The choice
910 Words
The house had grown quiet again.
After Sophie left, the silence felt heavier than before.
Damein stood in the living room staring at Maya's unconscious body lying on the sofa. A strand of her hair had fallen across her face, and he gently brushed it aside.
"Maya..." he whispered.
Her breathing was steady, but her face looked pale.
The moment she had spoken Sophie's name... and asked about Nadia... something inside him had tightened.
She was remembering.
Maybe not everything yet.
But enough to destroy everything he had built.
Damein ran a hand through his hair and began pacing the room.
Sophie's words echoed in his head.
"If you know what's best for you... act fast or you will lose her forever."
He stopped near the table where Maya's medication rested.
The doctor had prescribed several pills for her pain and recovery after the accident.
Beside them sat a small sealed packet that had been delivered earlier.
Damein stared at it.
He knew what Sophie claimed it would do.
She had said it would slow Maya's memories from returning.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
His hand slowly reached for the packet.
Then stopped.
"No," he muttered.
He stepped back immediately as if the packet itself were dangerous.
"I'm not doing this."
He looked toward Maya again.
The thought of harming her made his chest ache.
"She's my wife," he whispered.
No matter how complicated things had become between them...
Maya was still the woman he had once loved deeply.
The woman who had given him Layrus.
The woman whose smile used to make him believe he could survive anything.
How could he do something like this to her?
Damein shook his head and pushed the packet away.
"I won't do it."
Just then, the front door opened.
Lucas walked inside.
"I came back to check on Maya," he said quickly.
Damein stiffened.
Lucas immediately noticed Maya lying on the sofa.
"What happened?"
"She fainted," Damein replied shortly.
Lucas rushed to her side.
"Maya?"
He knelt beside her and gently touched her shoulder.
"Hey... wake up."
A few seconds later, Maya stirred.
Her eyelids fluttered open.
Lucas smiled in relief.
"There you are."
Maya blinked slowly, her gaze landing on Lucas first.
"You came back," she said weakly.
Lucas nodded.
"Of course."
Damein watched quietly from across the room.
Lucas helped Maya sit up carefully.
"You scared us," he said softly.
Maya placed a hand on her temple.
"My head suddenly started hurting when I heard Sophie's name."
Lucas and Damein exchanged a quick glance.
"Do you remember anything?" Lucas asked carefully.
Maya frowned.
"I... I don't know."
Her voice trembled.
"It felt like something was trying to come back."
Hope filled Lucas's eyes.
"That's good," he said gently.
"It means your memory is returning."
Damein's jaw tightened.
Lucas continued softly.
"You don't have to force it. Just take your time."
Maya nodded.
"Thank you."
She looked at him for a moment longer than necessary.
Damein noticed.
And the sight made something dark twist inside him.
Lucas stood up slowly.
"You should take your medication and rest."
He picked up the medicine bottle from the table and handed it to Damein.
"I have to go back soon," Lucas added.
"But call me if anything changes."
Damein nodded stiffly.
Lucas turned back to Maya.
"Get some rest."
Then he left.
The moment the door closed behind him, the house fell silent again.
Damein looked down at the medication in his hand.
His mind replayed the scene he had just witnessed.
The way Maya looked at Lucas.
The warmth in Lucas's voice.
The way Lucas cared for her without hesitation.
It felt like he was watching his own life slip away.
Slowly, Damein walked back to the table.
His eyes landed on the small packet again.
Sophie's voice echoed inside his head.
"She'll remember everything."
"She'll leave you."
"And she'll take Layrus with her."
His chest tightened painfully.
He imagined Maya remembering.
The betrayal.
The lies.
The secrets he had buried.
The moment she discovered he had worked with Sophie.
Would she ever forgive him?
Or would she take Layrus and disappear from his life forever?
Damein closed his eyes.
"No..."
He couldn't lose them.
He had already lost too much.
His hand slowly picked up the packet.
His fingers trembled.
For several seconds, he simply stared at it.
His conscience screamed at him to stop.
But fear screamed louder.
"This is the only way," he whispered.
With shaking hands, he mixed the contents into Maya's medication.
When he was done, there was no visible difference.
Damein stared at the medicine for a long moment.
Then he picked up a glass of water and walked toward Maya.
She looked up at him.
"Is that my medication?"
He forced himself to smile.
"Yes."
Without suspicion, Maya took it from him.
Damein watched as she swallowed it.
The moment she finished, guilt crashed into him.
His chest tightened so painfully that he almost snatched the pills back from her.
What had he just done?
Maya leaned back against the sofa.
She looked tired.
Trusting.
Completely unaware.
Damein lowered his gaze.
For a brief moment, he wondered if he had just destroyed the very thing he was trying to protect.
But then he thought of Lucas.
He thought of Maya remembering.
He thought of Layrus calling someone else family.
And he hardened his heart.
Because losing Maya...
And losing Layrus...
Was something he simply could not allow.
- Writer
