“Tobey?!”

Tobey looked up to find his parents rushing up to him. He cried as he ran towards them. He hugged them tightly.

“What happened? What did you do? Where’s Anna?”

“Anna fainted. And she’s still not waking up. And I’m wanted by the police.”

“What? What did you do?”

“I hit this lady with a wood plank at the back of her head.”

His father was stunned, and his mother closed her eyes tightly. They shouldn’t have let Tobey follow Anna. His mother noticed a couple of ladies crowding around Anna. The police were there too; they waited for his parents to come.

Mrs Maguire then realized something must have happened to Anna.  She saw her lying on the bed; looking pale and tired. She then turned to Jessica who was holding Anna’s hands tightly.

“Are you her family?”

Jessica looked up. She nodded.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Why didn’t you report her to the authorities?”

“I know I should have but I couldn’t do so.”

“Because of Tobey?”

“I’m a mother and I tend to be selfish when it comes to my son.”

“But Anna has a family. She has loved ones here. We were in total wreck when we realized that Anna could never return home because of the plane crash.”

“Plane crash? Anna was a victim of a plane crash?”

“You have no idea?”

“I’m sorry, we live up in the mountains. We don’t have internet or any form of communication device. We just live a simple life.”

Jessica noticed that. The couple looked like Amish people. They looked very simple and down to earth.

“But since Anna has found her family, we will leave her to you.”

“What? Then how about Tobey? How about her marriage to Tobey?”

Mrs Maguire smiled before she turned her focus on Anna. Taeyeon and Irene moved to the side when Mrs Maguire came closer to Anna. She sat on the chair and gently caressed Anna’s cheek with the back of her hand.

“Anna comes to us like a gift from God. She’s proper; beautiful and a very nice girl. Tobey developed a liking in her, but Tobey is not ready to be someone’s husband.  And I can never do such despicable thing towards Anna. We know she belongs to a family and I told my husband, if Anna finds her family, we will let her go.”

“Tobey is married to Anna, didn’t he?”

Taeyeon asked. She was curious.

“It’s not a proper marriage certificate. It’s just a phony marriage that we created to appease Tobey. Anna is aware too. We had a talk with Anna before.”

Everyone was stunned with the revelation. All including Tobey; he was surprised when his mother revealed the truth.

-

“Anna, can we talk?”

“Oh, sure. What is it?”

“I just need to tell you the truth about this marriage to Tobey.”

“Hmm?”

Anna was wearing her wedding gown. She looked so beautiful, but Anna wasn’t excited about the marriage.

“This marriage is not certified. It’s not legal. We are just doing a phony wedding ceremony to appease Tobey.”

“Why? You don’t want him to be married?”

“Of course, we would. But not this way. You still don’t know who you are, Anna. What if you’re married and your husband is somewhere out there waiting for you? It will be unfair to you.”

“But what if Tobey finds out?”

“We will look after Tobey for the rest of our lives. He cannot live like a normal man. Although I could see him trying because he loves you, but I know you are just being nice to him.”

“So, what am I supposed to do now?”

“Just pretend to be married to Tobey. You don’t have to consummate your marriage. Tobey is satisfied just calling you his wife.”

“And if the truth uncovers itself?”

“We will deal with it then. Just do us this favour.”

“Okay, I will.”

“And Anna, it’s time for you to find your family. I’ll be devastated if Tobey is still alive somewhere when we presumed that he was dead.”

Anna nodded.

-

Tobey was stunned when his mother revealed the truth. Anna is not his wife. She’s not his legal wife. He has no say over her. His father was holding him; fearing he might take off suddenly. He put his arms around his son’s shoulders.

“Tobey, I told you before. When things are not ours, it will never be. Even if you want to hide Anna far away from her own identity, you know God will lead her back to where she actually belongs.”

“I hide her photo. It was her only clue in her possession.”

“You thought you could hide the fact that she has a beautiful family in Korea?”

“She has a girlfriend.”

Tobey pointed to Jessica.

“The lady in the photo is her. And Anna has always been thinking of her; even though she couldn’t remember anything about her past.”

Mrs Maguire then got up and walked over to her son. She felt sorry for him and she knew it was her fault that things led to this. She hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry, Tobey. I’m sorry that we lied to you.”

“So, Anna’s not my wife?”

“No, she isn’t. And she belongs here. We need to leave her here.”

“I can’t stay with her?”

Tobey started sobbing hard. Jessica looked on; felt even sorrier than she was before. The other ladies felt the same too, Yuri especially. She approached the policemen who was watching awkwardly.

“I’m not going to sue him. Please don’t charge him.”

“Are you sure, Miss Kwon?”

“He’s a special child. He probably cannot remember why he hit me.”

“But we will still require charging him for assault. He has to pay fine or something.”

“Okay, I just don’t want to see him in prison. He’s not going to survive there.”

“Sure, Miss Kwon.”

Mrs Maguire was thankful for Yuri’s kind heart. She went up to Yuri and bowed deeply. Yuri stopped her. She shook her head.

“Anna is my cousin. We grew up together. She doesn’t have any family because her parents died when she was a child. So, my parents brought her to stay with us and we have been close since then. I was devastated when I realized I lost her to death.”

Mrs Maguire was stunned but bowed again. She regretted.

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Mrs Maguire. You saved her. You saved her from the crash. You took her home and let her stay with you; giving her a place to live. I should be grateful to you. I should be thankful that you saved her. She could have died.”

“Anna is a nice lady. She has been taking good care of Tobey. She doesn’t have to. But Anna taught Tobey a lot of things like how to count, how to spell certain words and how to behave properly in the public. Tobey has ADHD. It was difficult to control him but when Anna lives with us, he started listening to her. His world suddenly became Anna’s. His life is Anna and everything in him is because of Anna.”

Mrs Maguire held Tobey’s hand and squeezed tightly. The man just kept sobbing hard; he hid his face on his mother’s back.

“Tobey, I told you before. If Anna found her family, we will have to give her up. You promised you would.”

He nodded like a child.

“But you have hit this lady and the police is going to charge you. Are you going to be responsible?”

“You think Anna will be proud of me if I do?”

“Of course, she will.”

“Okay, I’ll admit to the charge.”

Jessica felt something for Tobey. Anna has indeed become his everything. All his actions would have to be approved by Anna. She wondered how much Tobey loves Anna. Probably much more than she ever did.

“Mrs Maguire, we will not charge him. We will help him if needed.”

Jessica decided she had to help Tobey and his parents. Taeyeon and Soo Young were surprised but they went along with Jessica’s decision. Everything that happened was just an unfortunate string of events.

“Mr Maguire, please follow us to the police station. We will need to take your statement.”

“Okay but can give me a minute?”

“Sure.”

Tobey went up to Jessica and gave the photo back to her. He smiled weakly before speaking up.

“I guess, you can stay with her. You can take her home with you. But can you promise me something?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Can you look after Anna? Can you love her better than I do?”

Jessica smiled.

“Anna’s so lucky to have met you. You can visit her if you want to.”

Tobey’s facial expression brightened. He nodded before making his way to the police. His parents followed him and the police. He apologized to Yuri too.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m fine.”

“Thank you.”

“You take care of yourself. When Anna is awake, I’ll bring her to meet you.”

Tobey smiled sincerely.

-

“You did well there, Yuri.”

Tiffany wrapped her arms around Yuri. Tobey has left with his parents to the police station. And he was charged for assault. He needed to stay one day in a cell which he agreed. Taeyeon got a hotel room for his parents to stay. Yuri asked her to.

“I pity him.”

“Out of sudden?”

“His parents lied to him about the marriage. He was devastated when he found out the truth.”

“He is a special child.”

“Yeah but he’s still a human. He has feelings. And the fact that he loves Yoona so much; he’s willing to do anything just to keep her with him.”

“If he’s perfectly fine, you would give Yoona to him, don’t you?”

“Well, if Yoona loves him, yeah why not?”

“Then Jessica?”

“I know you’re going to trap me like that. I mean, it’s up to Yoona actually. Now, the person herself is still in coma. We wouldn’t know if she will wake up one day.”

“She will. I’m pretty sure Yoona or Anna would like to resolve this whole thing. I have always believed that Yoona has a degree of responsibility to this mess. She will wake up to resolve all this.”

“I hope so.”

-

Soo Young and Taeyeon went home with Irene and Wendy. The two young ladies were exhausted with all the commotion and Soo Young was bewildered too. But she didn’t say much; however, she was a little concerned with Taeyeon. The woman was very quiet since just now.

Irene and Wendy excused themselves and went straight to Irene’s room. Taeyeon was in the living room and Soo Young sat next to her. She was staring at Taeyeon who was seemed to be in deep thoughts.

“What are you thinking of?”

Soo Young gently nudged Taeyeon in her knee.

“Nothing much, I just felt sorry for Tobey.”

“Because of his phony marriage?”

Taeyeon nodded. Soo Young took her hand and gently slipped her palm over Taeyeon. She then squeezed tightly. Taeyeon smiled and leaned on Soo Young’s shoulder.

“I just feel that his parents shouldn’t do that to him.”

“They don’t really have a choice. They were torn.”

“Yes, but he had high hopes that he was actually married to Anna; he thought he was actually her husband. I mean, it must be a great deal for him to be someone’s husband despite having that condition.”

“But his parents did the right thing. Anna’s past is still unknown, and her memories were buried deep hidden. His parents care so much about Anna to ensure that Anna will not lose out.”

“I’m grateful for that but did you see his eyes? Did you see how devastated he was?”

Soo Young smiled and then nodded. She then pulled Taeyeon in and hugged her tightly in her embrace.

“We can bring Anna to visit him.”

“Yeah, now our only hope is Anna to wake up. I don’t want Tobey to put behind bars just like that.”

“I’m sure Yuri will ensure that he will not. Even Jessica has hired a lawyer for him.”

“I’m surprised she did that.”

“I guess she’s grateful to Tobey for saving Yoona’s life.”

Taeyeon smiled widely.

“I guess so. We all need to be thankful to Tobey and his family. Yoona is back with us.”

-

“Miss Jung, the DNA results are out. Yes, Anna Maguire is indeed Im Yoona. She’s 99.9% related to Miss Kwon Yuri and we have blood samples of Miss Im when she was here for medical check-up few years ago. We ran a quick test; we can positively identify Anna Maguire as Im Yoona.”

That was the best news Jessica has heard since forever.  Anna Maguire is the woman she loves. The woman she thought had perished; now she has returned as Anna Maguire. She’s indeed Im Yoona.

Jessica reached out for Yoona’s hand and squeezed tightly. Tears fell from the corner of her eyes as her lips lingered over Yoona’s palm. This time, Jessica was not going to let go. She would hold on and would not wander far off from Yoona.

Enough of being wishy-washy. She has resolved her issues with Taeyeon. They are friends; very close friends. And she knows she still loves Taeyeon but not as much she would before. Yoona filled that void and losing Yoona a year ago was devastating. There was no way Jessica would allow another tragedy to happen again.

And the fact that Tobey’s marriage with Yoona was just a phony; Jessica was relieved. Her woman was still hers.

If Yoona wakes up and remembers who she was.

“Yoona, welcome back, baby. Welcome home. You must have been subconsciously fighting your way back to us. I’m not letting go anymore, Yoona. I’ll keep you next to me for the rest of my life.”

-

Anna struggled to wake up. She heard everything. Even though she was comatose, she could hear every single conversation that happened in her room earlier on. Her heart fell when Tobey found out that their marriage was fake. She heard Tobey’s cries.

Anna worried for him. Yes, he may not be her husband legally, but Anna has always believed that Tobey loves her genuinely. She never had someone who loved her that way; not even Jessica.  Jessica Jung. Anna has found out who she was. And how Jessica Jung was interrelated to her.

Despite everything else, Anna’s heart still wants Jessica Jung. She loves her. Even though she’s Anna for now. But now Tobey was involved. And he hurt Yuri because he thought he would lose her.

How could she just let him be? How could she just walk away from Tobey and be with Jessica? She was responsible for Tobey; she made him loved her unconditionally.

Now, she wanted to wake up and resolve the pending issues. But one problem remains.

Should she continue to pretend amnesia? Or should she just be truthful and come back to where she belongs?

Or should she continue to be with Tobey and kept her promise to him?

What should she do?

She needed answers.

-

Jessica was lying next to Yoona. She fell asleep while waiting for Yoona to wake up. Then she felt someone stirred in in her sleep; she jolted up and opened her eyes immediately. She noticed Yoona’s fingers moved and her eyelids were fluttering before Yoona opened her eyes slowly.

“Yoona! Are you waking up?”

“Sica…”

Yoona whispered softly; her lips were parched, and her voice was hoarse. She tried to swallow but it was too painful for her.

“Water..”

“Hang on!”

Jessica poured a glass of water and grabbed a straw that was nearby the tray. She then held Yoona up and sat behind Yoona so that the taller woman could lean on her. Yoona had difficulties but Jessica was patient to wait on her.

“Take your time. Slowly sip.”

Yoona nodded and tried to take one sip at a time. But once the liquid touched ; she felt so relieved that she threw the straw away and gulped the water down. Jessica poured another glass and Yoona could drink easily now.

Jessica slowly held her up and rest her back against the bed rest. Yoona adjusted herself. Then time went still; the two just stared at each other. Jessica was standing next to Yoona but she was rooted to the ground.  She could never imagine that Yoona could be right here in; in flesh and blood; breathing and everything. She thought Yoona was dead all this while.

Yoona was staring at her; taking in everything. Jessica has aged a little but she’s still beautiful. Her “death” must have caused a toll on Jessica’s health. She has grown thinner than she was before and Yoona’s heart ached when Jessica’s eyes brimmed with tears.

She reached out for Jessica and the older woman leaned closer. Yoona’s left hand rest on Jessica’s cheek; she caressed gently. Jessica leaned in; Yoona’s hand was warm. She missed it.

“I’m sorry, Jessica.”

“No, don’t say that. You’re not in the wrong.”

“I should have searched for you earlier.”

Jessica shook her head adamantly. She was not going to care about the past. It was nobody’s fault; not even Tobey. It was just time was playing a trick on them.

“I don’t care anymore. I don’t want to think about the past anymore. I’m looking forward for our future together. You’re here. You’re back and I’m not letting you go now, Yoona. I’m not going to let you slip away from my grip; I’ll always follow you.”

“Literally?”

“Yes, literally. You will find an annoying girlfriend keeps bugging you every now and then.”

Yoona chuckled softly. She then tapped on the side of her bed; urging Jessica to sit next to her. The woman didn’t waste any time; she sat in front of Yoona with her hands clenching Yoona’s tightly.

“I have a favour to ask from you.”

“What is it?”

“Before we get back together, give me time to settle things with Tobey.”

“Of course, you should. I feel sorry for him.”

“I shouldn’t have done that to him; shouldn’t have agreed to it.”

“No, don’t say that. We all understand, even Tobey understands now. Yoona, please don’t take responsible of something that was beyond your control. Your head took a disastrous hit and made you lost your memories. But your personality still stays the same.”

“Hmm?”

“Tobey told me how wonderful you are to him. And his parents are fond of you. That’s you, Yoona. That’s the real you. The real Im Yoona has never fades away all this while.”

“And that my heart still remains the same. Even when I have lost my memories, my heart still wants you. Remember the very first time I saw you after the accident? I felt something when you held my hand.”

“I know you do. I can feel it too.”

“We connect, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did, and we will always be. Yoona, I know you feel responsible for Tobey. And if you need some time to settle things with Tobey. Please go ahead. I’ll wait for you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m very sure. I made you wait. This time, I’ll wait for you.”

“Thank you, Jessica. Trust me, I’ll return to you.”

The lovelorn couple embraced each other tightly.

-