One Wild Night

Seated in front of her dressing mirror where she had been busy with her skincare routine, Kimberly shook her head as she met her mother's gaze in the mirror.

"Mom," she said as she turned to face her mother, "We've been over this already and I've told you time and again that I don't want this. You know very well that I won't do this. I am not interested in this arrangement," Kimberly said firmly.

"Right now, what you want has to take a backseat. Dawn needs a home. She needs her family. She needs stability. This is the only option your father has given. It's either you get married to Ryan as he has said, or he is never letting Dawn back into this house. That poor girl has been away for long enough. If you are as worried about her as I believe you are, then you should be able to put her first and do this for her sake," her mother said and Kimberly rose from her seat.

"I don't want to get married. Especially not to someone like Ryan. I don't like him. He is arrogant, selfish, greedy and he won't be a good father figure..."

"You don't know any of that for a fact. Ryan might not be as bad as you think. Go on this date with him. Get to know him and just maybe, you might like him. Your father has always wanted you to get married. He wanted you to get married to anyone of your choice but you said you never wanted to get married after what happened to you and he let you be. And now you put us through so much embarrassment because you wanted to force Lawrence's grandson to marry you. Do you think you still have the right to tell your father what you want or do not want when you don't seem to know what you want? Listen to your father and go on this date with Ryan," her mother said, placing both hands on her shoulders.

"And what if I do that and dad still doesn't let Dawn come back?" She asked, and her mother smiled.

"He will. Besides, by then you will be married. Dawn will have to live with you and your husband. Your father can't stop you from doing that," her mother assured her.

Dawn's tear-streaked face came to mind, and she sighed deeply, "What time am I supposed to meet with him?" She asked and her mother smiled.

"The reservation was made for eleven a.m."

Kimberly glanced at the time displayed on her phone's screen. It was past nine already.

"I will get dressed now," she said as she walked over to her closet and her mother smiled in relief.

"I assure you that you are making the right decision for yourself and Dawn. Ryan is a wonderful gentleman…"

"Don't push it, mom," Kimberly said, turning to shook her mom a look.

"Alright. See you downstairs in a bit. I will go let your father know that you will be meeting with Ryan," her mother said excitedly before hurrying away.

Alone in her bedroom, Kimberly sighed as she looked through her closet for something to wear, and she told herself for the millionth time that she had brought all of this upon herself and her poor daughter.

If only she had not gone ahead with the prank. If only she had not been stupid enough to release the false news about her marriage to Tom. Maybe if she hadn't done that, the Hanks would have been willing to take care of Dawn. That would have been better than having her all alone with her governess and domestic staffs.

Then again, there was no use crying over spilt milk. What was done was done, and now all she could do was find a way to handle this and make things right.

Her hands were tied right now since her father had made sure to have all her accounts frozen. So, if marriage was what it would take to set things right, then she would do it.

After dressing up, she went downstairs to join her parents, and her mother nodded in approval at her choice of outfit— a classy purple dress.

"Dad," she called when her father didn't bother to look at her, and her mother sent her a questioning look, wondering what she wanted to say.

"Now that I have agreed to go out with him, can I bring Dawn home?" She asked hopefully.

Her mother shot her father an apologetic look before looking at her, "He said you should get married not just go on dates…"

"The earlier you get married, the sooner you can bring her home. If you want to bring her back today, get married today," he said without sparing her a glance, and Kimberly looked at him for a moment before walking away.

If getting married to Ryan was what it would take to make Dawn happy, then she would do it.

Away from there, Mia stood under the shower and as the hot water sprayed down on her, she tried to block out the knowledge that there were cameras even in the bathroom.

She tried to forget all the cameras and think. The cameras couldn't see into her head, she assured herself.

All she needed to do now, was to figure out what to do about Henry's plan to lock her away in a mental asylum.

She didn't want to imagine being locked away as that would ruin all of their plans. Not that she didn't trust Jeff and the others to find her and get her out of wherever Henry takes her, it was just that she needed to be right here in the house to do whatever needed to do to rid herself of Henry.

What was the psychiatrist's examination going to be about? She mused as she turned off the shower and put on her bathrobe before walking out of the bathroom into her bedroom.

Opening her closet, she was taken aback to see that everything was arranged there exactly the way she had left it. It seemed like nothing had changed. The only difference was that they all seemed to have been recently laundered.

Why did Henry not remarry? Why did he leave her bedroom the same way it had been for the last three years? Had he really not had a companion in all that time? Was that possible? Why? Had he been searching for another victim? She mused as she put on an ankle length black dress with gold embroidery.

Just as she sat down on her bed, her mother walked into the bedroom without knocking.

"Vanessa," her mother called softly as she went to sit on the edge of the bed, "How are you my darling?" She asked, reaching for her hand, but Mia said nothing as she gazed at her mother, wondering whether her father or Henry had sent her to test her.

"How could you do that to me, Vanessa? How could you fake your own death? Do you know how devastated I have been? Do you have any idea how guilty I felt all these years?" Her mother asked, but she remained mute, unwilling to fall into this trap, peradventure it was planned.

"Can you please say something?" Her mother pleaded with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry I made you worry. I'm back now, so there is nothing for you to worry about anymore. I promise to be on my best behavior," Mia said flatly as though she was reciting a pledge and her mother's face fell.

"I'm sorry I didn't do anything to help you…"

"I'm past that now. I have accepted my fate. Let's not talk about the past," Mia cut in firmly, and her mother sighed deeply.

"How have you been? What have you been up to? Is it true that you were living with a man?" Her mother asked.

"If you don't mind, I'd love to rest my head. I'm feeling exhausted," Mia said as she lay down and turned her back to her mother.

Before her mother could say another word, Henry returned to the bedroom with a middle aged man whom Mia assumed to be the psychiatrist and she sat up.

"If you don't mind, can you excuse us?" Henry asked her mother, and she gave him a nod before walking out of the bedroom.

"This is my wife, Vanessa. Vanessa, this is Doctor Adams. Please, examine her thoroughly and let me know how bad her situation is. I will give you both some privacy," Henry said politely, and then flashed Mia a smile before walking away.

Doctor Adams pulled his seat closer to the bed and stared at Mia, "Hello, Mrs Rosewood, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said with a polite bow, and Mia smiled politely.

"I wish I could say the same. But I'm not so sure I'm pleased about meeting you under such circumstance," she said and he smiled back and nodded.

"That is quite understandable. But you don't have to worry, I'm sure this meeting wouldn't be entirely unpleasant," he promised.

"I can only hope so," Mia said as she watched the man.

"I was informed that you were involved in an accident," he asked, and Mia nodded.

"Yes. A very terrible one."

"And you lost your memory?" He asked and Mia's smile faltered.

"Are you asking or telling me?" She asked, wanting to know if Henry had asked the doctor to test her to see if she would reveal something she wasn't supposed to reveal.

"I'm asking because I was told so. But I'd like to hear it directly from you. You can be honest with me. Whatever we discuss here will be strictly confidential," he said, his eyes friendly.

Mia smiled. She didn't care whether he was real or not. As far as she was concerned, anyone who came from Henry was not to be trusted.

Perhaps if she didn't know Henry, she would have fallen for this load of bullshit, but she knew Henry well enough to know that he was testing her.

"I'm sure it will be strictly confidential. But as my husband already told you, I lost my memory. I called him the moment I regained my memory," Mia said easily.

"And your condition? I mean your bipolar. How have you been managing it in the last three years?" He asked, watching her closely and she shrugged.

"I lost my memory so I didn't know I had that," Mia said and he raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you have severe mood swings over the last couple of years? Or did nothing happen to make you seek mental evaluation?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"I never had any reason to."

"How do you feel now? Any headaches or mood swings? Have you fully regained your memory?" He asked as he jotted down something.

"I do have headaches often but no mood swings. And I haven't been able to entirely remember everything yet. But I'm hopeful that now that I have returned home to my beloved husband, I will be able to remember everything. For now, I'm not in haste to regain my memory. I only want to spend time with my husband and catch up on all that I have missed," Mia said and the doctor nodded.

"I see. I will prescribe some medication for your headache. Do you have trouble sleeping?" He asked, and Mia shook her head.

"I sleep quite well," she lied, and he nodded once again and took out his card.

"Here is my card. You can call me if you need anything or…"

"Why don't you give that to my husband on your way out? I'm lousy with cards and I'm afraid I might misplace it. I will take it from him if I need it," she said and he gave her a nod as he rose.

"I will do that. Enjoy the rest of your day, ma'am," he said and she gave him a nod and watched as he walked away.

Five minutes later, Henry walked into the bedroom, "I guess you are smart after all. Keep in mind that the moment you misbehave I will have you taken away and you will spend the rest of your life in a mental asylum. Don't dare me, Vanessa. Be a good girl," he said, and as he turned to leave, she stopped him,

"Henry," she called in a fearful voice as she rose from the bed and he turned.

Mia went down on her knees, "I'm sorry. For acting in such a silly way and ignoring you at that party. I'm sorry for being a terrible and selfish wife and for attempting to run away. I'm sorry I asked for a divorce. Please give me another chance. I promise to serve you and to spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I know now that you are in charge. You own me. Not just me. You own my family. I will do whatever you ask without questions going forward. I will submit myself to you completely," Mia said with tears in her eyes.

Henry looked at her with an amused smile, "You must be very scared of being locked away in a madhouse," he said with a chuckle before walking away.

Mia suddenly felt the urge to laugh, but because of the cameras, she covered her face with her hands and pretended to cry instead.

She liked that he believed she was scared. It was better for her this way. This was what stooping to conquer meant. She would make sure to let him believe he was in charge.

All she needed to do now was get familiar with the house staff so she could find a way to get rid of them and replace them with her own people.

She couldn't wait for Jeff to get here. She would sleep better at night knowing that he was under the same roof with her.