The Stranger In Me

Chapter 15: Lines We Can't Uncross

Marie's Point of View

••••

I didn't remember falling asleep.I only remembered the weight,the questions.The way my own voice sounded strange to my ears when I asked him;

"Did you hurt me?"

After that... everything blurred.Now, when I opened my eyes again, the hospital room felt quieter,dimmer. Like the world had softened overnight, but not in a comforting way.

My body felt lighter, yet strangely empty.For a moment, I just stared at the ceiling.White,still,unfamiliar.

Then slowly, memory or whatever was left of it,began to settle in fragments.

Mia.

Her small hands,her warmth,her eyes filled with tears.I turned my head immediately.She was still there.

Curled up beside me on the bed, fast asleep, her tiny hand resting protectively on my arm like she had been guarding me all night.

A weak smile formed on my lips.

"My baby..." I whispered softly.

The words came out naturally,too naturally and that scared me.Because I didn't know if they were real or just something my heart had decided to believe.

I carefully brushed her hair away from her face, my fingers trembling slightly.

"Why do I feel like I've known you forever?" I murmured.

There was no answer,only the quiet rise and fall of her breathing.

The door opened gently behind me,I turned slightly.Nanny Ann stepped in, holding a small tray with tea and medication.Her face softened the moment she saw me awake.

"Marie... you're up."Her voice carried relief and something else.Worry.

"Good morning," I replied weakly.

She walked closer and placed the tray carefully on the bedside table.

"How are you feeling?"

I hesitated.How was I feeling?Confused?Lost?Afraid?

"I... don't know," I admitted softly.

Nanny Ann sat at the edge of the bed.

"That's alright. You don't have to rush anything."

I nodded slowly.

Then after a moment, I asked the question that had been sitting heavily in my chest.

"Is it true?"

Her brows knitted."What, dear?"

I swallowed."The doctor said... I might be creating false memories."

Silence.

That silence alone was enough to make my chest tighten.

"So it's true," I whispered.

Nanny Ann quickly reached for my hand.

"Marie, listen to me. Even if your memories are confused... your heart is not wrong."

I frowned slightly.

"What does that mean?"

She smiled faintly, though her eyes looked tired.

"It means whatever you feel for Mia... is real."

My gaze slowly shifted back to the little girl sleeping beside me and something inside my chest softened again.

Real or not,It felt real.Then quietly,

"What about him?"

The question slipped out before I could stop it.

Nanny Ann stilled."You mean Kelvin?"

I nodded slowly.Her expression changed slightly,more careful now.

"Your situation with him is... complicated."

I let out a small, humorless breath.

"That's one way to say it."

The memory of his face when I asked that question returned to me.The silence,the guilt,the way he couldn't answer immediately.

Something about that look...It didn't feel like hatred,it felt like regret.

"Did he answer?" I asked quietly.

Nanny Ann hesitated.Then gently,

"He didn't deny it."

My chest tightened painfully.I looked down at my hands.For a moment, I expected fear,anger,pain.But instead,what I felt was something far more confusing.Sadness,not for myself,but for him.

Why?Why did I feel that way?Why did my heart ache more for the man who hurt me than for myself?That didn't make sense.

Nothing about me made sense anymore.Before I could ask anything else, the door opened again.

This time,He walked in.

Sir Kelvin's Point of View

••••

I shouldn't have come back.

That was my first thought the moment I stood outside her hospital room again.

I had spent the entire night convincing myself to stay away.To let the doctors handle it,to let Nanny Ann take care of things,to let distance fix everything like it always did,but distance wasn't working anymore.

Because no matter how far I stayed,she was still there in my thoughts,in my decisions,in my mistakes and now in my guilt.

I pushed the door open slowly.The room was quiet,too quiet.

Nanny Ann looked up first,her eyes met mine.There was no anger there,but there was disappointment and somehow that was worse.

Then Marie turned and for the first time since everything unfolded,She looked at me without fear.

That unsettled me instantly.She should have been afraid,she had every reason to be.Instead,she looked at me like she was trying to understand me and that was far more dangerous.

Mia was still asleep beside her.Safe,peaceful,unaffected by the storm we had created.

Good.At least one person was still untouched.

"I came to check on her," I said flatly.

Nanny Ann stood up.

"I'll give you both some space."

She walked out quietly, closing the door behind her.Now it was just us.

Silence stretched between us.Heavy,uncomfortable,unavoidable.

Marie spoke first.

"Good morning... sir."

Sir.

That word felt strange now.Too distant,too formal,too safe.

"Don't," I muttered.

She frowned slightly.

"Don't what?"

"Call me that."

The words came out sharper than I intended.She blinked in confusion.

"What should I call you then?"

I didn't answer,because I didn't know.Because every possible answer created a boundary I wasn't ready to define and boundaries were already collapsing around us.

She studied me quietly.Then softly,

"Did you mean it?"

My jaw tightened.

"Mean what?"

"What you said yesterday," she continued carefully. "That I'm just... a nanny."

There it was.The line,the truth I had been holding onto desperately.

"Yes," I said firmly.

She nodded slowly.Like she expected that answer,but something about her reaction didn't sit right with me.

She didn't look hurt,she looked...Thoughtful.

"Then why does it feel like I'm more?" she asked softly.

My chest tightened.

"Because your memory is confused."

"Or maybe..." she hesitated, "...your actions are."

Silence.

I stared at her.She held my gaze,steady,calm.Dangerously calm.

"You care," she continued quietly.

"No."

"You came back."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"You didn't deny hurting me."

My breathing slowed.

"You still stayed."

That last line hit harder than anything else she said,because she was right.She had stayed,even after everything,even without her memories,even without knowing the full truth and that at terrified me.

"Don't confuse yourself," I said coldly. "Whatever you think you feel... it's not real."

She didn't respond immediately.Instead, she gently adjusted Mia's blanket,then looked back at me.

"What if you're the one who's confused?"

My expression hardened.

"I know exactly what I'm doing."

"Do you?" she asked softly.

Silence fell again.This time heavier,more dangerous because for the first time,I wasn't entirely sure and she could see it.

That was the problem.She could see right through me and if she kept looking long enough she might find something I had buried years ago.

Something I wasn't ready to face,something that could destroy everything.Including myself.

I took a step back.

"This conversation is over."

I turned toward the door,but her voice stopped me.

"Why do you look at me like that?"

I froze.

"What?"

"Like you're searching for someone else," she said quietly.

My chest tightened sharply.

Maya.

She didn't say the name,but I heard it anyway.

"I don't," I replied immediately.

But the lie didn't feel convincing.Not even to me.

She watched me for a moment longer then softly,

"I don't remember my past... but I feel things when I'm around you."

I clenched my fists slightly.

"Stop."

"I feel like I'm supposed to hate you..."

My breathing slowed.

"But I don't."

Silence.

"And that scares me."

That sentence lingered in the air between us.Unsettling,unavoidable,because it reflected something inside me too.

I took another step toward the door,but this time I didn't feel like I was leaving the room.I felt like I was running away and deep down,I knew something terrifying.

If I didn't stop running soon,there would come a moment where I wouldn't be able to run at all and when that moment came:

I wouldn't know whether to protect her or protect myself.