The Awakening

  I never imagined the moment Dylan woke up would destroy me.

  “Dylan? Oh God, Dylan, can you hear me?” I squeezed his hand tighter, my voice shaking with four years of bottled up hope. “It’s me. Ivy. Please wake up all the way. I’ve been waiting for you. Every single day I’ve been right here.”

  The machines screamed around us. His eyelids fluttered, then opened. Those familiar gray eyes locked onto mine. My heart exploded with joy.

  “He’s awake!” I shouted toward the door, tears already streaming down my face. “Doctor! Nurse! Someone come quick, he’s awake!”

  I turned back to him, smiling through the sobs. “You’re back. You’re really back to me. I knew you would fight your way home. I knew it.”

  He stared at me blankly. No warmth. No relief. Just cold confusion that sent ice down my spine.

  “Who the hell are you?” His voice was hoarse, weak, but the suspicion in it hit like a slap.

  I froze, still holding his hand. “What? Dylan, it’s me. Ivy Carter. Your wife. I’ve been taking care of you since the accident. Don’t you remember anything?”

  “My wife?” He yanked his hand away, wincing at the movement. “I don’t have a wife. I don’t know you. Get away from me.”

  My chest tightened painfully. “Please, just listen to me for a second. There was a terrible car accident four years ago. You went into a coma. Your family arranged our marriage through a contract to protect the company while you were unconscious. But I stayed because I fell in love with you. I talked to you every day. I told you stories. I played your favorite music. I”

  “Stop.” He cut me off sharply, trying to push himself up in the bed. “This is insane. Nurse! Doctor! Get in here right now!”

  The door flew open. Two nurses rushed in, followed by a doctor and security guards right behind them.

  “Mr. Hart, please stay calm,” the doctor said quickly. “You’ve been unconscious for a long time. This is Ivy Hart, your wife. She’s been by your side constantly.”

  Dylan glared at me like I was some kind of criminal. “I don’t know this woman. I don’t remember any wife. Get her out of my room before I lose it.”

  “Dylan, please,” I begged, my voice cracking. I stepped closer even as a guard moved toward me. “Look at me. Really look. I’ve sacrificed everything for you. My job, my freedom, my own dreams. Your mother begged me to marry you. She said the family needed stability. But I did it because I saw something good in you even when you were sleeping. Don’t push me away now. Not when you finally came back.”

  “I said I don’t know you!” His voice rose, filled with anger and panic. “Why is she claiming to be my wife? Someone explain this right now. Is this some kind of sick joke?”

  The older nurse glanced between us nervously. “Mrs. Hart has been incredibly devoted. She never missed a day. She read to you, sang to you, even argued with the doctors when they wanted to give up.”

  Dylan let out a bitter laugh that broke my heart. “Devoted? Sounds like she was after the money. Get her out. I mean it. I want her gone.”

  One guard took my arm. I pulled against him desperately. “No! Dylan, don’t do this. You don’t understand. I love you. I’ve loved you for years. Even when you couldn’t love me back.”

  “Love?” He spat the word like it tasted bad. “I wake up and some stranger is holding my hand talking about love? This is messed up. I need answers, not this.”

  Tears blurred my vision as the guard guided me toward the door. I looked back at him one last time. “Please. Just give me five minutes alone with you. I can explain everything. The contract, the accident, all of it.”

  “Five minutes?” Dylan shook his head, his face pale and strained. “I don’t want five seconds. Get her out of here. Now!”

  The door shut behind me with a final click. I stood in the cold hospital hallway, legs shaking, as Dylan’s raised voice carried through the walls.

  “Who is that woman? Why does she keep saying she’s my wife? I need the truth. Someone tell me what the hell happened while I was out!”

  I pressed my back against the wall, sliding down until I sat on the floor. My hands covered my face as quiet sobs escaped me. All those nights I had whispered promises to him. All the sacrifices. The lonely holidays. The way I defended him to his skeptical family. It meant nothing.

  A nurse stepped out a few minutes later, her expression full of pity. “Mrs. Hart? He’s demanding to speak with his lawyers and family. He doesn’t remember anything after the accident. The doctor says memory loss like this can happen, but it’s early. He might regain some memories with time.”

  “With time?” I whispered, looking up at her with wet eyes. “What if he never remembers me? What if he never wants me?”

  She hesitated, then squeezed my shoulder gently. “You’ve been so strong for him. Maybe give him some space tonight. He’s scared and confused. Waking up after years is traumatic.”

  “Space?” I laughed bitterly through my tears. “I’ve given him four years of my life. And the first thing he does when he opens his eyes is look at me like I’m the enemy.”

  From inside the room, Dylan’s voice rose again. “I want that woman kept away from me until I figure this out. No visitors except my mother and the lawyers. Do you understand?”

  The words stabbed straight into my chest. I pushed myself up on unsteady legs and walked a few steps down the hall, but I couldn’t make myself leave completely. I stopped near the corner, listening.

  “Mr. Hart, please try to stay calm,” the doctor was saying. “Your wife”

  “Stop calling her that,” Dylan interrupted harshly. “I don’t have a wife. I don’t remember one. If this is some gold digger who took advantage while I was unconscious, I want her dealt with legally. Tonight.”

  I clutched my stomach, feeling physically sick. Gold digger. That’s what I was to him now. After everything.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Dylan’s mother, probably wanting an update. I couldn’t bring myself to answer. What would I even say? Your son is awake and he hates me?

  I leaned my forehead against the cool wall and whispered to myself, “What am I going to do now?”

  Inside the room, Dylan kept demanding answers. His voice was getting stronger, angrier. “I need to know who this Ivy woman really is. Show me the contract. Show me everything. I refuse to be trapped in some fake marriage I never agreed to.”

  Each word felt like another piece of my heart breaking off. I had dreamed of this day for so long. The day my husband would finally see me. Hold me. Love me back.

  Instead, he wanted me gone.

  I turned and walked slowly down the hallway, my footsteps echoing. But I didn’t go far. I found a chair near the elevator and sat down, refusing to leave the hospital completely. Not yet.

  Because no matter how much it hurt, I still loved him. And some part of me, the stupid hopeful part, believed he might still need me.

  Even if right now he couldn’t stand the sight of me.

  The sound of his voice calling for security again drifted down the hall, and I closed my eyes against fresh tears.

  This wasn’t the awakening I had prayed for.

  It was the beginning of my nightmare.