Chapter 4: The Woman Who Lost Twelve Years
“You were Adrian Cole’s missing fiancée.””
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The words didn’t feel real.
They floated between us, impossible and cruel, like a nightmare someone else was having.
I looked at Julian.
Then at Dr. Harris.
Then down at my baby.
My son.
The tiny person who had just entered my life and somehow dragged an entire hidden world behind him.
“No,” I whispered.
Julian stepped closer.
I immediately moved back.
“Don’t.””
He stopped.
The pain on his face almost looked genuine.
Almost.
“You don’t understand.””
I let out a broken laugh.
“That’s your favorite sentence, isn’t it?””
His expression fell.
“You always say I don’t understand.””
I pointed toward the photograph on the table.
“Then explain that.””
My voice shook.
“Explain why there is a picture of me with a man I’ve never met.””
No one answered.
The silence was unbearable.
I looked at Dr. Harris.
“You’re telling me I was engaged to your brother?””
He nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
“And I don’t remember?””
Another nod.
“That’s what makes this complicated.””
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
Dr. Harris folded his hands.
“Twelve years ago, after Adrian’s accident, you disappeared.””
The room went quiet.
“I disappeared?””
“Yes.””
I shook my head.
“No. That’s impossible. I was twenty-two twelve years ago. I remember my life.””
But as soon as I said it, something strange happened.
A small crack opened in my memory.
A feeling.
A sound.
A smell.
Rain.
A hospital hallway.
Someone crying.
I closed my eyes.
My head suddenly hurt.
“Vivian?””
Julian’s voice pulled me back.
I opened my eyes.
He was watching me carefully.
“You remembered something.””
I hated that he noticed.
Because it meant he had been watching me for years.
“You knew.””
His face changed.
“I knew you had lost parts of your memory.””
The room became colder.
“You knew?””
I stared at him.
“You knew I didn’t remember my own past?””
Julian looked away.
“I thought protecting you was better.””
“Protecting me?””
My voice rose.
“You married me while knowing I had forgotten another man?””
He flinched.
“I didn’t plan it that way.””
“Then how did it happen?””
Julian was silent.
Dr. Harris answered.
“Because Julian found you.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“Twelve years ago,” Dr. Harris said, “after Adrian’s accident, everyone searched for you.””
My heart pounded.
“Why?””
“Because Adrian was dying, and you were the last person he asked for.””
I looked at the photograph again.
The young woman in it looked happy.
She looked like someone who believed in forever.
“She never came,” Dr. Harris said softly.
A painful feeling moved through me.
“Because I didn’t know.””
Julian looked at me.
“I believe you.””
The words shocked me.
I laughed quietly.
“You believe me?””
“Yes.””
“You spent months letting people think I betrayed you.””
His face tightened.
“That was different.””
“Was it?””
He didn’t answer.
I looked at him.
“You believed I was capable of cheating, but you believe I forgot an entire relationship?””
Julian lowered his eyes.
And somehow, that hurt more.
Because he knew.
He knew exactly how much damage he had caused.
“Tell me everything,” I said.
Nobody moved.
I raised my voice.
“Now.””
Dr. Harris took a deep breath.
“Twelve years ago, Adrian and Vivian were engaged.””
I looked away.
“My name was Vivian.””
“Yes.””
“Was I happy?””
Dr. Harris looked surprised by the question.
Then his expression softened.
“You loved him.””
The answer hurt.
Not because I remembered.
Because I didn’t.
I was grieving someone I couldn’t even see in my own mind.
“What happened?””
Dr. Harris looked at Julian.
Julian closed his eyes.
“I caused the accident.””
My heart stopped.
The room went completely silent.
“What?””
Julian’s face went pale.
“I wasn’t driving the car.””
“Then what do you mean?””
He looked at his hands.
“Adrian and I argued that night.””
“About what?””
He didn’t answer.
“Julian.””
His voice broke.
“About you.””
I felt a chill.
“Why?””
“Because Adrian was going to leave everything behind.””
“What does that mean?””
Julian looked at the photograph.
“He wanted to leave the family business.””
Dr. Harris nodded.
“Adrian hated what his father had built. He wanted a normal life.””
“With me?””
“Yes.””
My chest tightened.
“And you?””
Julian swallowed.
“My father wanted me to take over everything.””
The implication hung in the air.
I stared at him.
“You were jealous.””
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
Then he looked away.
And I knew.
“You were.””
Julian’s silence was enough.
“He had everything,” Julian whispered.
“Everyone loved him. My father respected him. My mother trusted him.””
He looked at me.
“And then he had you.””
I felt sick.
“Julian…”
“I didn’t hate you.””
“That’s not an excuse.””
“I know.””
For once, he didn’t argue.
“I told Adrian he was making a mistake.””
Julian’s voice became quieter.
“We fought. He left.””
“And then?””
His jaw tightened.
“A truck ran a red light.””
The room became still.
“He crashed.””
I looked at the photograph.
A man who loved me.
A man I didn’t remember.
A man who died.
“And me?””
Dr. Harris answered.
“You were in another car.””
I turned toward him.
“What?””
“You followed Adrian.””
My heart started racing.
“You were trying to find him.””
I closed my eyes.
Another memory flashed.
A road.
Rain.
Headlights.
Someone shouting my name.
Then darkness.
I grabbed the edge of the bed.
“Vivian?””
I opened my eyes.
“I remember…”
Everyone froze.
“What?””
I looked at the ceiling.
“My car.””
My breathing became uneven.
“I was driving.””
Dr. Harris leaned closer.
“What else?””
“I saw headlights.””
My hands began shaking.
“Someone hit me.””
Julian went pale.
“Vivian…”
I looked at him.
“What?””
His face changed.
Like he was afraid of what I might remember next.
“You weren’t supposed to survive.””
The words made my blood run cold.
“What did you say?””
Julian looked terrified.
“I mean…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You knew something.””
He didn’t speak.
I looked at Dr. Harris.
“Did I lose my memory because of the accident?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did no one tell me?””
Nobody answered.
That was when I understood.
Someone had chosen silence.
Someone had decided I was better off not knowing.
And the person standing closest to me had been the one who benefited most.
I looked at Julian.
“You found me after the accident.””
“Yes.””
“You knew who I was.””
“Yes.””
“You knew I was Adrian’s fiancée.””
“Yes.””
My voice became a whisper.
“And you married me anyway.””
Julian’s eyes filled with regret.
“I was going to tell you.””
“When?””
He had no answer.
“After five years?””
Silence.
“After ten?””
Still silence.
“After I gave birth to your child?””
Julian looked down.
And that answer destroyed whatever remained of my sympathy.
Because he had never planned to tell me.
He had waited.
He had built a life with me on top of a secret.
Then he abandoned me when the secret became dangerous.
A nurse suddenly knocked and entered.
“Dr. Harris?””
Everyone turned.
She looked nervous.
“There’s someone downstairs asking for Vivian Carter.””
My body tensed.
“Who?””
The nurse looked at the paper in her hand.
“He says his name is Ethan Cole.””
Dr. Harris stood immediately.
His face drained of color.
“No.””
The nurse frowned.
“Do you know him?””
Dr. Harris didn’t answer.
Because he was staring at the baby in my arms.
Then at the door.
And for the first time since I met him, he looked afraid.
“Vivian,” he whispered.
“Do not let that man see your son.””
My heart pounded.
“Why?””
Dr. Harris looked toward the hallway.
“Because Ethan Cole was Adrian’s brother.””
A pause.
“And twelve years ago…”
May you like
His voice dropped.
“He was the last person seen with Adrian before the accident.””
