Page 51 of Awakening

“I understand,” he says. “We can finish the tour later. We’ll do whatever you’re comfortable with, Liv.”

“No, let’s do the tour. I want to see if anything triggers my memory.”

“Okay, well down this way is my office,” he says, leading me down a hallway and opening the door to a very masculine and spacious room. “Then there’s a guest room right next door,” he says, revealing a very pretty room decorated in soft, neutral tones. He leads me up the stairs and shows me another guest room decorated in pink and gold, as well as two more empty rooms. He then starts to lead me back to our bedroom. “Let me show you the closet and where you keep all your things,” he says.

“Wait. What’s in here?”

“Liv, wait,” he says, as I open the door.

I gasp and my breathing grows ragged. I can’t stop myself from stepping inside. The first thing I see is a beautiful white crib with soft pastel pink bedding. I look around to see the entire room is decorated in pink and white with touches of light yellow. There’s a changing table and dresser on another wall, and a cozy, soft pink rocking chair in the corner. There are adorable stuffed animals arranged in the opposite corner. I look to my right and see that the door to the closet is open, and it’s filled with tiny, delicate clothes for a baby girl. My chin starts to quiver before I feel the first tear run down my cheek.

“Olivia?” Ethan says, placing his hands on my shoulders from behind.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come in here,” I whisper.

“Hey, look at me,” he says, turning me to face him. He wipes a tear from my cheek with his thumb. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” I say, then look into his eyes. “Are you? I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have opened that door.”

“I’m okay. You don’t have to worry about me, but I’m concerned about you.”

I never would have expected to feel so emotional given that I have no memory of any of this. Turning to the dresser, I see a photo of us. My head is thrown back in laughter, and I’m cradling my baby bump while Ethan kisses my cheek. There’s an engagement ring on my finger. It’s real. We’re engaged, and we were having a baby together.

“How can you not hate me for not being able to remember this?” I ask, picking up the photo while tears stream down my cheeks.

“Because despite what you can’t remember in your mind right now, I know your heart. I could never hate you, Olivia. I love you.”

“It’s a beautiful room,” I say, looking around again.

“Vanessa decorated it after you disappeared. She wanted it to be a surprise for you when you came home. She anticipated your homecoming to be different, obviously.”

“That was sweet of her.”

“Listen,” he says, tipping my chin up to look into my eyes. “Try not to let this overwhelm your day. This is your home. You were comfortable and happy here. Why don’t I finish with the tour?”

I take a deep breath and nod. “Okay. You’re right. Let’s go.”

He takes my hand and leads me out of the nursery, closing the door behind us. I do my best not to think of it as he shows me our bathroom and closet, followed by the finished basement. “And this,” he says, leading me out into the garage, “is your car.” He points to a white BMW X5.

“Wow, this is a lot nicer than the car I remember driving in college,” I say with a laugh, and he laughs too.

“I’m glad you like it,” he says as we return to the kitchen. “Would you like a glass of wine?”

“Sure,” I say, sitting down at the kitchen island. I can’t even begin to describe the emotions surging through my body right now. There was obviously so much love in this home, and I was a part of all of it. “Ethan…my engagement ring—” He stops pouring and stills for a moment. “You said you still have it?”

“I do,” he says, looking hopeful. “Would you like to see it?”

“If that’s okay?”

“Of course,” he says, handing me the glass of wine then kissing me. “I’ll be right back.” He goes upstairs, and when he comes back, he sets a black velvet box in front of me. “I hope you like it,” he says as he opens the box.

“Oh, wow. Ethan, this is gorgeous.” It’s a large oval diamond on a platinum setting with a band of tiny diamonds. It becomes more and more clear all the time just how much this man loves me, and all I’ve done is keep him at an arm’s distance. He deserves better than what I’ve given him.

Ethan

“You can take it out and look at it, if you want. It’s yours.”

She lifts the ring from its cushion in the box, holding it between her thumb and index finger. “You’re a good man, Ethan,” she says, looking up at me. “Thank you for being so patient and not giving up on me.”

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