CHAPTER TWELVE
510 Words
Five Years of Silence
Elena didn't look back as she walked away from the mall.
She held Lily's hand tightly while Leo followed beside them.
Neither child understood why their mother was crying.
That man was their father.
But to him, they were strangers.
For five years, Elena had prepared herself for this possibility.
She just never imagined it would hurt this much.
At home, she put the children to bed and sat alone beside the window.
Five years ago, Adrian had opened his eyes in a hospital and forgotten everything about them.
His family had taken him away.
Elena had tried everything.
Marriage certificates.
Photographs.
Videos.
Even the letters Adrian had written to her.
Nothing brought his memories back.
Eventually, she stopped begging.
She stopped visiting the Vale mansion.
And she stopped waiting.
She raised Leo and Lily on her own.
It had been difficult, but she had survived.
The children grew up knowing their father loved them.
Elena never told them the truth.
She couldn't bear to tell two innocent children that their father looked at them and saw strangers.
Across the city, Adrian sat alone in his office.
The meeting had ended hours ago, but he hadn't gone home.
He couldn't stop thinking about the woman at the mall.
Elena.
He didn't know why her name kept appearing in his mind.
And the little girl...
When she had called him Daddy, something inside him had broken.
Adrian opened his desk drawer.
He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt compelled to search through it.
Inside were old documents from before his second accident.
Most were meaningless.
Then he found an old photograph.
A young woman stood beside him.
She was smiling.
Adrian stared at her face.
His heart began beating faster.
He turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten message.
To my husband, Adrian.
No matter what happens, I'll always love you.
— Elena
His hands began to tremble.
"Husband?"
He had no memory of writing to her.
No memory of loving her.
Yet the photograph made his chest ache.
For the first time in five years, Adrian wondered if his family had been hiding something from him.
That same night, Victoria entered the Vale mansion.
She immediately noticed Adrian's troubled expression.
"What happened?"
He looked at her.
"Who is Elena Carter?"
Victoria's face went pale for a second.
Then she smiled.
"She's the woman who became obsessed with you after your accident."
Adrian frowned.
"She says she's my wife."
Victoria stepped closer.
"She's lying."
"Then why does she have photographs of us?"
Victoria's expression remained calm.
"She created them to make you believe her."
Adrian said nothing.
But something inside him refused to accept the explanation.
He looked down at the photograph in his hand.
For reasons, he couldn't understand...
He didn't believe Victoria.
And somewhere in the city, Elena was looking at the same night sky.
She had no idea that Adrian had just found the first piece of their forgotten past.
And this time—
He was the one searching for answers.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD