Chapter 12
713 Words
Noah sat on the hospital bed, staring at his reflection in the small mirror attached to the wall. His mind felt like a blank slate, but every now and then, fragments of something familiar flickered in the darkness. The way Anna looked at him, the way her voice trembled when she spoke—it all felt too significant to be meaningless. Yet, whenever he asked, all she gave him was half-truths and forced smiles.
Juliet Carter entered the room, her expression tense. She had never liked Anna, and now that her son was in this vulnerable state, she wouldn’t let that woman manipulate him again.
“You need to stop letting her be around you,” Juliet said, sitting beside him. “She’s stringing you along while playing house with another man.”
Noah frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Juliet crossed her arms. “She has a boyfriend. Daniel, or whatever his name is. But she’s still here, pretending to care. And you—” she scoffed, shaking her head, “—you’re just letting her.”
Noah’s grip on the blanket tightened. “She… has a boyfriend?” The words felt foreign on his tongue.
“Yes. And don’t let her innocent act fool you. She left you once, Noah. She walked away.”
Just as Juliet finished, a nurse walked in to check his vitals. She smiled warmly, but as she adjusted the IV, she casually mentioned something that sent a chill down Noah’s spine.
“Mrs. Carter has been here every day, making sure you’re taken care of.”
“Mrs. Carter?” Noah echoed.
The nurse blinked. “Yes… Anna Carter. Your wife.”
The room fell into silence. Noah’s mind reeled. His wife. Not an ex. Not just some woman from his past. His wife.
His pulse spiked. He turned to Juliet, whose face had gone rigid. “She’s my wife?” he demanded.
Juliet sighed heavily. “It doesn’t matter—”
“It matters to me.”
At that moment, the door opened, and Anna walked in, her gaze darting between Juliet and Noah. The tension in the room was suffocating. Noah looked at her differently now, his mind racing with questions. He wanted to demand answers, to know why she hadn’t told him, why she was pretending to be just someone from his past. But most of all, he wanted to know why, despite everything, his heart still recognized her before his mind ever could.
Anna, noticing the intensity of his gaze, took a shaky breath. She could feel the walls closing in on her. Daniel had already sensed her drifting away. Now, with Noah knowing the truth, everything was about to collapse.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Noah finally asked, his voice laced with hurt.
Anna’s lips parted, but no words came out. Because deep down, she knew—she had never truly let go.
Noah pushed back against the pillows, frustration clawing at him. “So what now, Anna? You play nurse while keeping secrets from me? Do you love me?” His voice wavered as he forced the question out.
Anna’s throat tightened. “Noah…” she started, but Juliet cut in.
“She doesn’t love you, Noah. She’s been living with another man, moving on, while you were here, helpless.”
Anna turned sharply toward Juliet. “You don’t know anything about my life, so stop trying to poison him against me.”
Juliet smirked. “I don’t have to. You did that all by yourself when you walked out that door four years ago.”
Noah clenched his jaw. The weight of his mother’s words sank deep. His heart pounded as memories pushed at the edges of his mind, blurred but insistent. Flashes of Anna—laughing, arguing, kissing him, crying—tangled together like a puzzle he couldn’t solve.
“Did you move on?” Noah’s voice was quieter this time, more vulnerable.
Anna’s hands trembled at her sides. “I tried.”
That was all she could say before she turned and rushed out of the room. She didn’t trust herself to stay—not when Noah’s eyes held so much pain, and not when she felt the past pulling her under again.
- Writer
