Because of the surrounding commotion, I feel my eyes open. I repeatedly blink in an effort to adjust to the dazzling lights. My senses were heightened as a lot of wire was attached to my body and I could see a lot of unidentified persons.
While my body was yelling danger, my mind was simply nodding in agreement. I saw a woman giving me a glass of water while wearing a nurse's uniform.
Since my throat feels terribly parched, I grab the glass and down it all at once, not really caring what might be inside.
I ask myself, "Where am I?" After a minute of glancing around, I croaked out.
You are at the hospital, ma'am. You ultimately got hit by a drunk motorist, which put you in a coma. You may have died, therefore it was fortunate that your fiancé was there to save you earlier. My expression wrinkled as the nurse continued.
"Fiancé? I'm not engaged, am I?" I say, bewildered. The nurse's eyes widen before she picks up the phone and makes a call. A few additional nurses enter with notepads after she finishes speaking to them for a minute.
Yes, ma'am. Do you still recall your name? She inquires.
"Yes, Bella"
Okay, what about the month?
It's July, if I'm not incorrect.
Moreover, "and your age"
"23"
She eventually turns to face me and scowls.
"It appears that you recall everything. Your memories were unaffected by the crash, although it's intriguing that you can't recall your fiance. Before some of the other nurses chimed in with their observations, she said out what she was thinking.
I have no f-word. I begin to yell, but I was unable to finish because a man stormed the room. When the nurse got up and walked over to him, I continued to stare at him and lifted my hand to indicate that I wanted answers.
"Ah, Sir Marco, just in time. It appears that your fiancé has forgotten who you are. Just to make sure nothing is incorrect to a greater extent, we will do some additional testing. Perhaps you could chat to her face to face and go over your memories? The nurse gave me advice. The nurse is seated just by my bed when the unidentified man walks in and nods at her.
When only the two of us are left after the other nurses depart and the door closes behind us, he gives us a serious look.
I fixed my eyes on his and glared at him.
"I don't think I'm crazy. I mutter under my breath, "You are not my fiancé." as I study his angular features.
No, you aren't Ms. Phoebe, he said coldly, "but that was the only way I was able to visit you without raising any suspicions." He calmly stood up from the bedside and picked up a laptop before sitting back down. He started working, but when he saw that I was looking at him, he turned around to face me.
"Go ahead, Ms. Alverez, and relax. Since you just woke up, I don't want to overload you with all the topics we will discuss.
I'm not exhausted.
"I never said you were, but chatting won't hasten your recovery. Simply take a break.
"Like I said, I'm not in the mood to rest. I responded, "I want to know what in the world is going on and why you lied about me being your fiancé. He turned away from the laptop and took a moment to look at them before shutting it.
"So, you wished to converse?" His voice was laced with threat as he said in a sarcastic manner. I give him a head nod.
He says icily, "I have a proposition." I nod once again while maintaining my composure, but I can't help but feel a little scared by his imposing presence.
"You recently lost your job and now you have a lot of debt to pay off. He says, "I have something you need, and you have something I need. I offer him a puzzled expression in response to his comments.
What in this broken world do I have that you require? I ponder. He gives me a little moment of attention.
I give "A Wife" a blank look before laughing out loud.
Oh, that joke was funny. Interspersed between my laughs, I ask, "Now what do you really want." My body tenses as I became aware that he was gazing at me with the same expression before my expression dramatically shifts.
I sigh, "You're serious," out loud.
Yes, I'm Ms. Alverez, and if there's one thing about me you should know, it's that I don't laugh a lot. I give a stiff nod and briefly turn my head aside.
"I won't demand an immediate response from you, but I will ask you to give it some thought. I know you just woke up, so I didn't want to overwhelm you, he said, adding that he understood.
"Sure, that. But what will this contract cover, I questioned immediately, turning to face him.
When the time comes, we will establish all the rules if you agree, he responds. I gave him a head nod and kept staring at him for a while. Even though I don't know this man's name, I somehow recognize him.
What is your complete name?
He says, "Lorenzo Kosmos Marco," and as I hear his name, my scowl gets worse. I search the room for my phone, and when I finally spot it across the room, I turn to look at Lorenzo.
The question is, "How did that get there?"
"When she came to see you here, your buddy Isabella brought it for you. He continues, and I nod in agreement. "She told the nurses to tell you that if you wake up, she will see you soon. She left for an emergency across the country."
In an effort to pick up the phone, I sit up, but as I try to move my lower body, I scream in agony.
He murmurs, "Stubborn women," and stands up, moving toward the table to take my phone and offer it to me.
I smile softly as I take it out of his fingers.
"Thanks"
He responds, "Yeah yeah, now we can't have you hurting yourself anymore." When I unlocked my phone, I saw that I had numerous notifications from various social networking sites. Ignoring that, I looked up his name on Google.
When I conduct a search, numerous headlines are the first thing I notice.
Lorenzo Marco, heir to a billion-dollar corporation, is involved in an automobile accident.
Lorenzo Marco, the sexiest bachelor, is rumored to be dating Lisa Sager, a well-known model.
"Marco Inc. notifies Sidorov Inc.'s second-largest rival of their partnership"
When I recognized who he was, my eyes widened in shock. He was the son of the famed and cunning businessman Elias Marco.
As I struggled to digest the fresh knowledge I had just learned, I dropped the phone in my lap. I dropped it without realizing that Lorenzo was alerted when it bounced off my lap and onto the ground.
The door banged open just as he appeared to be about to speak.
"You'll never be able to imagine what just occurred today. Since you weren't in the office when that disgusting woman called, I had to put up with her pestering. I'm actually going to give up. An unidentified man paces the room in a rage.
After yelling for a few more seconds, Lorenzo finally regains his composure by clearing his throat.
Before turning to face Lorenzo in inquiry, he turned back to face my bed. He looked up in alarm when he realized I was awake.
"Oh Sh-" He hardly said as he continued to look at me. I cocked my head slightly as I tried to identify him till I saw his face. That would be Marco Inc.'s soon-to-be vice president.
He finally spoke to me, wiping his head sheepishly, saying, "You're awake."
Lorenzo glanced between us, "You are making this more awkward than it needs to be."
Oh, and could you tell me how I am supposed to start a conversation like this, too," he responded.
He says, his head shaking in complete shock, "I don't know, maybe start with your name and why you are in this room."
Roman yells, "SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHO I AM!" I give him a raised eyebrow expression.
He retorted with a chuckle, "Don't forget who her best friend is," which made me grimace. Roman gave him a frown in return, which further perplexed me.
"Bella? How about she? I ponder.
"Don't even try to get me-" Roman begins but is cut off.
You won't start ranting right now, I promise. I raise an eyebrow as a smirk appears on my face as Lorenzo says, "In simplest terms, they had an incident, and he hates her.
Roman yells loudly, "Why do you two have the same expression?" as he peers in between us. I put my head back on the bed after shrugging my shoulders.
My body experiences a wave of disorientation as they continue to talk. My eyes grow weary and close abruptly as I experience a fuzzy sensation all around me.