THE NAME HE COULDN'T FORGET
1328 Words
Elias didn't sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw hers.
Not her entire face.
Just her eyes.
He lay beneath the thin hospital blanket, staring at the ceiling while the steady rhythm of the monitor filled the room.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
He hated hospitals.
Too quiet.
Too many questions.
Too much time to think.
His gaze drifted toward the window. Morning light had begun to spread across the city, turning the buildings beyond the glass a pale gold.
Somewhere out there, his company was running without him.
That should have bothered him.
It did.
But not as much as the woman who had walked out of his room yesterday.
Isabella.
He still couldn't explain the strange feeling that had settled over him the moment he'd seen her.
She had looked at him like a stranger.
And yet, he knew her.
Or at least, some part of him did.
He rubbed his forehead.
Maybe it was the medication.
Maybe it was the shock.
Maybe his mind was simply confused after losing consciousness.
There had to be a reasonable explanation.
The door opened.
"You're awake."
Elias turned his head.
A tall man in a dark suit walked into the room, holding a paper bag in one hand and his phone in the other.
His expression was calm, but the dark circles beneath his eyes suggested he'd barely slept.
Elias looked at him.
"You look terrible."
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Good morning to you too."
He placed the paper bag on the table.
"You're welcome."
Elias almost smiled.
This was Marcus Reed.
His executive assistant for the past four years and, unfortunately, one of the few people in the world who wasn't afraid of him.
Marcus pulled a chair beside the bed.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better."
"Chest pain?"
"No."
"Dizziness?"
"A little."
"Shortness of breath?"
"No."
Marcus nodded.
"Good."
Elias glanced at the paper bag.
"What's that?"
"Breakfast."
"I don't want breakfast."
"I didn't ask."
Elias looked at him.
Marcus calmly pulled out a container.
"Your mother called."
Elias groaned.
"How many times?"
"Six."
"Don't tell her I'm awake."
Marcus stared at him.
"She already knows."
"Of course she does."
"She wants to come."
"No."
Marcus sighed.
"Elias."
"I don't need everyone flying across the country because I collapsed."
"You didn't just collapse."
Elias looked away.
Marcus continued.
"You had severe chest pain, lost consciousness, and scared half the people in your office."
"I'm fine."
Marcus gave him a flat look.
"You've been saying that since I met you."
"Because I usually am."
"Yesterday wasn't usually."
Elias didn't answer.
Marcus leaned back in his chair.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Marcus said quietly,
"You scared me too."
Elias's expression softened.
"I'm sorry."
"Just don't make a habit of it."
"I'll try."
"Good."
Marcus opened his phone.
"Your meetings have been moved."
"Move them back."
Marcus looked up.
"No."
Elias frowned.
"Excuse me?"
"You're in a hospital."
"I know where I am."
"Apparently not."
Elias stared at him.
Marcus continued scrolling through his phone.
"The board meeting is postponed. The investors have been informed. Your afternoon calls are cancelled."
"Marcus."
"No."
"I have work."
"You almost died."
Elias's jaw tightened.
"I didn't."
"You almost did."
Silence.
Marcus lowered his phone.
"Let the doctors figure out what's wrong with you before you start worrying about everyone else."
Elias looked toward the window.
He didn't like being told what to do.
Especially when he knew the person saying it was right.
"Fine."
Marcus smiled.
"Good."
He stood.
"I'll come back later."
He reached the door.
"Marcus."
He turned.
"Yes?"
Elias hesitated.
"Did you see the doctor who came in yesterday?"
Marcus frowned.
"Which one?"
"The female doctor."
"There were several."
"Dr. Reyes."
Marcus thought for a moment.
"Isabella Reyes?"
Elias looked at him.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Nothing."
Marcus's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You've asked about her twice since I got here."
Elias looked away.
"I was curious."
"About your doctor?"
"Yes."
Marcus watched him for another second.
Then a small smile appeared.
"Interesting."
Elias looked back at him.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
Marcus laughed.
"I'll see you later."
He walked out.
The door closed.
Elias stared at it.
He hated that Marcus noticed everything.
Especially things Elias didn't understand himself.
A few hours later, the door opened again.
Elias didn't need to look up.
He already knew the voice.
"Mr. Ashford?"
His eyes lifted.
Isabella.
She stepped into the room with a tablet in her hand.
Today, her hair was pulled back neatly, and a surgical mask covered the lower half of her face.
She walked toward his bed.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better."
"Any chest pain?"
"No."
"Dizziness?"
"A little."
"Shortness of breath?"
"No."
She nodded.
"Good."
Elias watched her.
She was focused on her work.
Calm.
Professional.
Almost annoyingly so.
She looked at him.
"You didn't sleep."
It wasn't a question.
Elias raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know?"
"You look exhausted."
He glanced at her.
"You don't look much better."
She paused.
For a second, he thought she'd be offended.
Instead, her eyes narrowed slightly.
"I didn't realize this was a competition."
He almost smiled.
"Neither did I."
She shook her head and returned to the tablet.
There was something about her that made him want to argue.
He didn't know why.
Maybe it was the way she spoke to him without the slightest concern for his name.
Most people treated Elias Ashford differently.
She didn't.
"Your results are improving," she said.
"Does that mean I can leave?"
"Not yet."
"I was afraid you'd say that."
"You should be."
He stared at her.
She continued writing.
"Your body needs time to recover."
"My body seems to disagree."
"Your body collapsed yesterday."
He had no answer to that.
She looked up.
"Exactly."
He sighed.
"You're enjoying this."
"What?"
"Being right."
Her eyes crinkled slightly.
"I'm a doctor. It's part of the job."
He couldn't tell whether she was joking.
And somehow, that made him want to smile.
She finished checking his vitals.
"We're going to continue monitoring you."
"What happened to me?"
Her expression became more serious.
"We're still investigating."
"That's what you said yesterday."
"And it's still true."
"What do you think?"
She looked at him for a moment.
"I think we shouldn't make assumptions before all the results are back."
He didn't like the answer.
But he respected it.
"How long?"
"We'll know more soon."
She turned toward the door.
"Doctor Reyes."
She stopped.
He wasn't sure why he'd called her.
She looked back.
"Yes?"
For a moment, he considered asking the question that had been sitting in his mind since yesterday.
Have we met before?
But he didn't.
Instead, he said,
"Nothing."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"Alright."
She left.
Elias watched the door close.
Again, that strange feeling returned.
He couldn't explain it.
He knew her.
Somehow.
But she didn't know him.
And that bothered him more than it should have.
Isabella walked down the corridor with Elias's chart tucked against her chest.
She stopped briefly at the nurses' station.
"Doctor Reyes?"
She looked up.
"Yes?"
"Your coffee."
A nurse pointed toward the cup sitting beside her.
Isabella stared at it.
Cold.
Untouched.
She picked it up.
She couldn't remember when she'd made it.
"Thanks."
She walked away.
Her steps slowed as she passed the window at the end of the corridor.
For some reason, the patient's expression kept coming back to her.
The way he'd looked at her.
As though he was trying to remember something.
Or perhaps...
As though he already knew her.
She dismissed the thought.
It was probably nothing.
Patients often behaved strangely after a serious episode.
She had seen it before.
She took a sip of the cold coffee and immediately grimaced.
"Disgusting."
She threw it into the nearest bin.
Then continued down the corridor.
Behind her, completely unaware, Elias was still staring at the door she'd disappeared through.
And Elias knew this wasn't their first meeting.
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