Chapter 4

Nadia's POV

I woke up in a hospital bed.

My hand went to my stomach. Flat and empty.

A doctor stood at the foot of my bed.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Clark," she said. "We did everything we could. The baby didn't make it."

I didn't cry. All the tears had dried up inside me.

Connor stood by the window. He wasn't looking at me. His arms were crossed, jaw tight.

The doctor left quietly.

Finally, Connor turned around, his face wasn't sad or guilty. It was annoyed.

"You see what happens?" he said. "This is exactly what I've been talking about."

My throat felt raw. "What?"

"You're always hysterical, Nadia. Always making scenes." He walked closer to the bed. "The doctor said you need rest. But I know you. As long as Billy and I are around, you'll keep doing this. You'll keep spiraling."

I stared at him.

My baby was gone, and he was blaming me.

"I didn't—" My voice cracked. "Billy hit me. He—"

"Because you pushed him to it," Connor cut me off. "You cornered him with your accusations. You made him feel trapped."

A tear slid down my cheek.

Connor sighed. He sat down in the chair beside my bed.

"I've been thinking," he said. "There's a solution here."

I didn't respond.

"I can perform an experimental hypnotherapy treatment on you," Connor said. "It's something I've been researching. It can temporarily suppress specific memories, help you forget traumatic events."

"Forget?" I whispered.

"Just for a while." He leaned forward. "I'll put you in a facility where you can rest. You won't remember any of this pain. You won't remember the baby, or the fight, or any of it. And when Billy and I come back in three months, I'll reverse the treatment. You'll get your memories back, and everything will go back to normal."

My mind felt slow.

"You want to erase my memory?"

"I want to help you," Connor said. "This way, you won't suffer while we're gone. You won't be sitting here alone, thinking about everything, getting more and more upset. You'll just... rest."

He made it sound so reasonable.

This was his solution. To erase me.

"And if I say no?"

Connor's expression hardened. "Then you'll stay here alone for three months, thinking about how you lost our baby. Blaming yourself. Blaming me. Getting worse and worse." He paused. "Is that really what you want?"

I closed my eyes.

My baby was gone, my husband didn't love me, my son was ashamed of me.

What did it matter anymore?

"Fine," I said. "Do it."

The facility was called Riverside Rest.

Connor drove me there himself. Billy didn't come, he was "staying with a friend," Connor said.

Connor walked me to my room.

"You'll be comfortable here," Connor said. "The staff will take good care of you."

I sat on the edge of the mattress.

Connor stood in the doorway. "Remember what we agreed, Nadia. No phone calls. No trying to reach us. No making trouble."

I looked up at him. "I won't."

"Good." He adjusted his watch. "I'll see you in three months."

The experiment started up pretty quickly. With each session, I felt myself drifting further and further away from being clear-headed. My thoughts got foggy, and my memories started getting all blurry and mixed up.

Most of the time I was there, I just sat by the window spacing out.

One afternoon, I was sitting there when I suddenly heard two nurses talking in the hallway.

I wasn't trying to eavesdrop or anything, but the door was cracked open.

"Have you seen the new patient in room 12?" one of them asked. "The woman whose husband checked her in?"

"Mrs. Clark? Yeah, poor girl."

"I looked at her file. Do you know what he's doing to her?"

"That experimental memory therapy," the first nurse said. Her voice got quieter. "It's never been tested on humans before. The risk of permanent brain damage is—"

"He didn't tell her, did he?"

"Of course not. And he specifically asked us to restrict her freedom. No phone calls, no visitors. She's not even allowed to know she can refuse treatment."

"That's not right."

"She just had a miscarriage too. He dumped her here and flew overseas with his son and some other woman. I saw the pictures on his social media."

"What pictures?"

"Beach vacation photos. They looked so happy."

A chill ran through my chest.

"She's been here two weeks and he hasn't called once," the first nurse said. "Not once. Even strangers would feel bad for her."

Their voices faded as they walked away.

I sat there frozen. My sadness and heartbreak were almost completely drained out of me.

The days blurred together.

One morning, I woke up and couldn't remember why I was here.

I knew my name. Nadia. But everything else was hazy.

Had I been sick? Was I here for treatment?

I asked the nurse who brought me breakfast, but she just said I was here to rest and recover.

I tried hard to remember, but I couldn't think of anything, so I just relaxed and tried to enjoy this recovery time.

That evening, I met another patient in the common room. Her name was Missy. She was really sweet and funny. We played cards together, and I felt happy.

Over the next few weeks, I made more friends. We had meals together, watched movies, walked in the garden.

I didn't know what I'd forgotten.

But whatever it was, it must have been heavy.

Connor's POV

Three months passed quickly.

The countryside had been exactly what Kelsey needed. Billy had fun too. Connor felt good about the decision.

But Connor would still think of Nadia, who he'd left at the care facility, from time to time. And as time went on, he missed her more and more.

When they returned to Palo Alto, the first thing he did was call Dr. Martinez.

"How is she?" Connor asked.

"Stable," Dr. Martinez said. "We can proceed with the memory restoration whenever you're ready."

"Today," Connor said. "I'll come get her today."

He drove to Riverside Rest that afternoon. Dr. Martinez met him in the lobby.

"The procedure went smoothly," he said. "She should have full recall now."

Connor nodded. "Any complications?"

Dr. Martinez hesitated. "There's... something unusual. But I'd rather you see for yourself."

They walked to Nadia's room together.

Nadia was sitting by the window. She turned when she heard him enter.

For a moment, Connor just looked at her. She looked healthier than when he'd left. Her face had color and her eyes were clear.

"Nadia," he said, stepping forward. "I'm here to take you home."

Nadia just stared at him, neither happy nor sad.

Connor felt very uneasy.

"I'm sorry," He saw Nadia frown, then say in confusion. "Who are you?"