Night of Destiny Novel by Vanessa K

“Of course, you can. Come on in!” Josephine opened the door to let Ethan in. Once he entered, he went to sit on the couch and asked, “Can you tell me how we met?” After taking out her iPad, she said, “Here are photos and videos of us. Let's look at them together. He excitedly nodded while she sat beside him. Then, he leaned closer to her and placed his arm behind her so that it was easier to view the screen.

Sniffing the familiar scent mixed with the faint smell of disinfectant, Josephine had the illusion that he had not gotten amnesia and they were still as close as before. The sensation of his breath on her neck gave her a sweet feeling as though they were dating again.

She felt her heart beating wildly; even her breathing seemed slightly hitched. Then, she relaxed while leaning into the man's arms, making Ethan smile while greedily breathing in the faint fragrance in her hair.

When Josephine found their wedding photos and videos, she told him that was where they first met. Ethan looked at himself in the picture. Although he could not remember what happened then, he seemed genuinely happy inside the photograph, and from his gaze, it was clear he was looking at Josephine through the lens because he was not staring at her reflection.

Inside the video, he heard his laughter mixed with her delicate voice, concrete proof of a smitten couple. It turned out that they fell for each other several days after they first met.

“So, who fell in love first?” he asked. She looked at him. “You pursued me.” Ethan narrowed his eyes, knowing she would not lie to him about that. “So, | gathered.” Then, Josephine found a picture of the villa he specially bought for them in the city. She had taken photos of many details from the building and made it into a very romantic video that included him, her, and several warm-hearted scenes in their home. The video reminded them of the passion of summer, the cool of spring. the romance of autumn, and the warmth of winter.

While Ethan was enjoying the video, he suddenly held her tightly in his arms and rested his chin on his shoulders, guiltily muttering, “I'm sorry.” “It's already a blessing that you returned to me, and I'm grateful that you didn’t leave me behind.” She grinned before her tears started pouring. He grabbed a tissue and handed it to her, but she turned to face him, instructing, “Help me.” As such, he patiently but clumsily dried her tears. While looking at her beautiful dark but watery eyes, he noticed they were still shimmering like the stars and felt so entranced that he leaned in to kiss her forehead.

Josephine closed her eyes and enjoyed the familiar kiss while smiling. She could feel her husband returning. “Lend me the iPad and go to bed. Thank you for what you've done,” Ethan said.

She nodded because she knew it would be better for their relationship if she kept an adequate distance between them. “Good night.” Before leaving, he kissed her on the top of her head.

That night, she fell asleep feeling satisfied. It was the best sleep she had had for several days, and she dreamed about Ethan and her returning to their home, living together.

Meanwhile, he was holding the iPad but could not sleep. He tried to remember everything from the pictures and videos, hoping to add some wonderful moments to his blank memory. That was because he knew Josephine was the love of his life, and he would never do anything to wrong her despite his amnesia.

The next day, Donna accompanied her son and Josephine on a casual shopping trip in the city. They had lunch, and she even bought Josephine many clothes, bags, jewelry, and feminine products.

She was the kind of mother-in-law that pampered her daughter-in-law, and Ethan also helped her with the selection, which overwhelmed Josephine because she never thought anyone could spend so much money in one day.

Three days later, Donna made another decision. She had decided to let Josephine move into Ethan's villa so they could live there as a couple.

That was something exciting to Josephine, and Ethan had also decided to take the chance to have some alone time together to improve their relationship. Since he had just recovered, he need not worry about company matters because his father had that under control. All he needed to do now was to recuperate his health and stay relaxed so he could recover his memories.

At first, Josephine thought Ethan's villa would resemble the one they had in the city. As she sat inside the Quarles Family's car, watching it drive up the hill, she was astonished to see a massive private villa with the utmost character appearing before her. It was a wonder in the world of architecture, and she felt she might get lost inside! While she was amazed that someone could live in such a huge villa, Ethan felt like this was his style of living. It was the home he liked best.

The servants helped Josephine and Ethan with their things as he led her around. Although he had amnesia, he thought the place felt familiar. When he said there was a movie theater, they would approach that direction and see one immediately. It was also the same for the gym room.

At that point, she could only marvel at the man’s lavish living conditions but also noticed something. There were no signs of a woman ever living here, and it was as though he had been living alone before meeting her. After realizing that, Josephine felt somewhat distressed for him and wondered if he was ever lonely living in such a massive space alone.

Once Donna instructed the servants to clean up the place and fill the fridge with enough food, she said, ‘Josephine, spend more time with him and talk about your past. That would jolt his memories. I'll hold you guys a wedding when he recovers all his memories.” Having acknowledged Josephine as her daughter-in-law and seeing she had been through so much with her son, she knew Josephine’s love for her son was genuine and determined “Okay, Mrs. Quarles. Josephine nodded, also wanting to help Ethan recover his memories.

“No one will disturb you here, so, have fun!” Donna smiled and left promptly after that. At that, Josephine was slightly pink because she was somewhat embarrassed when thinking about the quality time she would spend with Ethan. Since he had lost his memories, everything seemed to have returned to the beginning. With his shy nature, this experience resembled a new dating experience for him.

While lost in thought, she suddenly felt a man hugging her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder. “Let's head inside! I'll make you some tea-time snacks.” She turned to face him and blinked her eyes. “You can do that?” “I can learn it right now. As long as you don’t complain about the taste.” He smiled.

“Of course, | won't! I'll help you.’ She beamed while hugging his waist. Inside the open-concept kitchen, the two worked together.

One was slicing fruits while the other was fiddling with the coffee machine. It was not long before the aroma of coffee filled the air. The occasional physical contact between them also felt pleasing as a loving and relaxing atmosphere flowed between them.

“How much salad dressing do you need?” she asked. Even though Ethan had amnesia, his body seemed to have a memory of its own as he reached out from behind her and held her before him. Then, he grabbed her hand and mixed the salad dressing with her. At that moment, Josephine could care less about squeezing the salad dressing bottle because her attention was on the warmth from the firm chest behind her and the hand holding hers.