001

“Are ... you,” Xena deliberately paused, looking at the man standing beside her hospital bed with a doubtful expression, “my husband?”

For several seconds, Jacob Montoya was unable to say anything.

His face had gone pale, and his eyes shifted from Xena to the doctor who had just finished examining her. It was as though he hoped someone could provide an answer to the question the woman lying in the hospital bed had just asked.

That woman, Roxeanne Arizona, stared at him without blinking.

She almost laughed but managed to hold it back. The pain throughout her body was also beginning to set in. She remembered slamming on the brakes as hard as she could just before the inevitable collision.

In truth, however, the accident had not been as severe as everyone might have imagined. The car Xena was driving had veered out of its lane when she tried to avoid another vehicle that had suddenly changed lanes. Her car crashed into the guardrail before finally coming to a stop several meters later.

She had sustained injuries to her leg and a blow to the head, but there were no serious, life-threatening injuries.

However, when the emergency responders found her, Xena was unconscious.

The doctor had said her body had most likely gone into shock from the impact and the accident. But Xena knew exactly what had happened. She just hadn't expected Jacob to be the first person she saw when she opened her eyes, his face so deathly pale.

Then, as she looked around the room where she was being treated, the calendar on the bedside table caught her attention. April first.

April Fools' Day.

The corners of Xena's lips nearly curved upward. In fact, before the accident, she had already prepared a little surprise for Jacob. Couldn't this be considered good luck? She had even imagined how her husband would react when he received the surprise.

But things had changed.

Now she was lying in a hospital bed with a bandage around her head and an injured leg, while Jacob stood beside her with an expression as though he had just lost something precious.

Perhaps ... this year's April Fools' prank could be a little more interesting.

“Doctor.” Jacob finally spoke. His voice sounded more tense than before. “Did the accident just now cause her to become like this?”

The doctor turned to him. “What do you mean?”

“She doesn't recognize me.” Jacob pointed at Xena. “She even asked who I was.”

The doctor examined Xena again. He shone a small flashlight into her eyes, asked her to follow the light, then observed her responses for a few moments. The man in the white coat also asked whether Xena recognized her other visitors.

Xena's only response was a slight shake of her head.

Just as Xena had expected, they seemed panicked.

“The patient suffered a blow to the head and was found unconscious after a single-car accident,” he said with a quiet sigh. “In cases like this, temporary memory impairment can occur.”

Jacob immediately grew even more tense. “Is it dangerous?”

“Not necessarily.” The doctor’s answer only made the atmosphere in the room feel heavier.

“We need to monitor her condition first. Her memory may gradually return once her condition stabilizes. However, if the memory impairment persists, we recommend therapy to help with her recovery.”

Jacob fell silent. However, his gaze was no longer fixed on Xena, but on the other visitor in the hospital room, Hazel Sullivan.

Then ... Jacob let out a sigh of relief and smiled broadly, as though a heavy burden had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders. The smile lasted only a moment before he turned back to Xena with a worried expression, as if nothing had happened.

Xena had already noticed him. What was really going on?

She had seen everything clearly. Jacob’s expression had changed so quickly, from a tense, almost ashen face to a relieved smile before he put on a worried look again. There was no way she could have imagined what she had seen.

All right, then. I’ll pretend I don’t remember anything and see just how far my husband takes this act.

Xena lowered her head and furrowed her brows, as though she were trying to remember something. In truth, everything was still perfectly clear in her mind.

She remembered who she was, who Jacob was, and she had never forgotten how their marriage began.

“You really don’t know who I am?” Jacob asked again.

Xena shook her head once more. “Then ... who are you, sir?”

Jacob continued staring intently at Xena.

Xena held back a smile, trying to ignore the discomfort that had briefly surfaced because of Jacob’s earlier expression.

“Why do you look so worried?”

Jacob opened his mouth but did not answer right away.

Xena tilted her head. She deliberately let the silence linger for a few seconds before asking again, “Do we know each other?”

Jacob remained silent.

“Or ... are you really my husband?”

Instead of answering, Jacob turned around and walked toward Hazel, who had been standing near the door.

Xena watched his movements in confusion.

To her surprise, Jacob wrapped an arm affectionately around Hazel’s waist. Without the slightest hint of guilt, he kissed the woman on the cheek as though he were accustomed to doing so.

All of it happened right before Xena’s eyes.

Hazel even responded by clinging affectionately to Jacob, showing no awkwardness whatsoever despite the fact that they were in the hospital room of a woman who had just been in an accident.

For several seconds, Xena was unable to react.

She looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to understand what was really going on. But before she could even formulate a question in her mind, Jacob moved again. This time, he pulled over a man who had been standing not far away.

“He’s your husband.”

Xena shifted her gaze to the man.

Maximilian Gareth, Jacob’s best friend.

Xena knew him. Of course she knew him. How could she not know the man Jacob had always referred to as his best friend?

However, Max seemed completely unprepared for the statement. His gaze shifted to Jacob, then to Xena and Hazel. He did this more than once, as though making sure he had not misheard.

Xena was genuinely stunned. She almost wanted to laugh at the whole thing. Who exactly was being pranked here? Jacob, or ... was it her?

Jacob and Hazel? Were they ...

“Max,” Jacob called.

Maximilian remained silent.

“She’s your wife. Don’t you want to greet her?”

The room fell silent again.

Xena watched Max with a curious gaze. The situation in her hospital room was becoming more and more interesting. For the first time since opening her eyes, she was genuinely curious about what the man would do.

Maximilian finally moved. He walked toward Xena’s bed at an unhurried pace. Unlike Jacob, there was no sign of panic on his face. He stopped beside the bed and looked at the woman for several seconds, as though weighing many things in his mind.

Finally, Max took Xena’s hand, the one without an IV line attached. Then, without hesitation, he kissed the back of her hand.

“Yes.” His voice was calm. “I’m your husband.”