6 | Amnesia
I heard a loud beeping sound next to me. I knew that sound too well, the sound of the heart monitor beeping, loudly and clearly.
I felt my heart drop because the moment I heard the sound, meant that I was still alive, that I had to live another day.
But I couldn't stand the thought of living, forcing myself to take another breath in this cruel world.
I had woken up moments ago, yet I kept my eyes shut, I wasn't ready to face the reality yet.
I wanted to stay in my inner world, where anything is possible, even living a life where I'm loved.
But that was not possible because I started slowly to regain my senses, my smell, my hearing, my touch, my taste.
I felt the soft bed, I felt the bed cover over my body, I felt the silky pillow under my head, I heard the beeping sound, I could smell the scent of the flowers.
I forced my eyes open, it took time to adjust my blurred vision. Once I adjusted, I looked around the private hospital room I was placed in, white walls, a television was hanging on the wall, a bucket of flowers was on a table next to me.
But my room was empty, it was silent, the clock on the wall announced that it was six in the morning as the sun had only begun to rise.
I stared at the window, I was on the highest floor of the hospital, so I had the view of the city.
"The sunrise is beautiful, isn't it?" I mumbled to myself.
It took me a minute to realize that my voice was back, but why? How did this happen? I thought I had lost my voice.
Tears welled in my eyes because I could speak and use my voice, which calmed me down and washed away some of my worries.
But I noticed that when I'm stressed, I seem to be unable to speak, like someone has taken my voice, but once I calm down, I can use my voice.
I sighed in relief, and for the next two hours I watched as the sun raised, the sky going from yellow to pink to blue.
A nurse came in to check on me exactly at eight o'clock, at the sight of me, she immediately went to check on me, then alerted a doctor about the fact that I had woken up.
After the nurse, had left, a doctor stepped inside the room. "How are you feeling, Ms. Nash?"
"Good." I whispered my answer.
The doctor went to take a seat next to the bed. He began asking me questions about my health, did I feel weird? Did it hurt somewhere? Nausea? Headaches? Drowsiness?
I answered his questions, but my voice was always low. The doctor even needed to move closer to me to be able to hear my words.
"What happened?" I wanted to know.
"You fell from the window. You barely managed to survive due to the impact on your head from the fall. You were brought in for surgery, and for four months, you have been in a coma." He explained, going over his written notes.
"Four months? Coma?" I could hardly say the words from the shock that followed.
"That's why I want to ask you the following questions in case you have amnesia. Is that okay with you?" The doctor asked, and I nodded for him to go on.
"Is your name Aurelia Nash?"
"Yes."
"Are you twenty years old?"
"Yes."
"Is your birthday on May 15th?"
"Yes." I answered, I would never be able to forget my twentieth birthday, even if I wished.
My sister married my crush, and I also found out the reason why I was abused my entire life.
"Is your father named Marino Nash?" The doctor questioned.
I stopped answering, to me, he never acted like a dad, he never took care of me, he never showed me any affection, he tried to kill me and get rid of me.
"I don't know?" I replied. Could a man like my father be called a dad? I didn't think so.
The doctor grew concerned. "Do you have a sister?"
Ciara Nash? She can go to hell for all I care.
She was never a proper sister to me, she saw what our parents did to me, yet she never reached out to me, probably to protect herself, only if she knew the truth about her origins, the fact that her father was a bodyguard.
"I don't think I have a sister." I gave an answer. I was deep in thought about Ciara, if she really knew about her origins or did mother also lie to her?
The doctor began to sweat bullets as he grew even more worried. Probably because he was taking care of an in-law of the Costa family, since Ciara and Luciano were married by now.
Throwing myself out the window was not such a bad idea.
I got my voice back, and I missed their wedding, which had probably dragged on for hours.
"Ms. Nash... Do you remember your mother's name?" The doctor asked, sounding slightly hopefully for some strange reason.
How should I know? Maybe she took in on another identity, another name, and has gone undercover for the FBI.
But I wish I could forever and ever forget her fucking name.
From one side, I could understand her, all she wanted was for her daughter to thrive and survive. But that did not give her any right to try and kill me off, to treat her other daughter like an object.
"I have a mother? I don't think so." I gently scoffed at the thought. I never had a mother or a father in my life.
I only had criminals who tried to kill me.
The doctor thanked me for answering the personal questions of the amnesia test. He stood up from his seat, wiping sweat from his forehead, looking pale as he left the room.
Oh shit...
We were doing an amnesia test...
I had completely forgotten about the test, that's why the doctor looked like he was sweating bullets and was ready to pass out.
Each time he asked me a question, I overthought when I only needed to answer Yes or No.
Is your father Marino Nash?
Yes.
Is your sister Ciara Nash?
Yes.
I could not call out for him, he had already left the room to examine the results of my test, which would probably lead to an CT scan for amnesia.
A few hours passed by, the clock nearing lunchtime. The only enjoyment I had was the beautiful September day.
I had missed the entire summer, which pissed me off, but I had only myself to blame for trying to fly like a bird out the window.
The only person who had visited me was the nurse, she had turned on the TV for me and given me a bowl of yoghurt.
She had cleaned my urinary catheter, she had helped me move around the room as my limbs felt weakened, but they weren't in a bad state because of physical therapy I had received when I was in a coma.
The nurse had also pushed me around in a wheelchair because I was getting a CT scan. Once the scan was done, I returned to my room and laid on the bed.
I laid on the bed for another hour, the clock nearing the evening as an entire day had gone by. I was growing tired, because I woke up early in the morning.
I didn't think I could wait for the doctor to give me the results of my health check up. I closed my eyes and drifted to a peaceful sleep.
Though that feeling didn't last long because the moment my eyes opened, there were four people inside the hospital room, sitting on the chairs next to the bed.
Chase was sitting on my right, Franco was sitting next to him, but what the fuck was Franco doing here? Wasn't he busy chasing some models? Or women?
On my left was Luciano Costa, he was talking to the doctor and from what I could hear it was about my state of health.
Of course, he needed to know about my condition, he had to take care of his in-laws.
A thought crossed my mind, I would pull a little prank on them.
"Who are you?" I said out loud. "What are you doing in my room?"
Their eyes landed on me, their expressions were worth the shock, but just as I was about to tell them it's a joke, the doctor began to explain about my condition.
"You have amnesia. The CT scan came out normal, everything looked fine. But it can happen when a patient has woken up from a coma, in most cases the amnesia will dissolve itself, if not then you will need to come back to the hospital." The doctor explained, his voice extremely serious.
"What does that mean? Does she not remember anything at all?" Chase's voice nearly cracked, he sounded devastated.
"She seems to remember herself, but she has an issue with remembering the people around her." The doctor gives the bad news to my older brother before I could even explain myself to them.
Luciano places his hand on top of mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. "My wife has amnesia, she does not remember me?"
"Sadly, she does not, boss. The good news is that the CT scan looks normal, but it might take time for her to remember you." The doctor, who works for Luciano, informed him.
I feel my eyes go wide at Luciano's words, and my jaw wanted to drop on the floor.
Luciano gently lifts my hand, pressing a soft kiss on the back of it. His eyes are filled with pure devastation.
His woman? Is he mental?! He was the one who fucked my sister and was about to get married to her!
I snatch my hand away from his hold, glaring at him.
I can't tell if he was aware of my feelings for him, and he's playing mind games with me right now, or if we truly did get married.
But two could play the game, I had nothing to lose anymore.
I was suicidal 70% of the time, and the 40% of the time I was hungry.
"For fuck's sake, weren't you the dude who dipped his dick in my sister?" I pointed at Luciano, not telling anybody about the fact that I remembered everything.
The doctor's eyes winded at my rude language towards his boss, who's the mafia Don. Even Franco gave me the side-eye because he was amazed at my lack of fear.
Luciano didn't care about my hostile tone or my harsh words.
"What? You decided to ditch one sister, and went for the other one? Do you think I look like a stupid bitch who would go for someone who has been pussy whipped by my sister?" I spat, the first thoughts that came to my mind.
"At least she remembers something... Right? And she has gotten her voice back...?" Franco mumbles, trying to bring in the positivity, but the men in the room glared at him.
Luciano Costa turned his gaze back at me, he remained calm and composed, ignoring my rude words.
"Eli, that's not nice." Chase placed a hand on my shoulder. "Luciano cares for you, he has visited you every day for the past four months. You are his wife and the love of his life." I shrugged off my brother's hand, and I wanted to laugh.
Chase was the one who had warned Luciano to stay away from me romantically, threatening to kill him if he didn't, because my brother believed I deserved better than a Costa man.
Where the fuck did his overprotectiveness disappear? And what has happened these past four months when I was in a coma? Did I shift into another reality? Or did I get high on drugs?
"Can somebody just tell me what's going on?" I questioned them all, even the doctor who I had never seen in my life.
Luciano gently places a hand on my cheek, guiding my gaze toward him. "Aurelia, we are married. We got married before you went into a coma after you fell from a window."
That's not possible.
I remember the tears I shed and the glasses of whiskey I drank to numb the pain of Luciano and Ciara getting married, I could not wipe away those memories.
I did not believe him, but why was he lying to me?
"Why would I get married to a man like you?"
"Because you love me."
"W-What?"
"You married me because you are in love with me, Aurelia."
Four months had gone by, with me in a coma the entire time, yet hearing those words from Luciano made me wish I could stay unconscious all of my life.
The way Luciano so effortlessly admitted that I loved him cut open a fresh wound inside me, like I didn't have enough of wounds to my pile.
I had always wanted to tell him how I felt, but fear held me back. Besides, he was older than me, and Chase had ensured Luciano never saw me in a romantic light.
"Did I tell you that I loved you?" I mumbled, my eyes began to sting, but I held the tears back.
For five years I wanted to tell him about my feelings, but this was not the way.
"Right before you fell out of the window, you confessed that you love me." Luciano's voice was strained, he was keeping his emotions under control.
The first few tears began to flow from my eyes. "Well, too bad... Now you're stuck with a wife who will never remember you."