5 5. Who is this?

Is it Liam?

Is it because I slept with a married guy?

Why is it?

I stare at the ceiling of my canopy and it stares back, birds chirping in the background at the start of a new day and nope, I am not back at my place.

I raise my hand against the light and it was Adian's long pale hands with its scars. A big sigh comes out of me in frustration and I slam my hand down on the bed, closing my eyes shut. The room is too bright but I am going back to sleep.

When I wake up, I'll be at my place.

I won't sleep with Liam anymore. Or any other married man. I have repented so please be done with this. 'Only a dream.' I whisper, 'only a dream.'

Only a dre–

I fling the blanket and lurch up immediately. Acidic bile was rising and I can feel it n my tongue, I slap my hand over my mouth and run for the bathroom.

Shit, it's locked. I struggle to turn the steel doorknob and bang it open. Falling on a crouching position, I heave my stomach out and some more, I continue to throw up even though I woke up hungry. I couldn't eat anything yesterday after ruining dinner for both Elian and me.

'Oh my.'

I look up, my eyes droopy and half-lidded. The room seems to spin around slow and steady, and I try to focus my vision. Globe Lady stands at the door of the bathroom, hand on her lips in shock, and watches me cough and gag in vain as my throat convulsed, trying to empty my stomach but my stomach had nothing so my throat only contracted painfully.

'Is…' My voice sounds coarse and I cough forcibly to clear it out, 'Is Elian home?'

'Oh no,' she grabs the towel from the hanger and hands it to me, 'he has already left.'

I cough and wipe my mouth with the towel, fighting the urge to dry heave. Thankfully, Elian is not home. I sigh, feeling a wave of fatigue hit my body and I rest my forehead on my folding knee. Can I dig a hole and crumble down there immediately?

'Dear Lord, and I was wondering what a ruckus it was. Should I call for the physician?'

I fervently shake my head, 'no'. I can't have that doctor notifying Elian now. I don't think I can come up with excuses, and I am basically a baby carrying a baby in this foreign world.

I swallow and ugh, I grimace, I needed to brush my teeth.

What a great start to the day.

Still resting, I glance at the Globe lady, who is still standing by the door and worriedly peering down at my crouching form.

'Miss,' I mumble, 'do you know what a DNA test is?'

'Pardon?' She frowns and then she shakes her head dismissively, 'for Lord's sake no, Sir Adian. But you do have a guest.'

A guest?

Distantly, I squint and see a figure in the garden. He stands with his back turned and bends over slightly, his hand grazing over the rose that hangs out of the bush. As I walk closer, it becomes clear that he is quite taller than I saw, towering but not hulking. He was considerably slimmer than Elian.

I shiver slightly at the recollection of last night.

I walk closer, his brown coat becomes more distinct and it's almost the same shade his brown hair that's straight and fluffy. I reach the spot where he's standing and then I pause, bending my head over to catch his attention. He turns slightly in my direction but misses to catch me, then he does a double-take and fully looks at me.

His soft brown eyes twinkle and the corner of his eyes wrinkle as his whole face brightens up in the widest smile I have seen since I woke up. Hey, that's right. He reminds me of a Labrador.

'Adian!' he exclaims and grabs my hand.

His palm is cold. Wait, what month is it? May? It was May back there.

'I came as soon I could.'

His voice is softer and slightly shaky.

I smile modestly, trying not to alert anything that would reveal that I have no flubbing clue of who he is. I remember Sir Dominic's one of many pieces of advice; don't let it out to the public that I lost my memory. I guess the crowd is not as accepting as I thought it would be. No-name squeezes my hand and I nod at him, shaking his hand vigorously,

'Yes, yes. It's been quite a while.'

I look closely at his face, it was angular but also weirdly soft in its edges. He didn't look as sharp and striking as Elian but more mellow and mediocre.

Why am I comparing him to Elian?

I frown, squinting at his face. I didn't know his name. Do I know his name? Is a name going to miraculously pop up?

I wait.

Nope, nothing.

He seems to be saying something but I laugh anyway without even catching it in my mind. Of course, I don't know his name. I have never met this man in my entire life and it was in whole another dimension. I nod and laugh some more that he twitches his eye at me suspiciously. I stop immediately.

'Last week.' He whispers like this was a secret exchange, 'You seemed out of sorts when I saw you.'

Wait, I feel a Eureka moment run through me, maybe I could get something out of this man. He seems to know Adian and he doesn't look all that sleazy, he looks quite level-headed and uncomplicated, unlike someone who shall not be named. My face involuntarily twists in distaste as I remembered that man.

A hand gently wounds around my wrist and I jolt back to reality, meeting this man's concerned eyes and his eyes scrunched over framing his worry,

'Are you unwell?'

'What? No no.'

He roams his eyes over my face earnestly and I feel a sense of warmth wash over my chest. He looks so genuinely concerned for me that a small, spiky ball of guilt pokes at me irritatingly.

'Should I have not come?'

'No.' I answer immediately, more guilty at the doubt I put in him, 'I'm glad you came.'

'Really?'

Relief washes over his face and his grip on my wrist loosens ever so slightly

'Really?' he asks again, sounding a little too hopeful for a normal person.

Okay, now I am not sure where I stand with this guy, No-name but I am sure about one thing. That I needed information, on Adian, on this foreign world. I need to survive and go back, break up with Liam, and then finally, live a peaceful life.

Determined, I grab his loosening grip this time, his brown eyes jolt with surprise and he stutters out some incoherent sound. I smile at him slightly,

'Listen,' My voice was soft and he moves closer. Quite close that I feel his body heat on the skin of my hand, 'you should join me for breakfast.'

He doesn't reply but instead breathes out deeply and leaves it hanging in the air.

'Are you sure?'

I look down at my feet. God, I hope to God that this isn't going come back later and bite me in the ass that doesn't even belong to me. So I smile at no-name and reassuringly, I tap his hand,

'I'm sure.'

Then, as if on cue, my stomach growls unnaturally loud. Shit, that's right, I haven't eaten anything today. A choke of laughter comes and I turn up my head to the culprit. The man presses his lips together and looks at me apologetically,

'I am sorry. Extremely.'

I laugh, and for once, this was a natural one and I shake my head. He smiles back in relief,

'Let's hurry then.'

-------

Globe Lady Maria sets the tray down on the table in my room with a loud clang and a jiggle. I grimace and look at the expanse of the tray on the table, it sets my mouth salivating with pools under my tongue. Tea, bread, jam, and cheese.

And soup as well. My stomach rumbles silently at the sight.

Okay, boy, calm down. It'll come.

I immediately reach out for a piece of bread and smear a generous amount of the blood-red jam. It smells like raspberry and I pop it in my mouth gratefully. Mmmh. Is this what fruit heaven tastes like? The tartness spreading across my tongue and the softness of the bread gliding across my teeth. This is too good.

'Sir Adian.' Maria calls out with a sharp shrill and I snap back out of my reverie, blinking hard and looking up at her in question.

My stomach rumbles again, mealtime is disturbed.

Globe Lady aims her eyes at the Guest, No-name and it goes up, down. Up and down, then she shakes her head with a twisted lip. Cryptically, she turns to me and widens her eyes, rapidly signaling to the door. Ok, weird.

'Please ring the bell if there is any need.' She stresses each and every word with her eyes madly signaling at the door.

Well. Fine.

Why is she acting like I am going to potentially get attacked being in this room with a complete stranger?

I glance at the man in front of me, he is hunched over on my sofa and gently sips his chamomile tea. I mean, can he look any harmless? I could probably scam his money dry and he would allow it.

maybe.

I could try that too.

But.

But he could be…I don't know, a ray of sunshine in Adian's dreary life. He certainly looks a bit lighter than Elian's dark and dingy sewage drain look. And he's tall. He could be that alpha thing too. That's not so bad.

I walk to the door, just to shut up Globe lady's wild indicating eyes and she huffs in approval, her whole body bouncing with that. She leads the way, walking in front and as she walks out of the doorway, she turns back with a whirl. I move back in surprise. She peers at the man one last time and grabs the door handle, her eyes widening at me.

'The bell, sir. Do not forget.'

Oh…kay.

I nod my head exaggeratedly, trying to say I KNOW with it. She gives me one last look and then I watch her saunter off down the hallway, shooing a couple of maids who was standing along the way. I frown, puzzled but then, if anything, I have only been puzzled and more puzzled since I dropped down here and magically grew a husband. Oh, and also a baby.

I wish it was as simple as that.

I scoff at the thought and shut the door close. I turn back to head back to a scrumptious breakfast but instead, my forehead comes in contact with a wall of obstruction.

I look up and gasp silently in surprise.