Summary: Elizabeth attempts to recover what she’s lost but conflicting memories and mixed messages only lead her to more confusion and a rash decision.
‘Welcome home.’
Hana swung open the huge double doors, before gesturing cheerily as she did so. Elizabeth stared warily at the expansive interior of her Atlantean mansion – castle really- taking in the grandeur of the main foyer alone.
It had been almost a month since she’d woken up from the coma and Dr Jillian had recently given the all clear for her to be released from hospital.
‘H-how long do you think it will take for my memories to come back?’ She’d asked tentatively during her final checkup.
The doctor’s eyes took on an apologetic look. ‘It is hard to say Your Grace. It could take weeks or months, maybe even years. Some people don’t recover at all…’
Elizabeth had drawn in a sharp breath at that before Dr Jillian rushed to reassure her. ‘Those cases are quite rare, I can assure you. What you need right now is to return to your normal schedule as soon as possible. Once you’re back in your natural rhythm, the rest of your memory should follow.’
This created a bit of a problem since Elizabeth hadn’t really had a consistent schedule before her accident due to the travelling during the Social Season, Engagement Tour and until recently the Unity Tour. They had remained without a solution until Hana suggested they return to her duchy in Atlantea, volunteering to stay with her while she recuperated. Seeing no other solution, Elizabeth had hesitantly agreed because what better option was there?
‘Come on,’ Hana chirped now, pulling her out of her thoughts and when Elizabeth stared into her bright eyes, she detected a knowing look as the other woman regarded her. ‘You’ll feel better after the tour and a warm shower.’
Not long after, Elizabeth stood in her dressing room contemplating what she was going to wear from the large selection of formal outfits and designer wear stocked in the cupboards.
At the time coming to her new duchy had seemed like a good idea but now being in a strange unfamiliar place seemed to overwhelm her the more she thought about it. This entire estate, castle, forest and all was meant to be hers as a duchess, but she found that hard to believe since she couldn’t even remember being appointed duchess in the first place.
Everything about this unknown life everyone told her she’d lived made her uneasy. She’d apparently seen and done so many different things but it was all a blur to her. Those around her, Liam, Hana, Maxwell, though they tried to hide it she could still feel the weight of their expectations on her shoulders. Elizabeth saw it in their eyes when they first entered the room, that glimmer of hope that she’d miraculously regained her memory only to be dashed when realisation that nothing had changed, it was all too familiar to her now. They seemed like good people, her friends. She wished she could be the person they needed her to be. There was a kingdom that needed her too, a monarchy hinging its slim chance of survival in the face of political turmoil on a choice that she couldn’t even remember making.
The longer she stared at her reflection, the more the feelings of shame and guilt seemed to be taking over. She felt like such a sham, a trespasser, a fraud living another person’s life… A successful duchess on the brink of a marriage that would have stabilised an entire country but all she saw when she looked in the mirror was the waitress.
‘Is this still me?’ Elizabeth wondered out loud. ‘Am I still me?’
She stared into her reflection again, more blurry this time as tears filed her eyes and her legs gave way. A pair of hands slid around her shoulders, pulling her into a side hug.
Hana.
‘You’re still you,’ she soothed, holding Elizabeth as she sobbed. ‘You’re still you,’ she repeated, rubbing her back gently.
‘What if I never remember Hana?’ Elizabeth cried, shoulders shaking as she gulped for air. ‘What happens then? With the wedding and the Unity tour and Liam and‘
‘I know it seems like a lot but you don’t have to do this alone okay?,’ Hana cut in. ‘You’ve got me and Maxwell and Liam to help you out. And if you never remember, it won’t be the worst thing in the world..’
‘I find that hard to believe,’ she replied bitterly.
‘Hey, hey we’re not giving up yet,’ Hana told her. ‘Lets give it our best shot to job your memory. If it doesn’t work, you get to pick who you want to be. And we’ll all support you for it no matter what.’
As her sobs died down, Elizabeth considered Hana’s words and finally lifted her head to look at her. ‘Thank you Hana. I wish I knew what I did to deserve a friend like you.’
Her friend beamed at her. ‘We’ll soon find out. I have an idea that might help you to remember. But first,’ she rose and extended a hand to Elizabeth. ‘Let’s get you dressed.’
‘Thats just it,’ Elizabeth replied after standing up. ‘I can’t find anything to wear… At least anything that will cover these..’ She gestured limply to the dozens of scars that littered her limbs, voice barely above a whisper now. ‘They’re hideous… I’m…’
‘Elizabeth…’ Hana began, eyes soft and kind. Catching the message, she turned to the closet and plucked out a red long sleeved maxi dress, presenting it to her. ‘Will this do?’
Hana made quick work of helping her into the dress, swiftly pulling up the zipper and turned her around to see the finished look.
‘Hows that?’ Her friend asked, stepping back proudly.
In the last few weeks, Elizabeth been actively avoiding any kind of reflective surface, repulsed by what she knew she would find. She didn’t want to but risked a glance into the mirror anyway, rubbing her arms hesitantly. Hana’s choice was perfect, the long sleeves and skirt covering the offending marks without it looking awkward. For the first time since her accident, Elizabeth felt slightly reassured about the person she saw looking back.
‘Its perfect,’ she breathed but suddenly a strange tingle bloomed in the base of her skull. She shook her head reflexively but the sensation only grew, fast and more vivid now.
There was a dress. It was red.
A unique design. Someone’s hands were on her back. Helping her zip it up. Hana.
There was a dress. It was red.
‘It will need to be fitted of course… but what do you think?’
As clear as day inner minds eye Elizabeth saw herself in a fitted Chinese style red dress. Was this.. a memory?
Hana, its amazing! I can’t believe you designed this for me.
Well what can I say… I thought it’d look good on you.
The boutique room spins briefly… She’s twirling now.
You look beautiful. I’m just glad you like it.
‘Elizabeth are you okay?’ She heard Hana ask sounding far away, tone laced with worry as the spinning in her head began to stop.
The entire scene came back to her: They were in a boutique in Shanghai. A stop on the Engagement Tour. Hana had made her a dress. She’d designed it specially for her with the help of her designers her family knew.
‘Um..’ she garbled, holding a hand to her head. ‘I-I think so… I think… I think I just remembered something.’
Hana peered at her, concern and curiosity etched on her pretty face. ‘What was it?’
Elizabeth blinked, trying to keep hold of the memory before it could escape her. ‘Us… In Shanghai.. There was dress you made me… It was red.’
Hana’s eyes grew round. ‘That’s right.. Elizabeth..you’re remembering!’ she gasped in delight.
‘I guess I am,’ she replied weakly while her friend bounced with glee taking her hand and leading her to the study.
‘Come on,’ Hana urged. ‘I have the best idea to help you remember.’
Hana’s idea, while helpful and well meant, turned out to pose more questions than it answered. Elizabeth stared at the table before her while chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully. Strewn across its surface was a large collection of newspaper clippings, photographs, articles and other bits of paraphernalia. She’d been in the study for hours over the last few days with Hana putting them together into a sort of timeline to help her recollect what she did and didn’t remember.
It began to grow more and more apparent as they continued in their endeavour that there was a vast amount she was missing, they were able to pin her memory loss to the early stages of the social season. Thats why Hana had told her, she only remembered Drake as sarcastic and brash. But now that the evidence was all out in front of her, Elizabeth found it hard to believe she could have forgotten this much.
Her fingers brushed the closest photo on the table – a picture of her and Liam in front of the marina with a collection of yachts. It was a beautiful shot, the sun high in the sky at just the right angle, reflecting off the water in the background. Elizabeth looked at herself raised on her tiptoes as she pressed a kiss to Liam’s cheek while he grinned. She had been told it was just for a media photo op but she couldn’t help looking at the broad grin on Liam’s face as he faced the camera.
He doesn’t look like he was faking that.
…neither do I…
The photos with Liam were mostly consistent until the night of the Homecoming ball. After that it seemed like a switch had been flipped, every photo was of her and Drake.
Elizabeth held a hand to her head, she really needed to talk to him, find out what happened, what was responsible for that sudden change. Her fingers were already reaching for her phone, locating Drake’s name when she paused, momentarily hesitating with her thumb hovering over the green button.
What if he didn’t come?
She didn’t know if he would even want to see him after the last time they were in each other’s presence. Hell she didn’t know what she knew. There’s only one way to find out…
Tapping the screen, she held the phone up to her ear but as it kept ringing and ringing the sinking feeling in her stomach only grew bigger. Before it could go to voicemail, Elizabeth ended the call, slumping down by the phone, head in her hands, fighting tears back.
He hates me. God he must hate me she thought, picturing that day in the hospital again. She didn’t blame him really. Why had she even expected him to answer? He wasn’t at her beck and call. Elizabeth knew Drake had every right to ignore her after she had been so cruel. He wanted nothing to do with her.
‘Elizabeth?’ Hana’s voice echoed through the study. ‘Are you alright?’
‘Yeah just fine,’ she replied, hastily wiping the tears away before her friend could see them.
But Hana was more perceptive than she gave her credit, her eyes sliding down to the unlocked device that still had Drake’s contact open. Elizabeth grabbed the phone slipping it into her pocket and pushed past her friend.
‘I’ll be in my room.’
A few hours, one large headache and two painkillers later, Elizabeth heard a tentative knock at her door. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, running a hand over her tear-stained face and taking a deep breath before answering.
‘Come in Hana.’
The door slid open to reveal not her best friend but..
‘Drake?’ His name had slipped off her tongue even before she realised it. Alarm coursed through her body at his sudden appearance. He was here?
‘Hey Richm-Elizabeth,’ he mumbled, eyes seeming to look everywhere but at her.
‘What are you doing here?’ She asked, a tad more forcefully than she’d meant it to be.
‘Hana called me.’ Drake seemed to shrink back at her question and began to retreat. ‘If you want I can leave…’
‘No,’ she burst out more forcefully than she had intended. ‘We should talk about this. Maybe over a cup of tea?’
‘Yeah that would be nice.’ He nodded hollowly.
The silence between them lasted until they were sitting in her parlour from opposite sofas, both awkwardly clasping their respective teacups. Now that she had gotten a chance to calm down, Elizabeth took a second to take in the man the photographs claimed to be her fiancé. Dressed in a chambray shirt with a white undershirt and faded jeans, even she had to admit he looked very handsome in a rugged kind of way.
Upon closer inspection however, other things suddenly seemed to stand out to her. Unruly hair, mismatched socks, his shirt incorrectly buttoned as if it had been done in a hurry. Closer still and her eyes landed on his collarbone where a dark purple bruise peeked out from under his shirt and he seemed to be favouring his left shoulder. Moving her gaze upwards, Drake’s dark eyes were bloodshot, face worn and tired as if he’d only gotten a couple of hours of sleep and Elizabeth found herself asking him:
‘Drake… um… a-are you alright?’ She immediately chastised herself. ‘I’m sorry that was a stupid question..’ She caught a flicker of hurt in his gaze before he looks away, dark eyes seeming to be fastened to the carpet.
‘No its fine. Uh yeah… it was kind of a rough night.’
‘Oh.’ Her heart went out to him. Before this moment Elizabeth would have said that she was the only one affected by her accident but sitting here with him right in front of her, he looked like he’d ages ten years more than the man she saw in the photographs. for the first time she pondered how he had been affected. She wanted to say something, anything to comfort him, apologise maybe for being so selfish but the words wouldn’t come.
‘I tried to call you earlier,’ she said finally, breaking the awkward silence.
Drake’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You did?’
‘Um yeah. M-maybe your phone must have been off or something…’ she trailed off before checking herself and continuing on with renewed vigour. ‘But thats not the point… You see Hana’s been helping me put together a kind of…uh timeline I guess starting from when I came to Cordonia.’
‘I see.’ He nodded carefully, considering this information. ‘Not a bad idea.’
It was Elizabeth’s turn to nod, feeling less and less confident with each second that passed. ‘I-I just find it hard to… I mean… It was a bit hard to piece together the story from a bunch of press photographs. I had so many questions so I thought the best idea would be to talk to you… given that we..’
He nodded again, picking up her meaning. ‘Ask away I guess.’
Elizabeth was stunned for a moment, she hadn’t been expecting him to be so open about it. ‘Uhh okay… Maybe you could tell me about our first date. How did that go?’
Drake hesitated. ‘We…uh… we never really went on any dates…’
That surprised Elizabeth. How could they have not- Maybe there was more to it than she was seeing. She gave him another chance.
‘Okayyy then how did our entire relationship work?’
‘I don’t know…’ he replied, running a hand through his hair as he thought. ‘It just did I guess.’
There was that hesitation on his face again. And this time she really was confused, her mind searching desperately for an explanation. Was he kidding or just being stubborn or- She looked at Drake again, his expression told her he was being entirely serious. Elizabeth twisted a piece of her hair between her fingers and she frantically thought.
‘I don’t understand…’ she finally said, rising to her feet.. ‘The press photographs, you and all our friends say we were engaged but we never went on dates? How did that even work?’
‘It all happened in between all the craziness in the social season and on the engagement tour,’ Drake told her, eyes following her as she paced up and down. ‘I-I can’t explain it but we just started talking and as time went on we stole little moments to ourselves.’
Elizabeth continued her pacing as she turned over this new piece of information before stopping and looking at him. ‘Do you have proof of that? Any photos or videos we took together?’
The look on his face said it all. He didn’t say a word and she knew the answer. ‘We didn’t take any photographs? Seriously? Are you sure?’
Drake shrugged limply. ‘We were kind of always too busy with other things than to take photos.’ Her mind was reeling at this point and she grabbed onto the sofa arm for support as she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to comprehend.
‘So you expect me to believe I just agreed to marry you? Just like that?’ She felt her voice grow shriller with each word. ‘No dates or photos or y’know cute couple-y things people usually do..?’
He opened his mouth to speak but Elizabeth barrelled on, pacing faster now.
‘What about my family, my parents? Surely you had to get my father’s blessing before you asked right? You definitely told them right?’
She paused staring at him, hoping to find something, anything – she didn’t even know what she was looking for when she glanced at him – but Drake’s face told her the truth. Elizabeth’s eyes bugged of her head.
‘You mean my family doesn’t know?! You mean to tell me we-I didn’t tell them we were getting married?’
Drake cut in then, attempting to fix the situation. ‘Well you never talked about them so I assumed you weren’t clos-‘
‘That’s besides the point!’ she cut him off, almost yelling now. ‘I’m Indian! My entire family is Indian! There are rules about these things Drake! We don’t just go running off into foreign countries and marrying people we’ve never met, there’s a process!’
She panted for a second. ‘I highly doubt that I would agree to marry someone I’d never gone on a date with, never taken any photos with, never brought home to meet my parents and my grandmother,’ she ticked them off her fingers as she talked, clearly rambling now. ‘Oh my god my grandmother would flip if she heard that I was marrying a white boy! She’s always been so particular about the kind of guys I dated and she- You’re not even listening to me!’
Elizabeth shouted at Drake who was still seated, thumbing vigorously through his phone. She opened her mouth, ready to really rip into him when he left to his feet and shoved the device to her face.
‘You wanted proof?’ he exclaimed. ‘Here’s proof.’
As she examining the photo for a couple of seconds, Elizabeth feel the bulk of her anger slowly dissipate. ‘Y-you said we didn’t take pictures?’
Drake shook his head. ‘We didn’t but Maxwell sure did. He was obsessed with making his little scrapbooks and even though I hate them, he somehow managed to get this one of us together…’
In spite of herself, Elizabeth felt a tiny hesitant smile grow. ‘I look happy there… We look happy…’
When she looked back at him, Drake wore a similar expression. ‘Elizabeth… I know this all looks fishy and you’re probably really confused but I can tell you we were very happy together. You were…’
He paused, voice cracking. ‘Before you… Before you, I never really had someone I wanted to please so badly. Believe me when I say I’ll do anything to see you smile and know that I was the cause.’
Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply but suddenly the tingly feeling in her head was back. Those words felt familiar… Where had she heard them from?
Suddenly her mind was filled with the sight of a hot tub… in the mountains..? She could practically feel the warmth of the water contrasting with the cold air against her skin.
She was in Lythikos. In a hot tub.
With Liam.
She saw it clearly now: both of them in their underwear in the warm water.
Before you, I never really had someone I wanted to please so badly. Believe me when I say I’ll do anything to see you smile and know that I was the cause.
‘Liam, she was saying, feeling his hand stroking her arm.
‘You make me want so many things, Elizabeth… So many things I can’t have. But I have to be careful.’
‘Careful?’
Liam’s blue eyes were serious. ‘I’d never forgive myself if I…I hurt you in anyway.’
‘I know what I’m getting myself into. Besides,’ – Elizabeth heard the mischievous tone in her voice now – ‘Sometimes being naughty if more fun.’
Liam chuckled at this. ‘Something about you makes me as fearless as you are. Maybe thats why I am drawn to you.’
His words ignited a magnetic pull between them and giving in, she leaned forward, closing the gap. Her lips were on his, her hand reaching up to caress his cheek as his arms came around her back. He just felt so right as if that was the only thing in the world that would ever make sense. Something made her never want to stop kissing him but eventually he pulled away, stroking her hair out of her face, the look in his eyes unmistakable…
Suddenly Drake’s voice pulled her out of the memory.
‘Woah Elizabeth, you okay there?’ He sounded so different, full of concern and just so so..different. ‘You kinda spaced for a second. What happened?
‘Drake…’ she gasped as he guided her to sit down. ‘I… I have to go.’
‘What?’ He questioned, clearly confused. ‘Go where?’
‘I-I remembered something,’ she told him standing up. She needed to find Liam. They needed to talk. She had to know-
‘Wait,’ Drake’s arm closed around her wrist, keeping her in place. ‘What did you remember?’
Elizabeth shook her head. ‘Liam… He-he said… I just… I need to talk to him now.’
‘Elizabeth wait!’ His grasp remained firm. ‘What else do you remember? If you remember this you must be able to remember more. More about us… More about me!’
She was getting desperate now, thoughts of Liam filling her mind. Why couldn’t he just let her go? ‘I’m sorry Drake but I have to go now. Let go! Please.’
‘No! C’mon Richmond, you at least have to try!’ HIs voice was thick with emotion as they played a kind of tug of war with her arm as she struggled to be free of his grip.
‘Let go Drake,’ she yelled. ‘You’re hurting me!’
At this he released her and without a backwards glance, Elizabeth took off toward the door determined to get to the palace.
I’m coming for you Liam…
Before she knew it, Elizabeth was at the door to Liam’s study in the palace, having been chauffeured by her driver. She’d reached the palace, and frantically asking for Liam a confused maid had directed here. Now that she was standing here, she felt suddenly apprehensive. Less than 10 minutes ago she was ready to go in guns blazing but now she just couldn’t bring herself to open the door, she probably would have stood there in a tangle of thoughts for hours if Liam himself hadn’t opened the door on his way out.
‘Liam!’
‘Elizabeth.’ His voice equally astonished. ‘What a surprise. Please come in.’
‘Did I disturb you?’ She asked after he ushered her to a seat across from the big mahogany wood desk between them.
‘Not at all,’ He reassured her with a smile, voice gentle like in her memory. ‘I was just about to go for a walk. I’ve been stuck in here all day and needed a break. ‘To what do I know the pleasure?’
She gulped once before answering. ‘I remembered something… About us.’
His smile faded. ‘Oh.’
‘I’m so confused Liam,’ she exclaimed, jumping up from her chair and pacing in front of his desk. ‘The media, the photographs, the articles, everyone tells me that I was engaged to Drake but I just… It doesn’t make sense… Apparently we never went on dates or anything. We don’t even have any photos together,’ — she gestured with her hands to make her point— ‘And I… I just don’t understand it… I’m so confused. It all makes no sense… I just feel that I’m going crazy.’
Liam got up from his seat and came to stand in front of her, hands bracing her shoulders. ‘You’re not crazy.’
‘It sure feels like that,’ she sighed. ‘Everyone is telling me one thing but my heart is telling me another and I have no idea which one to listen to. Do you know what I mean?’ She asked meekly, looking up into his eyes.
‘I do,’ Liam whispered just as quietly, gaze moving downwards for the briefest second before coming back up to hers and she found an unspoken pain swimming in the blue of his irises. ‘I know exactly what you mean..’
She held the eye contact for a long moment before her gaze landed on his lips and in a flash that magnetic pull was back again and she couldn’t help but step towards him.
‘Elizabeth how much do you remember?’ His voice held a slight warning but he didn’t move away from her.
Elizabeth took another step towards him. ‘Enough to know that I want you.’
Liam sighed, pulling away from her, his voice pained when he spoke. ‘If that’s what you remember then its not enough…’
Elizabeth couldn’t believe what she was hearing and her posture slumped as pain arced through her. ‘Do you not want me then? Is that what you’re trying to say..’
His blonde head jerked up. ‘Elizabeth.. no! In fact its just the opposite. I want you… I want you so badly.’
He wants me. She moved closer, regain the space she’d lost when he moved away, close enough to put her hands on either side of his face. ‘I want you too Liam.’
Liam’s eyes filled with tears as he covered her hands with his larger ones. ‘You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear that…but it wouldn’t… It wouldn’t be right.’
His words resounded deeply in her and in her heart she knew he was right.
‘You’re right,’ she repeated out loud, dropping her hands from his face. ‘I’ll just go now, I shouldn’t have even come in the first place.’
Elizabeth had barely made it two steps before she found herself turning back and suddenly her lips were on his. It was all there. All the things she’d been feeling too, she could feel them in his kiss. It’s like everything she’s ever wanted.
Him.
Liam.
Here.
With her.
Feeling his body pressed against hers, his scent filling her nose, his soft lips on hers and goddamn her if she doesn’t kiss him right back. Thousands of words are communicated in a way that voices could never begin to explain. Through his kiss he told her what he wanted — her. He wanted nothing more than to lie her down and explore every inch of her until the sun came up. He’d worship her, they both knew that. And she would have given in too if it had not been for the sound of the door handle hitting the hardwood bookcase as it swung open making them spring apart in alarm. In unison their neck snapped towards the figure in the doorway, looking in absolute horror at them.
‘Drake.’ Liam and Elizabeth said in unison sounding equally guilty, jumping further away from each other, as if distance would be able to undo the actions of the last few minutes. His wide eyes flitted between both of them for a moment before giving way to sheer heartbreak .
‘I’m sorry to interrupt Your Highness,’ Drake’s voice was acerbic and he nodded towards Elizabeth before turning on his heel. ‘Your Grace.’
‘Drake wait…,’ Elizabeth called, following after him as he strode away, his longer legs carrying him fast so she had to run to catch up. ‘Drake please. Wait.’
Her fingers closed around his forearm and he turned to glare at her. ‘Please,’ she gasped. ‘Its not what it looks like.’
‘Oh Richmond I’m pretty sure I know what I saw.’ He glanced down at her grip on him and pulled his arm away.
‘Drake no! You don’t understand!’ She pleaded, voice thick with tears. ‘It was a —‘
‘A mistake?’ He prompted angrily. ’So you’re telling me, you just happened to trip and your lips happened to land on his and stay there?’
‘…No,’ Elizabeth admitted hesitantly. His words seemed like a slap in the face — one which she rightly deserved right about now but she had to explain herself, she had to make him see. ‘Drake I didn’t mean to it just kind of happened and I needed to know… It may have been a mistake but don’t you think I owed it to myself to find out?’
‘Well I hope you found what you were looking for…’ Drake spat. ‘Because I’m tired of waiting and trying and pleading for you to come back when its obvious that what we had, obviously doesn’t exist.’
His next words cut her to her core. ‘We’re done.’
Elizabeth gasped as though he had hit her. The tears gushed down her face as she watched Drake leave, she couldn’t even conjure up the will to follow after him because deep down she knew he was right to go. He did deserve better, she realised. Though she didn’t remember much about their relationship, she could tell he wasn’t the type of guy to give his heart away easily and judging from what had just happened, she might as well have spat on it and crushed it under her heel. Elizabeth didn’t have the chance to think more on it because now another voice reached her ears.
‘It was a mistake?’
Dread well up in her chest and she whirled around to see Liam standing a few feet away.
‘Liam that’s not what I meant…,’ she told him brokenly.
‘It seemed pretty clear to me,’ he told her hollowly as his eyes held that same unspeakable hurt only quadrupled now.
Elizabeth took a step towards him. She couldn’t lose both of them, she just couldn’t.
‘Liam I’m sorry but I had to know,’ she begged him. ’ I’ve got all these conflicting memories of a life I can’t remember living! I-I had to see if there was anything there. You understand right?’
‘Did you find it?’ He asked, raising his gaze from where it had dropped.
She was sobbing now unable to control the spasms that racked her body, wishing he would just drop the matter and hold her like he had been just minutes ago.
‘I-I don’t know… I don’t know…’ She repeated the phrase as she slid down the wall losing the capacity to hold her own weight up. ‘I don’t know.’
When Liam didn’t respond, Elizabeth picked up her head only to find that he was… gone.
She had just lost them both.
Never in her life had Elizabeth felt so alone than on that corridor floor outside Liam’s office. Against the smooth wooden floors her fragmented heart pumped the emptiness through her, filtering through her body extend to the edges of her person until there was nothing left inside. She’d tried to play her hand at both and had lost devastatingly. There really was nothing left for her here anymore.
Not wanting to be found in this state, she eventually pulled herself to her feet and did the only thing she could.
Elizabeth went home.