THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 378: You’re Getting My Brain Messed Up

"George has been there when I needed someone... You weren’t here when I needed you most, and I don’t know if you ever would be seeing you have someone who... I had to find a way to move forward, you know."

Steffan recoiled slightly as her words hit him. He completely ignored the part where she spoke about Dolly as there was a more important point which he focused on.

"I wasn’t there when you needed me most? Move forward? You’re getting my brain all messed up. What exactly are you saying?" His voice was urgent now, laced with frustration.

Lauren flinched at the frustration in his tone and drew closer.

"That’s why I said it’s complicated and this is neither the place or time to explain. Can we leave from here first?"

"Alright," Steffan said and closed the distance between them and the door. But Lauren grabbed his hand that was on the door knob before he could turn it open.

"Come with me. I know a secret door that we can take out of here to avoid the reporters."

Steffan was too happy to oblige after all that would save them precious time from having to deal with the reporters. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

They made their way to the end of the hall and Lauren, after communicating with the man manning the door, was allowed through a small door. It led to a long narrow corridor that opened up to a small garden.

It was a bit cold outside so Steffan had to drap his coat over Lauren. Apart from giving her some warmth, it also provided a disguise for her and Steffan’s hand that was flung over her shoulder came in handy as they looked like lovers on an evening stroll.

"You have to cooperate as your face is not covered," Steffan warned when he felt Lauren trying to struggle out of his embrace.

Was she that allergic to his presence? What happened to the intense kiss they had shared at his office some weeks back?

Lauren took him to a part of the garden where a door covered in lush green sleeping flowers was located and gently opened it. She sported a few reporters in the distance as they emerged on the road at the back of the expo center.

Probably because they weren’t expecting anyone to come out through that place, they paid no attention to them.

Steffan’s driver arrived not long after and they boarded the car in peace.

Lauren was taken back as Steffan gave the driver her address without asking her. Did he remember?

"How do you know where I live?"

Steffan didn’t know either since it was the first time he was taking Lauren to her house and no one had told him her address. He just mentioned it impulsively and was surprised it was the right address frok Lauren’s reaction.

"What sort of question is that? Wouldn’t it be strange if I don’t know where the woman I am interested in lives?" He retorted.

"Oh," Lauren just said. She must have been overthinking. He must have asked his family members.

"So what’s your explanation? Why do you speak and act the way you do to me?" Steffan asked.

"And don’t you dare tell me this time around that I can’t take it because I honestly don’t understand why no one’s been honest with me since I regained consciousness.

You’ve kept me in the dark, while it seems everyone around you already knows where I stand, or don’t stand in your life."

Lauren’s lips trembled, the conflict in her eyes deepening. "Because it wasn’t about keeping you in the dark. We wanted to figure things out, and couldn’t do that while you were still... fragile. We didn’t want to overwhelm you with everything, not while you were still recovering."

Steffan’s eyes flashed with hurt at the same time with determination. "Fragile? Overwhelm me?" Was he that pathetic that every hik would treat him like a child?

’I seemed to be doing a lot of repetition today,’ he thought as he leaned towards Lauren who was still seated in the car with him.

"Don’t you think I’m strong enough to handle the truth, Lauren? Or is this really about you not wanting to face the truth yourself?"

Lauren felt like laughing. The only truth she was afraid to face was that he might have a relapse after knowing the truth, but like doctor Sulivan had said, it was about time and he wasn’t that fragile to handle the truth as they had all feared.

She would have cleared the air since but they’ve not been able to see because of their busy schedules.

"You’re right. I’ve been avoiding this conversation because... because I’m scared. Scared that if I tell you everything, I’ll lose you. And I can’t..." She cut herself off as her voice started to crack.

"Lose me?" Steffan’s voice softened slightly, confusion mingling with his frustration. "What do you mean by that?"

Lauren swallowed, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "There’s something you don’t remember, Steffan. Something important."

"That’s no longer news, I know there are a lot of important things I don’t remember right now. Why don’t you fill me in once and for all," he said impatiently.

"Before everything happened, on the day you had the accident, we were in a church auditorium, standing in front of the priest and were about to get married," Lauren seized the moment to directly say.

"But the accident interrupted the wedding before you lost your memory... you were my fiancé, Steffan," she literally screamed that last part and instead of the relief she had hoped to feel after letting the huge burden off her chest, she was exhausted.

Her words hung in the air like a bombshell, shattering the tension between them.

Steffan on the other hand, froze, his mind reeling as he tried to process what he had just heard. "Fiancé?" he echoed, disbelief etched across his features. "We were engaged?"

"Yes," Lauren whispered, anger and anguish clear in her expression. "You promised to love me forever and we were so happy that we were about to start our own family ... until the accident."

"But then you lost your memory in the process and everything fell apart. You didn’t remember me, didn’t remember us! How was I to live with that?!"

By this time the tears were flowing freely from Lauren’s eyes.

The memories of that day... their almost-wedding, the happiness in his eyes as he had looked at her, waiting for the priest to pronounce them husband and wife and the way everything came crashing down in an instant, all came rushing back to her.

And now, saying it out loud felt like ripping open wounds she had barely managed to stitch together.

"I didn’t know how to cope with it, especially when you flaunted that bitch in front of me every time we met, so I distanced myself. And in that distance, George... well, he became someone I could lean on when I felt like I’d lost you."

Steffan felt a strange numbness settle over him as the revelation sunk in.

His world felt like it was collapsing in on itself as Lauren’s words echoed in his mind: ’You were my fiancé, Steffan.’