Chapter 3 A man with no memories

"Mr. Dominic Wolfe, a pleasure to meet you. According to the reports, you'll be able to leave soon," the doctor said with a polite smile.

Dominic nodded slightly, even though a sharp headache pulsed at his temples. The lights were too bright. The voices too loud.

"Oh, my son..." Mrs. Caroline Wolfe's voice cracked as she rushed to his side. "I was so scared. It's all my fault."

She pulled him into a tight hug, almost crushing him.

"Mom... careful," he winced.

The doctor stepped back. "We've explained the diagnosis. It's a case of partial retrograde amnesia. His memory may return gradually-though there are no guarantees. Familiar faces, places, smells... they can help."

He remembered the security code to his vault. His assistant's birthday. Even the taste of his favorite whiskey.

But not the woman who had once slipped a ring on his finger.

"Mom, can you stop crying?" Dominic groaned. "Ugh... Doctor, did you find out who that crazy woman was?"

"Who!?" Mrs. Wolfe asked, eyes widening in concern.

"Oh, Mom!" Hailey cut in with a sweet, calculated smile. She placed a gentle hand on Dominic's arm. "I met her. She's just one of those desperate, fame-hungry bloggers trying to go viral. Pathetic, really."

Dominic frowned. "She said some pretty weird things."

Hailey let out a small laugh. "Oh, she said she was your wife," she scoffed. "Can you believe that? I almost choked. I mean, come on, Dom-you'd never fall for someone like that."

Mrs. Wolfe shook her head. "Of course not. I knew it. Your standards are far too high."

Hailey leaned closer to Dominic, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve. "Don't worry. I told her off. She won't bother you again."

He nodded slowly, still confused. "Thanks."

A nurse entered. "Mr. Wolfe, your discharge papers are ready."

"Good," Caroline said quickly. "Let's get you home, sweetheart. You need rest."

They began gathering his things. Hailey was already gripping his hand like a trophy.

Then-

"Dom!"

The voice sliced through the air.

"Dom, it's me... It's Vi!"

Everyone turned.

Vivienne stood at the end of the corridor, her eyes wide, face pale. Her voice trembled, but she didn't stop.

"Dominic... it's me. Please. Look at me."

She took a step forward.

Hailey's smile vanished. She moved protectively in front of him.

"Security," she snapped.

Two guards stepped forward instantly. Before Vivienne could reach him, they blocked her path.

"Ma'am, you need to step back."

"No-please. He's my husband. He's-he's just confused. Dom, please, just look at me!"

Dominic didn't turn. Not even a glance. His face was blank. Distant.

Vivienne's heart cracked wide open.

The guards pushed her back gently, but firmly.

"Dominic, please!"

Still nothing.

He walked past her like she was just another stranger on the street.

Like she'd never existed.

Vivienne stood frozen in the hospital corridor, blinking back tears that refused to stop. When the elevator doors closed, taking him away, something inside her cracked wide open.

She didn't go home.

Instead, she followed them.

She saw the sleek black car they left in, flagged down a cab, and whispered the address to the driver-one she'd memorized when she was still his everything.

It was one of Dominic's penthouses. The one with the private garden, the skyline view, the balcony where he once told her he'd never forget her face.

Now he didn't even recognize it.

Vivienne waited across the street. All night. No coat. No umbrella.

She watched as the lights flickered off one by one inside the penthouse.

She hoped.

Prayed.

Whispered.

"Please, just come out. Just see me..."

It rained the next night. She didn't care. She curled up on the front steps of the building. Feverish. Weak. Calling his name in her sleep.

"Dominic... it's me... please."

That's how Rose found her.

"Vi! Vivienne! Are you insane?!" Rose crouched down beside her, shielding her from the rain with her coat. "Are you trying to die out here?"

Vivienne didn't even flinch. Her skin was hot to the touch, her lips pale.

"He's just confused... I just need to talk to him... to remind him..." she whispered deliriously.

Rose's heart shattered. She pulled her best friend up.

"Vivienne... you're too pretty for this. Come on. Let's go home."

"You don't understand..." she coughed. "He loves me. I love him. I just-I just need him to remember us."

Rose's voice cracked. "Vi. Out of everyone... he forgot you. Don't you get it? That's not coincidence. That's a message."

Vivienne shook her head, rain mixing with her tears.

"He has a childhood sweetheart, Vivienne," Rose snapped. "She's in there right now, probably sleeping in your bed. The same one you made a home in."

"No. I love him. He's mine," Vivienne said, weakly trying to move toward the door again.

Rose stepped in front of her. "Take a look around. This isn't love anymore-it's self-destruction."

Silence.

Then, barely above a whisper-

"I'm pregnant."

Rose's jaw dropped. Her voice came out in a broken whisper. "What?"

"I'm pregnant," Vivienne repeated, shaking. "I found out the day before the accident."

Rose's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God... Vivienne-how are we supposed to raise a baby like this?"

Vivienne's knees buckled again, and Rose caught her.

"I'm sorry, Rose... I should've listened to you..."

Rose didn't say anything. Not then. She just held her tighter and waved down the first cab she could find.

They got home. Rose helped her inside, like someone carrying a broken version of the girl she used to know.

She ran a warm bath, helped Vivienne freshen up, then handed her some fever and pain pills. "Take this," she whispered.

Then she went to the kitchen. The apartment was cold, and the silence ached. She made some soup, the kind Vivienne always craved during her period cramps. Something simple. Warm. Familiar.

Vivienne stared at it like it was poison. And then-

"Why!?"

Her voice broke like glass.

"Why!!"

She screamed louder, hands trembling as she slammed the bowl to the floor.

Shards of ceramic scattered across the tiles.

Rose flinched but stayed calm. "Vi-"

"He needs to remember me. He needs to..." Her voice cracked mid-sentence.

"I know. I know..." Rose walked to her and knelt down, brushing hair from her flushed face.

"Fine. Once you're better, me and you will go there. We'll find him. You'll tell him everything. And if he still doesn't believe you... then we forget him. Okay?"

Vivienne looked up, eyes glossy and red. Her lips quivered.

"...Okay. Just this one time."

"Yes. Just this one time." Rose cupped her cheek. "But first, you have to eat and take your medicine. You can't fall apart before the fight."

Days passed.

Vivienne stopped counting. She stopped eating properly, too, except when Rose forced her to. She sat in front of old wedding photos, whispered his name like a prayer. Every night, she replayed their vows in her head like a broken record.

"Forever, Vi. I don't care if we lose everything else-just don't let go of me."

And then, the day came.

The sun was cruelly bright. Like the universe didn't care about heartbreak.

Vivienne sat across from him.

Dominic Wolfe.

Her husband.

Her secret.

Her home.

She laid everything in front of him.

Marriage certificate. Photos. Legal documents. Even the engraved watch she'd given him on their anniversary.

He stared at it. Scoffed.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you."

His voice was clipped. Cold. Nothing like the man who once danced with her barefoot in the rain.

"I don't think I-Dominic Wolfe-would marry someone like you. Not possible."

Vivienne blinked. Her throat dried up.

"What...?"

"Is this a new trick? A scam? A new way to get money out of rich people?" He stood, unbothered. "This is laughable."

She stood too. "You don't mean that. Look at me. Look at my face. Look at the way I-"

"I said I don't know you."

"You loved me-!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't act surprised. Women like you? You come in different packaging, but the playbook's always the same."

He walked out.

Not a glance. Not even a flicker of guilt.

Rose came in seconds later, breath caught halfway in her throat. She saw the broken look on Vivienne's face and didn't even ask.

She just whispered-

"I told you."

Silence.

She sat down beside her, and for a long time, neither of them said a word.

Then Rose added-

"Even if he lost his memories... he shouldn't lose his soul.