Page 69 of Battle with a Billionaire

The thought frightened her enough to raise her heart rate. The machine monitoring it belted out a new, faster bleat as tears filled her ears.

Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall anything from her marriage to the man who claimed to be her husband, but she couldn’t even conjure a fleeting glimmer of recollection.

Only one memory filled her mind, and it hadn’t been a vague recognition of the man. It had been a blazing, full-color memory.

One that had confused her enough that she couldn’t admit it to anyone.

She shifted in the bed, dreading the return of anyone to her room. She had no desire to try to piece her memories together. Anxiety, frustration and fear made her want to slip back into her coma and leave the world behind.

That choice was made for her a moment later when her supposed family shuffled back into the room.

“Sorry, Juls,” Grant said as he crossed to her and rubbed her shoulder. “We didn’t mean to leave you alone.”

The icy glare he offered Kyle was unmistakable. What was the relationship between them? Dr. Gray had said Kyle was also family. But that didn’t fit into her broken mind correctly.

“I think I should be the one apologizing,” she said as her mind swirled with confusion and upset.

“Of course not,” he answered as he sank into the chair next to her. “This isn’t your fault.”

She stared at him. Worry seemed to etch every line in his face. The expression made guilt well up inside her. She felt nothing toward him. Nothing outside of what she knew she should feel for forgetting her own husband. That coupled with her memory of another man threatened to drown her.

Her heart ached with a strange blend of guilt and emptiness. She tried to spark even the tiniest recognition but found only a void. The weight of not knowing him, her own husband, felt oppressive.

Emotions whirled in her, ranging from frustration to anger and finally, to fear. She wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t know him. She wanted comfort, too, but she couldn’t accept it from someone who was a stranger.

“I still can’t believe you don’t—" Sierra started.

“Sierra, remember what the doctor said. Don’t force it.”

“But Daddy!” she pleaded, her made-up features tugging into a frown.

“I’m so sorry…Sierra, right?”

The woman’s shoulders slumped as she nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

“I really would like to remember you, but…”

“Yeah, no, it’s fine,” she said with a shrug of one shoulder.

Julia bit her lower lip, sensing the upset from the other woman. She just didn’t know what to do about it. What had their lives been like? Were they close?

How long had she been married?

Questions bombarded her, making her headache even worse. She glanced at her husband, her features a mix of confusion, concern, and a pleading glance for help.

“She’ll remember, Sierra, just give it a little time,” he said.

She swallowed hard, hoping that was true. She flicked her gaze back to the blonde’s face and lifted a shoulder. “Maybe…you could remind me of something and that would help.”

“Pictures!” She exclaimed. “Pictures would help. There are pictures of you and Daddy and me and you. I could get those. Those will help, right?”

“Sierra, maybe we should wait until Julia’s home,” Grant said, though his voice seemed unsteady.

Her heart broke for him. He likely felt as panicked as his daughter sounded, but he was trying to be strong for her.

“Yes, especially since those pictures will all need context,” Kyle said. “Context we all agreed would be best dealt with in the privacy of Harrington House. Well, you agreed, I reluctantly agreed.”

Julia pinched her features as the complicated dynamics played out in front of her. She wondered if her solitary memory had anything to do with the hostility between the two men. She pushed past the delicate dance between them to ask a basic question. “What’s Harrington House?”

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