When The Rain Forgot Our Names

CHAPTER 2 : When The Rain Forgot Our Names

Chapter Two: A Stranger at Her Bedside

The first thing Amara heard was the steady beeping of a heart monitor.

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

Her eyelids felt heavy, but she forced them open. A bright hospital light greeted her, making her squint.

"She's awake!" a nurse called.

Within moments, a doctor entered the room with a warm smile.

"Welcome back. You've been unconscious since yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Amara whispered, her voice dry.

The doctor nodded.

"You suffered a concussion and a fractured shoulder, but you're fortunate. It could have been much worse."

Before Amara could ask another question, the door opened again.

A tall man walked in carrying a bouquet of white lilies.

His neatly pressed suit couldn't hide the exhaustion on his face.

Dark circles surrounded his eyes, as though he hadn't slept.

It was Ethan.

The man from the rain.

"I'm glad you're awake," he said softly.

Amara looked at him silently.

The room suddenly felt awkward.

"I..." Ethan began. "I'm Ethan Cole. I was driving the SUV."

"You were the driver?"

He lowered his head.

"Yes."

"I've been waiting here every day."

Amara frowned.

"Every day?"

"You've been unconscious for two days."

He looked at the floor.

"I'm responsible."

The silence stretched between them.

Finally, Amara sighed.

"The accident wasn't intentional."

Ethan looked up in surprise.

"You're... not angry?"

"I could spend my energy hating you."

She smiled faintly.

"Or I could spend it getting better."

For the first time in days, Ethan smiled.

It was small.

But genuine.

Just then, the hospital door burst open.

"Amara!"

Mama Grace rushed inside, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"My child!"

She wrapped Amara in the gentlest embrace she could manage.

"I thought I'd lost you."

"I'm okay, Grandma."

"No," Mama Grace whispered.

"I've already lost too much."

Ethan quietly stepped aside, allowing them their moment.

As he turned to leave, Mama Grace finally looked at him.

Her smile disappeared.

She stared at him as if she'd seen a ghost.

"You..."

Ethan stopped.

"Have we met before?"

Mama Grace didn't answer.

Instead, her hands began to tremble.

"No..."

"It can't be..."

Without another word, she hurried out of the room.

Confused, Ethan watched her leave.

Later that evening, he found the elderly woman sitting alone on a hospital bench, staring at the rain outside.

"Ma'am?"

She slowly turned.

"What is your father's name?"

Ethan hesitated.

"Richard Cole."

Mama Grace closed her eyes.

"So..."

"It really is happening."

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head.

"Nothing."

"But please..."

She looked directly into Ethan's eyes.

"Protect Amara."

"Protect her from what?"

Mama Grace's voice cracked.

"From your family."

Before Ethan could ask another question, she walked away.

Those words echoed in his mind.

Protect her from your family.

---

Across town, inside the luxurious Cole Mansion, Richard Cole sat at the head of an enormous dining table.

Daniel, his eldest son, placed a newspaper before him.

The front page showed a photo of Ethan helping an injured young woman after the accident.

Daniel smirked.

"So that's the girl."

Richard stared at the picture for a long time.

Then he quietly spoke.

"Find out everything about her."

Daniel smiled.

"And if she's connected to the past?"

Richard's face hardened.

"Then she must never learn the truth."

---

Three days later, Amara was discharged from the hospital.

Before leaving, Ethan handed her a small notebook.

"I heard from the bookstore owner that you love writing."

Amara looked at the notebook's plain leather cover.

"I do."

"Then promise me something."

"What?"

"When your shoulder heals..."

"Write your story."

She smiled.

"I don't think anyone would want to read it."

Ethan answered without hesitation.

"I would."

Neither of them noticed a woman standing across the street, watching from inside a black car.

Her perfectly manicured nails dug into the steering wheel.

"So..."

Vanessa whispered coldly.

"That's the girl."

Her eyes narrowed as Amara laughed at something Ethan had said.

"I won't let you take him from me."

The driver looked into the rearview mirror.

"Should we leave, Miss Vanessa?"

She smiled—a smile without warmth.

"No."

"This is only the beginning."

As the car slowly drove away, dark clouds gathered over the city once more.

The rain had stopped.

But another storm had just begun.