Chapter 3: A Woman

Fifteen years later.

Blaze got down from the color black Rolls Royce Phantom. He looked strikingly handsome in his dark suit, walking with elegance towards the entrance of the prestigious building owned by his grandfather that was now transferred to his name. He entered the lobby, exuding a cold aura that brought chills to every person who noticed his presence.

Brian, his assistant, greeted him. “Good morning, Mr. Maxwell. Mr. Tremont and the Board of Directors are now waiting in the conference room.” He announced, following Blaze, walking towards the elevator.

“Alright. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Blaze responded coldly as he entered the private lift.

“Got it, Mr. Maxwell.” Brian bowed his head before the elevator door closed.

Before going to the meeting, Blaze went to his office first to get the important documents that he would hand over to Mr. Tremont, the Vice President of Maxwell Winery Corporation. He would take an indefinite leave of absence to accompany his grandfather, thus, he would endorse and pass all his work to him for the time being.

Now that his grandfather’s days were numbered, he wished to go back to his villa on the mountain and spend his remaining days.

He didn’t disagree with his grandfather’s wish, even though he didn’t want to go back to that place. The place where he grew up, but he never longed for. He couldn’t understand, but he used to have indescribable feelings every time he would stare at the green colors of the forest. So he assumed that his lost memories were somewhat connected to the woods.

Right. He lost his memories. He only knew that he had his parents and uncle. He knew their faces very well, but he had no memory of them. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t remember his past. His grandfather told him he lost his memory when his parents died. However, he refused to tell him more details about it, telling him he should remember it by himself.

So they spent years consulting skilled doctors all over the world to get treatment, but all of them said the same thing, that there’s no problem in his brain. They advised him to consult a psychiatrist or psychologist, which he later did. And soon he was diagnosed that he’s suffering from dissociative amnesia, which had been linked to the painful event he experienced when he lost his family.

He underwent different kinds of therapy, but nothing worked on him. His amnesia was left untreated. Until he gave up, telling his grandfather that even if he recovered his memory, he couldn’t bring back the lives of his family.

Blaze came back to his senses as he opened the door of the conference room. His stony silver eyes roamed around the room and saw Mr. Tremont and the Board of Directors turned their heads as he came in.

“Good morning, Mr. Maxwell.” They greeted him in unison.

Blaze simply nodded at them and started to discuss the handing over of his role as the President of the company to the Vice President.

“From today until further notice, I am appointing Mr. Tremont, our Vice President, to act on my behalf.” He declared nonchalantly, which made the Board of Directors buzz. They were surprised at his announcement. Even so, no one raised a question.

He resumed. “I will leave this afternoon, so if you have documents to sign, I will finish signing it this morning.”

After discussing a few more things, he ended the meeting and left the conference room. He needed to finish everything soon so that he could follow his grandfather, who’s now on his way to the mountain.

Hours had passed quickly.

At four in the afternoon, Blaze traveled his way to the mountain in his car and, after five hours of a long drive, he finally arrived at the villa.

His silver eyes wandered around the sumptuous villa. It’s been ten years since he last went there, but it appeared as if nothing had changed.

“Good evening, sir.” Ben greeted him and took his luggage. He was the caretaker of their villa.

“Where’s grandpa?” He asked, handing him the car key.

“He’s waiting for you in the living room, Sir.”

He simply nodded his head at Ben as he acted to leave when he had an uncanny feeling. His heart beat fast for an unexplained reason. And for an unknown purpose, he glanced at the maple trees on his left.

Nonetheless, he didn't dwell on it. He took a deep breath before he directly walked towards the entrance to check his grandfather. Then he saw him sitting in his wheelchair. His pale face became lively as soon as he saw him.

“Grandpa, why are you still waiting for me? You should have taken a rest in your room.” Blaze uttered in a cold, deep voice.

His grandfather perceived his concern, though. He was already used to his cold and indifferent attitude. Moreover, he could still see him as the 10-year-old Blaze with full of emotions in his eyes like the first time he saw him.

“I’m waiting for you. Alright, now that you’re here, I can go now to my room.” His grandfather explained in his wavery voice. Then he waved his hand to his private nurse on standby.

“Wait, I’ll take you to your room.” He volunteered, walking towards his grandpa while the nurse halted his steps to give him the way.

“Aren’t you tired? You drove five hours.” His grandpa asked.

He smirked. “You know I don’t get tired easily.”

Then, he gently pushed the wheelchair, going to his grandfather's room.

“Blaze, do you still not remember anything from your past?” His grandfather asked after he laid him down on his bed.

He paused from leaving the room when he heard that sudden question. It’s been a while since he last heard him open the topic of his past.

“Grandpa, are you still hoping that I could remember my past?” He answered him with another question. 

“Of course. That’s why I invited you to go back here. When you were young, you always said that you felt strange looking at the forest. Perhaps that’s the cure to restore your memory.”

“Well, let’s see if I can remember anything.” He uttered before he turned and left the room.

Afterward, Blaze went to the wine cellar. He would get a bottle of his favorite wine and a glass. He knew he could not sleep that night since it was the full moon. 

However, his forehead creased when he noticed that two bottles of his favorite wine were missing. He was certain that he shipped twelve bottles of wine last month to refill the cellar. Nevertheless, he just shrugged his shoulders, thinking that the caretaker might have broken the missing bottles.

Then he went upstairs. As he entered his room, he noticed the bright moonlight slid through the curtains, making him easily find his way to the balcony even if he didn’t turn on the light.

He sat down on the steel chair and began pouring wine on his glass. He sipped his wine one shot after another.

The same strange feeling filled his heart as he looked at the dancing silhouettes of maple trees on the ground. He leaned on his chair as he occasionally glanced at the gleaming argent-silver moon in the night sky. As the soft wind blew, he closed his eyes to feel the icy breeze on his face. That was kinda relaxing.

But he suddenly opened his eyes and looked out to the dark woods. He didn’t know if it was only his imagination, but he smelled the scent of his favorite wine in the forest's direction. Nonetheless, he never made a mistake when it comes to his senses. Since he was young, his senses were extraordinarily strong compared to other humans. That’s why other kids used to tease him he was a monster, leaving him with no friends.

Out of curiosity, Blaze decided to go to the woods even though it was getting late.

After some time, he was standing under the maple tree in the middle of the woods. The fragrance of the wine became stronger, and he was certain that it was only nearby. However, he couldn’t go further since they’re not allowed to cross the borderline where the other side was the territory of the werewolves.

Blaze was about to go back when he caught a figure moving from the corner of his eye.

He quickly hid behind the maple tree and waited for the next thing that would happen. Surprisingly, the person came out from the dark and walked in his direction.

Blaze didn’t waste any second. He swiftly attacked the person from the back. He placed his right arm over his shoulder and his other arm under his armpit. Then, he shoved the back of his leg using his knee, pressing him down to the ground.

“Ouch!”

‘A woman?’ Blaze's heart almost stopped when he realized he attacked a woman.