Chapter 50

Goldie was a little late for lunch. That was because she had napped a little longer than she had expected to. But she went downstairs as fast as she could.

"Oh Valentina you're here. I was beginning to worry about you."

Ellen said as she looked up from her food, a large smile on her face. She patted the seat next to her and Goldie joined her and sat next to her.

She looked round the table and found Remy sitting at the end of the table, he didn't look up from his food. He didn't even acknowledge that she had come in.

"I wouldn't miss it. How are you feeling?"

She asked Ellen and Ellen smiled.

"I feel much better now that I'm back home. It's almost as if nothing ever happened."

"You had us all worried, but I'm glad you're fine now."

Goldie said as she held her fork. The table was already set, there was chicken, salad, gravy, greens and mashed potatoes. She would have her pick.

"Valentina how are you doing? I noticed we haven't had the chance to talk in a while."

Kale asked and Goldie looked up at him, surprised by his statement. They barely talked, the two of them. In fact, if there was one person she was the least close to in the pack, it would be Kale.

"We don't really do much talking."

She said and Kale nodded.

"You're right. That could change."

She doubted that. But he could try if he wanted. What was there to talk about in the first place? She had more luck talking with Ellen or Marielle than Kale.

"Remy said you went to see the specialist. How are your memories coming up? Remember anything yet?"

He asked and Goldie glanced at Remy, he had paused, even though he was looking down athis food. Was he waiting for her answer? Goldie shrugged.

"I didn't get to see the specialist. And no, I don't remember anything. Nothing so far."

Remy's eyes shot up to hers. There it was, how did he miss it? She had lied. Her heartbeat had skipped. He never thought of listening to it because for a while now he didn't think there was ever any reason for her to lie. But she had lied and he had caught her.

Kale exchanged glances with Remy. Their glances held the confirmation that they needed. She was lying to them. Goldie was oblivious to everything that was going on between Remy and Kale and their silent conversation, she was about to take a sip of her water when her phone rang. She picked it up and looked at it.

Her eyes widened as she saw the number. She knew that number from anywhere, she had it memorized. Just like how she had her number and her parents' numbers memorized, she would recognize Colin's number anywhere.

"Excuse me."

She murmured to nobody in particular as she stood up from the table and rushed out of the dining room.

"Colin?!"

She murmured as she got outside. Her heart was beating really fast, she wondered if he believed her, if he did, or if he was calling her for another reason.

"Goldie?!"

Goldie. He called her Goldie, she sighed in relief. He believed her.

"Yes? Yes it's me." She said as she let out a sob, tears almost streaming down her face.

"Can we talk? Last night was the first night I slept through the night without a single nightmare. I think we need to talk."

"What are we going to do about this Goldie?"

"Where? Where do you want us to meet?"

She asked as she looked at the time on her phone, she could make it, even if it meant her having to drive the long way and going back into the city.

"I'm still in LA, I don't know if you'll be able to make it or something but we could meet up somewhere closer to your place if you want."

"Anywhere's fine with me, just, just give me an address and I'll be there."

"Okay. I'll send you an address."

Colin said as he finally hung up the call.

Goldie sighed in relief as she ended the call. As she turned back to go into the house, she wondered what she was going to tell Remy. She didn't like lying to him, especially now since that he seemed to be giving her the cold shoulder. He was upset about something and she didn't know what it was yet. If she told him she was going to see a friend, then he would know that she had recovered her memories and that was a whole lot of things she couldn't explain, because they were her memories, not Valentina's.

She would have to tell him the truth too soon, because she couldn't keep lying, it didn't work, it wouldn't work.

.........

Goldie sat nervously at the bar, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass, her thoughts racing. After her call with Colin, she had lied through her teeth again to Remy, telling him she needed to get some supplies, that her period was coming up and there was only one specific brand of sanitary product she liked using and she'd rather take the time to go get it herself. He agreed, in fact, he didn't seem to care that she was going out all alone. But he had suggested she went along with one of his pack members for protection.

So a man named Michael drove her to town. Then she had told Michael to stop at the bar, that she wanted to say hello to a friend. Michael didn't seem to particularly care, he just did whatever she asked him to do.

When Colin walked in, Goldie spotted him walking in, he was wearing a familiar green T-shirt and simple jean trousers. He took a seat beside her. The bar hummed with laughter and music, a stark contrast to the weight of the conversation they were about to have.

"You still have that shirt..."

She murmured and Colin nodded.

"You remember?"

"Of course I do."

"How did you manage to come? When you told me where you lived and all, I assumed you wouldn't be able to come out and see me."

Goldie shrugged.

"Remy is a reasonable man. I told him I was coming here to get some supplies that I can't find anywhere else and he didn't mind."

Colin nodded, his face held no emotion. He signaled to the bartender for a drink. The bartender took his order.

"So... when you called, I wasn't expecting your call. To be honest I didn't think you'd believe me..."

She started.

Colin cleared his throat.

"You told me things only you would know... and I remembered the first day we met, something about you felt so familiar, especially the way you ate that croissant and maple syrup in that cafe..."

"You didn't have your memories then right?"

He asked and she nodded in reply.

"You didn't have them and yet you were so much like yourself. Sitting where you would normally sit and ordering what you'd normally order even when you had no memory of who you truly were."

Taking a deep breath, Goldie nodded her head. He was right, even back then she didn't remember who she was yet, yet her mannerisms and actions remained the same.

After a moment of silence, he continued, "Goldie, I trust you and I've known you for years, I've seen you go through a lot of happy and sad moments in life, and I know you wouldn't make something like this up. But the question now is, how are we going to get you back into your own body?"

Goldie sighed, her relief palpable. "I wish I knew, Colin. I have no idea how to? I'm trapped in Valentina's life and I don't have a clue how to fix it or what to do, it is so frustrating!"

Colin looked at her intently and then said, "I know you might not want to hear this, but maybe it's time to face Remy and tell him the truth."

Goldie shook her head.

"Would that work?! Will he even believe me?"

"I don't know if he will but you're not his wife. You're not Valentina Combe and you can't keep pretending that you are."

"What if I stay like this forever?! I've thought about this, the real Valentina is probably dead. What if I have to live as Valentina for the rest of my life?!"

The bartender brought a coke for Colin. He and Goldie sat there for a while in complete silence, before Colin remembered something.

"I just remembered something..."

"What?"

She asked.

"Before I left, I ran into your Nana. She seemed to believe you were alive. She wouldn't stop repeating that you were alive."

"She never believed for one second that you were dead." Colin added with confidence.

Suddenly, Goldie's eyes lit up with a spark of realization. Of course!

Nana!

Her nana must have known something.

"I remember something about Nana," she said, her voice trembling with a mix of emotions. "She gave me an amulet. She always said something cryptic about it, like it would protect me. She was always begging me never to take it off. But on the night I had the accident I took it off because it didn't fit the dress I wanted to wear. Maybe she knows something about this!"

Colin nodded thoughtfully, his mind racing. "That's it, Goldie. We should see her."

"If anyone can help you, I'm very sure it's her."