Priyanka paused. A cold sweat trickled down her ear-length hair, descending onto her neck like morning dew on a delicate flower. With a swift, graceful motion, she raised the back of her hand to sweep away the beads of sweat, like a gentle breeze clearing the morning mist.

She looked at her mother through the kitchen doorframe and mindlessly watched her sprinkle the spices into her new recipe for their lunch. Her temples scrunched up in confusion. She could not recall the name her mother had just pronounced. "Say again?"

"Have you gone deaf or what? I said, Krishant," Sarangi sighed and continued to saute the food. "He said he's someone special to you. He even called you the other day, but I answered in your regard."

Priyanka firmly reiterated, "And I already confirmed that I do not know him." A stranger, permitted by her mother, awaited her in her room.

"You are saying you allowed some stranger in my room?" Priyanka ignored Sarangi's previous words. Privacy was important, normal to anyone, but clearly, her mother seemed troubled by the word. Blame it on Sarangi's busy morning schedule, but Priyanka already offered help with the chores. Sarangi needed to observe the visitors.

"He looked harmless," Sarangi defended.

Priyanka promptly grasped the course of the conversation. He appeared to be the type favoured by Sarangi, as per her mother's belief: someone with an affluent appearance.

"He could be a pervert." Priyanka sighs, and Sarangi looks at her in disbelief. The conversation was nowhere near practical nor related to their concerns. They were only trying to prove each other's points.

"He insisted on knowing you, even suggested that you only do not remember him. Now, that could not be made up, right?"

She heard her brother following closely behind her with all the grocery bags she had forgotten in the car as soon as she saw another black Mercedes in their driveway. He casually dumps all four grocery bags on the kitchen counter before offering a helping hand to their mother, aware of the stranger in the house. Priyanka turned around and headed to her temporary room, exiting the bickering between mother and son.

Bewildered, Priyanka couldn't believe her ignorant mother had allowed a stranger into her daughter's room just on his proclamation to be a special friend. His name did not ring a bell in her head either. Various thoughts ran through her mind as she walked to her room. Priyanka does not tend to forget close and special friends. Instead, all the people she had known praised her decency in friendship.

She did not provide any information about her whereabouts recently to anyone either. If a person knows about her mother's house, then he must be truly special or suspicious. She does not expect anyone to visit her anyway.

She stopped outside her room and peeked inside, facing the back of the guy. His towering figure seems to be inspecting her orderly room. She quietly but cautiously stepped inside like a burglar, about to rob him. He picked up a book from the top shelf before admiring it.

"Hey." She spoke. The guy dropped the book as soon as he was aware of the presence behind him, resulting in Paris's flinching at the thud sound the book made in the tranquil room. He hastily picks it up again and puts it back in its original place before facing his host, pretending as if nothing happened.

She quickly scanned his face in an attempt to recognize him. The man possessed high cheekbones, sculpted bushy eyebrows, and a pair of upturned dark eyes that were unique to her. His delicate features and rich fair complexion were accentuated by his light blue shirt. Priyanka acknowledged the man to be moderately handsome.

"Hey! Y-You are back." He awkwardly waved and smiled. A bulb of realization went off in Priyanka's head as she instantly recognized him. He resembled the guy from her dream. It was him.

Was that a memory? Priyanka pondered. The dream was vague for her to remember the exact features of the people in it, but without a doubt, she could recognize his cold and dark eyes.

Am I hallucinating? Is this real?

The thought of recovering the lost memory has raised her hope for something that she forgot to respond to the guy.

"How are you?" The guy asked, not minding the unresponsiveness of the girl. Priyanka's eyes went broader, and her face turned stiffer. The guy matched her expression soon after realizing it. 

"What? What is it?"

Priyanka stayed silent, debating whether she should come clean about her flashback, but he was still a stranger. Everything was confusing. "Do you remember me?"Priyanka bounces back from her trance after hearing the guy's question. She did not remember him. She just recalled a memory of him, a flashback, and she initially thought it was a dream.

"No, I don't." She hastily replies. She looked at the dull floor to avoid his gaze as sense of guilt suppressed her. There was no need to lie. The guy probably came to see her and knows her somehow. He solely wants her to remember him. He doesn't know how lost she feels just by looking at him. "Your mother said I could wait in your room." He clarified. "I am Krishant, by the way. Krishant Sanghvi." Priyanka nodded, aware that she didn't need to introduce herself.

The room went silent as both of them tentatively chose their following words. "I have amnesia, so while you may remember me, unfortunately, I can't recall you." Priyanka begins. "And I don't know how I know you." She decided to leave out the details of her tragic accident.

"I am aware of your condition." Priyanka again looked at the dark-haired man. "I know everything about you. I visited you at the hospital often." His expression wore a look of sentiments that made Priyanka flutter in confusion. She could witness his genuineness.

Suddenly, Priyanka was ashamed of the lack of hospitality from her side. She realized the amount of time they spent standing. She gestured for him to stop talking and pulled out the chair for him to sit on as she waited patiently on her bed. "Sorry, I didn't treat you properly. Would you like something to drink--"

"No, really relax. I am completely okay, and I understand. I am here to see you, anyway." His comforting words and smile calm her anxiety.

Priyanka sighed and inquired after some minutes, "So, how do I know you?" She couldn't wait any longer. It was torturing her from the beginning that she didn't know the guy, and he knew everything about her, or at least she thought. She wanted to grasp every detail of the past two months of her life if he could provide any. The new character in her life enkindled her to look deeper. And Krishant was already connected to her.

"We met four months ago." Krishant began, "We first met at a bar. It was something else." He dreamily whispered the last part. Priyanka sighed at the confirmation of the guy. She doubted from the very beginning. They associated with each other for three months now. The period she can't remember. The only reason she couldn't recognize the guy.

How could that be? She wondered.

"What kind of relationship do we share?" She asked impatiently after noticing Krishant daydreaming. Her straightforwardness surprised her as well. She could never forget the look in his eyes at that moment, the crazy look he gave her before confirming the unimaginable words. "I mean, we probably have professional relations?" She asked to subdue the awkwardness.

"I am your boyfriend, Priya." He grinned. Priyanka inaudibly gasped at him. Lips parted, she looked at him in disbelief. She couldn't comprehend the situation nor utter any sounds. She went speechless, soundless for an entire minute.

"H-How... How is that possible?" She carefully asks.

He shrugs nonchalantly, "It is true." He leaned forward and confirmed yet again.

"No." She stood up from her place, and Krishant followed. He was just as bewildered as she was. He couldn't understand the reaction or the issue she was suffering. "It can't be true."

"I am not lying." He instantly protested.

Both of them were aware of Priyanka's condition, yet she refused to believe him. She couldn't remember him or anything at all and still rejected his words abruptly. The relevant questions spin around her head, enabling her to wrap them around her damaged head.

Ironically, her reaction was somewhat acceptable, considering her past relationship situations. Paris has never officially dated anyone before. She weighed it as an unrequired burden for her hustle-bustle life. She preferred dalliances, as she says; the reality speaks way differently for her, though. She has tried blind dates and online dating, but none of them seemed to work out for her. Her best friends even accused her of being too demanding. She just wanted someone to understand her and accept just the way she is. She had experienced it once in her life that still plastered clearly in her memory.

On the other hand, Krishant said nothing; but his posture went blank along with his expression. He moved inches toward her and gained her complete attention. His hypnotizing dark eyes made Paris shrink from their intensity. She was scared to look away, as if she would miss something if she looked away even for a second.

"I wish this was not true. I wish you never got into that accident. But the reality is different now, and I have fully succumbed to it. I can't share your pain, but I can understand. You might never remember me, and I accept that. But denying your past can not heal you. So please believe me."____

The brewing hot coffee rested on the kitchen table, untouched. Priyanka kept her stare at the empty wall without blinking away, unsure if telling her mother about the earlier conversation with Julian was right.

Priyanka couldn't remember Julian, but denying his words was also foolishness. He did not look harmful; believing him was not an issue; maybe thoroughly trusting him could be an issue. He was a stranger to her. He might know her, and they might've known each other in the past, but now everything was different.

Considering her past dating experience, he didn't seem like her type either.

Sarangi turned around, carefully placing the knife into the knife holder. She looked at her exhausted daughter and then glanced at the untouched cup of coffee she prepared for her. Her child was in pain, and she couldn't take it away, not even a little. It must be the mother's instincts for her, but she quickly asked Paris to spare all the details about the conversation with Krishant right after he left.

She was indeed fascinated by Julian's charismatic presence earlier in the morning, right after Paris and Christopher left for grocery shopping, he came. Even Sara came rushing down to look at the person who entered the house. Sarangi had no other choice but to let him wait in Priyanka's room after they awkwardly ran out of the conversation.

"I don't see a reason for him to lie to you," Sarangi suggested. "He's your friend, after all."But then again, she doesn't know him enough to comment on anything about him. Knowing her opinion didn't matter to Paris anyway, she stayed quiet after that.

"I know, but what he said doesn't make sense." Priyanka quietly responded before continuing energetically, "I have to ask Dhiraj and Akansha if they know something."

"Yes. You should do that." Suzzan approached her with wary grey eyes.

"They mentioned nothing about him either on any of our calls," Priyanka says before proceeding towards her room. Noticing the awkwardness surrounding them, Priyanka nodded as an indication of polite dismissal.

They never tried to acknowledge it, but reuniting under critical circumstances overwhelmed them with the obligations of blood relationships. They were willing to sacrifice anything for each other, but forgiving and accepting their own self seemed hard to accomplish.

"And he's not my friend."

______________