Chapter 35

Chapter 35

As the man stepped closer, the relief in his eyes was clear. But Vivianne recoiled slightly, her body more tense than before. Though he had spoken her name with such familiarity, she couldn’t summon any memory of him. Her heart raced as confusion clouded her judgment. Who was this man? Why did he seem to know her so well when she couldn’t even remember his face?

“Viv, it’s me,” he said again, his voice softer now that he seemed to have noticed her fear. “It’s Edward.” He extended a hand toward her, but she didn’t take it. “I’m here to help you.”

But instead of comfort, his approach only deepened her terror. She instinctively took a step back. The room seemed to close in around her, and she struggled to catch her breath as she tried to make sense of the situation. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but there was nowhere to go.

“I… I don’t know you,” she stammered, her voice shaky as she tried to keep a distance between them. “How do you know my name? Why are you here?”

The man stopped in his tracks, his hand hovering in the air before he slowly lowered it, realizing how frightened she was of him. He looked at her with a mixture of desperation and heartbreak, as if her words had struck him deeply.

“It’s all right, Viv,” he said again in a soothing tone. “I don’t know what he has done to you, but I promise you, I am here to help. I’ve been looking for you.” His voice faltered and he swallowed hard, obviously in an effort to regain his composure. “I am not your enemy. Please, just trust me.”

But she couldn’t. Her memories were a tangled mess, and she didn’t know who to believe, who to trust. Her eyes darted to the open door, then back to him, weighing her options, but her mind was too clouded with fear.

She was certain that the panic in her eyes was visible. That was when he raised his hands, palms up, in a gesture of peace.

“I am not here to hurt you,” he said softly, taking a cautious step back, which caught her off guard. He was giving her space, unlike Reginald who kept invading her personal space, assuring her of safety.

The sincerity in his voice was undeniable, and something deep within her wanted to believe him. Yet fear still gripped her, leaving her paralyzed and uncertain.

“I don’t remember,” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. “I don’t remember anything…”

The man’s face softened with sympathy, and he nodded, his own eyes glistening. “What did he tell you?”

She hesitated. She had no idea whether she should be sharing anything with this man, but there was a flicker of trust that his presence kindled in her. Everything inside her screamed to run, to hide, to protect herself—but something in his eyes, in the way he spoke her name, made her want to believe him.

“That I am here for my own good,” she finally revealed. “That I need to hide.”

“From whom?” Edward asked, sounding incredulous.

“Lord Chesterfield.” She revealed the name that carried layers and layers of mystery within itself, and she wondered if she would ever discover the true meaning and the face behind it.

“Lord Chesterfield?” the man echoed. A moment later, he burst into a chuckle. That was the last thing she expected him to do, and yet it only seemed to solidify her growing conviction that he truly was not there to harm her. Otherwise, he would have done it by now.

“Do you know him?” she asked cautiously, reminding herself that it could still be a trap.

“I suppose you could say that.” He grinned. She couldn’t believe that even in this moment of tense fear, she still couldn’t escape the notion of how handsome he was, how disarming his smile.

“You either know him or you do not,” she demanded, not wanting him to think that just because they were in this situation, she would agree to be made a fool of.

“I do know him because of the simple fact that I know myself,” he said with that same smile. “I am Edward Woodhouse, the Earl of Chesterfield.”

She gasped, her eyes widening, as her heart pounded in her chest. Now, she was even less certain whether she should trust him. She didn’t know if she could trust anyone under that roof but herself.

“He told you that you had to hide from me?” he asked, sounding aghast. His smile was gone, and she mourned its presence for some reason.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“How on earth did he convince you of that?” he asked again, shaking his head. “I… I don’t understand…”

“I fell down the stairs,” she divulged, and immediately, his eyes flickered with concern.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt? Did he do that to you?” His questions cascaded onto her like an avalanche.

“I… I don’t know. I don’t remember anything, not even my own name,” she confessed, some inner light guiding her toward that man, although she didn’t recognize him and she couldn’t have known whether he was friend or foe.

He was still shaking his head, mustering to himself. “I should have known that the scoundrel might use this situation to his advantage.”

***

Edward was flabbergasted. He’d thought he had finally found Vivianne, that his search was over, that he would be able to bring her home and tell her everything that was in his heart. But instead of Vivianne, instead of his Viv, he found someone who was looking at him as if he were a stranger. The look in her eyes was one of terror, not recognition, not love and relief to be found.

He remembered her shrinking back from him, that fear etched into her features, and it cut him to the core. How that be? Was it possible that she had forgotten everything they had shared? His mind raced, but he knew it had to be the fall.

He had to find a way to reach her, to break through the fog that had stolen her memories. “Viv, think back—remember our walks in the garden, the way we used to steal kisses when no one was looking,” he pleaded, voice softening as he spoke of their past.

But she only stared at him, her confusion deepening. Her eyes searched his face as if trying to piece together the fragments of memories that refused to surface, but nothing seemed to click. It was as if everything he was saying had been wiped clean from her mind.

A wave of helplessness washed over him. How could this be happening? His heart ached with the weight of it all, the fear that he might never get her back, never get the woman he loved to recognize him again. But he couldn’t give up. He couldn’t leave her here, not in this place, not with the danger that surrounded her. He had to get her out, had to protect her, even if she didn’t know who he was.

“Viv, please,” he said, his voice breaking slightly as he tried one last time to reach her. “I know you’re scared, and I know you don’t remember right now, but I’m begging you to trust me. I would never hurt you. I’ve loved you for so long… I just want to keep you safe.”

Her eyes softened at his words, a flicker of something—pity, perhaps?—crossing her face. But still, she didn’t move toward him, didn’t show any sign that she was ready to go with him.

Edward swallowed hard, realizing that no matter what he said, she wouldn’t just agree to leave with him. Not like this, not when she couldn’t remember who he was. He would have to find another way, a way to earn her trust without overwhelming her. The weight of her amnesia was heavy, but he had to bear it. He felt as if he was losing her, as she slipped away into a void of forgotten memories, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it from happening.

Then, out of the depths of his despair, a memory surfaced—one that brought a bittersweet smile to his lips.

“You have always been and will be my windmill, Viv… you have managed to do what others could not. You challenged my ideas, my dreams, my very sense of reason. You have been the one who kept me grounded, who spun my world in a way that made life vibrant and worth fighting for. Without you, I have nothing to fight for… I have no one to call me out on my foolishness, no one to appreciate my ridiculous jokes, no one to match my wit with their own sharp retorts. You are my windmill, my challenge that made me a better man, and without you, I am lost in a world of empty battles.”

She blinked, her eyes narrowing as if trying to catch the thread of something just out of reach. The confusion on her face was palpable, but there was something else, too—something that made his heart skip a beat. A flash of recognition, a glimmer of a memory struggling to break through the fog.

“Windmill?” she echoed, the word slipping from her lips as if it were foreign to her, yet familiar in a way she couldn’t quite place.

“Yes,” Edward whispered, stepping closer, his voice trembling with hope. “My windmill. The one who challenged me, who made me see the world for what it was, not just what I imagined it to be.” He wanted to repeat the word a million times, and then a million times more, if that would mean she would remember him.

She stared at him, her eyes widening as the pieces slowly began to fall into place. The word seemed to resonate within her, pulling at the threads of lost memories, tugging at her heart. Slowly, like the first light of dawn breaking through the darkness, a realization dawned in her eyes.

“Windmill…” she whispered again, this time with more certainty, as if the word itself had unlocked something deep within her. Her gaze softened, and she looked at Edward with a mixture of wonder and recognition. “Edward… I remember…”

He felt a surge of emotion flood through him. Relief, joy, love, they were all there. He could hardly believe it, but there she was. The woman he loved was finally coming back to him, and all it had taken was one word.

“Yes, Viv,” he said, his voice thick with emotion as he reached for her hand, holding it tightly. “It’s me. I’m here, and I’m never letting you go again.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, but this time they were not tears of fear or confusion—they were tears of understanding, of relief, of finding something she’d thought she had lost forever.

“I… I remember us,” she said, her voice trembling as the memories came rushing back. “I remember the windmill… and all your ridiculous jokes.”

Edward laughed through his own tears, pulling her into a gentle embrace. “And I remember how you’d always roll your eyes at me,” he said, his voice filled with a happiness he hadn’t felt in so long. “But you always loved me for it, didn’t you?”

She nodded against his chest, her arms wrapping around him. “I did… and I still do,” she whispered, holding him tightly. “Thank you for finding me, Edward.”

“I’ll always find you, Viv,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “No matter where you are, I’ll always find you.”

Edward held her close, feeling the warmth of her body, the sound of her breath as it steadied. However, he knew that the world around them was far from safe.

“Come, we need to—”

“You ruined everything!” The screech pierced through the air like the blade of a knife.

Both Edward and Vivianne turned, and his heart leaped into his throat when Edward saw the man standing in the doorway. Reginald’s face was twisted with a mix of rage and desperation, and in his hand he held a pistol, its barrel gleaming in the dim light. Edward recognized it. That was his pistol.

“If I can’t have you, no one will!” Reginald spat, his voice trembling with madness that sent a chill down Edward’s spine. His eyes were wild, unfocused, as they darted between Edward and Vivianne, and in that moment, Edward knew that Reginald had lost all sense of reason.

He wondered if Jonathon was all right, but he had to push that thought aside for the time being. He stood in front of Vivianne, shielding her with his body. “Don’t do this, Reginald,” he said, trying to reach the man through the haze of his insanity. “Let Vivianne go, and you and I can discuss this like men.”

“I have nothing to discuss with you!” Reginald hissed as his hand trembled, the pistol aimed at both Edward and Vivianne. His grip on the gun tightened, his knuckles white as he held it. “She is mine! She was always meant to be mine!”

“Please, don’t!” Edward heard Vivianne out. “Reginald, this is not the way…”

But her words fell on deaf ears. Reginald’s expression hardened, his eyes dark with a final, terrifying resolve. “No,” he whispered, more to himself than to her. “No one else…”

And then, before anyone could react, he pulled the trigger.

The gunshot echoed through the room, deafening in its finality. Edward gasped, his body jerking as the bullet struck him. Vivianne screamed, her hands flying to her mouth as she watched in horror. Time seemed to slow as he crumpled down to the floor.

“Edward!” she cried, rushing to his side, her hands shaking as she reached out to him. His breath was ragged as he struggled to hold on.

“Viv…” he whispered, his voice faint. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner…”

As darkness slowly took over his consciousness, he could see Jonathon rushing into the room, lunging at Reginald, then wrestling him to the floor. Commotion, screams, pain… those were the last things he felt and heard as darkness claimed him.