I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 19

His freezing, acidic words drove straight through Zoe's chest like daggers.

Hayden took a rare moment to study her intriguing eyes. The sorrow, grief, and heartbreak that usually painted her face had been completely replaced by endless confusion and utter bewilderment.

"Back me up? Who?"

Zoe had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"Hmph."

Hayden sneered, choosing not to call her out on the spot.

A mere annoyance like Hunter wasn't worth his time.

All he cared about was whether Zoe could still fulfill her obligations under the prenup. As for who she spent her free time with—

He couldn't care less.

Zoe waited a long time for him to elaborate, but nothing came.

In the dead of night, bathed in the dim, golden light of the lamp, Hayden's face looked like an exquisitely carved marble statue—isolated in his terrifying beauty, impossibly handsome, and chillingly devoid of humanity.

The shadows sharpened his breathtaking jawline, but Zoe had no desire to admire the view.

Why was he playing these cryptic mind games? Did he want her to guess?

With his erratic, volatile personality, how was she supposed to read his mind? Why couldn't he just speak plain English?

"I have amnesia."

She honestly had no idea how to deal with him.

In Hayden's eyes, her genuine confession just looked like a shameless excuse.

He let out a cold scoff, his hand instinctively dropping to his side. But he was only wearing a bathrobe; his pockets were empty.

The pack of cigarettes was sitting right on the nightstand, but remembering how much Zoe despised the smell of smoke, he forced himself to hold back.

"Brain damage is not an excuse."

"..."

Zoe was rendered speechless.

She thought they would be locked in this standoff for a while, but Hayden pulled out his phone and dialed a number right in front of her.

"Get to Blackwood Manor. Now."

Zoe seriously suspected the doctor was screening her for every form of cancer known to mankind.

Hayden was waiting for the results.

"Ms. Lynd has a mild concussion, but all other physical vitals are perfectly normal. As for the amnesia... that isn't something we can verify with medical data.

Medically speaking, there is no pharmacological treatment for memory loss. It's trauma-induced amnesia. As her brain physically heals, her memories might naturally return, but it's not a guarantee."

Hayden had changed into a set of dark loungewear. The soft cotton made him look marginally less lethal than when he was dressed in a tailored suit.

Sitting on the living room sofa, he lightly rested his fingers against his temple, his thin lips parting to deliver a chilling verdict.

"So what you're saying is, there's no way to prove her amnesia is real."

Zoe gasped. By saying they couldn't prove it, he was basically accusing her of faking it.

"Amnesia is amnesia! Why the hell would I fake it? And if your tests are so useless, I'll just go to a real hospital tomorrow and get tested again!"

What right did he have to automatically assume she was lying? What would she even gain from that?

Quentin stood off to the side, pushing his glasses up his nose, keeping his mouth firmly shut.

Hayden continued to pin her down with that interrogating stare. When he was silent, the ambient temperature in the room dropped by several degrees, making the atmosphere suffocatingly tense.