Chapter 356
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Chapter 356:
Carmen was seated between Justin and Aaden. The little boy refused to let the nanny feed him, demanding instead that Carmen cut his steak and hand him his juice. Elbert watched the interaction from the head of the table, taking a slow sip of red wine.
“You are very natural with children, Miss Golden,” Elbert observed casually. “Do you plan on having any of your own p>
It was a standard old-money interrogation tactic. To Carmen, it was a trigger.
A blinding flash of white hospital lights exploded behind her eyes. She heard the piercing, agonizing cry of a newborn. She felt the phantom sensation of her body being torn apart.
A severe migraine struck her temple like a hammer.
Carmen gasped. Her fingers went numb. The heavy silver fork slipped from her hand and crashed onto the bone china plate with a deafening clang, shattering the quiet elegance of the room. She gripped the edge of the mahogany table, her face draining to the color of ash, unable to breathe.
𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻
Justin was out of his chair in an instant.
He moved Aaden’s chair back safely and seized Carmen by the shoulders, pulling her against his chest. He fixed Elbert with a look of pure, unadulterated fury.
“Dinner is over,” Justin said to his father, his voice a low snarl.
He bent down, lifted Carmen entirely into his arms, and carried her out of the dining room and up the grand staircase. He kicked open the door of a large guest suite and laid her gently on the center of the king-sized bed. He poured a glass of warm water from the nightstand and held it to her trembling lips.
Carmen drank, her breathing slowly returning to something resembling normal.
“I am so sorry,” Carmen whispered, tears of humiliation pricking her eyes. “I have dissociative amnesia. Questions about my past trigger these headaches p>
Justin sat on the edge of the bed. He did not look surprised.
He reached out and gently brushed a damp curl from her forehead, his fingers lingering, tracing the line of her cheekbone.
“What happened before you lost your memory, Carmen?” Justin asked, his voice a low, hypnotic whisper.
“A car crash,” Carmen said. “That is what my parents told me. I remember nothing p>
Justin leaned closer. His dark eyes locked onto hers, stripping away every defense she had.
“Do not worry,” Justin murmured, his voice thick with a dark, obsessive promise. “I am going to help you find every single piece you lost p>
Carmen stared at him. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
That was not the look of a man playing a fake boyfriend. That was the look of a man who already owned her soul.
Saturday morning. The Long Island estate was wrapped in a thick, cold mist rolling off the Atlantic.
Carmen woke in the guest suite, the crushing migraine from the night before reduced to a dull throb. She washed her face, pulled on a simple cashmere sweater, and went downstairs.
Mrs. Higgins was polishing the silver in the hallway. She kept her eyes firmly on the floor as Carmen passed, refusing to make eye contact.
“Where is Justin?” Carmen asked politely.