Mary was getting used to her new life. And her new name. She was surrounded by wonderful people who were taking great care of her and in return, she cooked for them. She was a great cook, she discovered. And she enjoyed cooking for everyone in the convent.She was also good with accounts and therefore helped them with the budgeting and saving for the future. It was something she was used to do she was sure since she seemed to focus on every detail and derived astute strategies to maintain their current possessions.Maybe it had something to do with her profession. She must be a banker or involved in a similar lucrative business that required such kind of creativity. She grimaced at the thought finding that particular profession quite mercenary something which she was not liking. But she had no right to be prejudiced especially in the state she was.Two days had passed since her sudden rebirth and she had still not remembered anything yet. And except for the quick memory which she had
It was already a week. A week since the day he had been supposed to become the happiest man on this planet. And now he was the complete opposite. The saddest person on earth since he had no news of his love.No phone call for ransom. No news of Kate in hospitals or even at the airport. Nobody had seen her running in her wedding dress. Nothing. It was damn frustrating and he felt helpless because there was nothing he could do.The police had concluded that Kate was on the run and they were looking for her everywhere. They had asked a photo of her to print and placed the “WANTED” logo beneath and Aidan could not help feeling how ridiculous it was.Instead of finding information about the real culprit, they were wasting their time accusing Kate as the murderer. He was losing his patience and had decided that the police was up to no use. They were too procedural in their mission and would never find Kate out.That was why he had called Ryce and Jennifer to meet him at a restaurant somewhe
Someone was looking for her. Someone called Aidan. Her blood froze as she got the news from Sister Julie and she had to grasp the nearby chair for support. So it had not been just a hunch; there was someone called Aidan in her life.She had remembered the name as soon as she had woken up from her nightmare on the third night and the nightmare had repeated ever since. She could focus on more details each time. Like she had been crying when she had felt that knife pierced her ribs. And the name Aidan had always been in every dream.Which meant that he had to be linked to what had happened and to why she had ran. But who was Aidan? Was he the groom or the murderer? Or was he the groom murderer? Why would she call out the name Aidan if he had nothing to do with her being murdered?The message in the dream was clear; her life was threatened. That was why her instincts had told her to run. It was pretty clear to her and she could not make anyone understand her plight. And he had to be prett
Aidan felt his heart literally stop as Kate struggled against him in a state of turmoil. It looked as if she was no longer with him and was fighting something over which he had no power. But he knew if he removed his hand, she would scream the place down and he would no longer be able to confront her. Relaxing his hold against her mouth, he caressed her to soothe away whatever was taking over her mind.“Hushhhhh sweetheart, it’s me. Husssh,” he cajoled until her body ceased to tremble and she relaxed against his body. Desperately, he inhaled her scent and felt like a drug addict after he had been deprived after a week.Hell he had missed her so much. And when he had visited the convent, he had been sure that Kate had been hiding in that dark corner of the corridor. But could not confirm whether it was his imagination or she was real.That was why he had decided to stay in the neighborhood to clear his doubt. And imagine his surprise when he had spotted her hovering near a window just
The moment he talked about going back, Kate felt her now familiar fears swamp her again. It was like she was in a vacuum and was sucked with anxiety. It was a feeling she was not enjoying at all but she could not help it. It was consuming her.Because she knew that as soon as she got back at the castle, the killer would try to kill her again. She just knew it. It must be something her subconscious remembered but she knew the danger was not over yet.On top of all that, Kate did not know what to make of Aidan. His story was romantic and if she had known him for that long, there was no way he was some gold-digger or something. And besides, if he had wanted to kill her, he would have done so by now. They were alone in a convent room with nobody as witness. That was why she had started to relax around him. But there was also a possibility that all of it was fake. It was hard for her to start trusting Aidan again and she was still unwilling to share her nightmares with him. And in additio
“Husssh. Kate, Husssh. I’m sorry baby. So sorry for having left you alone. Please don’t cry,” Aidan was whispering desperately in her ears as he struggled to calm her down. She was in such a desperate state that suddenly anger overtook him. Whoever had brought his Kate to this sad state would pay, he vowed to himself.He called himself all kind of fools for having left her alone. She had seemed normal to him and so he had thought that it would be okay if he went to fetch some of her clothes from his apartment. But it had been a fatal mistake.It had been a good decision not to tell her about murder which had occurred back at the castle, he conceded now seeing the way her body trembled. She must be terrified from what had happened and Aidan confirmed his doubt that she must have witnessed the murder of Edward. It was the reason why he had agreed not to go back to the castle so quickly.From what he had gathered, she knew something terrible was up and they were still unaware of the real
Two days passed since that famous kiss episode and Aidan was avoiding her like plague. Not that she blamed him; she was never supposed to give him that slap since she had been a very much active participant in that kiss. But at some point it had become so overwhelming that she had gotten scared of the intensity of her feelings.At first, the feelings that have engulfed her had driven her into a zone of pure passion. Something she could not remember but even in her state she knew it was not an ordinary feeling. But when he had asked for more, the heat had become too much to bear and her first reaction had been to back out.Except that he had been too engrossed in his own throes of passion to cater for her feelings. And that was when she had panicked. And had slapped him. Not a tight slap but one to jerk him back to reality. And it had worked. He had snapped back to reality and had released her immediately.And she had apologized immediately because from the remorse in his eyes, she was
“Kate!!!” Aidan shouted shaking her but her limp body refused to sustain its position and she fell easily in his arms. Damn! Damn! Damn! They should have ended the session earlier. But they had stalled the hypnosis since she had been so close to the truth.Whatever she had seen, Aidan could not believe for one second that she was the killer. It was just that she had blocked the trauma about how Edward had been killed and was still unwilling to go down there. It must have been pretty terrifying.Landon examined her and assured him that she was alright and she only needed some rest. They got another appointment for the next Tuesday and Aidan exited with a quick assurance to the doctor that he would call him back.His top priority for the moment was Kate. She looked haggard and worn out and he cursed himself for having made her go through such a trauma. But he had not expected the hypnosis session to turn out in that way. He wondered whether her subconscious was blaming her persona for t
SOME MONTHS LATER…..“Have you any news of him today?” asked Kate as soon as he got home. It was becoming a habit now. Every evening it was the first question his lovely wife asked him. Before she even asked her how was his day.Kate had recovered from her minor injuries and he was thankful that she had managed to escape the evil intention of Bryan Stafford. Aidan knew it was something that was bothering her. The fact that her brother-in-law was still out there somewhere. But he did not believe he was a threat anymore. He had wanted money and he knew there was no way he would get a single penny from them now.“No. The police are still looking for him. But frankly it’s been a while now and I’m sure they will drop the search. Bryan is a clever man and he would never dare show his face again. Stop worrying about him and come kiss me,” he said smiling at her.Without waiting to be asked twice, she ran in her arms and he had to brace himself against the impact. He grinned.“Now that’s so m
Aidan felt his blood chill at the sound. It was indistinct, muffled by distance but he could recognize it even when he was dead. It was Kate! Damn! Damn! He could not imagine the plight she must be in. It was only minutes since she had disappeared and Aidan had been looking for her like mad. He vowed not to let anyone harm her a second time. When Kate had suddenly disappeared, he had tried hard not to panic looking around expecting to find Ryce missing too. But he was perplexed to find his best friend standing beside him looking as worried as hell. And the only person missing had been Bryan Stafford. Oh holy shit! Ryce had nodded in his direction to confirm his doubt. It was the brother-in-law who had concocted such a conspiracy. No time to feel remorse for having doubted his best friend, they had immediately started to give each other instructions which way to go. But not before asking Alex to stay with the rest of the women in the cottage. Nobody had guessed what was going on than
It had been Kate’s undoing. The look that Aunt Abigail had sent her had touched her deeply. It had been the look of a desperate mother who had just lost her only son and wanted something from her. Something she could not give simply because she did not know the truth.Feeling forlorn, she felt tears prick her eyes as she stepped back in an attempt to avoid the question being addressed to her. She stammered something unintelligible not knowing what to say. The plain truth was that she had no idea who the killer was and had only been bluffing.Aidan and Ryce had known she had been faking it and they had protected her. Like they had always done. The killer could not be Ryce; it was simply not possible. Her heart would never believe that. Even if he had wanted revenge, he would have attempted to harm her in a different way. Ryce would never try to kill her; it was unthinkable.All her instincts were telling her that it could be Nathalie since the hate she harbored for her was so intense t
Surprised to hear the furious outburst behind him, Aidan whirled around and stood in front of Kate to protect her out of sheer reflex. And he found himself facing a fuming Judith Thornton. Aw hell! Her timing sucked as usual.His new mother-in-law stood two feet away looking down at them with an angry and menacing expression. And as if it was not enough, the whole family stood behind her looking a bit less angry but somewhat stunned. In the heat of the moment, he completely forgot their dangerous situation and his heart constricted at the thought of the encounter between mother and daughter that would follow.It was simply not fair. Kate had decided to be selfish once in her entire life only to be immediately admonished. As if they had not suffered long enough. It had been three months since the wedding fiasco and they had not a moment of reprieve ever since.Even if inappropriate, he had understood her urgency to get married at such a delicate time of their life. While he had not com
“Can you believe it’s Nathalie?” Kate asked as soon as they reached back the cottage. She knew she had her moment of reprieve and that Aidan would never let her out of his sight again. But the shopping trip had done her a lot of good and she was happy to have met Ryce.“I don’t know what to think anymore,” replied Aidan enigmatically. “Let’s forget about that for a moment.”“Hmmm what else did you have in mind?” she asked coquettishly glad that Ryce had declined her offer to stay at the cottage. Not that the latter had actually declined but Aidan had quickly pointed out that they would be exposed to more risks if Ryce disappeared too.When Aidan smiled at her suggestive comment, she grinned back wanting to let go of all their worries for a moment. It had been so long since she had been happy and carefree. Like she had always been. How she had missed him. And the moments they had spent together. But in the turmoil, they had not even taken the time to reunite properly.It was no wonder
Some things were easier said than done. Aidan could not sleep a wink after Kate left and even if he knew he was getting paranoid, he could not help wondering if he had done a right thing by letting her go alone. Not when there was someone out there thirsty for her blood.Finally after thirty minutes he gave up on sleep and double checked his mobile. Furious to see no missed calls in his call log and no new messages, he grabbed some money and his car keys from the shelf and headed for the door.A sense of foreboding overtook him when he dialed Kate’s number over and over but she was not answering. Brooklyn was familiar to him but he had no idea where Kate could be. And he was sure that she was not careless to forget calling him.“Damn!” he exclaimed in frustration heading towards the nearest shopping mall. But the problem with the Kings Plaza shopping center was that it was always full of people and looking for one particular person was like finding a needle in a haystack.Trying to ke
After having blurted out the first thing that came in her mind, Kate watched as extreme happiness filled Aidan’s face. Her Aidan. Her beloved. How the hell could she have forgotten him? Everything was clearer now. Her past, her life, her spoilt wedding.“Are you okay?’ he asked her still holding her hand and she nodded getting down the armchair. Feeling a bout of dizziness, she had to steady herself for a few seconds before putting on a brave smile. Even with her memory back, she was still feeling that fatigue and ever present headache.Groggily, she nodded and leant against Aidan for support. She was feeling so tired and mentally drawn. “I’m fine,” she replied unwilling to look at anything or anyone other than Aidan. It seemed like it had been ages since she had last seen him and some part of her had missed him.Certain things were still indistinct in her mind and she was still unable to bridge the gap between some events. For instance, it was difficult to discern what had happened j
There was an obvious change about her. Not in her personality but in the way she behaved. It was as if her love for him had set her free and she was no longer hesitant to explore her past. Or her sexuality. And she was more feisty than the Kate he had known.And he was starting to like it too damn much. So much that he almost forgot the problems impending on them like a heavy rain ready to drench them anytime. He wanted them to stay in that cottage forever. To stay like that forever.When she had confessed her love to him, it had been so unexpected that he had thought it was his imagination at first. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought that Kate would end up falling with him all over again even with her memory gone. It humbled him to be loved so much by someone so wonderful as her.And could not contain his immense joy when she had confirmed her love for him; it meant that whatever happened between them, they were always meant to be together. He had missed her so much that now
Kate could have killed herself as she stared at the desolate figure sitting on the edge of the bed in acute pain. It made her feel a deep pinch in her heart and guilt replaced the initial mortification. What the hell was wrong with her? She knew she should not have started anything she could not finish and it only made her a tease.But he had been so irresistible. Irresistible in the sense that she felt wonderful at the kind of trust he had in her. And wished she could trust him back like that. Suddenly, Kate started to wish fervently that she got her memory back because she knew she was missing something important here. It made her realize how much he loved her and she could not play with his feelings because she was not sure if she loved him that much.Looking at the forlorn figure in front of her, Kate wished she could undo the past. How stupid could she be? Why the hell had she been unable to resist him like that? Hell, she loved the way they interacted and guessed that they must