Chapter 1: The Mad Husband

The handsome man earlier who had taken the child entered the room. He is still holding up the boy. He looks very different, devoid of any life or emotion. Right now, his eyes are packed with life unlike earlier. It was full of animosity.

“Lucas, what should we do now? Your wife doesn't remember anything!” my mother immediately informed him right away using her raspy and full of concerned voice. “Could it be that bad? Do you know how long can it last?”

Eventually, while listening to them silently I found out that he is my husband.

”She can't remember anything?” he repeated after a few seconds his eyes boar on me.

I couldn't interpret what meaning he wanted me to understand by his actions. He looked concerned with me now about my situation. It was different from earlier. I am sure of that. I don't look away. I stared at him until he was the first one to withdraw his gaze from me.

“What do you mean?” he added.

Lucas eyes are now directed at the Doctor, who is occupied by scanning the details of my CT scan results. She looks serious while doing that.

“Mr. Romanov, don't worry. Everything was fine. There is no other serious injury to your wife. But to be honest, according to how your wife responded to my questions, the accident may have caused her some temporary memory loss.” the doctor conveyed to him, “That's the only explanation I can think of. She has no recollection of everything. I already tried to ask her and she could not give me an answer.”

The Doctor's eyes became mischievous and briefly shifted to me. It was only momentarily. She returned her gaze to my husband's face.

“Are you telling me that my wife is now having amnesia? A temporary memory loss?”

The Doctor nodded.

”Yes, Mr. Romanov. You don't have to worry. It might be temporary. She can also remember in no time. All you have to do is wait for them to come back on their own. It would also help her if you could take her to the place she used to go to before the accident. Believe me, it will help a lot in her condition. Since you've been married for five years and spent much time together, I'm sure Mrs. Romanov's memories will return quickly as long as you stay by her side.”

I couldn't follow what the Doctor was saying as I was occupied by watching their reaction to what she was saying. My parents still couldn't believe it, while my husband seemed to think it was normal. He was not bothered by what he had learned that was what I saw. It seems he predicted it. Maybe I was just imagining things?

My eyes led to the boy's face having a broad smile while began again peeking at my face.

“Don't worry about it, Mommy. Daddy and I will take good care of you so your health can be restored and fully recovered soon.”

Luke's statement made the Doctor stop speaking shortly to glance at him. This kid seemed to understand what was going on now. He even took one of my hands and Lucas hands to make an effort to hold each other.

“Daddy, hold Mommy's hands now.”

While observing my husband's body language, I saw the resistance when he turned to me for a moment. He did not recoil his hand that was placed on my palm. Instead, he grinned at our son and gently patted his head. Luke's giggles. He appears to be gratified at Lucas response.

“Of course, son. We will both take care of her.”

My parents flashed a smile on their faces upon hearing that. Even the doctor, whose face now was in bright red. She proceeded with the details that she was explaining to my husband.

“As I spoke out, you don't have to worry. Mrs. Romanov's memories eventually will come back as it was not permanent. It could be tomorrow, the next day, or in a month. It can usually only last for a year. I can say and prove this is real because I have dealt with numerous of the same cases with your wife. Believe me.”

After finishing her sentence, the Doctor bid everyone farewell. My vision was still focused on my husband. He looked doubtful. Yeah, he had not yet removed his warm palm but it seemed forced as so many eyes were watching us.

“Mother, please do me a favor. Can you get Luke outside for a moment? Adeline and I are going to have a brief conversation about something.”

“Alright,” she replied while pulling Luke's hands.

She stood up immediately and led Luke out of the room. Behind them was my father. Luke kept on looking at me as if reassuring me not to be concerned about the situation.

“Will you stop putting on an act, Adeline?” Lucas yelled the moment they left and closed the door. It made my butt leaped from the bed as I was startled. I was nearly to have a heart attack too. “Stop behaving like you have lost some memories of who you are! Amnesia? That's bullshit! I know you are just faking everything!”

He pulled his hand away in a threatening way. I was taken aback when I peeked at him and saw how dark his face had become due to his wrath. My eyes stared at him blankly. He confuses me.

What exactly happened between me and him before the accident? Why he is so mad at me?

“You were just putting on a show to cover up what you had done. Always keep this in mind, Adeline.” he pointed his shaky finger at me, his eyes were now full of disgust. “Regardless of how much you pretend and act innocent, you can't run away. You can't leave from my sight!”

“What do you mean I'm just pretending?” I attempted not to think seriously about his words, “It's real. I can't remember anything. You are my husband. Why don't you believe–”

Lucas came closely. Shutting down the gap between us. His eyes reflected with fury. He is probably six feet tall, so he looks towering over me. I notice the muscles in his jaw tightening.

What is wrong with him? Why he is so mad?

I figured out his self-restraint not to hurt me from the tiniest movement of his lips.

“Enough with your lies, Adeline!” his tone was not loud but it was full of disgust that made me shiver from my spine. “I am begging you. Please refrain from doing that while I am still being nice to you. You know what? Because of this act, you have made me more frantic than before. I know, you're only doing this to make reasons, and these tactics only got you here?”

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows. They almost touched each other. His eyes continue to dim.

“Don't you dare try to fool me again! I won't permit you to attempt to run away again. You will just get tired. Leaving me and your son for another man? Heck! You are so shameful!”

That statement made me dumbfounded.

What?

What did I do to them?

Did I listen to him right?

“No matter how often you appeal to me to give you up and have a divorce, I won't do it even if you die! I won't let you ruin my name. Do you understand? You can't go and live with your lover while I was still alive, Adeline! You can't!”

Am I having an affair with another man?

Did I deceive him despite he had almost perfect appearance?

What am I doing with myself?

How could I do that to them?

When he moved his face closer to mine, I took a moment to catch my breath. The veins in his neck were on the verge of bursting, and the proximity of his face to mine almost caused me to shut my eyes. My grip on the blanket tightened. It was as if by doing that, I could engross some of his strength that was gradually absorbing me. Looking into Lucas eyes, I felt overwhelmingly dreaded my entire body.

“Do you hear me?”

His eyes were still full of rage. It made me afraid that if I made a misstep, he would abruptly hurt me. His retort makes it crystal clear that he was still fuming mad.

“Despite death is willing to disagree with me. I am prepared to fight. You will not be able to tarnish and destroy my credibility. Do you get it? I do not care how frequently you bump into accidents and cause a fuss or how badly you scrape your face. I am not going to let you go. I will make the crucial adjustments and restore everything to how it was before. You can't escape! Mark my word and bear that in mind. You will be forever Mrs. Romanov until you die!"