Julian felt empty and trapped. His body felt familiar and, at the same time, unfamiliar to him. He had a pounding headache and a sinking feeling in his chest.
The fact that he couldn't recall anything added to his frustration. Every attempt to remember who he was proved unsuccessful. It was as if he was lost in a fog.
He was only sure about one thing at the moment: the thought of hospitals stirred a deep-seated revulsion within him, but he couldn't remember why.
The scent of antiseptic and the beeping of his heart monitor made him restless and uncomfortable. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
Across the room, he eyed the woman responsible for his predicament with resentment.
From her explanation about the incident, he grudgingly admitted to himself that they were both at fault, despite his desire to place all the blame on her.
The woman gazed at him in anticipation, and he could sense a bit of guilt in her brown doe eyes, making it hard for him to yell at her even if he desperately wanted to.
He cursed his rotten luck. If she had looked a bit haughtier, it would have been so much easier to vent his anger. But her innocent face made it difficult.
Damn her and her doe eyes!
"So, what do you remember?" The doctor, who introduced herself as Riley, asked with concern.
In a single glance, he knew there was a relation between her and the doe-eyed woman.
He massaged his forehead with a frown. "No, just my name, Julian. That's all." He sighed; his voice tinged with frustration. "Can I leave soon?"
"Soon, sir. Your amnesia is normal since you hit your head pretty hard—"
"When am I going to regain my memories?"
"It could take a few days, weeks, or even months. We don't know for sure, but I'll prescribe some drugs that would help." Riley answered.
Julian reeled from the information. He could probably be like this for months. What was he supposed to do until then? He couldn't even remember where his home was.
A thought entered his head, and he inwardly smirked. It was Ms. Doe-eye's fault he was in this position; it was only right she bore the brunt of it.
He turned to Alex, his eyes hard and piercing. "Alexandra," He called, then arched a brow, "That's your name, isn't it?"
Alex nodded. "Yes, that's right, but I prefer Alex."
"Call the police…Alexandra," He enunciated, ignoring her last statement. "I'm pressing charges for attempted murder."
Alex froze in place, her heart skipping a beat as her mouth fell open in shock. She had just spent the last thirty minutes explaining the accident to him.
How could he still accuse her of attempted murder?
She stepped closer and stood beside his bed. He lifted his head, arching a brow at her.
"It was an accident. You stepped into the road without looking," she said through gritted teeth.
"I refuse to believe I'd be that careless," Julian shot back. "You're a lousy driver, and I'm the victim here. I'm the one with a head injury, while you're perfectly fine."
"That doesn't mean I wanted to kill you," she said, exasperated. Letting out a sharp breath, she added, "Why don't we come to an agreement? I'll cover all your expenses, and you drop the charges."
"Covering my expenses isn't enough," Julian replied, his tone laced with mock indignation. "I can't function properly because of you. You practically maimed me." His lips curled into a small smirk as he watched Alex grow more flustered. "How am I supposed to take care of myself now?"
Alex paused, rubbing her temple. Unfortunately, he made a valid point. "Fine, you can stay with me until you get better," she relented, sighing in defeat.
Julian smiled, nodding in satisfaction. "If you insist." He watched with delight as realization dawned on her face—she had just been outsmarted.
He wasn't sure what had come over him, but he thoroughly enjoyed tricking her. After all, he had nowhere else to go because of her. It was only fair that she took care of him until he was fine.
As Julian watched Alex and Riley leave the room, a satisfied smile tugged at his lips. He closed his eyes, hoping to soothe his pounding head.
*
Meanwhile, Alex was still reeling from the realization that she had fallen right into his trap.
"Did you see that? He totally did that on purpose," she muttered, her tone laced with frustration.
Riley noticed the serious look on her face and frowned. "Taking him home with you is a terrible idea. What if he's a serial killer?"
Alex doubted Julian was a killer. He didn't give off that vibe, and she trusted her instincts above all else. Still, her concerns drifted elsewhere.
"What if he has a wife waiting for him at home?" she asked, her voice tinged with unease.
Riley shook her head, exhaling a sigh. "He wasn't wearing a ring, and there's no tan line on his finger. I doubt he's in a relationship." She gave Alex a pointed look. "Are you sure you want to do this, Alex?"
"Riley, I stole someone's car and ran into a person with it, after which I wrecked and smashed that car. Going to the police will get me arrested and destroy my business. This is a risk I need to take."
Riley hugged her friend and pouted. "I'll pray for you, Sis. Don't get yourself killed."
Alex laughed. "I won't."
After that, Riley went on to see her other patients while Alex got Julian discharged, which took a generous amount from her bank account.
With the remaining change she had left, she bought some clothes for Julian before taking him home with her.
The car ride back to her apartment consisted of her throwing subtle glances at him and asking if he remembered any of the places they were driving through while he ignored her existence, looking out of the window.
When he finally opened his mouth to speak, his demand took aback her. "I want compensation for the hardship you're putting me through." He scowled at her.
"C-Compensation?" Her eyes twitched in annoyance. She was literally on her last dollar and he was asking for compensation? "I'll be taking care of you for the next few days, maybe weeks. That's enough compensation."
"No, it's not." Julian retorted, sitting up in his seat to turn to her, his blue eyes peering into her. "Listen, I may not recall anything about my life, but I'm sure I'm not someone ordinary. You ran me over and I need to be compensated for my losses."
"What do you want?"
"I'll think about it."
"I should have left you there to die." She murmured under her breath.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
"No, you said something."
"Forget it."
They squabbled the rest of the ride until they got to her apartment.
Alex lived on one of the expensive sides of town. When her business skyrocketed, she moved from her former shady apartment to a better complex to spoil herself a little.
Looking at her luxurious apartment proudly, she was confident Julian would be more than comfortable with her.
Arriving at her floor, she opened her door and beamed, stretching her arms wide. "You like?" she wiggled her brows in excitement.
Julian's eyes wandered around the house with a judgmental look. The pace was clean and had a fresh feeling to it. But he felt like he could do better than a place like this. While others might consider this pretty great, he was dissatisfied.
"It's not terrible, I guess." He shrugged and pushed her aside to sit on the couch. Resting a hand on his face, he asked, "Where is my room? I'm tired."
Unable to hide her disbelief, she sneered, narrowing her eyes at him. He responded with an arrogant look of his own.
Scoffing, she left to clean the guest room where he would be staying.
"Ungrateful jerk."
"I heard that."
"Good." She snapped before leaving.
After making sure his room was clean, she led him to the guest room. "You'll be staying here. My room is opposite yours."
"Okay," He said, walking deeper into the room to inspect it. He paused and turned to her, looking at her from top to bottom with a blank look.
Alex took a tentative step back, narrowing her eyes at him. She recalled Riley's words about him being a serial killer or rapist and panicked. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to bring an unknown man to her house.
"Don't even think about it. Touch me, and I'll kill you."
Catching her undertone of wariness, Julian's face morphed into that of disdain. "Get your head out of the gutter. You're not even my type. I'm more worried about you molesting vulnerable me."
Alex's mouth hung open in disbelief before she let out a scoff. Molest him? What exactly did he think of her? Yes, he was good-looking, but it did not give him the right to be a narcissistic jerk. If he didn't already have amnesia, she would have smacked him in the head.
Rolling her eyes, she said. "Whatever. There is a spare toothbrush and a towel in the bathroom. And I'll go shopping to buy more clothes for you soon."
"Okay," He shrugged and waved her away. "Now leave. I need rest."
Ignoring his rude comment, she closed the door behind her and headed to her room. She wasn't in a mood to argue with him, already feeling overwhelmed by everything around her.
Getting to her room, a wave of nostalgia hit her as the first thing she smelt was Chad's cologne. The room was a mess—clothes on the floor and makeup everywhere—from her excitement to meet Chad the previous night.
She couldn't stand the sight of the reminder. She needed to do a thorough cleaning of the entire apartment to get rid of his stench. Maybe after that, she would feel a little bit better.