Chapter 2

I sat numbly on the edge of the bed, watching Asher's tiny figure disappear down the hallway. Beta Sarah quietly slipped out of the room as well, leaving me alone to face this suffocating truth.

Eight years. A complete blank of eight whole years.

My hand unconsciously moved to my neck, where there was a faint crescent-shaped scar. When did I get this? I couldn't remember at all. Just like I couldn't remember how I married Orlando, how Asher was born, or where Derek had gone.

Derek.

The man who had proposed to me just last night was now nowhere to be found, as if he'd vanished from the world entirely.

I had to find answers.

I gripped my phone tightly, my fingers trembling with nerves. Sunlight streamed through the curtains onto the hardwood floor, but this warm light couldn't dispel the chill in my heart.

I needed to contact Mia—my childhood friend, my best friend who knew all my secrets.

If anyone knew what had happened these past eight years, it would be her.

With shaking hands, I dialed the familiar number and held my breath.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end was familiar yet strange—cold as ice.

"Mia! It's me, Monica! I finally found you, I—"

"Monica?" Her voice grew even colder, carrying a bone-chilling distance. "Didn't you say you never wanted to see me again? That I should get out of your life?"

I froze, nearly dropping the phone.

"What? When did I ever say such a thing? Mia, it's Monica—your best friend! We grew up together. How can you talk to me like this?"

A cold laugh came through the phone.

"Stop pretending, Monica. You went crazy eight years ago, claiming you were abducted by aliens, saying Derek had disappeared, insisting Orlando had kidnapped you. God, the way you looked back then..."

"Wait!" I interrupted, my heart pounding. "Derek what? You said Derek disappeared?"

Silence.

Suffocating silence.

"Mia? Are you still there? What happened to Derek?"

"Derek?" Mia's voice suddenly became choked up. "Monica, have you really forgotten what happened to Derek?"

She paused, as if choosing her words carefully.

I was going crazy with worry: "What happened? Tell me!"

"Never mind, your voice does sound different now." Mia's tone became complex. "If you really... don't remember, maybe we need to talk face to face."

"Don't remember what?" My heartbeat accelerated. "Mia, what are you talking about? Why are you being so cold to me? We're supposed to be best friends!"

Silence on the other end for several seconds.

"Best friends?" Mia laughed bitterly. "Monica, do you really not remember what you said to me? You said I was jealous of you, that I deliberately sabotaged your relationship with Derek, and that I—"

"What? When did I ever say such things?" I interrupted, unable to believe it. "Mia, this is impossible! We grew up together. How could I possibly..."

"You really don't remember?" Mia's voice began to carry a hint of confusion and probing. "Then tell me, what's the last thing you remember?"

Images from last night flashed through my mind: "Derek proposed to me. We celebrated in the dorm until late. The ring is still on my—"

I stopped abruptly, because my finger was completely bare.

"Proposed?" Mia's voice suddenly became sharp. "Monica, when was this?"

"When? Last night, of course!" I felt a wave of unease. "What's wrong?"

A long silence.

"Monica," Mia's voice began to tremble, "it's October 2024 now. Derek's proposal... that was eight years ago."

My brain went completely blank.

Eight years ago? But I clearly remembered it happening last night! I remembered Derek nervously getting down on one knee, the diamond ring sparkling in the moonlight, being so excited I couldn't sleep all night...

"Impossible..." My voice sounded like broken glass. "This can't be... Mia, you're joking with me, right? This must be some kind of prank..."

"Monica—"

"No!" I was practically screaming. "I don't believe it! Where's Derek? Where is Derek?"

Just then, Beta Sarah's voice came from the dining room: "Asher, please come for lunch."

Through the crack in the door, I saw Asher carefully walking toward the dining room, his tiny 5-year-old frame making my heart ache beyond words.

Five years old... if eight years had really passed...

"I have to go." I said hastily.

"Monica, wait—"

I hung up and rushed out of the bedroom.

In the dining room, Beta Sarah was setting out elegant silver cutlery. Asher sat properly in his chair, small hands placed neatly on the table, back straight as a rod, looking like a little gentleman who'd been wronged but didn't dare cry.

"Asher has been asking when you'll get better these past few days," Beta Sarah whispered to me. "He misses you very much."

I looked at that tiny figure, my heart suddenly constricting. This child... this child who was afraid of me was actually my son.

"Sweetheart," I approached Asher, my voice gentler than ever before, "would you like to come eat with Mommy?"

Asher's head snapped up, surprise flashing in his crystal blue eyes, but it was quickly replaced by fear.

He began backing away.

"Sorry, Mama," Asher said as he fled, his voice trembling, "Asher didn't disturb you. Asher will be good, won't shift, please don't be angry..."

Those words hit my heart like a knife.

Won't shift?

What had I done to my own son?

I collapsed into a chair, watching Asher disappear around the stair corner, the pain in my heart nearly tearing me apart.

Beta Sarah looked at me sympathetically: "Luna, Asher just needs time. He really loves you."

"I..." My voice was hoarse. "What did I do to him before?"

Beta Sarah seemed about to speak but ultimately just sighed softly and left.

My phone suddenly rang—Mia calling back.

"Monica," Mia's voice was heavy, "if you really... don't remember, maybe that's a good thing for you. Sometimes forgetting is more merciful than remembering."

"No!" I was practically roaring. "I need to know the truth! Where's Derek? Why is my son afraid of me? What did I do?"

After a long silence, Mia sighed.

"Monica, are you really ready to face the truth? Some truths... once you know them, there's no going back."

"I can't go back anyway!" I screamed in breakdown. "I woke up to find myself married with a child, having lost eight years of memory! My best friend won't even talk to me, my son is afraid of me, and I don't even know where Derek is! What could be worse than this?"

More silence.

This silence filled me with despair.

"Mia?"

"I'll come to Silver Creek tomorrow," Mia finally said, her voice carrying a heavy resolve. "We need to talk. But Monica, I'm warning you—some truths are more brutal than you can imagine."

The call ended.

I looked at Asher hiding around the stair corner, peeking at me. Those crystal blue eyes were filled with longing and fear.

My heart was bleeding.

This child wanted my love but was afraid of my rejection.

And I, this so-called mother—what kind of existence had I been to him?

I slowly walked toward the stairs, each step like treading on knife blades.

"Asher," I called softly, "Mommy won't hurt you."

The small figure disappeared upstairs.

I leaned against the stair railing as tears finally broke through the dam.

I realized I might have committed unforgivable mistakes.

And tomorrow, when Mia arrived, I would face that cruel truth I had never experienced.

Just then, I noticed a small scratch on the stair railing, as if something sharp had clawed at it. I reached out to touch that mark, the cold sensation making me shiver.

When was this left here? And who left it?