"so you are not going back to him?" Peter asked Amelia who sat beside him at the boulevard.
"I don't know" she shrugged. He came back, but I didn't let his words get to me"
"You don't miss him?"
"I do. I want to go back to him so badly, but I'm scared he will hurt me again. It didn't take anything for him to send me out of the house in the first place, so it won't be hard for him to hurt me again"
Silence followed and Peter was the first to break it. "When are you leaving California? "
Amelia swallowed hard. This was the moment she finally got to face reality. The reality of never seeing Xavier again for a very long time.
"Soon. I haven't really given it a proper thought" she said and immediately her phone rang by her side. She excused herself and took it.
"Hello"
"Amelia it's me Lucas" She heard and she instantly became confused. The last time she spoke to Lucas was when she and Xavier went to the family house.
"Yeah, is anything the problem?" she asked because he sounded worried over the phone and she couldn't help but wonder what had happened.
"Xavier had an accident and is currently at the hospital. His condition is very critical and I think you should see him"
The moment he said those words, her heart skipped a few beats. She swallowed hard and didn't know what else to say. The thought of something bad happening to Xavier made different kinds of fear overwhelm her. Even though she made it clear that she didn't care about him, that was clearly a lie.
Lucas told her the address of the hospital and Amelia began to run down the boulevard like a crazy person. Peter had to follow her because he was also confused.
She cried as she flagged down a cab and Peter got in after her. He insisted they get home to take his car, but she was too thrown off to listen to him nor to tell him what had happened.
"Are you okay?" he asked Amelia who had been trying her best not to cry, hardly.
"Xavier had an accident," she said and he immediately understood her worries.
They got to the hospital and Amelia bolted off. Peter had to pay the driver before running after Amelia.
"Xavier Callum," she said in a gravelly tone to the nurse at the counter. "I am his wife, Amelia Wilson" she added and the nurse nodded.
"Hallway c, ward 3," she said and Amelia rushed off.
When she got to the hallway, she found Lucas, Daphne, and another lady sitting on a seat, but she didn't care. Who she wanted was to see her husband. But before she could get to the ward, Lucas stopped her.
"You can't go in Amelia," Lucas said to her and she immediately felt angry, still walking towards the room. She didn't have to listen to anybody.
Lucas held her by the hand firmly. "The doctors are in there, operating on him you can't go in," he said and tears gathered in Amelia's eyes. She slipped to the floor as she cried hard.
"How bad is he?" She asked as she watched Daphne get up from her seat to help Amelia up, but Amelia was too broken to understand what was happening.
"The doctor said he suffers a risk. The surgery is a fifty-fifty survival rate" Lucas said.
Amelia pressed her lips together. She didn't want to cry because she knew if she cried, it would be so hard that she might faint from it.
"What caused the accident?" She managed to ask in a shaky voice.
"His brakes were tampered with. It is so unlikely for a car like that to have that kind of accident. The police are still investigating the case"
Amelia couldn't understand who would want to do something like this. Xavier could be difficult but didn't deserve death.
"How long is the surgery going to take?"
"he had so many injuries and he has to undergo multiple surgeries" Daphne, who had not said a word since said beside her.
Amelia needed to breathe because the air was choking. She needed to clear her head because all this was happening so fast. She went back to Peter who she left at the reception.
The moment he saw her, he stood up from his seat in anticipation of hearing what she had to say. With the way her eyes were red and puffy, it was obvious she didn't have any good news.
"What did the doctor say?"
"They wouldn't let me see him. He is currently under surgery and I am scared Peter" she settled beside peter.
"What happened?"
"Brake failure. Lucas says it was a sabotage"
"Someone wanted to kill Xavier?"
Her lips became too heavy to produce words. The only thing she could do was nod incessantly.
"I'm so scared" she leaned on her seat with genuine fear visible in his eyes.
"The Xavier I have seen and the one you have talked about is a fighter. He wouldn't just give up on you and his family. He loves you so much"
She leaned closer and hugged Peter. She didn't know what else to do. "Thank you Peter" She mumbled in his chest.
Amelia leaned back in her seat. Her eyes gradually became heavy and with time, they closed. Even though she wanted to stay awake, she couldn't beat nature. She hadn't had any good sleep since she left Xavier's house. Each time she craved sleep, it always didn't work out because she kept thinking about him.
When she woke up, she instantly felt a wave of reality hit her. Her head was still resting on Peter. She looked around at where she was and she almost cried again.
Immediately, she stood up. "How long have I been asleep?"
"2 hours". Peter replied after checking his watch for the time.
"Oh God" she exclaimed and started running towards Xavier's ward once again. Peter, this time didn't let her go alone. He followed her.
She got to the place. Lucas, Daphne, and the other lady were nowhere to be found, so she ran toward the ward without thinking.
The surgery was over. Lucas and Daphne were Speaking to the doctor while another Doctor sat with Xavier who was now awake. Her heart leaped for joy as she went to his bedside.
He looked at her. She smiled at him, but he did nothing as he peeled his eyes off her. Amelia didn't read any meaning to it. Maybe he was still trying to process his surrounding. She didn't know how long the surgery took or when it was over. All she cared about was Xavier was alive and well.
"What is this?" she heard the doctor ask him, raising a pen. By now Daphne and Lucas were standing by her side, including the lady. They all stared at Xavier in anticipation.
"A pen" he replied faintly. His voice sounded strained.
"What color is this?" the doctor asked still holding the pen.
"Blue"
"What is your name?"
"Xavier Callum"
The doctor turned to look at the three of us. He pointed at Lucas. "Who is this?"
"That's Lucas, my brother"
He pointed at Daphne.
"That's Daphne, my sister"
He pointed at Erica.
"Erica" Xavier mouthed.
The doctor pointed at Amelia and she smiled at him. Unlike the rest, he looked at her in confusion for a while before shaking his head. " I don't know her"
"What?" She let out a nervous smile. She looked at Lucas and Daphne who also had a look of confusion on their faces apart from Erica who had satisfaction on her face. "I am your wife Xavier. Why won't you know me?"
He shook his head once again. "I don't know her." He turned to look at Lucas. "Who is she?" He asked almost as if he didn't believe me and that broke my heart.
"She is your wife, Xavier," he said, but with the look Xavier gave him, it was obvious he was finding that had to believe.
"Xavier, don't you remember? We got married not too long ago" she asked, but he shook his head while staring at her like she had lost her mind.
The doctor left Xavier's side. He stopped in front of her. "Can I talk to you for a while?" he said and she didn't have any other choice than to follow him.
She trailed behind him until they got to his office. She sat on a seat opposite him in anticipation of what he had to say.
"There was a chance of Xavier losing his memory. We saw this coming"
"So he won't remember me ever again?" Tears were starting to get visible in her eyes.
"No, he will, but it will take some time. During cases like this, some patients loses the memories of recent activity, including people that they recently met. Some of these cases can be from 2 months, while some forget everything from 5 years ago"
"Is his memory of me ever going to come back?"
"It's normally supposed to, but the accident really affected a part of his brain, so remembering you might be hard for him. I can't give you that assurance. It's a 50/50 chance"
"There is no way he will forget about his wife forever, right?"
"That's why I said it's 50/50. A miracle can happen and he will suddenly remember you. For that to happen, you need to stay with him, then he might remember some of the memories you had with him"
"How long will this take? "
"A space of 6 months to a year," he said and Amelia swallowed hard. The contract marriage was expiring in the next 2 months. That wasn't enough time to convince Xavier that she was his wife. Fake or not. There was a probability that if he found out she was fake, he won't hesitate to end the marriage. Except she made the contract marriage a secret and make it seem like they were real couples.
" Thank you doctor" she managed to speak and stood up from where she was seated.
She got back to the ward. Peter was standing outside. The moment she saw him, she broke down into tears once more. She couldn't help it. She felt neglected and rejected by the universe.
"He doesn't remember me" Her voice wasn't louder than a whisper.
"What?"
" He had a memory loss and he doesn't remember anything about me. You should have seen his face when I told him I was his wife. He despises me"
"That's not possible. The last thing a man will feel about you, husband or no husband is hatred. What did the doctor say?"
" He says I need to spend some time with him to make him remember me" with the way she spoke, it was obvious she was tired of everything and just needed a break. But she couldn't take a break when her husband didn't remember her
Peter patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. He will surely remember you"
"And what if he doesn't ?"
"Then he is an asshole for not remembering such an amazing woman in his life"
"Thank you, Peter,"
Peter had always been by her side. After breaking his heart the way she did, he was still very nice to her. His niceness was to a fault. She didn't know what she would do if he wasn't in her life. He was like a part of her that she couldn't shake off
In silence, she walked back to the ward. She couldn't imagine staying away from Xavier at a time like this
She knew every second she spent with him counted.
When she got inside the ward, the sight she witnessed made her blood boil. The lady that was with Daphne and Lucas earlier was seated beside Xavier. She was just sitting down, not doing any other thing, but Amelia still felt like yanking her red hair and dragging her away from her husband