After He Lost His Memory, He Loved Me Chapter 04

The study door slammed shut.

I didn’t have time to think about it anymore.

I went straight after him.

Inside, he was sitting in a high-backed chair, laptop open in front of him.

I leaned against the doorframe.

“Are you mad?”

His expression was cold.

“What are you here for?”

“To cheer you up.”

“You’re gonna cheer me up from way over there?”

Fair.

I went to the couch in the middle of the room.

“How’s this? Close enough?”

He didn’t answer.

Just stood there with this cold, sarcastic smile that made my spine feel like it was turning to ice.

I shuffled closer.

“What about now…”

The sunlight was soft, filtering through the dark curtains, casting a thin shadow across his sharp brow bone.

His jaw shifted slightly.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to get closer?”

Those usually cold eyes were looking up at me now, full of some kind of desperate want.

I didn’t even realize when I’d ended up in his lap, my arms around his neck.

“Is this close enough?”

“Not yet.”

He tilted his head up and bit my earlobe.

“What about… zero distance?”

His arms were clamped around my waist.

I could barely breathe.

“I-it’s still daytime…”

“Even better in the daytime.”

Holy crap.

Amnesiac Leo was a smooth talker?!

“B-but we don’t have any protection in the house…”

He was about to say something when a breeze blew through the window.

A few books fell off the shelf, and a small square gold box tumbled out.

I scrambled off his lap and grabbed it.

Alarm bells went off in my head.

“Why do we have this?”

This little villa was our marital home.

And the box was already open.

Only two left.

“I don’t know.”

Leo stared at the box for a long time, looking serious.

“Two is enough, don’t you think?”

“I mean, yeah, but…”

No.

He was changing the subject.

I slammed the little gold box on the table.

“Explain. Now.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but then a loud car horn blared outside, followed by a girl’s voice that echoed through the whole neighborhood.

“BROTHER—I’M BACK—”

Sophia.

Leo’s little sister.

I gave him a death glare and ran downstairs to let the Hall family’s little princess in.

Sophia was standing outside in sunglasses and bright red lipstick, silk top and little skirt.

Looking twenty-eight going on eighteen.

Every time I saw her, I couldn’t help thinking life just wasn’t fair.

At eighteen, I was applying to college.

At eighteen, she was carrying Birkin bags and shopping around the world.

You tell me—is that fair?

“Where’s Mom?”

She rolled her eyes at me.

“Mom didn’t want to come. Went straight home.”

I smiled and helped carry her luggage.

She pushed open the door.

“So, where’s my brother?”

“Upstairs.”

I ran upstairs to find Leo.

But he wasn’t in the study.

Or the guest room.

In the span of a few minutes, the man had just vanished.

I searched everywhere.

Finally, I pushed open the master bedroom door.

The bed was a mess.

Covered in red rose petals.

The trail led all the way to the bathroom.

Behind the door, I could hear water running.

I nervously pushed open the half-closed door.

Warm candlelight.

I couldn’t even dream of the things Leo had actually made happen.

In the middle of all this scented-candle-induced atmosphere, he was lying in the steamy bathtub.

His eyes were hazy.

His gaze was full of something like love.

He looked like a golden god emerging from a river, holding a red flower in his hand.

He bit off a petal and looked at me like he was inviting me closer.

Holy crap.

I heard footsteps behind me.

Sophia was getting impatient.

I slammed the door.

“Where’s my brother?”

“He’s not here.”

“You just said he was—”

“He, uh… he was here. Now he’s not.”

The two families hadn’t seen each other in months.

Now that Leo’s family was back from their trip, we decided to go visit them and get Sophia off our hands.

It was only a half-hour drive.

Sophia was chattering away in the front seat.

I was leaning back in the back, resting my eyes.

She insisted on riding shotgun, and I didn’t feel like fighting her for it.

Leo kept glancing back at me in the rearview mirror.

“Bella, you okay?”

“Yeah.

Just tired.”

“Then sleep. I’ll drive slower.”

Leo’s parents live in a townhouse in the suburbs.

When we got there, Leo stayed in the car on purpose and shoved two little square things into my hands.

“Hide these. No telling where we’ll end up sleeping tonight.”

Huh.

I felt better all of a sudden.

Evelyn Hall.

A true socialite.

She had two deep frown lines that made her look perpetually displeased.

But today, she was all smiles.

There was a young woman sitting with her at a little table by the window.

They had macarons and croissants.

Tea time.

Sophia got there first, slid right in next to the girl.

“Chloe! You’re here too!”

“Yeah. Where’s your brother?”

“Parking the car.”

Sophia pointed at me.

“This is my brother’s wife, Bella Moore.”

I looked at the girl.

She was smiling at me, sizing me up.

“Miss Moore is very pretty.”

“Thanks. You too.”

Leo walked in.

The girl’s eyes lit up the second she saw him.

Evelyn grabbed her son’s arm.

“Chloe came all the way to see me! It’s been so long since you two—”

“Mom. We just got here. Bella’s still standing.”

“Oh, right! Come in, come in, both of you!”

I saw Chloe’s shy smile.

It reminded me of the photo my coworker showed me from Saks Fifth Avenue.

She was tall.

Probably five-eight or -nine.

Standing next to Leo, they looked right together.

Evelyn brought out coffee and pastries for everyone.

For some reason, she sat Chloe right next to Leo, leaving me on the outside.

Not that I was heartbroken.

We were never really in love anyway.

Leo didn’t seem to care about his mom’s little seating arrangement.

Chloe had barely sat down when he turned to her and asked, “Why are you at my mom’s house?”

“It’s about that investment. You said you wanted me to help you raise—”

“You should be talking to me, not my mom.”

Chloe’s eyes got all red and teary.

“Then why aren’t you answering my iMessages?”

“I’m not answering them for a reason you’re well aware of.”

He shot her down cold.

“My company doesn’t need funding right now. If you want to talk business, call my assistant.”

Chloe stood up so fast she nearly knocked over her chair.

She choked out a “sorry” and walked out.

The mood got heavy.