OUTCAST: THE ALPHA KING’S BELOVED BY BLUE TEARS
CHAPTER 101 THE STRANGE DIAMOND RING
Anthony’s POV:
These days, I slowly began to accept the fact that I had lost my memories. Besides, my mother’s current situation was much more pressing.
I stayed with her almost every day. This way, I could also avoid Caroline. She was so clingy, showing up out of the blue and pestering me daily. How on earth were we a couple? We were supposed to be siblings. Just thinking about it gave me a headache.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, my mother was in a coma and her prognosis did not look good. I couldn’t help but feel depressed these days. I didn’t know who I could trust.
I looked at my mother, who was lying unconscious in bed. “Mom, can you wake up please? I need to know what happened. Are Caroline and I really in love? I have no idea why these things are happening. Please, just wake up and tell me.”
But it was like talking to a wall. Mother showed no signs of waking up; she didn’t even stir.
The more I was alone with my thoughts, the more irritable I became. The only person I could talk to was Zane.
“Anthony, you should stay true to how you feel. I don’t like Caroline either. I don’t want her to be our mate. I highly doubt we’ll fall in love with her a second time—that is, if we actually fell for her before. Maybe there’s really something we don’t know. We’ve lost some of our memories, after all.”
“Forget it. Mom’s health is of utmost priority right now. We can’t afford to dwell on other stuff.”
“Anthony, everything will be okay,” Zane comforted me. He seldom comforted me before. It seemed that my wolf had matured a lot after the incident.
Then, the doctor came inside the ward to check my mother’s vitals. His answer was the same as yesterday: there was little chance that my mother would wake up. I sat on the side of the bed and gently wiped the sweat off my mother’s forehead. At this time, somebody knocked on the door.
Before I could respond, Caroline came in with a lunch box in tow. Perhaps it was because I had refused her so often that she didn’t ask for permission to enter this time.
She opened the lunch box and carefully laid out its contents. “I made this sandwich for you. It smells great. Anthony, come here and taste it.”
She handed the sandwich to me. Her cheeks were a bright red, and her eyes looked at me longingly.
“Thank you for visiting,” I said dryly.
“You’re welcome.” She wrung her fingers nervously and her cheeks turned even redder.
I held up the sandwich that she made, but then I realized something strange. I couldn’t smell anything.
“Did you just say that these smells good? Why can’t I smell it?”
“What? How could it be? I…” Caroline stopped talking abruptly and clamped her hand over her mouth.
“What’s wrong?” I narrowed my eyes at her. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t smelled a thing in days. No matter how hard I sniffed, I couldn’t pick up a whiff of anything. I had thought the problem was temporary, but seeing the expression on her face now made me think otherwise.
“It’s due to the accident,” she blurted. “I was scared you’d go crazy if I told you. After all, we’re werewolves and the sense of smell is very important to us. I’m sorry—”
“Caroline,” I interrupted her. I didn’t want to hear her talk anymore. “I’ve just had breakfast. I am in no mood to eat anything now. You can go now.” I pushed the lunch box away. Since I had lost my sense of smell, I knew the food would be tasteless to me.
Caroline was stunned for a moment, but she didn’t do as I said. Instead, she covered the lunch box slowly, as though she didn’t want to leave.
“Anthony, I’m not leaving you just because you’ve lost your sense of smell. And I’m sure Mom will recover.” I know Caroline was just trying to comfort me, but she only made me feel worse. I just wanted to be alone.
“Caroline, I know what you’re thinking, but I’m really not in the mood to even think about that right now.”
My words seemed to have triggered something in Caroline because she suddenly threw her arms around me. “I love you so much, Anthony. We’re a couple! A couple shouldn’t be so cold to each other.”
As she spoke, she leaned over and tried to kiss me. However, when I realized what she was going to do, I pushed her away.
“Caroline, you already know I’ve lost my memories. I can’t just accept what you’re claiming. Please give me some time.”
Hearing this, Caroline backed away from me and ran out of the ward in tears. Was I too harsh? I sighed. Feeling a little guilty, I started to go after her. Unexpectedly, when I reached the door, a box fell out of my pocket.
What was that?
I bent over and it up. Inside lay a feminine diamond ring.
Was this my engagement ring for Caroline? I couldn’t believe it. I had even bought her a diamond ring! Did I actually love her before? If that was the case, then the way I treated Caroline just now was unacceptable.
But as I studied the diamond ring up close, I felt something indescribable. It looked vaguely familiar. A figure flashed across my mind, but I couldn’t see it clearly. I felt that I had forgotten somebody or something important.
Just then, Caroline came back. When she saw the diamond ring in my hand, her sadness instantly vanished. “Did you get that for me? What a pleasant surprise!”
“I’m sorry. I completely forgot I even had this.”
Caroline took the ring from me and tried to put it on her finger, but it didn’t fit. The ring was too small for her.
After struggling to pull the ring off, she handed it back to me, embarra*s*sed. I took it back and put it in its box. “Since it doesn’t fit you, let me keep it for the time being. Maybe I made a mistake.”
As I spoke, I felt strange. The ring made me think about my relationship with Caroline more seriously. Were we really a couple? But if we were, then why wasn’t this ring in her size?
“Let’s go for a walk, Anthony,” Caroline suggested.
“Okay.” I did need to go out for some fresh air.
We headed to the garden not far away. As we walked, Caroline still kept professing her love for me. I thought it was about time I made things clear to her, so I stopped in my tracks.
“Caroline, I think it’s necessary for us to reconsider our relationship. To be honest, although you say that we loved each other very much before, I can’t say I feel the same way. What I’m saying is, I’m not in love with you. We won’t be happy if we go on like this.”
I thought I could persuade Caroline, but she only shook her head stubbornly. “I’m willing to wait for you forever, Anthony. Please don’t give up on me.”
Since she was so persistent, I decided to drop the subject. Still, I couldn’t help but feel as though my heart was resisting her.
I went back to the ward absentmindedly and caught a nurse changing the infusion bottle for my mother.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“We’re giving Mrs. Jones an infusion,” she answered.
“Wait!” I grabbed the nurse’s hand to stop her. “What’s the medicine in your hand? Why haven’t I been informed about this?”