Chapter 1 - Awake

"They'll be lucky if she ever wakes up."

'Who?' Veronica questioned, awoken by an unfamiliar voice. 

"They were lucky to have found her considering the circumstances," the voice continued to speak. 

Why wasn't it answering her question?

Veronica's surroundings were dark, her body was weighed down by something, and there was a burning sensation when she opened her mouth to attempt to ask where she was.

Veronica felt compelled to scream, but her screams were muffled as something entered her lips, causing her to choke. Her nose filled with a liquid, affecting her breathing. 

There was an unending sensation of falling as if there was something other than the weight of her body dragging her down to an unknown place. 

On the verge of no longer being able to take the strange pain, Veronica gasped, her eyes opening to the sight of a white roof above her and a beeping noise that added to her confusion. 

Her hands unknowingly gripped white sheets as there was unexplainable fear that came over her from what she experienced. 

"Where," her voice was weak, needing water to quench her thirst yet water seemed to be the very thing behind the horror she experienced. 

Veronica heard movement in the room and turned her head to the right, finding a small woman in a uniform not far from where she lay. "Where am I?" 

"Oh dear!" The nurse exclaimed, startled by Veronica's voice. "You are awake. Try not to move around so much. I need to get the doctor."

Veronica watched as the nurse rushed to the door and let someone in. She wanted water first and to be told where she was now. Why was her body so tired and hurt like someone had beaten her?

A couple Veronica did not recognise entered the room with a young woman behind them.

"So it's true. You're awake. Didn't they say you wouldn't?"

Veronica failed to notice the disappointment in their crude remarks. She just wanted to know where she was. "Where am I?"

Evelyn Harper, Veronica's mother, rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously you are in a hospital. Where did you think we would send you once you were found? Honestly, all this ruckus just because you're awake. Well, are you going to yell at us again? Belittle us?"

Veronica frowned, taken aback by the hostility. "Who are you?"

Evelyn gripped the rail at the bottom of the bed. This has to be some kind of joke. The world wouldn't be so kind as to wipe her daughter's memories. 

Evelyn smiled, her world now better with this. "Veronica, who else would I be? Do you not recognise us, at all?" As she watched Veronica shake her head, she smiled. This was a solution to her problem! "I'm your mother. You had us worried sick."

"Your father," Evelyn pulled her husband forward. "Hasn't gotten any rest since the news."

"Mother," Veronica muttered, the word felt strange as it left her lips. Veronica raised her hand to touch her forehead. "I don't know," she stopped, puzzled by the ring on her finger. "I am married?"

"No," A young woman approached her, taking Veronica's hand to slide the ring off of her finger. "That is nothing."

Veronica didn't think it was just nothing since it looked like a wedding ring. "It looks like-"

"It is nothing. Veronica," Beth Harper said, taking a seat on the bed. "You should relax and worry about the little things. You were in an accident. You must be confused now."

Veronica looked around, slowly realising she was in a hospital room. The nurse from before was standing close by. "What accident?"

Beth placed the diamond ring on her finger. At last, it was where it should have been. "You fell off of a yacht. Do you not remember anything or are you trying to fool us?"

"Fool you? I don't even know who you are," Veronica said, touching her head. There was a pounding pain like she had hit her head against something.

Everything about the position she was in now was terrifying. To look her parents in the eye and not find a single memory of them.

Veronica turned her attention to Beth who was enjoying the ring on her finger. Didn't it belong to her since it was on her finger? Though her memories were missing, she knew that ring was a wedding ring.

"Is it your ring?"

"It is," Beth answered, hiding her hands behind her back. "You do not believe me?"

"Then why was it on my finger?" Veronica asked.

Beth smiled while her anger remained well hidden. "You liked how it looked so I loaned it to you. Since you don't need it anymore… I think it's only right that I take it back."

Veronica looked to her mother for help since it wasn't making any sense. "Isn't it my-"

"Why are you fretting over a ring that does not belong to you when you are in this state? It belonged to Beth. Just let it go," Evelyn urged Veronica. It was always meant to go to Beth but Veronica being the little vixen that she was, took it away.

They had more urgent matters to take care of before he arrived.

Evelyn lifted Beth's hand to see the ring. "It looks perfect on you. We need to get it resized to fit your finger."

"No, I want to leave it as it is," Beth said, finding it to be perfect. She could ignore that it was a little tight on her hands.

Veronica found herself to be a stranger in the room. Her mother was more interested in Beth, for reasons she could not understand. 

Veronica didn't want to keep them here when they were unhappy. "Then, you and my sister-"

"Sister? Ha," Beth snorted. "You have lost your memories. I am not your sister. I am your cousin but I do find it flattering that you would think of me as your sister."

Evelyn was ready to leave but first, she needed Veronica to sign something. "Dear-"

The doors swung wide open, startling everyone inside the room.

Veronica noticed a shift in the room. She noticed how shaken her family looked by the sudden arrival of a man. He was accompanied by two others in black suits. His cold stare sent a shiver down her spine.

Was her family in trouble? Was she in trouble?

Veronica panicked when his gaze fell on her. She was about to reach for something to defend herself when she noticed his gaze soften. It seemed like he was happy to see her awake.

"Veronica," he said, the very name she had heard from the others.

He knew her but how? Why was there suddenly so much tension?

Veronica leaned back on the bed as he neared her. She moved her left hand away just before he could touch her.

Liam Sterling didn't understand why she shrunk away from his touch. She didn't know how many sleepless nights he'd endured after he found out she was unconscious in the hospital. How much he feared that he would not be able to see her beautiful eyes open again.

Liam had many questions about Veronica's state, but first, he had to deal with the fools who came here to play pretend.

The doctor entered the room at the perfect time to answer his question.

"I paid a hefty sum to keep her away from prying eyes, did I not?" Liam asked, turning to the doctor and hospital staff that followed in.

"You did, Mr. Sterling."

"So what are these three doing here? Did I not give specific instructions that only doctors, nurses, or myself were allowed to enter? Perhaps it's time for me to invest my money elsewhere," Liam threatened.

Veronica's family were the last people Liam wanted her to see when she woke up. She wouldn't be pleased to see them and her parents knew it.

Beth stepped forward, hoping to mediate the situation, "We're here because we care about Veronica. We shouldn't argue like this, especially since she's lost her memories."

"Come now, Liam. This is still my daughter," Evelyn said as she went to the other side of Veronica's bed. She held onto Veronica's hand, refusing to let go. She didn't want Liam to get between them again. "I have a right to be here."

Liam would let her stay if she had shown interest in getting Veronica the room she needed and not made the first call about whether Veronica had died as the news had spread. "My wife only needs me now."

Veronica widened her eyes in shock. It was a wedding ring after all! 

What was more shocking than that was that this man named Liam was her husband! How could she forget? How did they get married and why was he so cold to her family?

'Why did they lie?' Veronica wondered, glancing at Beth who continued to hide the ring.

No one else tried to clarify anything. Their behaviour only raised more questions.

"Can all of you stop arguing and just tell me what's going on? I have no memories of any of you and it's… it's scaring me," Veronica said, her voice quivering.

So far, she didn't know who to trust to tell her the truth about what happened before she woke up in the hospital. 

Veronica looked at the man who claimed to be her husband. He was cold and frightening. How much did he pay for her to be in this large hospital room, cared for privately by doctors and nurses?

Who exactly did she marry?