ICE AND FIRE: THE LOVE CONTINUES
Chapter Seven
Hadira's POV
New York never slept.
That was the first thing I learned after waking up in a city where I didn't even know my own name.
The lights, the noise, the endless movement of people walking past each other like they all had somewhere important to be.
Everyone had a story.
Everyone had a past.
Everyone had someone who knew them.
Everyone except me.
I stood in front of the mirror in Maggie's apartment, staring at my reflection.
A girl stared back at me.
Dark curly hair falling over my shoulders.
Hazel eyes that looked unfamiliar, even though they belonged to me.
A face that I was supposed to recognize.
But I didn't.
"Who are you?"
The question left my lips quietly.
It was strange.
I knew how to speak.
I knew how to walk.
I knew how to read and write.
There were so many things my mind remembered.
But the most important things...
My name.
My family.
My home.
They were gone.
A knock on the door pulled me away from my thoughts.
"Hadira?"
I quickly turned.
"Come in."
Maggie entered holding two cups of coffee.
"You've been standing there for almost ten minutes."
I smiled slightly.
"Have I?"
"Yes."
She handed me one of the cups.
"You know, most people who lose their memory would probably be terrified."
I looked at her.
"Should I not be?"
She sat on the edge of the bed.
"I don't know. But you are strangely calm."
I looked down at my coffee.
Maybe I wasn't calm.
Maybe I was just tired of being afraid.
"Maggie..."
"Hmm?"
"Do you think someone can forget their entire life?"
Her expression softened.
"I think people can forget things. But I don't think your past disappears completely."
She touched my shoulder.
"Maybe one day you'll remember."
I wanted to believe her.
I really did.
---
Eric's POV
"You're late."
I looked up from the documents on my desk.
Liam walked into my office with his usual careless attitude.
"I said good morning to you too."
He ignored my sarcasm and dropped a file onto my desk.
"You have a meeting in twenty minutes."
"I know."
"And you haven't eaten."
"I know."
"And you've been staring at the same page for five minutes."
I looked at him.
"Are you done?"
He smiled.
"No."
I sighed.
Liam had been my closest friend since childhood.
He was one of the few people who wasn't afraid of me.
Everyone else saw Eric Lundgren.
The billionaire.
The businessman.
The man who controlled half the city's underground world.
But Liam saw me.
The person behind the reputation.
"You like her."
I stopped writing.
"What?"
He leaned against the desk.
"Hadira."
I frowned.
"Don't start."
"I'm serious."
"There is nothing to start."
Liam laughed.
"You have never asked about a waitress before."
"She is different."
The words came out before I could stop them.
Liam noticed.
Of course he noticed.
"Different how?"
I looked out the window.
I didn't have an answer.
Because that was the problem.
I didn't know why she interested me.
She was just a waitress.
A girl who appeared out of nowhere.
A girl with no records.
No family.
No explanation.
And yet...
I remembered her voice.
Her smile.
The way she looked at the world like everything was new.
"I don't know."
Liam became quiet.
That was rare.
"You really don't know, do you?"
I looked at him.
"No."
---
Eden's Club
The club was busy as usual.
Music filled the building.
People laughed.
Business deals were made behind closed doors.
This place was where powerful people came to relax.
And where secrets were exchanged.
Hadira moved between tables carefully.
She was still learning.
The expensive glasses.
The complicated orders.
The personalities of the customers.
But somehow...
She was good at it.
"You're improving."
She turned.
Eric stood there.
She immediately straightened.
"Mr. Lundgren."
He raised an eyebrow.
"How many times do I have to tell you?"
She smiled.
"Tell me what?"
"Stop calling me Mr. Lundgren."
She laughed softly.
"Okay."
He waited.
She smiled.
"Eric."
Something strange happened.
The moment she said his name...
He felt it.
A small, unfamiliar feeling.
Like hearing something he had been waiting for.
"Better."
She looked at him.
"Are you always this serious?"
"No."
She looked surprised.
"Really?"
"No."
"Then what are you like?"
Eric almost smiled.
Almost.
"That's a dangerous question."
"Why?"
"Because most people don't want to know the answer."
Hadira studied him.
"But I do."
For some reason, that sentence stayed with him.
---
Hadira's POV
Eric Lundgren was confusing.
Everyone in Eden's Club acted differently around him.
Some feared him.
Some admired him.
Some wanted his attention.
But he never seemed interested.
He was always alone.
Even when surrounded by people.
"Can I ask you something?"
He looked at me.
"Yes."
"Why do you come here?"
He seemed surprised.
"The club belongs to me."
"I know."
"Then why ask?"
I shrugged.
"Because you don't look like someone who enjoys this place."
For a moment...
He didn't answer.
Then he looked away.
"Maybe I don't."
There was sadness in his voice.
A sadness I didn't expect.
Before I could say anything, Maggie called my name.
"Hadira!"
I turned.
"I have to go."
Eric nodded.
But as I walked away...
I felt his eyes following me.
And for some reason...
I didn't mind.
---
That night, neither of them knew...
That somewhere far away, ancient forces had begun to awaken.
But before the world knew their names...
Before the war began...
Before ice and fire collided...
There was only a girl who lost her memory...
And a man who had everything...
Except someone who made him feel alive.
To be continued...