Chapter 73: Chapter 73

Gideon's POV

I glanced at my watch as I waited for the traffic lights to light up. It was two in the afternoon.

I canceled my remaining meetings for today and decided to go home early.

She was supposed to have had a meeting today with the wedding organizers but she called in sick.

When I called her earlier, she told me she wasn't feeling well.

Ever since Diana came back, I could feel her worry. I didn't know if she was just stressed with the wedding or if she was really bothered by Diana's presence.

She had nothing to be scared about. They might be all telling me that Diana might be my first love, but she was already part of my past.

Even if she came back from the dead, my heart already belonged to Bianca. Even if my memory came back in the future, I knew that nothing would change.

I remembered my last conversation with Diana the other day when she went to my office.

"You made a promise to be before, Gideon. The last time we saw each other before you left for New York that day, you made a promise to me, Gideon… You promised to marry me."

The woman gave me a sad smile. I realized Bianca was right. This woman still had feelings for me. But I was no longer the old Gideon. My heart… only belongs to Bianca now. My wife.

I sighed as I looked at the woman in front of me.

"I'm sorry… Diana. I don't remember anything. I don't remember my feelings for you. I don't even recognize you." I gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry if I made that promise to you years ago. But I wasn't the same Gideon of the past. I'm already married to Bianca. And I love my wife. So much. She's my life now."

Her face hardened. "You only love her now, Gideon. What if your memory comes back and you realize she's not really the woman you wanted in your life? What if your memory comes back and you finally remember me?"

I shook my head. "I'm sure about my feelings for her. I'm certain that even if I remembered everything from the past, my feelings for her will remain. She's the love of my life. We've been through a lot together and nothing can break us apart now. Not even a woman from an old memory."

I saw the pain cross her eyes. But she needed to hear this.

"I'm sorry, Diana…"

She bowed her head, then slowly nodded, as if accepting everything I just said. "I… understand. But… I hope we can still be friends, Gideon."

I gave her a small smile. "I don't think it'll be possible for now, Diana. My wife knows you still have feelings for me, she's not comfortable with that. I don't want to give her any reasons to make her worry."

A small smile curved on her lips. "Your wife's lucky to have you, Gideon."

"No, Diana. I'm the one lucky for having her with me."

I was back in the present when my phone rang on the dashboard. I glanced at the screen to see who was calling. Unregistered number.

My brows furrowed. I decided to pick it up. "Hello?"

"What have you done to Diana?" I heard a familiar voice on the other line.

"Charlie?"

"Diana came to me, devastated and drunk, Gideon. What did you say to her?"

"I only told her the truth. That she should move on from the past—"

"All you ever did was hurt people, Gideon," he cut me off.

"Charlie—" My eyes widened when I saw an old woman crossing the street. I tried to step on the brake but I was already too late.

I REMEMBERED it now. Why I didn't like Charlie. I didn't hate him. I envied him.

"Come on, Gideon," Dad said as he stood up from his seat. "Finish your breakfast fast so we can go to the office early."

I was ten years old when Dad first brought me to his office. Since then, I spent every break from school at my father's office here in LA.

"Mr. Henry, can Gideon stay here at home for the weekend? I wanted to play video games with him."

Charlie, who was slowly eating his breakfast in front of me, asked Dad.

"I'm sorry, Charlie. Gideon needs to come to me at work," Dad answered him. "Stop calling me Mr. Henry. I told you to call me Dad."

Charlie smiled at Dad, then he turned to me. "It's okay, Gideon. Let's just play video games at home."

I sneered at him. "Who says I wanted to play video games with you?"

I didn't like him. I didn't get why this kid, who didn't even get a single drop of my parents' blood, could do everything he wanted, but me, who's their only son, needed to follow everything they wanted for me.

I grew up disliking him.

"Charlie's your brother, Gideon. You should try to bond with him, you know," Diana said to me during one of our lunch breaks.

She was my friend. We've been classmates since grade school. But I like her more than my friends. She was beautiful with her curly hair and almond eyes and sweet smile.

Last month, I already confessed my feelings to her. Turns out our feelings for each other are mutual.

"I hate him. I feel like he's trying to take everything from me, including you."

Diana chuckled. "What? Of course not. We're just friends. Charlie is a nice person. You should be friends with him."

Diana tried to get me closer to Charlie. And I realized she was right. Charlie was a nice person. He's kind. He's genuine. I was wrong about him. He wasn't stealing anything from me. I was just envious because he was free to do everything he wanted in life. While I had no choice but to follow in my father's footsteps.

Ever since I was born, my parents have been expecting me to be the next CEO of our family's company. They didn't ask me if being a businessman was really something I wanted to become.

"Gideon, you're coming with me to the New York office this summer break," Dad told me one night.

It was just the two of us this dinner. Mom attended a charity ball within her organization, while Charlie watched a football game with his friends.

I looked at Dad to my left. "Dad… can I not go with you for this summer break? Diana invited me and Charlie to spend the summer in their hometown."

"This is your last summer before you entered college, Gideon. You'll be busy with college soon. We need to use this time to learn everything in the company. You're already eighteen. Few years from now, you'll already inherit my position in the company."

And again, I had no choice but to say yes. Dad is the rule in this house. He always had the final decision in everything. I couldn't defy him when I'm still living under his care.

"Take care of Diana while I'm away," I told Charlie the day before our flight to New York.

Diana got slightly upset when I told her that I can't be with her this summer. But she later understood and even encouraged me to go with my father..

She was really kind and understanding. That's what I love about her so much. In fact, I already see my future with her. Even my parents adored her.

"Can you not really ask Dad to not bring you with him this time?"

I sighed. "You know, Dad. His decision is always absolute."

While I was attending a meeting with Dad with some French investors, I received a heartbreaking news.

"What have you done?!" I said as I grabbed Charlie by the collar of his shirt. Six hours after we learned the news from my Mom, dad and I were already back in LA.

According to the police report, Charlie and Diana's boat sank on the lake. They both got drowned. Charlie already survived. But in Diana's case, the authorities haven't found her yet.

"I'm sorry, Gideon," Charlie cried. "We didn't expect it to happen. The current become strong—"

A punch landed on his face.

"Gideon, stop it," Mom tried to stop me. "Charlie isn't the one to blame. He and Diana are both victims here. He didn't want any of this!"

"No," I shouted at her. "It's his fault!" I turned to Charlie who was already getting up from the grass. His upper lip was bleeding.

I clenched my teeth. He deserved more than that.

"I told you to take care of her, Charlie!" I shouted at his face. "You promised to take care of her."

"I'm sorry, Gideon. I'm sorry I failed to protect her."

I grabbed his collar and put my mouth near his ear. "Remember this, Charlie. If Diana… doesn't survive the accident, you wouldn't imagine what I'd do to you."

Three months later, the authorities declared Diana's death after failing to recover her body.

"I'm sorry, Gideon," Charlie said when he entered my room. I have been staying in my room for days now. Even my parents couldn't do something about it. I refused to attend Diana's funeral.

I looked at Charlie. His eyes were swollen from crying. He was wearing a black shirt. Today was Diana's funeral.

I went to him and grabbed his collar. "How dare you attended her funeral you're the reason she's dead!" I pushed him to the wall. "You killed her, Charlie!" I spat.

"I'm sorry, Gideon," he cried in front of me. "If I had known that this would happen, I wouldn't agree to Diana's plans."

"I hope you're the one who died, not her!" I said it straight to his face. "She didn't deserve any of this Charlie! Diana doesn't deserve this!" My grip tightened on his collar as angry tears blurred my eyes. "You killed her, Charlie! You killed the only person who can understand me. You killed the only person I love in this world."

"I'm sorry, Gideon." I saw the pain cross his eyes. "Maybe I should have died instead." He sobbed. "If only I could bring back time."

"You could never change the past!" I looked at her, my eyes burning in anger. "You know what you can do? Get out of my sight. Get out of my life. Leave this house and never come back again. If you won't do that, then I'll be the one leaving. I hate you so much, Charlie. I can't stand living with you."