When Reese didn’t speak even after a long while, Arwen’s brows tugged in a frown. But just when she would have gotten up to leave, he spoke up, "There is a way." "There is?" she asked, her eyes brightening up with hope. Reese nodded, standing up. "Let’s go," he said. Arwen paused. Her head tilted up slightly to look up at him in confusion. "Where?" "To find out," he responded as though it was very obvious. However, Arwen hadn’t expected it. So, when he said that, she looked around. "Right now? You made a reservation here to —" "It’s fine," he simply dismissed it. "I will ask Ivy to make it for another time. It won’t be difficult." Arwen stared at him, not knowing how to react. She wasn’t new there. She knew how Mason d’Or’s reservations worked. The guests have to wait on the waitlist for a year or more to receive a confirmed invitation. This wasn’t something as simple as booking the table again the next day. But seeing Reese not care about this long-awaited chance, she felt a deep sense of gratitude. Her lips curled up slowly in an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Dr. Calvin. I don’t know how I should thank you for this." Reese shook his head. "You don’t have to. I am just doing my job." And with that, he gestured her to the exit. "Shall we?" She nodded. Then, getting up, she made her way outside with him. Getting into Reese’s car, she informed Alfred to follow them. "Isn’t your clinic closed today?" Arwen asked when she saw him pulling up the car in the familiar surroundings. Find the newest release on novel✶fire.net Reese unbuckled his seatbelt, replying, "I made a few arrangements." "Oh." She nodded, undoing her seatbelt before opening the door of the car to step out. Arwen turned to look when she heard someone call. And at a distance, she saw a woman standing in her casual t-shirt and trousers. "Cathleen," Reese reciprocated smoothly, approaching her with his hand out. "Thank you for coming at such short notice. If it hadn’t been important, I wouldn’t have asked." The woman shook her head. "It’s alright, Dr. Calvin. This is a part of my job, and I was just resting at him." Arwen heard them quietly. She didn’t interrupt. And soon, Reese turned around to look at her. "This is Cathleen, our medical laboratory scientist," he introduced, explaining, "She would be helping us take your blood for further diagnosis." Then, turning to Cathleen, he did the same. "And this Arwen Quinn, the patient I briefed you about." Cathleen nodded, forwarding her hand to Arwen. "It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Quinn." Arwen took her head and smiled back. "Thank you for coming at such short notice." "Oh, that’s completely fine." Soon after, they got inside the clinic. Reese walked with Arwen to the lab where her blood was drawn. Arwen’s brows knitted briefly when the needle stung her. But just when Reese would have asked if she was fine, she asked him, "With a blood test, will we be able to find out?" "This isn’t a simple blood test", he explained. We will be trying to look for a specific drug, if there is any in your system. We aren’t very sure if we will be able to find out or not, but I assure you we will try our best." Arwen nodded, understanding. "It’s done," Cathleen said as she put the blood sample away. "I will go and look into it straight away. Will let you know when I find out something." Reese nodded as he watched her leave. When he turned back, Arwen was already on her feet. "She will need some time, and the report won’t be coming tonight," he said, explaining. "So, for today, you can go back and rest." Arwen nodded. Even though she wanted to know it as soon as possible. She knew there were certain things she could not force out. All she could do was wait patiently for it. "Thank you, Dr. Calvin. I truly don’t know how to thank you," she said, and Reese looked at her, smiling. "If it’s so hard, I can tell you a way." "Please tell me. I will surely want to do something for you." "Help me book another table at Mason d’Or," he said, and Arwen blinked. But when she saw his lips turning up at the corners, hers turned up as well. She nodded and replied. "Sure. I will try my best to get you another reservation as soon as possible. After all, I ruined one you got today." He slowly chuckled and shook his head. "I was simply kidding. Don’t take it seriously," he said, reaching into his pocket and taking out the candies. "Here, take these instead." Arwen’s eyes darted to his hand, and he glanced back up at him in confusion. "These ..." "Sweetness often makes to forget the pain." Arwen didn’t understand. She stared at him, and only when she saw his eyes darting to her arms did she realize what he meant. "It’s no longer painful," she explained, picking up one. "It just happened for a second when the needle pricked the skin. After that, it was gone. But anyway, thank you for this." She unwrapped it and put the candy in her mouth. The taste felt kind of familiar to her. She blinked once before checking the wrapper. "No doubt I felt the taste familiar," she spoke, looking up at him. "I used to have this one when I was young. You still have these." Reese nodded, humming, "Yes, I only have these. They remind me of someone." Arwen paused at that. The way he was looking at her made her confused, as though he was speaking about her, but not really about her. "Ms. Quinn?" he called out when Arwen didn’t respond. "What’s wrong? Arwen was at once snapped out of her thoughts. She blinked before saying. "Oh, I am sorry. I was caught up thinking about something else. Can you please repeat what you said?" "I was saying your driver must be waiting for you. Come, I will take you out." She nodded, and then they walked out together. And Alfred was there, waiting right outside the clinic. When Arwen saw him, she murmured, loud enough for Reese to hear. "The car the here." Turning to face him, she added with a smile. "I will leave first." Reese nodded, watching her turn to leave. But she had merely taken a few steps when she suddenly paused in her steps. Turning around, she looked back at Calvin, her brows furrowing a little, as though trying to recollect a memory. "What’s wrong?" Reese asked when he saw her staring at him like that. Her expression didn’t ease. With doubt clear in her eyes, she asked, "Have we met each other before?" She didn’t know what she felt , but something about Calvin made her suspicious. Not really in the wrong way, but in a way she couldn’t comprehend exactly. But at the same time, she wasn’t sure. After knowing that she had lost her memories, she had just become paranoid. Now, even a little familiarity makes her feel like it has something to go with the memory she lost. Reese’s expression shifted subtly, but he didn’t let it fully surface in his eyes. Shaking his head, he denied, "I was born and brought up mainly abroad. Cralens just holds my roots because my father was a Cralenite. I don’t think we had any chance encounter before." Arwen studied his expression for a long second before smiling, "Oh. My apologies, then. I think I have become paranoiac. I hope you don’t mind." He shook his head, understandingly. "I can understand." She gave him a nod before turning to finally head towards the car. Getting in, she asked Alfred to drive. And soon the car left the premises of the clinic. Reese stood there, watching the car leave, even after it disappeared. His expression changed slowly but evidently, growing a shade darker. Ivy approached just then from behind. Softly, she asked, "Dr. Calvin, what’s wrong?" Her eyes darted to look in the direction in which Arwen’s car had left. "Isn’t she your friend? Why didn’t you tell her then?" Reese’s fingers clenched into fists. He wanted to tell her as well that they knew each other. Even if she had forgotten her memories and their small encounter, he didn’t mind narrating it to her again. He had plans of doing that anyway over lunch today. But then, he couldn’t ... Not because he didn’t find the right chance to. But something frightening held him back. Held him back from revealing how he met her and how he came to know about her. If his suspicion turned out to be the truth, he doesn’t know if he will ever be able to face it. Face her. "Dr. Calvin?" Ivy called out again when she didn’t see him responding. "What’s —" "Let’s go inside," he said, cutting her off. "We need to find it out as soon as possible." And with that, he turned and walked back into the clinic.