Michael

Grace.

I watch her through the glass as she lies in bed in a white robe, her sandy blonde hair tied and draped over one shoulder. Her full lips are parted slightly. Her blue eyes stare at the ceiling. Her button nose twitches as she gives another sniff.

I’d seen her new face in the file. I was aware of how drastically it had changed, and I was amazed.

Looking at her now, though, I’m even more in awe.

I still can’t believe that’s her. I still can’t believe she’s back.

The woman I love is back.

My joy evaporates, though, as I remember the circumstances of our reunion.

She’s not crying anymore. She’s calmed down. But I can still see the tearstains on her cheeks. I can still see the sadness in her eyes.

My hands clench into fists.

I conjured a lot of possible scenarios about Grace after I learned she was alive. None of them involved her being in love with another man, much less a man I thought was dead, a man who shared my own blood.

Why does Travis always get the best girls?

While we were growing up, he had no shortage of women chasing after him, wanting his attention. I was the geek. He was the hunk. And his rebellious nature only attracted the opposite sex more. And as if that wasn’t enough, he joined the Marines.

He could make any woman fall for him.

I didn’t mind it then. I was a little envious, yes, but I didn’t mind because I didn’t like any of the girls who fell for him. Well, there were some I liked to begin with, but the moment they met Travis and fell for him, I stopped liking them.

I told myself that one day I would find a woman who would love me for me.

And I thought Grace was that woman. But then she had to go and meet Travis, didn’t she? And she had to fall for him, of course.

I should have stopped loving her at that moment, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. Now, as I stare at her lying there, I realize how much I really love her. I don’t think I can stand losing her again.

Not to anything or anyone.

The door to the room opens and Courtney comes out.

“Hey,” she greets me.

I give her a weak smile. “How’s Grace?”

“As you can see, she’s calmed down,” Courtney says as she glances past the glass. “And I’ve run a few tests and her health seems to be fine. She’s ready for the procedure.”

“Are you sure it will go well this time?” I ask her.

She nods. “I’ve already made the recalibrations. Grace will only regain the memories that she’s lost. Well, actually, she didn’t lose them. They’re just dormant. The machine will wake them and restore them to her. Then she’ll remember you.”

“But she won’t lose any other memories?”

“You mean the ones she’s made since she left the city?”

I don’t answer.

Courtney shakes her head. “No. Not unless you want her to.”

“No,” I say quickly. “I don’t want her to forget anything this time.”

As much as it hurts to know she was with my brother, I can’t make her forget Travis. If she did, she wouldn’t be able to choose. And I want her to choose me over Travis.

Courtney nods. “Okay.”

“And you said her face will stay the same?”

Courtney nods again. “Yes. Facial reconstruction can only be done once. Once a face is changed, it can’t be changed back.”

“I understand. I don’t mind, really. It’s not her face I want back.”

Courtney places a hand on my shoulder. “I know.”

I glance at Grace. “So the procedure is about to start?”

“Yes.”

I narrow my eyes at Courtney. “So why are you still here?”

She draws a deep breath. “Michael, there’s something I have to tell you. It won’t affect the procedure, but I thought you should know.”

My chest tightens as I sense the imminent bad news in her voice.

“While I was doing a check-up on Grace, I discovered something… about her health, her body.”

“What?” I ask. “Is she terminally ill? What’s wrong with her?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s wrong, but I guess it is if you look at it one way, your way.”

I grab her arm. “Courtney—”

“Grace is pregnant,” she blurts out.

My hand drops along with my jaw.

“She’s about five weeks along,” Courtney adds.

I run my hand over my face.

“You know what that means, don’t you?”

I nod.

“I’m sorry,” Courtney whispers.

Then she goes back into the room.

I clasp my hand over my mouth as I struggle to deal with the shock, my fourth of the day.

First, I found out my brother was alive. Then I saw my fiancée again. Then I found out she and my brother were together. And now I learn she’s pregnant?

I punch a wall.

Do I know what it means? Of course I do.

She’s been missing nearly two months, and during that time, she was with my brother.

Grace is carrying my brother’s child.

I sink to the floor and bury my face in my hands.

No.

How am I supposed to marry Grace now? How am I supposed to make her fall in love with me again if she’s carrying another man’s child?

“Michael?” My mother’s voice breaks into my thoughts.

I lift my head to see her towering over me.

She pulls my arms. “Good Lord, what are you doing down there?”

I wrench my arms away and stand up on my own. “You did this. This is all your fault.”

Her eyebrows furrow. “What? I thought Grace came back. I thought everything was going to be fine now.”

“Fine?” I shake my head and point a finger at her. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

I march off.

“Michael!” my mother calls after me.

I turn on my heel. “Stay away from Grace! And stay away from me!”

I continue walking until I reach my office. I lock the door and sit behind my desk, burying my face in my hands.

Because of what my mother did, Grace ran off. Because of what my mother did, Grace ended up in Travis’s arms.

And now, she’s pregnant with his child.

I run my hands through my hair in exasperation.

How is she going to choose me now?

Suddenly, a thought occurs to me.

Wait a minute. She doesn’t know she’s pregnant. Courtney hasn’t told her, and I’ll tell her not to.

That way, she’ll be able to make a decision based on what she truly feels and not what she’s done. She’ll be able to choose for herself and not for her baby.

And if she chooses me, then I’ll simply pass off the baby as my own. I’ll marry her as soon as possible, and somehow, I’ll make her believe the baby is mine. Ours.

And she’ll be mine forever.

I’ll do anything to make her mine forever.

But what if she doesn’t choose me even without knowing about the baby, even after regaining her memories? What then?

It’s so painful that I can’t even think of it.

No.

Grace is mine.

She has to choose me.

I have to believe that she’ll choose me when she wakes up, or I’ll go crazy.