4. Other Men

ALPHA KING ZAVIER

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My mate’s question reverberated, causing a frown to settle over my face. 

Heaven or hell?

Was she seriously asking that after everything she had put us through?

I watched as Victoria rushed to reassure her, taking her hand as though Aralia were still the little girl she had once been.

“You’re not in heaven or hell, darling. You’re home. You’re with your family.”

Aralia stared at her as if she had just spoken a foreign language.

Her brothers gathered closer, each trying to get her attention. Drew asked if she felt any pain. Jace wanted to know whether she remembered anything about the accident. Myles kept glancing at the monitor beside her bed, as though he could somehow find answers in its steady beeping.

I remained where I was, watching.

There was no doubt; something was wrong. 

I had known Aralia for years. I knew her temper, her stubbornness, and the way she could twist a situation to her advantage when she wanted something. I knew how easily she could make everyone around her worry about her.

But this?

Not recognizing her own mother or brothers?

It was difficult to believe.

Then again, she had suffered a head injury. The doctors had said she was lucky to be alive after the accident.

Lucky.

The word almost made me laugh.

If only she understood how close she had come to destroying more than her own life.

My gaze settled on her face. She looked pale beneath the hospital lights, and the bandage around her head made her seem smaller than I remembered. Her eyes darted between the people surrounding her, wide with genuine-looking fear.

For one foolish moment, I wanted to go to her.

I wanted to ask whether her head hurt, whether she needed water, and whether she was frightened.

Then I remembered how she had ended up in that hospital bed.

And the concern inside me hardened into anger.

Twenty-four years.

That’s how long it had taken for me to learn how to live with the loss of my parents. Twenty-four years of waking from nightmares, of remembering the day their lives were taken from them, of learning to rule a kingdom when I was still too young to understand what ruling truly meant.

I had buried that pain as best I could.

Then Aralia had to go and remind me of it.

The accident that had nearly killed her had brought back memories I had spent years trying to forget. The sight of her lying unconscious, surrounded by doctors, had dragged me straight back to that terrible day.

The day I lost my parents.

I clenched my jaw.

Telling myself, “Not now.”

I would not allow myself to go down that memory lane again.

My attention returned to the woman in the bed.

Aralia had been found after a night at a club, drunk and in the company of three men. Three strangers who had no business being anywhere near the Luna Queen.

I knew what people did when they went to clubs and drank themselves senseless with strangers. I knew what she had likely been doing with them.

The thought disgusted me.

I had already vowed to leave her alone. If she wanted to humiliate herself, she could do so without my interference. If she wanted to seek attention from other men, I would no longer waste my energy trying to stop her.

Our marriage had become a hollow arrangement long before the accident. Whatever love I had once held for her had been buried beneath years of disappointment, arguments, and betrayals.

At least, that was what I told myself.

Yet here I was, standing beside her hospital bed, after hours of sitting there to be the first person she saw when she opened her eyes. 

I hated that part of myself most of all.

“You really don’t know who I am?”

Victoria’s distressed voice pulled me from my thoughts, forcing me to look up.

She was staring at Aralia, her hand still wrapped around hers. “Darling, it’s me. Your mom. Victoria.”

Aralia’s expression remained blank.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know you.”

The room fell silent.

Drew, the oldest of all three brothers, stepped forward. “Aralia, look at me. It’s Drew. Your brother.”

She looked at him, then shook her head.

Jace tried next, followed by Myles. Each received the same confused stare.

Victoria’s eyes filled with fresh tears. She began sobbing again. “No. This can’t be happening.”

I felt something shift in my chest, but I refused to give it a name.

“Call the doctor,” I ordered.

Jace, my beta and the second son of the family, was already reaching for the door. 

Within minutes, the doctor arrived with a nurse. He examined Aralia, checked her responses, and asked a series of questions. She answered some, but when he asked about her family, her childhood, or her marriage, she looked increasingly frightened.

I watched every movement.

She did not appear to be acting.

And that was the problem.

After the examination, the doctor asked us to step to the side of the room so he could speak.

“Her head injury may have affected her memory,” he explained. “Given the length of time she was unconscious, some degree of confusion is not unexpected.”

“How long will it last?” Victoria asked, her voice trembling.

“It’s difficult to say. Her memories may gradually return as she recovers. However, I cannot promise that they will all come back.”

“And if they don’t?” Drew asked, his brows knitted. 

The doctor hesitated. “Unfortunately, permanent memory loss is possible.”

Victoria covered her mouth.

Myles looked away, while Jace began asking questions about treatment and recovery. Drew remained silent, his expression tightening with every word.

I said nothing.

A part of me believed the doctor. The injury had been serious, and Aralia had spent more than a month unconscious. It was possible that her mind had been affected.

But another part of me refused to accept it.

That part believed that Aralia knew exactly who she was. She knew who we were. She knew what she had done.

What if she was pretending not to remember because she could not bear to face the consequences?

What if this was simply another way to escape responsibility?

I looked toward the bed and found her watching us. But the moment our eyes met, she looked away.

Interesting.

“Can we do anything to help her?” Victoria asked, her motherly instincts kicking in like always. 

“For now, she needs rest and a calm environment. Avoid pressuring her to remember. Familiar people and places may help, but forcing memories could cause unnecessary distress.”

The doctor continued speaking, but I barely listened.

My attention remained fixed on my wife.

If she truly had lost her memories, time would tell.

And if she hadn't?

I would find out.

The others returned to Aralia’s bedside, offering her reassurances she didn't seem to understand. Victoria kissed her forehead. Drew promised he would stay nearby. Jace explained that she was safe, while Myles tried to make her smile.

She looked at each of them as though they were strangers who had wandered into the wrong room.

Then her gaze found me. Again, our gaze locked. 

There was no recognition in hers. No guilt. No resentment. Nothing that suggested she knew me since we were kids. 

I should have felt relieved. If she had forgotten everything, perhaps I could finally have the peace I had wanted for so long.

Instead, an unfamiliar unease settled in my stomach.

I didn't like it.

I didn't like the way she looked at me, as though I were someone she needed to fear. I didn't like the thought that the woman I had spent years resenting might no longer remember the life we had shared.

And I certainly didn't like the possibility that I might be wrong about her.

I turned away before anyone could read my expression.

Fine.

If Aralia wanted to pretend she had forgotten her past, I would give her time.

I would watch her. I would pay attention to every word she spoke and every reaction she failed to hide.

Sooner or later, the truth would reveal itself. And when it did, I would know exactly what to do.

I had spent years learning how to rule a kingdom, how to recognize deception, and how to deal with those who threatened what was mine.

My wife would not be the exception. If she was lying, I would make her admit it. I knew many ways to break through a lie.

And I intended to find out which one would work on her.