After the call with Harvey, Vickyâs head started to hurt again, and she went back to sleep.
The next time she woke up was when the sky had turned dark. The lights in the room were not turned
on, so the room was pitch dark.
She fumbled to grab her phone, and after a while, her fingers came into contact with a humanâs hand.
Anyone would be startled by that, and Vicky shrieked. âAh!â
Click! The lights by the nightstand were switched on.
The faint light did not blind her and revealed a familiar face.
Tyler was staring at her with a shadow looming over his face.
Her eyes widened, and her heart threatened to stop beating.
For a moment, she seemed to have traveled back to that week-long hellish experience of the time
when she was kidnapped by Tyler.
He thought that she was corresponding with Monty in secret and that she was plotting an escape, so
he chained her up in a dark room and continued to ask repeatedly why she betrayed him.
He would sometimes be gentle, only to act extremely furious at the next moment. His mood shifted
rapidly, and though he never raised his hand at her, she felt as though she was about to go insane and
was starting to truly want to get rid of him.
She was young then and was under too much pressure and fear to consider why he was behaving in
such a way.
Even as she recalled the memories, fear continued to overwhelm her.
âDid you have a nightmare?â Tyler asked.
He noticed the sweat on her forehead and pulled out a tissue to wipe it away for her.
Vickyâs body acted before she could think, and she instinctively dodge his touch.
Tylerâs hand froze in the air, and tension rose.
Vicky snapped out of it and realized that she should not have flinched at his touch, so she immediately
explained, â⦠I did have a nightmare.â
His eyes which were darker than a starless night were fixated on her when he asked, âOh? What did
you dream of?â
Vicky tensed and started sweating on her palms. âIâ¦â Knowing that she could not look away, she held
her gaze and said, âI dreamed of the time I got into a car accident.â
His gaze flickered for a split moment. âWhy would you dream of that?â
âI donât know either.â Vicky wiped away her sweat. âMaybe itâs one of the memories thatâs hardest to get
rid of.â
âWhat else did you dream of?â Tyler asked casually.
âI canât remember.â
âVicky, itâs been a while since you attended any session with Isabella.â
Vickyâs blood ran cold. âIâve been busy⦠Besides, hypnosis hasnât worked after a few sessions, so I
donât want to try it again.â
His prying glare remained fixated on her. âWhatâs wrong? Donât you want your memories back?â
âI guess Iâll let it run its course,â she said. âI canât just force myself to remember. Iâll recover eventually.
Besides, the loss of memories hasnât affected my life in any way so far, so why bother?â
Vicky had grown since four years ago and had learned to conceal her feelings.
Tyler studied her for a while and seemed to have taken her explanation. He planted a kiss on her
forehead and said, âDinner is ready. Wash your face, and letâs head downstairs.â
âSure.â
Tyler got up and left the room.
As soon as he left, Vicky fell back onto the bed weakly, her heart racing as she thought, âItâs so hard to
deal with this man.â
After dinner, Vicky returned to her study to work as usual.