A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, everyone. It's great to see some more people taking interest in this fanfic :D I've separated the story into parts now, so for newbies they won't feel like "Oh it's going to end now ... oh damn it didn't end" like most of you have probably felt while reading my chapters -sweatdrop- But I can safely say that the story will end in a couple more chapters ... I just want to put one more gigantic twist and for those who have seen the K-Drama they will know what I am talking about :) BTW, the summary of the fic is Brandy's 'Have You Ever' but I change the summary a lot ... and I think I shall change it now, lol. Anyway, enjoy this chapter ... it's a bit dull but I need to tie up some more loose ends...
Lost Memories of my Love
Chapter 34 – Best Friends
The boardroom fell silent as Squall stood up to speak. Rinoa sat quietly, wondering what she was going to do when they asked her for the uniform, because she left it on the elevator that was probably being examined already. Selphie kept glancing at Rinoa and giving her mischievous grins, somehow making Rinoa smile. It was probable that Selphie also found out about Rinoa's real identity.
"Thank you for coming here today," said Squall.
Rinoa spotted Ashleigh in the corner of her eye, looking mildly happy and calm in her executive's chair as she listened and clung onto Squall's every word. Rinoa shifted her eyes away from the devious woman and looked at Ellone and Laguna, who were sitting side by side. Laguna was paying attention to Squall, but when he somehow felt Rinoa's eyes on him, he looked at her and flashed her a boyish smile.
Rinoa smiled weakly back at him, slightly embarrassed that he had caught her looking around. Was it possible that he also knew about her true identity?
"…The courses start next week and I'm proud to say that things are going as planned," said Squall.
For the next ten minutes, Squall began going on about the Garden and how it was going to operate. Rinoa's mind drifted off into space as Squall spoke in some jargon about something or other. Her eyes began to wander around the room again, and somehow she felt differently about the way she felt about everything.
As Rinoa looked away from the ceiling, she spotted Min at the far end of the table. She was paying attention to Squall as well, but glanced at Rinoa with a small smile. She obviously felt proud of herself that Rinoa was out of bed and back at work again.
"But the real reason why I called you all here today was to welcome a new staff member," said Squall.
Rinoa quickly looked away from Min and at Squall in wonder.
"Well, technically she isn't new," said Squall, "But … we've all been under the impression that she's someone she isn't."
Rinoa flushed a bright red colour, as she knew straight away he was talking about her. She felt somewhat relieved that Squall was clearing her name up for her so she didn't have to go around correcting everybody that she was 'Rinoa'. It was just embarrassing that he drew so much attention to it.
"Now, you all know one of our financial staff, Sierra Hearten," said Squall.
All eyes were on Rinoa at that point. Min looked very interested like the rest of her co-workers, but Ashleigh's face was priceless – pure fear and panic stamped all over her sharp-featured face.
"But due to some … confusion and drama," said Squall slowly, "The both of us have gone through quite a journey together. Basically … she isn't Sierra Hearten at all, her name is in fact Rinoa Heartilly."
Everyone in the boardroom began to look at each other in confusion, not knowing what to think. Seeing as how many of them didn't especially know Rinoa personally, they did not know how to react. However, all of Squall's friends were smiling at her, along with Ellone and Laguna. Min looked the most shocked of the bunch, but Ashleigh … she suddenly looked nervous and looked out the window innocently, as if she didn't know a thing about it.
"Now … some of you might have known of Rinoa," said Squall coolly, "And some of you may think 'isn't she dead?' But … I'm not sure what kind of a miracle Hyne sent us …but somehow, Rinoa Heartilly is alive with us today. She had suffered from a case of amnesia and only just regained a portion of her memory. It's a twisted tale that not even Rinoa has figured out yet … but I'm just glad that she's here with us today. And I hope that all of you would be as well."
Min suddenly came out of her shocked trance and stood up, applauding with a shy smile. Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Ellone and Laguna followed her lead, and suddenly, everyone slowly stood up and applauded, still mildly confused about what was happening. Ashleigh stood up and clapped her hands once or twice, keeping a stony gaze cast on Rinoa.
This is … very bad, thought Ashleigh, What if she remembers what I did? What's going to happen now? Is she going to marry Squall? I'll lose my reputation! This is horrible…
Ashleigh quickly tried to form some sort of plan to fix the mess up. She thought and she thought, not paying attention to her surroundings anymore…
Rinoa smiled weakly, forgetting that Ashleigh was even there. She stood up slowly and as the applause came to an end and everyone sat back down again, she cleared her throat, not knowing what to do or say. She was beyond words; this was something she did not expect to happen with such a positive response.
"Well … I'm just glad that you're all accepting me," said Rinoa. "I know … it might be hard to get used to, for those who know me, but those who really don't … I take this as a chance to begin again, to be born again. But if you're puzzled … I mean, it may be hard to believe my story, I'm trying to believe it myself with the help of Squall and everyone … but if you're puzzled, I'll try to answer your questions…"
The rest of the meeting wasn't work-related and was steered into freehearted conversations amongst the workers. Ashleigh had slipped quietly out of the room and was nowhere to be found after that, and Rinoa found herself very busy with the amount of conversation she was engaged in.
"Rin, it is so good to have you back again!" squealed Selphie, "I mean, the real you. To tell you the truth, I seriously thought in my heart that you were Rinoa this whole time, but I just didn't want to say anything because Quisty and Irvy will get angry at me…"
"Hey, that's not true, Selph," said Irvine, "It would've just been Quistis."
"No, to tell you the truth, I had an itching feeling inside of me that you were Rinoa as well," said Quistis in a matter-of-fact tone.
"You're just saying that 'cause you don't wanna be wrong," said Irvine.
Rinoa laughed before the two of them could get into an argument. "Yeah, okay, I was wrong, I'm sorry for doubting you guys."
"Well it doesn't matter, we just missed you so much, Rin," said Zell, "And we missed the old Squall, too. Didn't we, Squall?"
"Bite me," said Squall, rolling his eyes.
The five of them laughed.
"Anyway, now I know it's the real you," said Zell, he lowered his voice, "You don't mind if I'm goin' out with your friend, right?"
Rinoa stuck her tongue at him. "Why would I mind, Zell? I'm just scared how the children will turn out…"
"Hey!" said Zell, turning red in embarrassment as everyone laughed at him.
"Speaking of your friend … shouldn't you go talk to her?" asked Quistis, "I mean, she looked pretty shocked…"
Rinoa smiled at Quistis sincerely and nodded in agreement. "You're right. Excuse me for a second, guys."
The young sorceress walked away from her friends and towards Min, a lone figure sitting in the boardroom at the wide table, fiddling with her cell phone. Rinoa sat next to her friend and looked over her shoulder.
"Watcha up to?" asked Rinoa curiously.
"Oh, nothing much … just going through all these text messages you've sent me," said Min, not looking at Rinoa, "Just embracing Sierra for a bit … 'cause then I'll have to change your entry to 'Rinoa'. Look, I'm reading the one you sent me when you said you'd be late coming to the store…"
Rinoa smiled fondly. "I'm sorry, Min."
Min looked at Rinoa in puzzlement. "What are you sorry about? You didn't do anything…"
"No … it's just … you've been my friend after this big mess started," said Rinoa, "You've known me for two years … it's gonna be hard getting used to it, huh?"
"Maybe," said Min, shrugging, "But hey, I've known you for two years. You're still the same person … you've just got a different name. Rinoa."
Rinoa smiled at her companion and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Gah … I'm just sorry I didn't tell you first."
Min pulled away from Rinoa and smiled back at her raven-haired friend. "It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're happy."
"Hey ladies," said Zell, approaching Min and Rinoa, his keys twirling around his finger, "I'm sorry to put this Kodak moment to an end, but everyone's leaving and I gotta lock this room up."
"Hey, no worries," said Rinoa, standing up, "Um … I'm going home first. Min, Zell … why don't you two grab a drink or something?"
"Are you sure, Rin?" said Zell, raising his eyebrows up at her.
"Positive," said Rinoa, "I'll see you two later."
"See you at home," said Min.
"Later," said Zell, waving.
Rinoa waved back and picked up her bag. She noticed the room was free of people, save for Min, Zell and herself. She pushed the glass door open and walked toward the stairs, only to find Laguna, Ellone and Squall standing around by the staircase.
"Hey there," said Rinoa, waving to the trio.
"Ah, Rinoa," said Laguna, "We were just talking about you."
Squall rolled his eyes and decided to ignore his father's comment. "Quistis and the others went to their offices, if you want to see them."
"Oh, I think I'll just let them work," said Rinoa, "The day was already busy as is…"
Ellone smiled at Rinoa. "It's nice to see you again, Rinoa."
Rinoa returned the smile. "It's nice to be back," she said for the umpteenth time. She had said the same phrase so many times already that it began to lose meaning to her.
"So, do you plan on visiting your father any time soon?" asked Laguna cheerfully, "I bet he'd be happy to see you again."
Rinoa hadn't thought about it yet. Wow … this re-discovering of my identity is gonna be more work than I thought it would be, she thought. "I guess I should. But it'd be … y'know … weird … wouldn't it?"
Laguna nodded. "I suppose so … but he's your dad, after all. He loves you, even with the history the both of you had…"
Squall rolled his eyes again at Laguna's lame attempt to give a hint to his son to forgive him. It's been so long and the young vice president still hadn't set aside his differences he had with his father. It was somewhat childish…
"Yes, true," said Ellone, reading the obvious look on Squall's face, "But it would be good if General Caraway found out from you, rather than from a newspaper."
"Uh…?" Rinoa looked at the older woman in uncertainty.
"Well, considering you're the daughter of such a military figure and a famous singer … the press would be dying to know such a story as yours," explained Ellone.
"Oh," said Rinoa, with a tinge of disappointment in her voice. "Well … I'll have to deal with it, wouldn't I…?"
What else am I supposed to deal with? Gosh … I thought getting all these memories back would be a good thing. Then again, nothing's perfect…
Laguna cleared his throat. "Anyway, Ellone and I'll be off now. Y'know, for our daily stroll."
Ellone glanced at the president and smiled at Rinoa. "Right. We'll see the two of you later, okay?"
Rinoa and Squall nodded, as Ellone and Laguna wandered off down the stairs. Rinoa looked at Squall and smiled weakly at him.
"Thank you, Squall," said Rinoa.
Squall returned the smile. "For what? I didn't do anything..."
"For clearing my name up," said Rinoa, "You were the last person I expected to get up in front of so many people and say something like you did."
Squall's smile turned into a mischievous one. "That hurts, Rin."
Rinoa laughed and poked him playfully. "Not as much as my poking raid!"
"Oh, anything but that," said Squall in mock-fear.
Rinoa stuck her tongue out at him and began to poke at him. Squall, in a sad attempt for defense, raised his arms up over his body.
Squall laughed and took a step back. "Maybe you should stop before you 'accidentally' push me down the stairs."
Rinoa scrunched her nose, but then eased when she felt like the conversation should be serious again. As much as she liked the humorous Squall who laughed and joked, she wanted to thank him properly.
"But seriously Squall, if I went around telling everyone I was 'Rinoa', then I don't think anybody would believe me," said Rinoa, sighing.
Squall shook his head in disagreement. "Why wouldn't they? You are Rinoa ... anyone could just glance at you and know it straight away."
"Not everyone is you, Squall," said Rinoa, smiling. "But ... I'm a nobody without you. I'm just ... so glad."
Squall took Rinoa in his arms and pulled her tight. "No, Rinoa ... it's quite the opposite. I'm nobody without you."
Rinoa buried her face in Squall's shoulder, absorbing his scent and his body warmth. "Thank you, Squall..."
"…And well, that's about it, I guess," said Rinoa, explaining the last bit of her story to Min. It was well past midnight, and the two of them were caught up in the retelling of Rinoa's drama. At times, it felt a bit strange for her because she would often pause and reflect on what had happened, seeing as how Min was the first person she had actually told the entire story to and Rinoa hadn't actually taken the time to think about it yet. She was wondering how many times she was going to tell the same story over and over again, considering that the press would want to know about this miraculous escape of death and the story of two lovers re-uniting again, as Ellone had said.
Min nodded in understanding. "Does Marcel know?"
Rinoa slightly frowned. "I don't know. Hyne, I don't know at all. All I know is he's a bastard and I'm never going near him ever again."
"Okay," said Min slowly, "But … don't you want to know the truth?"
"Of course I want to know the truth," said Rinoa. "I just don't want to hear it from him."
"But … who else are you supposed to ask?" asked Min, "You said so yourself. Nobody knows about what happened – not Squall, not your other friends, not even yourself. Marcel … or whoever he is … is the only person you can turn to."
"But, Min, he lied to me," said Rinoa earnestly, "What makes you think he can't lie again? What I thought was my life was a lie. And I've been deprived of this wonderful life I had … all because of him."
"Deprived of a wonderful life?" repeated Min quietly. "Are you meaning to say your life in Trabia wasn't worth anything?"
Rinoa sighed in exasperation, regretting that she said something so carelessly to offend her friend. "No, I didn't mean it like that, Min…"
"Exactly," said Min, "You don't regret having that life in Trabia. It's still a part of you, and so is Marcel. You loved him, didn't you?"
"Well … I guess," said Rinoa, "But … it wasn't even an intimate relationship. I just thought I loved him because he made me love him. Like, I had this thought in my head – you're supposed to love this guy. But that was just a thought … I never actually felt anything."
"Well, that may be the case," said Min, "But … why then, do you think, would he lie to you?"
Rinoa bit her bottom lip in nervous thought. Because he loved me… "Because he's a bastard."
"No, because he loved you," said Min.
Damn you, Min… "Yeah … well … that's a dumb way to get someone to love you…" Some more questions popped into Rinoa's mind at that very moment. Did that mean he knew Squall? Did he do it out of jealousy? Did he know her before she lost her memory? Or was he just some random, sick and desperate guy who wanted to take advantage of a poor girl who had lost her memory?
But Marcel isn't like that, a voice in Rinoa's mind told her. How would you know if he wasn't like that? Another voice argued with the other little voice. You don't know him at all.
"Yeah, well he still loved you," said Min, "And if he really did care about you, then he would tell you the truth."
"Min, I'm not going to come crawling back to him," said Rinoa, "I'm sure it'll come back to me somehow."
"But what if it doesn't?" asked Min, "You'll never know."
"Oh shush," said Rinoa childishly. She didn't like the complex thinking-outside-the-box at such a large mass. She just wanted a carefree life again … that was one thing she remembered, and one thing she really wanted.
"I don't even know what's happening with Squall and Ashleigh," said Rinoa, changing the subject.
"Did he tell you about it?" asked Min.
"All he said was 'I don't want to lose you again'," said Rinoa. "I saw little Ashy at the meeting today, and she looked rather happy. I didn't see her afterwards, though. I don't even know if she and Squall have spoken to each other yet."
"Well, do you love him?" asked Min.
"Of course I love Squall!" said Rinoa, "You wouldn't believe how much came back to me about him. After seeing all those things … my gosh, they totally changed my way of seeing Squall … of feeling about him. Same goes with Marcel … I wonder what he'll do … I mean, I still have his engagement ring…"
"Well that's why you should talk to him again," said Min, "To talk about the relationship. Say it's over … give back the ring."
"If he doesn't get that hint saying I was Rinoa Heartilly, then he is more of an airhead than anyone I've met," retorted Rinoa. "I think that's enough of a hint that 'it's over'."
Min rolled her eyes and was about to say something again, until Rinoa yawned and stood up. She stretched and glanced at the clock on the wall, noticing that it was one thirty in the morning.
"We'll talk more tomorrow, I'm so tired," said Rinoa, covering her mouth as she yawned again.
Min nodded in agreement. "All right. Sweet dreams, Rinoa Heartilly."
Rinoa smirked and turned off the light, heading for her bedroom. She closed the door and flopped on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, recalling the events of the day. Hazy thoughts ran in her mind, the endless questions, the endless 'what-ifs', the endless musings, and the endless hypothetical answers…
Just as she was about to fall asleep, the phone rang. Its loud, vibrant chime brought Rinoa's senses back to her, and she groggily sat up. She picked up the receiver and held it to her ear, wondering who could be calling at such a time.
"Hello?"
"Listen to what I have to say. Please."
It didn't take Rinoa long to figure out who had tried to call her. It was nobody other than Seifer, whom she did not feel like talking to. But for some reason, she didn't hang up on the man. It was as if Rinoa's hand was glued to the phone, refusing to let her hang up.
"It's two in the morning," said Rinoa, somewhat annoyed. She was amazed that she didn't have an outburst and wittily bite back at Seifer's words.
"I'm sorry, but it's important," said Seifer calmly.
"Tell me this, whoever you are … why should I listen to you?" asked Rinoa snappily. Somehow, the words she said weren't as harsh as she wanted them to be. After all, this man had scorned her of her dignity, stripped her of her life and identity … and all for what?
"Look," said Seifer, sighing, "I'm not asking you to trust me. But if you value what's important to you and what was important to you … if you want to know the things that nobody else can possibly tell you … then come to the Caraway Mansion in Deling tomorrow."
Rinoa was alas lost for words. She didn't know what to say, as the only thing that sprung into her mind was Min's word about Seifer and the truth. She couldn't think of anything else that could possibly help her.
"Come or don't come, it'll make no difference to me. But it'd make a helluva difference to you."
And with that, Seifer hung up, leaving Rinoa's ear pressed to the receiver, mouth hung open, gaping in speechlessness at the empty wall in front of her.
