Aoife grabbed the birthday cake with her hands, her face covered in it, eating with a smile as sweet as the cake itself. She then licked the leftover cake off the corners of her mouth.
“So sweet, Ethan, you should try some,” she offered the cake to Finn.
Linda, standing nearby, wanted to stop her. Everyone knew Finn had a cleanliness obsession, how could someone like him, from their wealthy circle, eat something from someone’s hand that looked dirty, especially when he didn’t like sweet things.
But what surprised them was when Finn gently touched Aoife’s wrist with both hands, bent down to eat the cake residue off her fingers.
Aoife, seeing him eat the cake, asked with a smile, “Is it delicious?”
“Yes, it is,” he replied.
“Is it sweet?”
“Very sweet.”
The cake was sweet, but couldn’t match the sweetness of Aoife’s smile. If only she could maintain that innocent silliness forever, but sometimes she would turn into someone else.
At night, Finn would stay by her side as she slept. Sometimes she would suddenly sit up, then slowly fumble to get out of bed.
At the slightest movement from Aoife, Finn would wake up. He wouldn’t disturb her at these times, just watching her with a concerned gaze.
Watching Aoife sit on the bed for a while before getting into her wheelchair and circling the bedroom round and round.
She often had dreams, dreams that Finn knew nothing about. Sometimes she would suddenly scream and cry, then hug Finn tightly, calling out “Ethan” in a choked voice.
Even though “Ethan” was right beside her, she always felt so alone, lonely to the point of terror, surrounded by darkness and cold.
Finn couldn’t bear to leave her alone at home. Wherever he went, he took Aoife with him, even to work.
So Aoife would carry a rabbit cage and hold two rabbits, following behind Finn.
Three months later, the current Aoife could walk without crutches, but very slowly. She would stop walking if it hurt even a little, opting to sit in a wheelchair or have Finn carry her instead.
When Finn brought Aoife to the office for the first time, their colleagues were surprised.
Aoife’s peculiar behavior made everyone curious, but they dared not ask or say anything, just gossiping about it behind her back.
In the afternoon, when Aoife wanted to nap, the office had a rest area. Finn would use that time to conduct a meeting.
Halfway through the meeting, the secretary guarding Aoife hurriedly knocked on the door and entered, “Mr. Snearl, Miss Powell is awake.”
Upon hearing that Aoife had woken up, Finn immediately stood up to end the meeting halfway and hurried in the direction of her office, with the secretary following closely behind him.
Seeing the secretary’s anxious expression, Finn had a hunch about what had happened. He quickened his pace and ran to the office without caring about his image.
Pushing open the office door, Finn scanned the room quietly but couldn’t find anyone.
The secretary was puzzled, “Where is she? When I left, Miss Powell was still here.”
Fearing Aoife might wander off, the secretary had locked the door when she went to get Finn, knowing Aoife couldn’t open it with her current mental state.
Finn searched the office but couldn’t find her. What was more frightening was the bloodstains on the bed. The office had surveillance cameras, so Finn quickly checked the footage from three minutes ago. He saw Aoife screaming and crying loudly in the video, and after the secretary left and locked the door, Aoife hid in the narrow closet with her rabbits.
Finn opened the closet door and saw Aoife curled up inside, crying quietly. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Aoife, I’m here.”
With tears on her face, Aoife looked up at Finn pitifully and said, “I thought you had left me alone again.”
The word “again” was particularly cunning. Despite Aoife’s clouded mind, she vaguely recalled that her “Ethan” had left her before, going to a faraway place where she couldn’t find him.
Finn carefully lifted Aoife out of the closet. His movements were gentle, as if he was handling fragile porcelain.
Aoife leaned into his embrace and whispered, “It hurts.”
Thinking of the bloodstains on the bed, Finn’s face tensed, “Is there an injury? Let’s go to the hospital.”
Pointing to her stomach, Aoife said, “It hurts here, and I’m bleeding down there.”
Pausing to process her words, Finn finally understood the situation behind the bloodstains on the bed. He wasn’t the clueless youth some might assume him to be.
It was Aoife’s time of the month, and Finn instructed the female secretary to buy what was needed.
The female secretary naturally knew better how to take care of a woman, so besides sanitary pads, she also bought a change of clothes.
She entered the office with a bag, intending to help Aoife change, but the latter, who was mentally impaired, was unable to dress herself properly, let alone during her period.
Suggesting that they go to the restroom for the change, the secretary was rejected by Aoife, who timidly cowered behind Finn, more afraid than the rabbit she held.
In the end, Finn took her to the bathroom.
The secretary almost couldn’t believe her eyes. Who would have thought that the almighty CEO would help a woman change her sanitary pads?
Coming out of the restroom, Finn asked the secretary, who was standing there, what could help with the pain.
“If the pain becomes unbearable, she can take painkillers. Then she should use a hot water bottle on her stomach and drink lots of hot water,” the secretary explained.
Finn nodded in understanding. He had painkillers in his office, so he gave one to Aoife. He then held her in his arms, as the autumn temperature was perfect, and warm water bottles were not available. Luckily, Finn’s warm hands were enough and could just fit over Aoife’s stomach.
After massaging her for ten minutes, Aoife’s breathing became even, and she fell asleep in his arms.
With Aoife going through her period, Finn’s thoughts started to drift elsewhere.
Once her body was fully recovered and checked by the hospital with no issues, he wanted Aoife to have a child.
The first child had always been a heartache for Finn. If only that child had lived to be one year old. Furthermore, if Aoife were to regain her memory in the future, having a child might help her hang onto life.
As for whether she would leave him once she regained her consciousness, that was beyond his control. Those who wanted to stay didn’t need you to ask; they would stay through all your efforts. Those who wanted to leave wouldn’t even spare you a glance as they walked away, regardless of all your sacrifices.
All Finn hoped for was Aoife’s survival. She was still so young, and he didn’t want her to become the second Elisa.
Once Aoife was fully recovered, Finn took her to see a movie, ride the Ferris wheel at an amusement park, play on the carousel, shoot targets, and pop balloons. Aoife held a large plush toy, a smile on her face that had never been seen before.
At the end of the year, Aoife was five weeks pregnant.
Finn took her to the hospital for a check-up, and it turned out to be twins.