Chapter 5

I pushed myself up and found myself in the middle of the ocean.

"You're awake?" A woman crouched in front of me. Her expression was gentle, almost as if she were tending to a sick friend.

I stared at her face, desperately trying to find some shred of information from my mind.

"Nico, she's awake."

The man glanced at me briefly before looking away.

"You passed out," the woman said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear. Her touch was light, like she was soothing a frightened cat.

"You didn't look well, so we brought you out here for some fresh air. We thought it might help you remember."

I flinched away from her hand. "Why am I on a boat?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she walked over to the man named Nico and naturally took his hand. "Nico, I told you. Doctors call this situational reenactment therapy. Bringing her back to the scene of the accident to relive the experience will make her remember."

Nico remained silent, and she took his silence as permission.

She marched back over, grabbed my wrist, and hauled me up from the deck.

The boat swayed beneath my feet. Every step felt like walking on clouds.

My body began to shake uncontrollably. "Please, no further. I can't swim."

"You used to be a certified diver." Nico's voice drifted from behind me.

"I really—"

Before I could finish speaking, the world flipped upside down.

Water rushed in from every direction, flooding my nose and burning a trail from my throat down into my lungs.

I thrashed at the water, kicking and gasping for air.

I repeated these instinctive movements until someone hoisted me out of the water, like I was a half-drowned cat.

I collapsed on the deck, coughing up seawater.

"Maybe that was too sudden," the woman said, her voice laced with a hint of concern. "Let's try again. We'll take it slow this time. It might trigger something."

One of her hands hung at my side, just out of Nico's sight.

Then a faint prick of pain shot through my arm. Numbness spread from there, slowly creeping up to my shoulder, to my neck, and down to my feet.

I was thrown into the sea again.

I tried with everything I had to move my limbs, but my body was unresponsive. I felt myself sinking, inch by inch. Eventually, the water closed over the top of my head.

The sunlight above became a blurry, wobbling orb of light. As it drifted further and further away, the world grew dark.

I tried to scream for help, but opening my mouth only let more water in.

I thought I was dying.

Just as my consciousness began to slip away, I heard someone shouting.

Suddenly, someone was pulling me upward. "Elena! Wake up!"

Someone was patting my face. "Look at me! Breathe! Come on!"

"Oh, look at the hero saving the damsel in distress," the woman mocked. "Elena, is this the new fiancé you found after dumping Nico? How touching."

Leo didn't even look at her. "Shut up."

His voice was shaking with rage. "Nico, have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea how sick she is? She isn't acting. She has really forgotten everything!"