“The doctor wasn’t very helpful. He said there could be many possible reasons behind my memory loss. Charis was the one who told me I was in the boat with the search and rescue team when I fainted. The next time I woke up, I couldn’t remember anything from the past two years. Actually, all I know about the last two years, Charis taught it to me,” Brandon narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips tightly.
“It worried me that my competitors used my memory loss to their benefit, so I didn’t tell anyone, including you. I don’t know anything about our past.”
After explaining everything to him, Brandon fell into a thoughtful silence. Natalie wanted to tell him everything, especially all the bad things that Charis had done to them. But she couldn’t. Brandon had lost his memory of the last two years, which meant he didn’t have feelings for her now, let alone trust. Additionally, she had no evidence to prove what Charis had done, and at this point, Brandon trusted Charis more.
After all, she was the second-in-command at the Larson Group. Natalie swallowed everything she wanted to say. Now that Brandon’s mind was practically a blank slate, it was likely that Charis had bad-mouthed Natalie in front of him. Thinking of this, Natalie shifted uncomfortably in bed. The mere thought that her husband trusted the woman who had hurt her more than once upset her greatly.
Worse yet, the two years missing from Brandon’s memory were the two years in which they had grown to understand and love each other. No wonder he had been distant with her lately. It all finally made sense.
With tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat, Natalie asked in a low voice, “Do you want to know about our relationship in the last two years? If you have time, I can tell you everything…”
Usually, Brandon would not have wasted his precious time listening to this woman’s stories. He was a very busy man and devoted his whole life to work, not boring stuff like this. But after hearing what Natalie said, without hesitation, he unconsciously replied, “Go ahead.” Natalie pursed her lips sadly, realizing that Brandon wasn’t really interested in what had happened between them in the last two years and that he was only obliging her.
However, Natalie still wanted to tell him. So she cleared her throat and began to speak. In brief words, she described what had happened between them during the last two years. She told him how he had pretended to be a poor young man when they got married. It was only later when his true identity was revealed that they gained each other’s trust and love. She didn’t describe exactly how she felt, but rather explained everything as if she were telling the story of another person.
“That’s why I couldn’t accept the fact that suddenly you were so indifferent to me,” she added at the end.
Brandon was silent and listened attentively and patiently. There was tenderness in his eyes when Natalie finished the story. He smiled and asked, “Did we love each other very much back then?”
Brandon thought that if the relationship between him and Natalie was as good as she described it, he must have loved her very much. But at the same time, there was a question lingering in Brandon’s mind. According to what Charis had told him, Natalie had an obsessive one-sided love for him, while he felt nothing for his wife. It was a completely different story from what Natalie had told him earlier.
What was most disconcerting was that Natalie didn’t seem to be lying. Brandon buried this question in the back of his head, intending to ask Charis about it later in the afternoon.
At that moment, the Whites burst into the living room. When Johanna received Brandon’s phone call, she was very worried. However, after learning that Natalie was hurt because she had tried to save Brandon, her concern turned to fury.
“Why are you doing this to my daughter? You have been trying so hard and still she risked her life to save you! Your father and I should have prevented you two from being together from the beginning.”
Her nostrils flared as she regretted accepting Brandon as her son-in-law, not because Brandon was a bad man, but because he couldn’t seem to protect Natalie. Johanna wanted peace and happiness for her beloved daughter, not for her to be hospitalized from time to time, not to mention Brandon’s relationship with other women.
Natalie realized that her mother was really mad this time. She buried her face in her hands and bit her lip, trying to hold back tears. Then she reached out a hand and tugged on the corner of Johanna’s clothes.
“Mom, don’t say that. It is not Brandon’s fault. He… He has lost his memory.”
Johanna was a little stunned, wondering if she had misheard. She pushed Natalie’s hand away and looked at her with anger.
“I can’t believe you made up such a ridiculous lie to defend this shameless man! How could he lose his memory? That’s nothing. Don’t be silly, Natalie. Brandon doesn’t deserve a good girl like you!”
Naturally, in the eyes of parents, no one is good enough for their kids. Natalie smiled bitterly and said, “But it’s true, Mom.”
She also found it amazing at first. How could someone suddenly lose their memory? But it really happened to Brandon. Seeing the sincerity in Natalie’s eyes, Johanna reasoned that her daughter couldn’t be lying. Gradually, she calmed down and straightened her scarf. She was so mad just now that she forgot why. She pursed her red lips and demanded, “What exactly happened?”
Natalie lowered her head and said nothing for a long time. Beal immediately understood that his daughter wanted to talk to her mother in private, so he looked at Brandon and said firmly, “Come with me. Let’s give them some space. I’ve got some questions for you.”
Brandon nodded and quickly followed Beal. When the two women were left alone in the room, Natalie grabbed Johanna’s hand and whispered, “I have a feeling that Charis is behind everything, but I still have no proof. I don’t know how Brandon lost exactly two years of his memory. He happened to return to a time just before you met me. It can’t be a coincidence.”
Johanna looked at her daughter gravely. “Dealing with Charis won’t be easy. Brandon seems to trust his life with Charis right now. You will have to find solid evidence and expose her true face as soon as possible. Otherwise, who knows what she will do next?”
