180 I KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Since Raigon was still weak, she didn't bother asking him about her personal sentiments against him. Zoe continued to take care of him, allowing him to rest and take enough fluids whenever he was awake. 

She wasn't able to leave the Castle as Raigon was still bedridden. But the Queen has provided a separate room for her which is just near the Crowned Prince's Chamber. She also instructed a servant to keep an eye on her and report to her directly if she sees her doing something suspicious.

Zoe didn't mind as she also wanted to take care of him until he recovered fully. She also changed some medications that Physician Sheng Tun has been prescribing for him with her own concoction made from the natural herbs that she learned during college.

One time as she was checking him, she unintentionally fell asleep on the couch. As she did so, she was not aware that Raigon woke up and sat up from his bed.

"Uhh.." He tilted his head to the left and to the right and rotated it. He also did the same to his shoulders and arms. 

"That felt good." 

He was still feeling lethargic but he woke up feeling better than the previous days. He looked around the room and saw Lady Asha sprawled on the couch. 

"She must probably be so tired that she fell asleep here…"

He recalled that sometimes he would be awake at night because of his coughs and she would always run to his Chamber to comfort him until he fell asleep again. 

"She must be having some sleepless nights because of me."

He tried to put his feet on the floor and stood up. He almost lost his balance as it was his first time his body went vertical again. 

Still, he tried to walk so he could draw near to her and gazed at her as she was resting.

She was curled up on her right side with her head leaning on the armchair as if she was ready in case he called his attention.

But he tiptoed as he walked to her side so she wouldn't be bothered with her peaceful rest. He pulled up a piece of cloth that was laying on her feet and pulled it up so he could cover her with it. 

"Ehe-" His throat got irritated and he was about to cough loudly as he was in the middle of it. But he tried to suppress it. As he did so, his chest throbbed again and he grimaced in pain. 

But he opened his eyes to see if Lady Asha was awakened. Seeing that she did not, he continued to pull it upward up to her neck. Lady Asha snuggled all the more with the warmth of the cloth over her.

Raigon's lips curved up in response. He decided to stay a little longer before going back to his bed and feast his eyes on this lovely lady who has cared for him for weeks. 

His eyes traced every detail of her body from her dainty feet to her lustrous hair. Her body posture accentuated her curves even if her dress is modest and seemed to be big for her. 

He bent down to see her face more clearly. And as he did so, he noticed a difference of the color of the roots of her hair from its length.

'Her original hair is brown?' 

His fingers flew to his lips who partly opened at a new revelation about her. Terrans are quite modest with hair color as they mostly preferred their natural black colored hair. A few others seemed to sport brown ones but their original color is black. And this is the other way around.

'There is one more thing that I need to check.' 

He cleared his throat and uttered her name. "Lady Asha…."

She slowly opened her eyes at the mention of her name. And as she did so, Raigon's eyes widened in surprise. His lips trembled at what he was seeing that his feet unconsciously scuffled backward.

'S-She also has blue eyes! Is she the same woman in my dreams? Is she my legitimate fiance? But why is she hiding her identity from me?'

As he did so, thoughts from the past came flashing through his mind. The time that he met her on the island as a teenager, the time when he met her again on Lord Howe Island, the times that they were intimately close together. And the times when she was in danger and he saved her.

'Zoe…'

Tears came rushing through his eyes as he recalled the last time that he saw her face as his body was drenched in blood. 

He bolted towards her and encircled, almost crushing her with the tightness of his embrace. His hand flew to her neck and kissed her hair, her forehead and her temples and embraced her again.

"It must have been so hard for you…" He managed to speak in a wavering voice.

Tears were also streaming down Zoe's cheeks as she heard his words. She closed her eyes as she felt his warmth around her, washing away all the hurt, both physically and emotionally, that she has been experiencing with her situation and her past family issues. 

She wants to lift her hands to his back and draw him near to her. But she thought about Lady Thana and Terra. If his memories came back and she would admit that she was Zoe, he would be in bigger trouble than he is experiencing right now.

Zoe decided to pull away and turn her back. She immediately left and went to the washroom where she immediately put on her contact lenses and washed her face.

She dashed back to the Crowned Prince's Chamber and bowed to him. 

"I apologize, your Highness. But you seemed to be mistaken. I am not Lady Thana."

"I know. You are Zoe. Zoe Cheng."

*********************************************

No amount of time and space can separate you from the people who truly love you.

They will always come back.