Emily’s Dilemma: Seduced by Billionaire Brothers

“Emily, how you feeling?” Ethan asked, his heart tucked unto his sleeve as he approached her with hope shimmered in his eyes. She looked at him, a flicker of recognition in her eyes and she took the hand he held out to her.

“A little confused” she said to him “What happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Jackson said this time walking forward and she looked at him, her confusion doubling. She looked from Ethan to the weird guy speaking to her before she pointed at him, consumed by her curiousity, she asked

“Who are you?”

The air stilled

Jackson paused, a storm collecting within the lines of his chiseled face.

“What!” He said in shock, dividing his pained expression between Ethan and the doctor who was studying Emily now

“It’s Jackson” Ethan said and Emily shook her head painfully

“I don’t remember, I don’t remember much. It’s like that part of my memory is blocked”

Jackson rushed towards her now, the strangeness of her expression sending daggers through his chest, he picked her hands “what exactly do you remember?” He asked and she shrugged, pulling her hand from his hold. She could see the pain in his expression, hell she could even feel it and it consumed her, confused her even. Why was it so important that she remembered him.

“Think hard” Jackson pressed, the desperation in his voice as raw as a wound, his soul laid bare before unseeing eyes and Emily’s puzzled silence answered the cacophony of his dread. The absence of recognition was a chasm that widened with each passing second-one no amount of longing could bridge. Jackson’s expression crumbled, the visage of a man watching the remnants of his love story dissolve into the ether.

“Emily!” Jackson pressed harder and Ethan pulled him by the shoulder.

“Chill out man” Ethan said, pulling him away from Emily. “Give her some time”

“You must be so giddy right now, aren’t you” Jackson threw him a dirty look

“Not right now” Ethan warned before turning back to the doctor “So what does this mean? Are her memories gone forever? What’s next?”

“We’re still going to run more tests and scan to isolate this kind of amnesia, we’ll keep her for some time to create the best treatment plan and physical therapy to help her retrieve her memories-”

“I can’t do this” Jackson said suddenly and walking out of the room, the door clicking shut with an air of finality. His fists clenched at his side, his knuckles whitening to match the walls that felt too close. A ting of anger simmered beneath his stoic exterior, his jaw set in a hard line that could not restrain the tremors of despair that threatened to undo him.

How could she not remember him?

Suddenly he felt his pocket, the cold metal of Emily’s crimson bracelet bit into the iciness of him palm. He couldn’t believe he took that bracelet with him everywhere, a symbol of the unattainable bond he shared with Emily.

Jackson’s gait was as unsteady as his spirit as he strode away from the room, the walls seemed to whisper of broken promises and fragmented memories as he made his way outside the hospital to the parking lot, where his car was parked.

He gazed still at the bracelet, its shiny surface catching the sterile light, mocking him with its useless beauty. With a sudden, raw release of his anguish, he let the bracelet fall, and he walked away without even a glance back.

****

“Hello sister” Emily said, a genuine smile on her face as she looked at Anita, who mirrored an opposite reaction, the shock clearly written on her face.

“You remember that?” Ethan said to Emily

“You know!?” Anita added “For how long”

“I found out recently, how did you find out?” Emily asked back and Anita dipped her hands into her pocket to fish out the letter and hand it to Emily.

“I found this in my father’s study” she said and Emily took the letter from her, skimming through the contents, even with the dull headache brewing at the back of her head.

“I guess my mother sent this” Emily said, giving the letter back.

“Why? Why would she do that, she could be bloody lying for all I know. A sister? As if!” Anita scoffed.

“Hey! I don’t want to be your sister either and my mother was an aspiring actress, hope that makes more sense now”

Anita stayed quiet for a moment before she spoke “still it doesn’t change anything, you absolutely cannot come out about this, my father cannot know”

“I had no intention of doing that, and you wouldn’t know if you weren’t snooping”

“I wasn’t snooping -”

“Then how the hell did you find the letter?”

Anita was about to bite back when Ethan cut in, coming in between them

“Ladies, bickering like sisters already” he said and Anita rolls her eyes “She wishes”

“And you” She turned to Ethan now “Doesn’t all these look familiar”

“What does?”

“You damn well know what I’m on about” she said “A girl you claim to love but you actually don’t, and you know a hospital gown”

Ethan’s eyes widened in recognition

“Its not the same thing and that was a long time ago”

Anita studied him and she smiled but not the genuine kind, the kind that bore animosity “Amelia Sinclair”

“Don’t say her name” Ethan said through gritted teeth, his jaw setting and wishing she would just drop it.

“You played your part in that too, you’re not completely blameless”

“And that’s why we belong together Ethan”

“Guys!! I’m not totally invincible” Emily voiced out from where she lay and Anita threw her an icy look.

“You should leave now” Ethan said, pulling her by her arm and guiding her out the door without a final word. He turned back to Emily who bore a questioning gaze

“Who’s Amelia Sinclair?”