Page 9 of The Rancher's Amnesia Bride

But because they also knew from Cha-Cha's vlogs that their favorite former beauty was silly and kind-hearted, carefree and incredibly down-to-earth in spite of her privileged upbringing—-

No two persons could be any more different than Cha-Cha and her husband, and it became even harder to imagine how the couple had fallen in love when the nurses overheard Dr. Manolis and the French billionaire conversing entirely in French.

Oh dear.

Most of the nurses started giggling, all of them having recalled Cha-Cha's vlog about her first visit to Paris...and how she had consequently succeeded in murdering the names of several French fashion houses. She had pronounced Hermes with a not-silent H, spoke of Balmain like it rhymed with Maine, and as she ended her vlog with a tour of her hotel suite, she had showcased the toiletries provided by L'Occitane, which Cha-Cha had mistaken as another brand that included a long 'a' in its pronunciation.

The nurses were still giggling among themselves as both men entered the elevator, but as soon as the doors closed, and the two were finally out of everyone's earshot—-

Konstantin raised a brow at his friend. "I seem to recall I had this friend in college who gave the cold shoulder to any girl who was unable to pronounce Lanvin correctly."

"I can't help it if their attempts at speaking French hurt my ears," Philippe answered without missing a beat, "but obviously, Charlee-Mae is the sole exception."

Konstantin smirked. "Is that the latest euphemism for being in love?"

"It is now." While Philippe trusted his friend implicitly, he also preferred to minimize his risks. The fewer people who knew about the true state of his marriage, the less likely his mother was to find out about Philippe's plans.

Since Charlee-Mae was still in session with the hospital's trauma specialist, Philippe agreed to have coffee with Konstantin and his wife, a shy brunette who apparently was yet another fan of his wife.

On his way back to Charlee-Mae's room, the nurses informed him that his wife was still in session, and left to his own devices, Philippe made use of one of the hospital's conference rooms and spent the next hour in communication with his security and I.T. teams.

It was only a matter of time before Charlee-Mae asked to have access to her phone or online accounts, and when she did, Philippe didn't want her to accidentally stumble upon any message, call, or document that could cause her to entertain doubts about their marriage.

Finally, Philippe had one last call to make, and this was to the only family member on his wife's side that he was in contact with.

Charlotte experienced a roller coaster of emotions upon hearing about Charlee-Mae's accident from Philippe and learning that her sister-in-law, albeit safe from any major injuries, had ended up suffering from partial memory loss.

"I was advised by her doctor not to have her upset," Philippe was now saying, "and since her parents are still in their couples' retreat...I wanted to ask if you'd like to fly up to Wyoming and keep Charlee-Mae company?"

Charlotte was unable to answer right away. Now that she knew for certain Charlee-Mae hadn't suffered any life-threatening injury, all she could think of at that moment was how her sister-in-law had been so confident about following her heart and letting God take over.

And so, if this accident was God's means of taking over, then—-

"I'm sorry," Charlotte heard herself say apologetically, "but I don't think that's a good idea. If I fly up there, people might start to suspect something is seriously wrong. I know you're not familiar with Cha-Cha's—-"

"Cha-Cha?"

"I mean, Charlee-Mae. But Cha-Cha is what most everyone calls her," Charlotte explained. "It's like her stage name. More or less."

"Ah." This was the first time Philippe had heard about people on YouTube having stage names, and it was starting to dawn on him how little he knew of his wife's occupation.

"Anyway, Cha-Cha has a pretty dedicated following—-"

"I have been made aware of that just recently," Philippe remarked dryly. "The nurses here are huge fans of hers."

"As expected." Charlotte couldn't help the note of pride in her voice. Cha-Cha could be considered as a pioneer in her industry, having started her YouTube channel back when the term 'vlogging' hadn't yet been coined. "Her fanbase is mostly in the Western and Southern regions, and..." Charlotte needed another extra moment just to remind herself that what she was doing was simply letting God "take over".

Philippe frowned at the sudden silence. "Is there anything wrong?"

"I'm just worried about her fans." Charlotte finally managed to make herself utter the lie. "If any of them finds out she has amnesia, it's going to be huge news, and before you know it, everything about your lives could become public knowledge...including the truth about your marriage." Charlotte paused, but when Philippe remained silent on the other end, she knew this meant she still had more persuading to do.

"Isn't your mother also scheduled to join you in Wyoming? Having someone else look after Charlee-Mae could make her question your marriage."

"Je vois..."

Philippe had a hard time deciphering his own mood by the time the call ended. Everything in his life had always been clear-cut and precise. Well-planned and orderly. Even his marriage, albeit unorthodox, was supposed to follow along the same black-and-white lines, but with his "wife" now having forgotten everything they had agreed upon...

Charlee-Mae sat up the moment the door opened, and although the sound had her heart slamming against her chest, she no longer felt as anxious as before, and even the lovely ring on her finger didn't feel as heavy.

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