LOGIN(Adrian's POV)It happened gradually over two weeks in the eighth month.Not all at once like I'd hoped. Not a sudden switch flipping where Lena woke up one morning and us suddenly her old self. Instead it came back in bits.First was the long-term memories. The wedding stayed. BioGen stayed. Our early relationship stayed. Things from before the pregnancy that had been blurry started sharpening.Then the pregnancy itself. She remembered being sick. Remembered the appointments. Remembered working until she started working from home.Then the birth. That took one longer. It came back in pieces over several days. The labor. The delivery room. The first cry. My hand in hers.Dr. Rahman said this was normal. Memory restoration following the natural timeline. Working backward from most recent to oldest.But the baby, that was the last thing to fully return.Week one of month eight Lena could hold her without panicking. Could feed her. Could change her diaper. But it still felt clumsy. Like
(Elena's POV)The parking lot was empty when I pulled in.I'd left the house four hours ago after telling Adrian I needed to pick up groceries. That was a lie. The fridge was full, but I just needed to be somewhere that wasn't that house for thirty minutes.I turned off the engine and sat still.The steering wheel was cold under my hands, and outside the sky was getting dark. It was November again in London, and rain was probably coming soon.I pressed my palms against my eyes. Then I started crying.I let it all out. The fear, pain,anxiety, stress and tiredness. I wanted all of them out.My phone buzzed, interrupting the moment a few minutes later. The direct contact circle was small, and I knew it would be Daniel or Adrian. I was right, it was the latter.“Baby has been fussing for a while now, and all my efforts to calm her down are proving futile. I think she wants you. When will you be back?”I sniffed and typed back: “In twenty minutes.”Then I kept the phone away and resumed cr
(Adrian's POV)Elena and I had been sitting at the kitchen table for the past hour. Both of us staring at cups of tea that had gone cold. The clock on the microwave read three fourteen in the morning.She'd come downstairs first. I'd heard her moving around and followed ten minutes later when I couldn't fall back asleep anyway."You should try to rest," She said without looking at me."So should you.""I will. After I finish this." She gestured at her tea but made no move to drink it.I picked up my own cup, but set it back down without drinking. "How much longer do you think you can keep doing this?""Doing what?""Living here. Taking care of the baby. Managing BioGen. All of it."She finally looked at me. "As long as it takes.""That's not an answer.""It's the only answer I have."The baby made a small noise through the monitor. We both stopped talking and waited, but the noise didn't come again.Elena pushed her cup away. "Daniel asked me the same thing last week when he was home.
(Lena's POV)"I threw a tantrum in the car."I was sitting at the kitchen table. Adrian was making lunch, but my words made him stop with the knife halfway through cutting a tomato."What?" he said."When we were dating. I remember throwing a tantrum in your car because you were being difficult about something. I don't remember what. But I remember yelling at you and you just sat there taking it."He set the knife down, and turned around properly. "You remember that?""Yes. We were driving somewhere. London traffic. I was angry about something you'd said. I yelled for probably ten minutes straight. You didn't interrupt once.""You remember the car. The argument. All of it?""I remember you parking. Turning to me. Asking if I was finished. I said yes. You said good because you'd been waiting to kiss me and didn't want to interrupt."He came over to the table, and sat down across from me, awe and intrigue in his eyes. "That was two years ago. It was summer and we'd been seeing each othe
(Adrian's POV)The specialist's office was in Harley Street.Dr. Rahman, expert memory specialist. She came highly recommended by the hospital and previous specialist. We'd waited three weeks for this particular appointment.I drove Lena there on a Thursday morning. "Have I been here before?" she asked."To Harley Street? Probably. You've had a lot of doctor's appointments over the years.""For what?""Regular checkups. The pregnancy. Before that, when you were building BioGen you had some stress-related issues and saw someone here.""Stress-related issues.""Migraines mostly. You worked too much. Didn't sleep enough, and your body objected."She touched the window glass with one finger. "I don't remember migraines.""They stopped after you married me. You started working reasonable hours.""How do you know I married you for the reasonable hours and not for love?"I looked at her, she was smiling slightly. It was the first time in weeks."Fair point," I said.We parked and walked to
(Elena's POV)The baby was asleep in the sling against my chest.I've learned to type one-handed over the past month. My left hand on the keyboard, and the right hand supporting her weight through the fabric. She didn't mind the movement. She seemed to like it actually. The gentle bounce of my typing put her to sleep most mornings.My laptop was balanced on a pillow in my lap. The guest room bed turned into a makeshift office. The European headquarters review meeting was happening on screen. Twelve faces in little boxes looking at me while I presented the operations report."Revenue is up fourteen percent from last quarter," I said, scrolling through the presentation with my one free hand. "The ALS trial expansion added three new sites in Germany. Patient enrollment exceeded projections by eighteen percent."Dr. Tanaka unmuted himself to speak. "The data from the German sites is particularly strong. We're seeing consistent results across all three facilities.""Good. That'll strengthe
(Evelyn's POV)The plane landed with an alarming jolt that made my stomach drop. I'd been half-asleep, when it made its descent.Around me, people started grabbing their bags, turning on phones to call their loved ones, while some complained about the flight. All of these were normal things, but I
(Evelyn's POV)I woke up to sunlight streaming through thin hotel curtains and for a moment, I forgot where I was.Then it all came rushing back.I sat up, my body protesting with every movement. I'd slept in my clothes, and hadn't even bothered to take off my shoes. My phone still lay on the night
(Evelyn's POV)I locked the bedroom door and slid down against it, knees pulled to my chest. The tears came before I could stop them. Raw choking sobs that shook my whole body. I'd give myself five minutes to fall apart, and then I'd pull myself back together.I counted the seconds in my head, fo
(Evelyn's POV )I watched the seconds tick by on my watch. Julian stood between me and the door, and I could practically feel the desperation oozing from him."Five minutes," I repeated. "Talk."He ran both hands through his hair, making it stand up in all directions. "I know I don't deserve forgiv







