Chapter 42

"Ignore it." the bluenette mutters.

Sighing, her purple haired bodyguard pulls away from her to grab his phone. It has been going off for the past five minutes, which he's happily annoyed. However, trying to makeout with this heiress while work keeps calling ruins his mood. He'll tell off whoever this is so that he can get back to what he was doing. Besides, this heiress is more of his boss than whoever could be trying to reach him.

"Paul, please don't." The woman please. She knows that the moment he answers his phone, he'll have to rush to work. They're busy, so it's rare they ever get time to themselves like this.

"I'll be quick." He tells her and answers the call.

Dawn sighs and gets up to put her clothes back on. This won't be quick at all. It never is. Paul is her personal bodyguard, so he is only bothered for serious matters. Thus, that means he'll be gone for some time, leaving her alone tonight. Dawn really can't catch a break. All she wants is to be with him.

"She's not seeing anyone tonight." the gruff bodyguard speaks into his phone.

Dawn's interest is piqued a bit as she glances over at him. He was quiet for some time when Paul picked up. Is he talking about her? He did say 'she'. Who else would he talk about besides for her? His sole job is to protect her, and he does a really good job at it.

"No." Paul presses his lips together tightly.

Dawn loves it when he gives that serious and annoyed expression. It makes him look so sexy, and she wants to push his lips apart with her tongue. Despite being fully clothed now while Paul is still on the call, Dawn walks over to wrap her arms around his neck. She's dangerously close in front of his face. He's trying to focus on the annoying call, but it's difficult when this beauty is holding him like this.

"Turn him away. Bye." Paul would rather his heiress spend time with him tonight. It's late. This unwanted visitor can schedule an appointment some other time.

As Dawn tiptoes to capture Paul's lips in hers, she hears the voice coming from his phone. "It's me! Drew Hayden!" Comes the shout, and Dawn instantly stops. She furrows her brows at Paul who now knows she knows who is here.

Sighing, the bodyguard growls, "Come during busine-"

"Let him in." Dawn sternly tells Paul who raises a confused eyebrow at her.

"Ma'am-"

"Did I stutter, Paul?" she challenges him.

Although Dawn is usually playful when she talks to Paul like this, Paul can tell from her demeanor that she's everything but playful right now. He isn't sure why she wants to see Drew. Could it be due to his phone call earlier today? "Let him in." Paul annoyedly says and hangs up. He then narrows his eyes suspiciously at the woman who is checking the mirror to make sure she looks professional. "It's almost midnight."

"He must have a good reason for being here." Dawn fixes her makeup.

"It's for his memories." Paul recalls how Drew was with Solidad earlier. She must've said something to him, bringing him here.

"Figures."

Sighing, Paul starts fixing his clothes to make it seem like he wasn't just about to have sex with the heiress of Berlitz Beauties. "Are you gonna tell him?"

"I don't know."

"Then why are you seeing him?"

Dawn stops to look at him. She lets out a breath and says, "He's at his limit, Paul…" Her eyes flash some nostalgia. "When I was reaching my limit about us most likely never being together, Drew was there for me. He pushed me to pursue love."

"He didn't choose love." Paul reminds her.

She shakes her head with a sad smile. "Yeah, but he wanted us to be more careful so that we wouldn't have to go through what he and May went through." She returns her attention to her mirror. "Even if he isn't the same Drew, he still needs help. I don't turn desperate people away."

Paul worriedly eyes her. He really hopes she isn't making a mistake letting Drew in tonight. While Berlitz Beauties is growing in wealth, they are nothing compared to Hayden Corporation. Any false move, and the Haydens will destroy everything Dawn has worked so hard to build. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"You didn't think secretly dating would be one either." She smirks in the mirror at him. "But look at where we are now."

Rolling his eyes, he tells her, "Don't say anything you'll regret."

Satisfied with her look, she stands up to walk over to him. "I put my whole heart into everything I do." She wraps her arms around his neck to gaze into his concerned grey orbs. "How can I regret anything when I follow my heart?"

Paul closes the space between them with a kiss. Gosh. If Drew hadn't arrived, Paul would have this woman naked in his arms. Instead, they'll be in a long meeting, and Dawn will be too tired for any action tonight. Paul always wants what's best for the heiress. He tries to slip his tongue in her mouth, but she pulls away to wink at him.

"Don't ruin my makeup, Paul." Dawn then pecks his cheek and motions to the door. "Ready?"

Grumbling under his breath, Paul nods. They might as well listen to Drew since he came all this way. Plus, the sooner they talk to Drew, then the sooner Dawn and Paul can rest. He's regretting picking up that phone call, but he hoped he could tell whoever was calling off. That way, he'd have the rest of his night unbothered. He should've just turned off his phone, though he doesn't like doing that because he and Dawn almost got caught once by a persistent board member.

When they arrive in the living room of the mansion, they see their green harried guest is already there. He doesn't seem to notice them since he's so deep in thought. Dawn watches Drew run his hand through his hair nervously. What could've gotten him to this point? The last time she saw him, he was an arrogant asshole of an heir. Not this worried clueless man.

Clearing her throat to announce her arrival, she gets his surprised attention. Drew quickly stands up to approach her with a hand. "Hello, Ms. Berlitz."

He is rarely formal with her. "Okay. I know something is definitely wrong now." Dawn tells him while shaking his hand.

Drew raises a confused eyebrow at her, but she can tell he is putting up a front right now. "Nothing is wrong, ma'am."

Dawn glances at Paul to be sure she heard correctly. This is definitely not Drew Hayden. "First off, you're here in the middle of the night. Secondly, you're being polite. What's going on?" She skeptically asks him.

Drew's smile falters, and Dawn knows she's got him. Eying the room to make sure they're alone, he takes a few steps towards Dawn. Paul defensively walks in front of her, though Dawn pulls him back. Drew didn't come here to harm her, even if she doesn't know this Drew. Once Drew is as close to her as he's comfortable with, he whispers, "My memories."

She purses her lips. What about his memories? Did he gain them back? She sure as heck won't tell him. "What?"

"You knew me." Drew speaks with more confidence now. "During those three years, we knew each other."

"Of course we did." Dawn nonchalantly replies. "We're from wealthy families."

Drew shakes his head. "No. Like we knew each other knew each other. We didn't just know of each other." Before Dawn can retort, Drew adds, "I know we're exes, but can't you at least be honest with me?"

Dawn's jaw drops as Paul's face pales. "Exes?" She exclaims. When Drew slowly nods, she asks, "Who told you that?"

The man uncomfortably avoids eye contact with her. "Brianna…"

Dawn rolls her eyes in annoyance. Brianna continues to terrorize her despite them not being in contact with one another. "I bet she told you that you chose her over me too, huh?"

"Whatever history we had-"

"We never dated." Dawn narrows her eyes at him while cutting him off.

Drew finds himself looking at her fierce navy eyes. "But-"

"We went on a few dates as covers. We were friends, and while you did pick Brianna, you didn't pick her over me." Dawn massages her temples. "When you chose Brianna, you chose to end our friendship." She takes in a deep breath to steady her breathing. With her eyes locked on his confused ones again, Dawn adds, "You chose to screw over Solidad."

"What does Solidad have to do with this?" the man angrily hisses.

Dawn ignores his question as she continues in a pained voice, "You chose to abandon love, Drew. You chose to be unhap-"

"That's enough." Paul's gruff voice shakes Dawn from her emotions.

Drew, though, shakes his head. "No. Tell me everything!" Dawn's words make no sense to him, but he wants to understand them. Why is she so hurt speaking to him like this? How come she resents him for choosing Brianna? Dawn claimed they never seriously dated, but her emotions show he was important to her. Why doesn't Dawn like Brianna?

"I said too much already." Dawn takes a step back, but Drew reaches out to stop her.

Unfortunately for him, Paul grabs his arm. Dawn quickly grabs Paul's shirt. "Let him go, Paul." The bodyguard narrows his eyes threateningly at Drew while releasing his hold.

Drew isn't dumb. He's very observant, and he's noticed the way Dawn and her bodyguard interact. Before the two can dismiss him, Drew angrily says, "If you don't tell me everything, I will leak your relationship."

Dawn freezes. She resists the urge to look at Paul. Instead, the woman returns her attention to Drew where she sternly asks, "Are you threatening me, Mr. Hayden? And with false accusations at that?"

Drew is a businessman for a reason. Thus, he challenges her with his own eyes. "Is it a false accusation?"

"That is none of your business."

Smirking, Drew motions to Paul. "You're both terrible liars." Dawn sees Paul's glare intensify. These reactions are all confirming to Drew that his suspicions are correct.

Although Dawn has more power within Berlitz Beauties, she isn't at the point where she can just marry whoever she chooses. She's strong enough to avoid useless dates, but she doesn't have the means to freely date Paul in public. Their relationship is still very much a secret. Sighing in defeat, she glances back at a victorious Drew. "Don't ever threaten me again."

He raises his hands up in defense. "Don't give me a reason to."

She shakes her head in disbelief before sitting down. "The old you was never this much of an asshole."

Drew sits beside her. "Tell me about me." He's been dreaming to hear about his missing memories for years now.

"What do you want to know?"

"Why won't anyone tell me about my memories? Did something happen during that time?" inquires the green haired man.

Dawn shrugs. "I don't know. You'll have to ask them that."

"Bullshit." Drew angrily mutters. "You've been avoiding me too! What's the reason?"

She glares at him. "I already told you my reason! You married Brianna!"

"And you said we weren't dating! Why do you care? Did you have a secret crush on me or something?"

Paul wants to punch Drew, but he can't. Fortunately, Dawn scoffs at the Hayden heir. "I've never had a crush on you. Like I said, you chose Brianna over everything you claimed to believe in! How can I continue being friends with a hypocrite?"

"Hypocrite? How am I a hypocrite?" Drew Hayden does honest work. He always follows his beliefs. If Dawn was his friend, why would she say these awful things about him? Why would she abandon him after his accident? She's the hypocrite! A true friend would never abandon their friends in need.

Dawn already vowed to never tell Drew about his relationship with May. He can threaten her all he wants, but she won't put May through that again. "We bonded over our love lives. We both felt trapped in this never ending system where we need to live for money." She gives him a small painful smile. "You were the only person I felt I could actually trust in this world. We related so well to the same problems."

"If we were such good friends, then why'd it stop? We still could've been friends after I married Brianna." While Drew understands it'd be a struggle to remain friends with Dawn, he wouldn't want to lose a good friend like this. He'd find a way around Brianna.

The bluenette takes in a deep breath. "You married Brianna."

"I don't get it? Wouldn't you support me as my friend?"

She shakes her head. "I support what's best for you...she has never been the best for you."

"I don't get it?" Drew wants more details, but Dawn seems hesitant. Why is everyone so careful around him?

"I'm not going to say anything bad about your wife. Let's stop this here."

"No!" Drew exclaims. He's finally getting somewhere with his memories. "I don't even love her! So say what you want about her?" He quickly clamps his hands over his mouth at realization of his words. Despite knowing he doesn't share the same feelings for Brianna, Drew hasn't voiced it to anyone besides for Betty. He never expected himself to tell someone in his world. Word travels fast in this world. Can he trust Dawn not to say anything? He did just threaten her. It'd be hard trying to convince Brianna that he never denied feelings for her.

Dawn raises her eyebrows in surprise at his outburst. "At least you remember something." She finds herself giggling, and Drew curiously looks at her.

"What do you mean?"

"You never married her for love."

"I figured. We don't really do that in our world." Drew knowingly remarks.

Dawn gazes at her cautious bodyguard with a small smile on her face. "Yeah, we don't. But you and I were gonna change that."

"Me?" Drew asks.

She nods. "We were sick of these stupid unspoken rules in our world. We were trying to change them one rule at a time." Dawn returns her attention to the confused man. "You married Brianna due to love, but it wasn't love for her. We tried to save you, but you still chose Brianna. You ran away, Drew, and it hurt all of us. We all suffered when we got caught."

"Who's we?" Drew presses, and Dawn sighs.

"Me and Solidad."

That would explain why she left for Slateport City so quickly after his accident. And why she ignores him. Is she guilty? Mad? Ashamed? Solidad knows him the most, so he's not surprised that she would be disappointed in him making the easy choice of marrying Brianna. Hesitantly meeting Dawn's eyes again, Drew sincerely says, "I'm sorry I got you in trouble."

She shrugs. "It's in the past."

"I know, but I betrayed you two."

Dawn gives him a warm smile. "We've moved on from then." She then eyes the clock on the wall. "It's late."

Drew nods. "I'll keep your relationship a secret." While he barely knows Dawn, he feels like he needs her trust. Like he can't betray her again even though he doesn't remember betraying her the first time. Thus, he will help protect Dawn and her bodyguard's secret relationship.

"Thanks." Dawn stands and motions for him to follow her to the door.

Once they reach the front doors where there is still no one, Drew has a thought. "Wait." The woman and Paul curiously eye Drew. "Why did I marry Brianna? You said I never loved her, and you tried to save me, but I still married her."

Dawn is prepared for this question. She innocently smiles at hmi. "Your parents wanted a partnership with Wakanna Enterprises. Solidad and I knew you didn't like Brianna, so we tried to intervene at the wedding. But you still chose to go along with it because it was the easier option."

Sighing, Drew walks out the open door. "I was so weak."

"It's hard fighting when all the odds are against you." Dawn tells him. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

Drew nods gratefully at her for trying to comfort him."One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Was I involved with the orphanage?" Solidad's picture is there, and Dawn had only agreed to this business relationship with Drew if he kept funding the orphanage. Also, the orphanage has been the cause of a lot of his headaches lately. He finds it hard to believe that he didn't have a tie to the orphanage like his two former friends.

Dawn purses her lips in a thin line. "Hayden Corporation was running service programs there."

"Yeah, but was I personally involved there?"

"I don't know." lies the woman. "Whenever we met up, we just talked about this crappy world we live in. We didn't really delve into our personal matters."

Chuckling, Drew agrees. "True. I don't really like digging into my personal life or those of others."

Relieved that he took the lie, Dawn says, "Good night, Mr. Drew."

"Call me Drew." Drew grins at her. "You've done it a few times tonight, and I like it like that."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be your friend again." Dawn once again lies. She misses Drew's friendship, though it's too painful for everyone if they get involved with him. Dawn can't do that to herself and May. "Have a good night, Mr. Drew."

Before Drew can try to convince her or ask why she won't be his friend, Dawn shuts the door in his face. He contemplates knocking and causing a scene until she sees him, but he feels like he's bothered her enough today. He's grateful for her honestly today. No one has ever mentioned anything to him about his past. She at least did, so he won't push it. He'll take things slow, and hopefully, she'll open up to him more in the future.

On the drive home to the mansion, Drew replays his conversation with Dawn over and over again in his head. He confessed to her that he doesn't love Brianna, and Dawn told him he never did. He married her for love, but he didn't love her. He wishes he had asked her what she meant by that, but the thought didn't occur to him until now. Usually, people in his world marry to expand their wealth, which he figures was the reason he and Brianna got married. However, Dawn said he married for love.

Love… What is love? That word doesn't exist in their world. However, a flash of sapphire hits his mind, and he feels his chest ache. The last time he saw her, he had snapped at her and stormed away. He hates how she lies to him too. He hates it from her the most, but he prefers being by her side than not at all.

Love is a weird thing. He doesn't know what it is. It's foreign to him. Nevertheless, he feels compelled to turn his car around and drive to the remote part of the city. The ache in his chest hurts less the closer he gets to his destination. If Dawn can fight silently to be with her bodyguard, then Drew shouldn't give up on what he wants too. What he thought he wanted were his memories back. While he would like to fill that void again, right now, he would rather have a certain brunette in his life. His memories can wait. He's waited years for them, so he can wait some more. Nonetheless, people can't wait, so Drew will let her know how important she is to him.

Thus, when he pulls up to the dark quiet orphanage alone, he finds himself walking around the building. No one would be able to hear him knocking at the front. He's been here long enough to know which window to knock on. Hopefully, he doesn't scare the woman inside. Reaching the window, he peeks inside to make sure he's at the right one.

Seeing the body under the covers and the tufts of brown hair confirms to him that this is her room. Drew continues looking around where he spots her desk in the moonlight. There is a plastic cup with a dead rose inside. Is that the same rose he gave her the other week? She actually kept it? Drew feels his heart ache again as his head does too. Shutting his eyes, he groans.

The headache is so intense that it causes him to stumble and hit her window, which wakes her instantly. She sees the figure outside and gets ready to scream when the moonlight emits his green hair to her. Deciding that she doesn't want to scare the children, she takes a closer look at the distressed man who isn't paying her any attention. She recognizes him and frowns. What is he doing here?

Slowly walking to the window, she opens it to hear him groaning. "Drew?"

He doesn't seem to notice her. Sighing, she reaches out a hand to his arm, getting his attention immediately. His surprised emerald eyes lock with her worried sapphire ones, and Drew feels his headache subsiding. Giving her a small smile, he says, "Hey."

"Why are you at my window? Do you know how creepy that is?"

He sheepishly rubs the back of his head as his heart pounds. "I uh wanted to apologize."

Amused, May crosses her arms over her chest. "I thought Drew Hayden doesn't apologize."

Drew rolls his eyes. "He apologizes when he's wrong."

"And what is he wrong about?"

Gazing at the woman inside the room while he is still standing outside her window, Drew relaxes. He's rarely wrong, but he's sure he made the wrong choice when marrying Brianna. If he had met May before he married Brianna, he's sure he would've risked everything for May. While Drew has been getting the cold shoulder from May, something about her makes him want to always be beside her. "He shouldn't have yelled at you." Drew lets out a breath as he closes in on her. "He shouldn't have walked away."

May is surprised by his sincere words. This is not the Drew she expected to see. Did he really come all this way this late at night for her? "It's okay-"

"No, it's not." Drew's face is mere inches away from hers. "I've been letting these missing memories take over my life. They're making me into someone I'm not, and I'm starting to think that it's better I forget them like everyone else wants me to."

May can't break away from his gaze, though she is relieved to hear he will stop searching for his memories. "That's good. You should live your life now instead of focusing on the past."

He nods. "I also want something else more than the memories now."

"Like what?" inquires the curious woman.

"You." Drew huskily breathes out, and May's face heats up. He's been following his head his whole life. However, his head has made him forget three crucial years of his life. He's been following his head to try and regain these memories, and it just seems to be making everything worse. Ever since he met this woman at that random mall in Petalburg City, he has found himself entranced by her. He wants to know more about her, and he wants her. He hasn't wanted anything in life before, but he wants her. They rarely know one another, though this realization just seems so right to him. "I love you, May."