Green onions!

"Dr. Brown, how is she?" Kaizer asked as he leaned on the jamb of the wall with his arms crossed.

"She's already recovered, Mr. Lewis. Her vitals are stable, her head injury healed, and it's been months already since her broken bones have healed," Dr. Brown, Lewis's family doctor, answered.

Kaizer frowned. "Then, why is she not waking up?"

Dr. Brown went silent for a moment. He had a hunch—something to do with the mind, but if he said that to this guy, the woman might end up in hospice care. He was still uncertain why Mr. Lewis took her, but the guy was known for being heartless, so he feared that he might throw the girl if she turned out to be useless.

"Dr. Brown?"

"Ah, it must be the trauma. Her subconscious is preparing her mind so that once she wakes up, she won't go…mad." I hope I sounded believable. Dr. Brown gulped.

Kaizer walked to the bed and looked down at the patient. Her complexion was still pale, but the color on her lips returned, and the bruises long disappeared, revealing her smooth and unblemished skin.

Kaizer nodded. Dr. Brown excused himself after that.

"It's been so long, Jillian Moore, all this waiting is making me impatient. I've never waited this long for a debtor to pay their dues. Normally, you would have lost a limb…" Kaizer let out a frustrated sigh.

He left the room after closing the curtain as dusk began to arrive. Far from the central city where Jillian Moore's family resides, Kaizer brought her to one of his vacation houses in a coastal region. And it's been nine months since then.

-----

Nathalie Lewis squinted her eyes at his son sipping tea. "Kaizer, when are you going to marry? You're not getting any younger! All of your peers are married now and have children, but you! You keep jumping from one woman to another! When are you going to get serious?!"

Kaizer put down the tea on the table. "Mom, I'm just twenty-nine. That age is still young."

"You're turning thirty in a few months!"

"But I look younger, don't I?" Kaizer chuckled. He stood before his mother could nag him again. "I'm still having fun meeting a lot of people. I'm not in a hurry, dear mother."

"Your father favors Harris because of this attitude of yours! Aren't you afraid that everything you should own is given to that illegitimate child? You're the rightful heir of Lewis Corporation, Kaizer! You need to marry into an influential family to support you. Right now, Harris—

"Mom… don't worry too much. L Corp. is mine, and you know I don't like sharing what's mine. There's no need to worry." He smiled at Nathalie and waved goodbye.

Nathalie seethed in frustration. "That boy! I should set him up with someone I know. Yes, maybe if it's her, he'll finally get settled down. She is his first love after all…"

Nathalie made preparations to meet that said girl, determined to bring her back into his son's life.

-----

A year later.

Spring arrived. The sounds of distant waves hitting the rocks, the chirping of the birds resting on the windowsill, the cool breeze of the wind fluttering the curtains, and the soft sound of classical music in the room, stirred the sleeping beauty out of her sleep.

Jillian's brows moved, furrowed, then straightened again. Her eyelids fluttered open. For a few minutes, she was just staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. Her eyes were hazy, gradually, they adjusted to the light, and her irises finally moved.

To the left, Jillian saw a door and a set of sofas next to the bed. To the right, she saw white curtains, an open window, a bright and blue sky.

Her first words were, "…where…" Am I?

She had a hard time forming words and voicing them out. Why? What happened to her? She closed her eyes and tried her best to recall anything, but why couldn't she remember anything in particular?

Her head just throbbed.

The door opened. A maid in a grey uniform entered. She headed to the curtains first and tied them, not noticing that the lady was already awake. When she turned around, only then did she see Jillian.

The maid jumped in surprise. "Ahh! She's awake! She's awake!" she rushed out the door and punched the numbers on the telephone.

"Yes?"

"Sir Kaizer! It's Imelda! She's awake! Ma'am Jillian is awake! What should I do now?" Imelda shouted in glee.

Kaizer stood abruptly, causing the chair to scrape the floor. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir! She was looking at me, although she didn't say anything."

"Okay. I'll be there," Kaizer ended the call.

Someone grabbed his hand and asked, "Kai, where are you going?"

"I'm sorry, Selene. I have somewhere I need to go," he snatched his hand away.

The beautiful lady named Selene frowned. "But how about our date? Is it more important than me?"

Kaizer paused. He looked down at Selene who was gazing at him with sad eyes. Selene Andrews is his mother's best friend's daughter and was his childhood sweetheart. They grew up together, and she's the woman Kaizer loved in the past until she chose to hurt him.

Kaizer has never been the same after that.

"I have to go," he replied, leaving Selene's questions answered. Is it more important than her? Kaizer didn't know. He didn't even know why he kept Jillian in his wings for two years. But now that she's awake, maybe he'll gain something from it.

When he arrived, Dr. Brown was already there.

"Have you talked to her already?" Kaizer asked as soon as he approached him. "How is her condition?"

"Her body is severely weakened, her speech and cognitive processing are slow, and for a few weeks, she will be entirely dependent on someone for basic care, such as feeding, hygiene, and communication. Recovery from a two-year-long coma is gradual and requires extensive rehabilitation—physically, emotionally, and mentally. She will need utmost care to get her back to a normal state, Mr. Lewis."

Kaizer sighed. "But did she remember what happened to her?"

Dr. Brown sighed and shook his head. "It is normal. She could struggle to remember events leading up to the coma or even have gaps in long-term memory, but they eventually go back to her."

"It's not an amnesia?"

"No, Mr. Lewis. Her brain is subconsciously protecting her mental state. Gradually, if she feels ready, she will open up that sealed memory and remember what she had forgotten."

"I see," Kaizer nodded. He dismissed the doctor after he oriented the maid on how to take care of Jillian and gave his prescriptions.

Kaizer stepped inside the room, but Jillian was asleep again. Rehabilitation might take weeks to months, but if he just left Jillian like this, then she's no different from someone who was in a vegetative state.

Kaizer chuckled. "It seems like you're going to pay all this money and time I invested in you with your whole life, Jillian. Wake up and see who saves your life." He caressed her gaunt cheeks, but Jillian didn't wake up.

"These cheeks…I'll give you a few weeks to regain its plumpness and rosiness again. So, recover quickly."

After saying that, Kaizer left. Jillian opened her eyes a bit. She heard an unfamiliar voice, but it was so gentle and warm that she was sure it didn't come from Conrad.

Then, who is it? Who saved her life?

Kaizer never visited the house again after that. Imelda and Dr. Brown helped Jillian with her rehabilitation, and it took her three months to finally be able to move normally and speak eloquently again.

"Imelda, when will I meet this Mr. Lewis? I have to thank him for saving my life." Jillian flipped the pancake in the pan. She was glad that she could cook again. "Also, when will I be allowed to leave the house? I need to visit someone?"

Imelda picked a pancake from the plate and bit on it. "Ma'am Jillian, who are you going to visit? Your family? I thought you didn't have a family because no one ever visited you here or when you were in the hospital!"

Jillian froze. Right. No one visited her. Dr. Brown said she had a car accident, but her family did not care. Not even her mother. But the person she wanted to visit was Hannah. She wanted to know why she never came.

"Ma'am Jillian, the pancake! It's burning!"

"Ah!" Jillian quickly turned off the range and flipped the pancake again, but it was already black. "Oh, it can't be eaten now. What a waste. I was thinking of wrapping them and sending them to Mr. Lewis. Should I just cook him a meal?"

"I'd like that. Though you're more than two years late, Jillian."

Jillian stiffened. She heard the same voice she did when she was asleep. Turning her head to the door of the kitchen, she saw a man leaning on the wall, watching her with a smirk.

Jillian furrowed her brows, and then her eyes slowly widened. "Green onions!"