was when a car hit her. Well, except for how and why she got hit, everything before the accident was clear to her.

“What do you say is your name again?”

“Thera. Thera Baguio.”

“What do you think is the date now, Thera?”

Her forehead creased. “Second day of the opening of classes. June 6, 2007.”

The doctor shook his head, and her personal nurse stared. Thera wondered.

She had seen this scenario in soap operas before. The doctor had asked her twice about the things she remembered while the nurse checked her BP a while ago.

“I’m going to request an MRI and blood test. I’ll schedule the cognitive test. Nurse Kai will be the one to...”

“Doc, I’m about to expect you’d tell me later on that I have amnesia.”

He cleared his throat. “We will have to run some more tests to make sure.”

Thera coughed.

Before she could ask more questions, the doctor excused himself.

She was left with the nurse who was checking her IV fluid. What were those tests that needed to be done to her? Aside from the pain in some parts of her body, she was all right. Amnesia? That could not be. She remembered her name and their address. Even the maltreatment of her uncle and cousin.

“I can’t stay here for long, Nurse. The hospital fees will grow higher. My uncle will get mad...”

“Mr. De Marco was the major shareholder and president of a well-known mall in Manila. Don’t worry about the expenses. Your husband will take care of it.”

Thera stared at the nurse.

“My... h-husband?”

The nurse nodded and whispered with a laugh. “The handsome man that you called ‘brother’ a while ago, he was your husband.”

Thera’s jaw dropped.

THERA’S gaze was fixated on the fruit basket on the side table, but she had no idea why she was staring at it. She was confused. The nurse told her she should stop overthinking. How could she stop? After revealing that she was already married at seventeen... She shook her head. The thought of being married to someone she didn’t even remember scared her. She could not even remember who she was pursued and kissed.

She saw her face displayed in a magazine when she was accepting an award as one of the most successful businesswomen in the Philippines last 2016. Gorgeous and brainy Thera De Marco received another award, said the caption. Was she that successful? Did she got lucky with her husband and finally give Uncle Jaime and Joshua a better life?

Today was October 19, 2019, different from the date she was expecting. She was no longer seventeen. She was turning thirty in a few months.

The nurse was not lying, and the doctor was right; something was wrong with her. A while ago, the nurse taught her how to browse in Google and watch videos on YouTube using Sean’s Apple iPhone 10 Pro cellphone. The oldest iPhone, which was released in 2007, was all she could remember.

She had no idea if F4 had a follow-up concert in the Philippines after their first successful concert back in December 2003.

Thera was a die-hard fan of Jerry Yan, even though the only show he starred in that she watched was Meteor Garden. Before the Tagalized version of Meteor Garden was aired in the Philippines back in 2003, she and Kisses had already watched the series.

Kisses’ older sister was an OFW in Taiwan. A few months after Meteor Garden was aired in Taiwan in 2001, she returned to the Philippines for vacation. She brought a complete CD series of the show, which she and Kisses marathoned after class.

Sean De Marco. De Marco, Sean... That was the name of the man she married, according to Kai. No matter how she forced her mind, she really could not remember a thing. Her head only hurt.

She married him in haste. She was only twenty years old and dated him for six months only. Why? Did she get pregnant early? No. It was on her record that Sean filled out that she never got pregnant. So why did they rush their marriage?

Thera was curious. How was she able to win a man like Sean? She was sure she’d never been interested in the man even if she was nineteen. She just felt like she was not the type to marry a man she did not love just because of money.

Sean was way out of her league. Where did she meet him? She was at home or at school the whole time. According to Nurse Kai, she was married to him for almost ten years. And that she was fortunate to have married a man like him. She was envied by many.

Thera could see why. Aside from wall-shattering masculinity, Sean was tremendously wealthy. De Marcos owned hotels, textile businesses, universities, as well as the private jets and cruises they owned. Sean came from a wealthy clan, and they have business inside and outside the country. Those are a few pieces of information she got from the nurse about Sean.

Thera glanced at her reflection in the mirror placed on the side table. It was Kai’s. She lent it to her when she insisted that she wanted to see her face now that she’s turning thirty. She was born a few hours before Christ was born. It was the night of December 24th. That was the happiest Christmas of her parents.

She reached for the mirror. For the nth time, she stared at her face. She could not get used to her older face even though she did not look like twenty-nine to Kai. She agreed with the nurse on that matter. She touched her cheek. Her face was stretched. It was smooth and without visible pores. There were no forehead lines and laugh lines. She did not even look like she came from an accident if the few bruises on her face were ignored.

Did she have botox? Did she undergo any cosmetic surgery to stay beautiful? Thera shook her head. She looked natural, though. She put the mirror down. Why was she taking her ‘amnesia’ lightly? What if the doctor tells her she would never gain her memories back? How else would she recover them?

Would she just accept that she was married to Sean? As if she could do anything about it. The evidence was right in front of her; she did not look like a teenager anymore. Speaking of her husband, he had not returned yet since he left without a word a while ago. Of where he went, she did not know. He did not bother telling her. She had never seen that kind of a husband before.

Thera gazed at Sean’s phone on her lap. She shook her head. He left his phone to her. Did he trust her that much? How could he be sure that she would not invade his privacy?

Oh, well, she was not really interested. As Kisses said, a boyfriend who leaves his personal belongings to his girlfriend was not hiding anything or another woman. Her smile was wry. That kind of beauty, even a wall, would dare follow him around. But of course, she was exempted. She liked the type of guys like Dao Ming Si. The man she married looked as stiff and refined as Hua Ze Lei. Boring, in short.

Thera was startled when the phone rang. Her forehead knotted when she saw the name ‘Babe’ as the caller.

She shook her head. There was no other woman, but there was Babe. She clacked her tongue. She flipped the phone over instead of taking the call.

SEAN put the phone down. He leaned on the swivel chair. He was in Sean and Tan’s Tea Caf at the moment. He went there after coming from his villa to shower. He was just done talking to his parents, who were really worried when they heard about Thera’s accident.

Just the other day, he talked to her neurologist. Thera could be suffering from partial amnesia, and his presence and cooperation were needed to determine it.

Dr. Gabriel would be using cognitive and diagnostic tests for Thera. That was except for the MRI, CT scan, blood tests, and other run tests to check if his wife had seizures.

Sean massaged his temple. There was no assurance when Thera could regain her memories, and it was only two months away from the company’s anniversary.

“Brother...”

He was awestruck when she heard Thera’s small and unsure voice when she called him to borrow his phone.

He missed her soft voice, though. He was pulled back to the past decade. He remembered Thera’s smile when their eyes met a while ago. A memory flashed his mind with that quick eye contact.

Ten years ago or so, her gaze used to look like that. Her lips were not only smiling but so were her eyes.

Sean stood up from his seat. He put his hands in his pocket as he sauntered to the glass wall of his former office. He could see the view outside from there. Just across Tea Caf was DM University. Thera used to go there in college before she entered his world...