Mag-log inAnna POVMy heart tightened.“Don’t say that.”“But I don’t know anything about myself.”“You know some things.”“Like what?”I opened my mouth.Then closed it.She looked at me expectantly.“You like…”I stopped.What did she like?What could I tell her that she would recognize as herself?“You like your favorite color.”She gave me a look.“That’s not very useful.”“Okay, fine.”I laughed softly.“You like certain foods. You hate when people touch your things without asking. You hate being late. You love…”I stopped again.Because all of those things sounded so small compared to the giant pieces of her life that were missing.She looked down at herself.“Even my body feels unfamiliar.”I frowned.“What do you mean?”“I don’t think I’m in my early twenties.”She touched her arm.“Like, I know what I looked like before. I remember myself as a youthful lady. But…”Her eyes moved over herself.“There’s development now that I don’t remember.”I didn’t say anything.“I even noticed some s
Anna POVSo I stepped closer.“Lydia?”She looked at me for another few seconds.Then she frowned.“Wait.”My heart jumped.“Yes?”“Are you one of the people who came earlier?”I blinked.“What?”She pointed vaguely toward the door.“I saw you dragging those two children outside.”“Oh.”Right.Of course.She didn’t remember me.She remembered seeing me.That was all.“I’m sorry,” she continued, looking genuinely confused. “I don’t mean to sound rude. I’m just trying to understand what’s happening.”“No, no, it’s okay.”“Are you friends with them?”I opened my mouth.“I…”Lydia looked at me carefully.“Because I’m honestly not pranking you guys.”I almost laughed.Not because it was funny.Because I didn’t know what else to do.“I know.”“I really don’t know those kids.”“I know.”“Even those pictures you showed me…”Her eyes drifted toward the phone Dave had left on the side.“I don’t know. They feel fake.”“Fake?”“Yeah. Maybe they’re edited. Photoshopped or something.”I stared at h
“Because of the injury to her brain.”Anna’s voice was gentle, almost painfully careful.“Her brain has been through a lot, and sometimes when something like that happens, memories can become difficult for the brain to access.”Ava stared at her.For a few seconds, she didn’t say anything. She just stood there, her little fingers tightly intertwined with Eli’s, as though holding onto her brother was the only thing keeping her grounded.“But she doesn’t remember us,” she finally whispered.Anna nodded slowly.“For now.”Eli immediately shook his head.“But that’s not fair.”“I know.”“She remembers people from when she was younger.”“Yes.”“She remembers Grandma and Grandpa.”“Yes.”“She remembers Auntie Ini.”Anna nodded again.“But she forgot the people she has now?”Anna’s throat tightened.“Yes.”The word barely left her mouth.Eli looked at Dave.“Daddy?”Dave stepped closer.“Yeah?”“Can Mummy get her memories back?”Dave glanced at Anna.It was one of those questions neither of
The moment Anna stepped into the room, Ava and Eli ran toward her.“Auntie Anna!”Anna barely had time to steady herself before Eli grabbed her hand and Ava wrapped both hands around her other arm.“Auntie Anna, Mummy said she doesn’t know us!”“Is this a prank?”“Because you and Mummy prank each other all the time!”“You guys literally do things like this!”“But this one isn’t funny!”“Auntie Anna, please!”They were both talking at once, their voices overlapping so badly that Anna couldn’t even tell which question to answer first.Eli’s eyes were already red from crying.Ava looked even worse. She was trying so hard to hold herself together, but the tears kept gathering in her eyes no matter how many times she blinked them away.“Auntie Anna, tell us this is a prank,” Eli pleaded.Anna stared at him.“Please.”“Auntie Anna, Mummy can’t actually remember us.”“She doesn’t remember Daddy either,” Ava added quietly.“She doesn’t remember you.”“She said she doesn’t know who we are.”El
The kids POVBut it wasn’t recognition.It was confusion.Her brows pulled together.Her eyes moved slowly over his face as though she was searching for something.Dave smiled nervously.“Hey, Lydia.”She didn’t answer.Then her gaze moved.To Ava.Then Eli.Nothing.No smile.No sudden excitement.No,My babies.Nothing.Just confusion.Eli stepped forward.“Hi, Mom.”His voice was so excited that it almost cracked.“Don’t you miss us?”Lydia continued staring.“I missed you so badly,” he continued, words spilling out of him now that he finally had the chance to speak to her. “I was so scared. We thought you were never going to wake up and Dad told us there was a chance that you might not wake up and I know he wasn’t supposed to say that but he did and I was really scared and Auntie Anna was there and she was crying too and Ava was trying not to cry but she was crying a little and—”“Eli,” Ava whispered.But he couldn’t stop.“And we came here as fast as we could and Dad was walking
The kids POVAva walked ahead of everyone as they made their way down the hallway, her little hand firmly wrapped around Eli’s. She was walking faster than she usually did, almost as though she was afraid that if she slowed down for even a second, someone might tell her that they had made a mistake and that their mother wasn’t actually awake.Behind them, Dave was trying to keep up while also making sure neither of them wandered too far ahead.“Ava, Eli, slow down,” he called.Neither of them listened at first.They had just watched Auntie Anna disappear in the opposite direction toward the doctor’s office, and now the only thing occupying their minds was the ward at the end of this hallway.Mom.Their mom was there.Awake.Waiting.Or at least, that was what they thought.Ava squeezed Eli’s hand a little tighter as they walked.“Do you think she’s going to be sitting up?” she whispered.“I don’t know.”“Do you think she’ll smile when she sees us?”“Obviously.”“Do you think she misse
Lydia POVOh.That was… unfortunate.Because he was beautiful.In a sharp, expensive, dangerous kind of way.Dark suit.Sharper jaw.Dark eyes that looked almost black under certain lighting.Everything about him looked controlled.I clicked another picture.Still no smile.Another.Same expression
Lydia POV“You’re getting married to Dave Ashton tomorrow by eight a.m.”Those were the words that ended my life as I knew it.One sentence.One Tuesday evening.One announcement delivered with the same emotional weight my father would have used to ask someone to pass the salt.For a moment, I hone
Bernard stepped in, hands clasped neatly in front of him.“I apologize for disturbing you, ma’am. I came by earlier, but there was no response.”I rubbed my eyes. “I was asleep.”“Yes, ma’am.”He said it so respectfully that I almost felt bad for sounding irritated.Almost.“Would you like dinner?”
Lydia’s POVThe inside of the house was even worse than the outside.Worse, because now I had to physically stand inside it and accept that this was where I was expected to live.The space swallowed me the second I stepped in.The entrance opened into a massive living area with floors so polished I







