Chapter 3

After they took a few minutes to catch their breaths, Alessio used his shirt to clean the mess they made before they cleared the table and washed the dishes. They took a shower and cuddled in bed as they slept.

A little after midnight, Alessio was awakened by a horrified scream and he jerked up. He scanned the room for any danger only to find none so he turned to the woman beside him only to find her thrashing and screaming. She was trapped in her own mind, whatever nightmare she was having was not allowing her to wake up. The man knew he to act fast, this was the second time Avanya was having a nightmare and it was really worrying. He tried to shake her awake but that did not work hence, he tried a different approach and scooped her up. He placed her on his lap and held her tightly.

“Shh, come back to me, Amore.” He whispered in her ear while rubbing circles on her back. “Come on, Bambola, I know you can hear me and I know how desperately you want to come back so break those chains that are holding you.” He encouraged.

His words seem to be calming Avanya down because her screams soon turned to quiet whimpers before her eyes fluttered open finally. The man let out a breath of relief seeing her awake. He reached over to his nightstand and poured her a glass of water before helping her drink. Then he kissed her head, all the while Avanya clung to him like her life depended on him and her eyes were filled with fear. None of them spoke, Alessio knew better than to ask any questions and Avanya appreciated the silence. Since she was afraid to be on her own, Alessio let her sleep on him with his arms wrapped safely around her.

The next morning, Avanya was awoken by a light kiss on her forehead. She smiled when she saw Alessio hovering over her, her smile turned to a frown when she noticed that he was all dressed up. She looked at the time by the bed and sure enough, it was only five in the morning so she did not fathom why he was up so early.

“Are you going somewhere?” She asked confusedly.

Alessio gave her a sad smile,” I have to go back to work, I was on leave the past month due to an injury I had sustained at work. I forgot to tell you last night.”

Avanya sat up and looked at him with a soft look,” That’s ok, a lot happened yesterday so it’s understandable for you to forgot. Did you have breakfast yet?” He shook his head so she got up and went downstairs with him.

The man could not keep his eyes off her, maybe because she was in nothing but his shirt or the fact that she was making him breakfast. It did not matter, she was in his house and in his kitchen making him breakfast. He smiled when she put a plate in front of and a glass of his favorite grape juice, then she proceeded to pack his lunch while he ate.

“You don’t have to do that, you know. Besides, I never carried a lunch box to work before.” He mumbled as he ate while watching her.

Avanya finished packing his lunch and turned to him,” I know I don’t have to do this but I want to. I love taking care of what belongs to me and you are mine so get used to it. As for your last statement, you never had anyone to take care of you before but now I am here. Let me take care of you.”

Alessio blushed,” But I am a man and men are supposed to be the one doing the caring for their partners.”

A scowl replaced the soft look on the woman’s face,” Who the fuck told you that? Alessio, in a relationship, both the partners are responsible for each other and themselves. We need to put equal effort for this to work, others just choose to let the dominant one take charge which is usually the man in a relationship between a man and woman.” She smirked at him and he knew exactly what she was about to say,” Between you and me, we both know who is the dominant one so you know who should take care of whom.”

Alessio chuckled, he was more submissive in bed but a little outside the bedroom, and he did not mind Avanya taking charge. He finished his food, got up and rushed upstairs to brush his teeth. He returned, took the bag that had his lunch and kissed Avanya on the cheek before leaving. Avanya started doing chores around the house after he left, her mind was filled with memories of the nightmare she kept having lately. It was so vivid and felt so real that she started to think of it as her past memories. She did after all wake up in a hospital about a year ago with no memory whatsoever.

The only thing she recalled was a name, ’Avanya’ nothing else and somehow she knew the name belonged to her. She could not remember her last name though so she just used whatever came to her mind. The more she thought about the nightmare, the more certain details made sense. Avanya knew she needed to visit the place she saw in her nightmare, she also had to find those men she kept seeing in her nightmare. Only then will everything make sense, first she searched for her phone and looked for the place on the internet. Avanya was hoping to find clues about her past and her identity however, she was unaware of the shock that was awaiting her. Avanya’s past has been a mystery to her since she woke up from the hospital. She needed answers especially now that she had nightmares haunting her. She had no idea why she was remembering her past now after so long but Avanya figured it was high time the truth about her past was revealed. Who was she really and how did she end up in the hospital?