The Wedding Photos

"We are looking at the photo album!' Jennie said excitedly.

It was an AG-sized album filled with photos of the twins.

Austyn watched them grow up from tiny babies into the energetic and healthy toddlers they were now,

He paused when he reached the second last page.

"Mummy and Daddy's wedding photos! Joshua saw it, too.

"What?" Kira was confused.

She and Austyn got married without a ceremony and of course, without taking wedding pictures.

Austyn recognised himself in the photo.

He was standing in profile, staring into Kira's eyes.

He had both hands wrapped around her waist.

She was looking up at him with a brilliant smile.

More fragments of memory returned to him.

They were strolling in a mall, hand in hand.

They stopped at an ice cream shop, where Kira threw a tantrum when he refused to buy her an ice cream cone. They went to a movie.

She didn't belleve him when he said it was the first official date he had ever been on

Austyn dropped the album when the familiar pain returned to his forehead.

He cradled his head with both hands, enduring the blinding headache.

'Daddy?

Jennie was startled.

Kira rushed over. 'Are you okay?"

Austyn blinked

He wiped away beads of sweat from his forehead, looked up, and saw three faces staring at him, all with concern.

"I'm fine.' He got up and removed a bottle of pills from his jacket pocket,

Kira fetched him a glass of water from the kitchen.

"Thanks.' Austyn took a couple of the pills and waited for the pounding pain to ease up.

He forced a smile as he turned to look at the twins. 'Sorry, I must have scared you!

Go wash your face and brush your teeth," Kira said to the kids.

Her voice shook a little.

The twins left the living room grudgingly.

Jennie kept looking back at Austyn

Kira took them into the bathroom to get washed up.

Austyn waited for them to leave before letting out a sigh

Kira returned two minutes later.

She hesitated before saying, "The kids are worried about you. They don't know what's...what's wrong with you. Could you explain it to them later? He nodded!

'Sure.'

Kira checked his face, which had an unhealthy pallor.

"I told you about the amnesia, Austyn said.

"Uh-huh!

hammer!

Which is the reason for the headache. Every time I try to recall the past, I would get this pain in my head. It's like someone is pounding my brain with Austyn's poor flicked over to the photo album, 'When I Saw Kira picked up the album from the floor.

the photos, the headache came back."

The wedding photos the kids were referring to were the ones taken at a mall,

It was her first official date with Austyn

She had lost all digital coples of the photos, but hiclely, she printed them out as a memento

'What did the doctor say?" she asked.

"The headache and the amnesia are both the consequences of a traumatic event, though the doctors can't be sure of the exact reason."

Austyn had seen more than a dozen neurologists over the years.

They speculated that he might have hit his head on a hard object when he fell into the river, like a big rock

And he must have been struck repeatedly for the consequences to be so severe.

"There's no cure," he said, 'But the pain will ease as time passes."

"So the pills are painkillers? Kita asked,

"Yes. I take them when the pain becomes too much."

The neurologist had warned him that the pills could be addictive

He advised Austyn to only take them when absolutely necessary. Kira fell silent

Austyn used to be a soldier.

He was trained to have a higher tolerance for pain than the average person.

The way he looked just now made it clear that the headache wasn't as mild as he was malding it sound.

He must be in a lot of pain.

Kira clenched her hands.

If the price for regaining his memory was so much pain, maybe it was better for him to forget it. She slammed the album shut.

"What's wrong?" Austyn noticed the grim determination on her face.

'If this thing triggered your headache, you shouldn't look at it anymore."

Austyn's eyes were filled with delight.

He placed a hand on the album. "It's okay. The headache's gone now.

He took the album from her and turned to the second last page. 'Is this the mall we went to yesterday?" "Yes!

Kira wore a strapless dress in the photo, which was probably why Jennie mistook it for a wedding dress. Austyn's gaze landed on Kira's face. They were standing so close, he could smell the peppermint toothpaste on her.

Her eyelashes were really long and thick.

Her lips were red and plump without needing the help of lipstick

She smolled nice, even though she wasn't wearing any perfume

He was a little absent-minded and muttered to himself, 'Gorgeous."

Confused, Kira looked up at him. "What?"" exclusive content.

Austyn

n cleared his throat, pointing to the photo. I mean, you look gorgeous in the dress." "Oh, um, you bought it for me. The dress and the shoes.

Austyn smiled. Looks like I've got a good fashion sense.

Only then did Kira realise how close they w were standing.

She was sandwiched between him and the sofa

She could see the stubble on his chin and the bite mark on his lower lip

Kira's face started heating up.

She looked away.

I need to get started on breakfast