Chapter 38: An Old Dream II

Chapter 38: An Old Dream II At Zane’s question, Ewan sighed tiredly and rested his head properly against the headboard, his eyes choosing to focus on the ceiling. "You already know the answer to that, Zane. She was my savior, all those years ago. She was also a good friend of mine too... before the accident... from what I can remember." "Remember?" Zane’s eyes widened in incredulity. "Ewan, you lost both the memories of that unfortunate day and the years before that. Practically, you have no memory of your childhood. So, how are you sure Fiona was your friend?" Zane took a seat on the soft yet firm hospital bed. "You are right, Zane. I don’t remember anything really... but sometimes, the memory of that day pops up in my dreams." Ewan inhaled softly, before meeting his friend’s gaze. "That’s how I know what happened, and the sacrifice she made." Zane was nonplussed. He trailed his eyes over Ewan. What was his friend talking about? "You can’t be serious, Ewan. How do you know the dream is the real deal? It might be a hallucination. It might just be a mere dream." Ewan shook his head. "It isn’t. I just know it isn’t." He paused. "Even if it was, how can it show up this morning, clearer than before...?" Zane frowned. "Please don’t tell me it’s a sign for you to let Fiona go unpunished, after what she had done; after she had almost cost you the company and the health of your people?" Ewan looked away. Of course, he knew what his friend was talking about... If Athena finally cancelled the deal they made, his company will return to that restless state it had been a night ago—at the verge of closure—and he will have to bury a lot of his people. Ewan knew what Fiona might cost him, but the dream... "Fiona will be punished for her actions. I already called the engagement off. I’ll also reduce the money I give her, at least for two weeks, so that she can talk to herself and repent..." Zane laughed in disbelief. "You will engage her again right?" Ewan said nothing. His silence though, communicated just enough. However, when Zane threw up his hands in frustration, he spoke then. "She saved me, Zane. I won’t be here, if not for her. Yes, she has made mistakes, but should I rule her out because of that? This is the first. I’m sure it won’t be happen again. I’ll make sure of that." Zane cackled humorlessly this time around. "You are naive, Ewan. When it comes to Fiona, you are so naive. It’s like you become a different person, a shallow person—something you aren’t on a normal day." A pause. "I understand that she saved you... Wait..." There was a twinkle in Zane’s eyes now. "Since you are a lover of evidence, what evidence did you have that Fiona saved you? Dreams aren’t enough. What informed you of Fiona’s authenticity as your savior..." "Her bracelet." Ewan didn’t waste time this time around. Zane furrowed his eyebrows. "A bracelet?" Ewan nodded. "In the dream, although the face of the girl that had saved me was blurry, the bracelet on her hand wasn’t. When I woke up from the coma, I saw little Fiona sitting close to me, weeping. She was wearing the same bracelet. That’s how I knew she was the one." Zane sighed, seeing things from Ewan’s perspective. "But still, it doesn’t mean that you owe her your life, or marriage." He shook his head with conviction. "Ewan, you have done enough. You have been good to her and her family for the longest time. You even established Alfonso’s company. I think that’s enough!" Zane was restless with anger. "People that donate blood and organs to dying people don’t even make such stupid demands! Personally, I don’t think she is a good person! She is manipulative!" Ewan ruffled his hair. "That’s far-fetched Zane. Fiona is a good person. Just a bit misguided." Jealous. Ewan knew Fiona was jealous of Athena. He wasn’t blind to that at least. But why should she? Athena wasn’t planning on returning to him, nor was he planning on chasing her. He would explain this to her after the punishment, then she would understand things better. He concluded. He would give her a second chance. Zane shrugged his shoulders. His friend was bent on being a man controlled by Fiona, therefore he couldn’t do much, apart from speaking the truth at every turn. "So, when did Athena leave?" Ewan asked, after some beats. "Some hours ago, when she was done with the acupuncture. She had to pick her children up from school. She went home from there; however, she left instructions for Sandro." Ewan imagined Sandro and Athena, heads together, talking about his health, and took his lips in—their informal greeting from earlier was still fresh in his mind. He didn’t like it. It made him feel angry, then sad. He didn’t understand it either; hasn’t even understood himself, since Athena left him, and since she returned again. "When will she be back?" Zane frowned. "I don’t know. Tomorrow? The time is eight p.m." It was then that Ewan looked outside, through the window. Everywhere was black and still. "How long did she take to treat me?" "Quite a while. You should buy some gifts and thank her. She isn’t the best doctor for nothing." Ewan nodded. He will surely do that. Yet.. "How is she a doctor in many fields? Six years ago, she was uneducated..." Zane shrugged again. "I’m not sure, Ewan. But that should be the least of your problems." Ewan was aware of that, yet he was just so curious. He had never seen anyone as Athena; her accomplishments still blew his mind! Or had she pretended to be uneducated those years ago? "Before I forget, Athena promised Sandro that the deal is still on, between the both of you..." Zane said, breaking into Ewan’s thoughts. "She said it was business first, before anything else. Although I can’t believe that you thought I wanted to destroy your company..." Ewan laughed then, his freeness surprising him still. "You can’t blame me. You both painted the picture yourselves!" "No, we didn’t. You just saw what you wanted to see. If Athena really wanted your company to go down, it would have happened already." Ewan was tired of hearing people say that all the time. Just who was Athena Caddell?