Do You Still Love Me When We Meet Again? (Aubrey and Damon) novel Chapter 182

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The Bartlett pears in the courtyard were finally ripe.

Aubrey had assumed Damon was the one who craved them, but Tracy set her straight. Tracy told her that Bartlett pears were actually Aubrey’s favorite fruit, and that Damon had planted the entire tree just for her.

She walked out to the tree, reached up to pluck one, and wiped the skin with her hand before taking a bite. The juice was nectar–sweet, bursting with a rich, floral aroma. She really did love them.

And yet, everything felt so alien.

It left her feeling a simmering sense of anxiety, yet there was an underlying lightness to it all–a sort of blissful, mindless peace. It was the kind of worry–free existence where she didn’t even know what she was supposed to be stressed about.

Her mother–in–law’s lunch was delicious. Victoria kept piling food onto her plate, and Aubrey, too polite to refuse, ended up eating until she was uncomfortably full.

An hour later, the feeling still hadn’t passed. She went to find Victoria.“Mom, do you have anything for indigestion? Like some Tums?”

Victoria didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, her voice thick with affection.“If you’re full, you have to stop eating, honey. How did you let yourself get so stuffed? You silly girl.”

You kept piling it onto my plate,” Aubrey murmured, her voice small with embarrassment as she took the digestive tablets.“I didn’t want to be wasteful.”

Victoria gently rubbed her arm.“Even if you’ve lost your memory, you’re still so sweet and reserved. We’re family, Aubrey. From now on, don’t be

fraid to speak your mind.”

I will,” Aubrey replied, a small, relieved smile tugging at her lips. She swallowed the tablets with a sip of water.“In that case… I think I’ll skip dinner onight.”

That’s perfectly fine.”

Do you think I could go into Damon’s study to read? I’d like to go over my law books again.”

Of course you can,” Victoria said with absolute certainty.“Honey, you could tear his whole house down and he’d just tell you what a great job you did.”

Oh?” Aubrey looked at her, surprised. She couldn’t help but feel her mother–in–law was exaggerating.

The just offered a polite smile. She had lost her memory, not her common sense; she still had the cognitive reasoning of any normal person.

Eleven years together and still no wedding? How much love could there really be?

the suspected the passion had long since faded into a platonic, lukewarm dynamic. They were likely just a couple who had grown bored of one nother–too settled to leave, but with no spark left to enjoy. It was probably a case of “too good to throw away, but too bland to want.”

Or maybe, she thought, she was the one who had refused to break up.

After all, with a family as wealthy as the Blackwoods, only a fool would walk away. She was probably just dragging it out for as long as she possibly

ould.

Shaking off the cynical thoughts, she hauled her law books into Damon’s study and settled onto the lounge sofa to start reading.

Some books only required a single pass before the information felt burned into her mind. It was as if the law were etched into her very DNA–a deep cellular memory from a life spent in obsessive study.

Once Tracy left for work, the house fell into a quiet, domestic rhythm. It was just Victoria, her retired mother–in–law, and the live–in cook

Her mother–in–law spent the afternoons filling in the blanks of the Blackwood family tree–the various personalities, the high–stakes careers, and the complex web of relationships that held them all together

For the first time, the sheer weight of Damon’s family legacy truly hit her. They weren’t just wealthy, they were a dynasty

It made her wonder about herself. What kind of woman had she been to catch the eye of a man like Damon Blackwood? What kind of status or talem did she bring to the table to sustain a relationship for eleven years?

Perhaps it wasn’t just about romance. Perhaps it was a strategic alliance–a cold transaction of mutual benefit

When she finally pressed for details about her own background, her mother–in–law offered a gentle, practiced smile. “You’re a Crestview City girl,” she said vaguely.“Your family is quite comfortable. You have a brother there, too–Alex. He’s married with kids now,”

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But she was conspicuously silent about Aubrey’s parents. Every time the conversation drifted toward them, she deftly steered it back to safer shores.

Over the next few days, a steady stream of visitors arrived to pay their respects.

First came the eldest brother and his wife–Zachary Blackwood and Olivia Summers.

Then came her boss, Vincent Hall.

And finally, her friends–Alex Evans and Skylar Evans.

Aubrey didn’t recognize a single one of them. She was forced to navigate the introductions with a polite, frozen mask, her movements stiff and guarded. It was an exhausting performance–hosting people who knew her every secret while she didn’t even know their names.

Judging by their behavior, Skylar Evans was the only one who seemed to harbor a genuine grudge. She started off prickly, her words laced with a sharp, passive–aggressive edge. But the moment she realized Aubrey’s memory was a total blank, her attitude shifted overnight. She suddenly became cloyingly sweet, clinging to Aubrey’s arm like they were old confidantes.“Aubrey, can I come over and hang out with you more often?”

Skylar clearly had an ulterior motive, though Aubrey couldn’t wrap her head around how someone could flip a switch so quickly. Still, she tested the waters.“Let’s add each other on the Grid,” Aubrey suggested.

Skylar beamed, practically fumbling with her phone as she scanned the QR code.

Aubrey glanced at the screen and realized Skylar wasn’t even in her contacts. She didn’t hit ‘accept.‘ Instead, she let out a cool, detached remark. “It looks like we were nothing more than casual acquaintances before this.”

Skylar’s expression soured instantly, her face darkening with embarrassment.

Aubrey might have lost her memory, but she wasn’t an idiot.

If they hadn’t even bothered to be connected on social media, how close could they have possibly been?

Alex Evans, on the other hand, was actually in her contact list. Browsing through their old chat history, she discovered she had handled a commercial dispute for him and won the case.

There was something in the way Alex looked at her–a lingering, heavy warmth that suggested his feelings weren’t entirely platonic.

To his credit, he kept things respectful. He kept his concern simple, noting that she seemed to be doing much better. He told her she reminded him of he girl he’d first met back in college.

And what was she like?” she asked.

Alex chuckled, a soft glint in his eyes.“Beautiful. Dazzling. You were absolutely radiant.”

She offered him a polite smile, accepting the compliment with effortless confidence.“Thank you.”

When it came to praise, she saw no need for false modesty.

4 week passed.

Her aunt’s family of four arrived to pay her a visit.

Her mother–in–law made the introductions.

Aubrey’s first impression of the family of four was that they were incredibly fake. They wore their masks of civility with practiced ease, their voices dripping with a cloying, superficial politeness. Every word out of their mouths was pleasant, well–meaning, and perfectly proper–so flawless it felt

hollow.

Even Victoria’s hospitality toward her brother–in–law’s family felt forced. She treated them with a perfunctory kind of respect, as if she were simply going through the motions of a tedious social ritual.

Once the empty pleasantries were out of the way, Hannah Pierce looked at Aubrey with a sharp, inquisitive glint in her eyes. “If you don’t remember us do you at least remember your own family?”

“Hannah, have some tea,” Victoria cur in, her voice hardening with a clear edge of warning

Hannah’s lips curled into a smirk, a calculating, meaningful light dancing in her eyes “Ava, you aren’t keeping secrets from Aubrey, are you?

Victoria’s face instantly darkened.

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