Serena and Aiden ate in silence, the tension in the room palpable. Serena took small bites of the food, almost pecking at her food like a sparrow, pushing her food around her plate more than actually eating it. Aiden watched her with a frown, finally breaking the silence that surrounded them.
"How did you get up here?" he asked.
"The elevator. I wouldn’t dare take the steps all the way up here." Serena murmured while Aiden grimaced as he stared at her.
Serena glanced up,and grinned at the expression, her mood cheering for a mont. "The receptionist was so scared when she saw walk it that she didn’t dare stop . It makes wonder if you’re so kind of monster that anyone linked to you is automatically terrifying. She almost looked as if I was going to say I want to eat her for lunch."
"Monster, huh? Is that what you think?" Aiden asked, as he took a bite of his sandwich.
Serena shrugged and shuddered as she thought of that ti when she’d just woken up in the hospital and heard everything, "Not a monster, but definitely soone who inspires a lot of fear. Even my so-called parents were scared of you. I rember when I woke up and heard them talking..."
"You’re not scared of ." Aiden pointed out." You were not scared of then too, sticking to like glue..."
"Ha! That is because I’m special." Even though she said the words with her usual candour, the next mont, she sighed and returned to pushing the food around on her plate.
Aiden stared at her then, watching as she sighed once again."Stop sighing so much. You’re not eating. Pushing around the food on your plate won’t make it disappear. Unless you plan to sit here and finish the food by the end of the day that is. You’ve only taken three bites until now..."
Serena looked down at her food and then stood up and pushed it onto Aiden’s plate, "You finish it. I am not in the mood."
Aiden stared at the food on his plate, his expression tightening. He had always been ticulous, bordering on obsessive, about cleanliness and order. But he looked up at Serena, who was watching him with a mix of defiance and vulnerability and this ti he sighed as he ate it and stared at her, " Tell , what’s worrying you?"
She looked down and stared away, asking the question that had been bothering her, "Aiden, those papers you showed ... Are you absolutely certain those were my signatures?"
"Yes, Serena. I had them matched against the signatures on our marriage contract. They’re identical. And you signed those instinctively out of muscle mory. So..."
Serena frowned, deep in thought. "Then why would I sign as their guarantor? It doesn’t make sense. I know those people are not my parents. I just know it in my heart. But then why did I sign those papers? And why did they borrow so much money from other people? At first those people said it was for my treatnt. But then, if those are my signatures on the paper, then that ans they were already deep in debt."
She looked down then and hugged herself," I’m scared... scared to think that those cruel people really are my parents."
Aiden sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I’m already looking into their backgrounds. There’s nothing that links you to them, except for those signatures. And I do believe that those people aren’t your parents. The fact that they ran away the mont you woke up is testant to that. They did not know you woke up with amnesia and so, they must have been terrified that you might recognise them or sothing."
Serena looked up at him and nodded, realizing what he said made sense. So, maybe these people were distant relatives or so acquaintances of hers? But then, where was her real family." Did you look into the police records for missing people? Maybe I’m on there. If these people kidnapped or took away from my family..."
"I’ve already looked into all the missing reports for the last year. There is nothing and no one matching your description."
Looking at her downtrodden face, he felt an unfamiliar pang of discomfort, a sensation that unsettled him. He had never been one for comforting people, didn’t know how to, always preferring to keep his distance and maintain control. Yet, here he was, wanting to comfort her.
Giving in to the urge, he stood up and walked around the table, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Serena," he said softly, "we’re going to figure this out. I’ve promised you, we will find the answers."
"What if we don’t, Aiden? What if I never find out who I really am? Or worse, what if those people really are my parents?"
Aiden squeezed her hand, feeling a strange protectiveness wash over him. "Even if they are, it doesn’t change who you are now. You’re strong, resilient, and nothing like them."
Serena looked up at him, her eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears. Without a word, she stood up and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Aiden stiffened, caught off guard by the sudden embrace. But then he slowly, almost cautiously, brought his arms around her, holding her close.
He stroked her back, trying to soothe her fears. "It’s going to be okay, Serena. We’ll get through this."
Serena tightened her hold on him, her voice muffled against his chest. "Thank you, Aiden. For everything. I don’t know what I would do without you."
Aiden closed his eyes, feeling a pang of guilt twist in his gut. He was deceiving her, hiding the truth and yet he knew he wouldn’t tell her everything. She was the only way to get to Sidney Price. So if he wanted to achieve his goal, he would have to learn to live with the growing guilt.
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