Fading Memories, New Beginnings

"Ms. Woodard, are you sure you want to proceed with the experimental memory-erasure treatment? Once the procedure is complete, all your memories will be erased. You won't remember anyone." Rivka Woodard sat in the private consultation room of Aventine Hospital in New York with her eyes lowered. 'Anyone? Even Jayden?' Jayden Lindsey, the man at the helm of Lindsey Group, was a legend in New York's business world. He was also Rivka's husband. Everyone in New York knew she was the love of his life. Rivka loved Juliet roses, so Jayden spent a fortune creating an entire garden just for her. Rivka loved traveling, so Jayden put work aside and took her everywhere, from seeing the aurora over Antarctica to vacationing in the Maldives and spending days on private beaches. Rivka loved luxury cars and high-end watches, so Jayden commissioned internationally renowned jewelry designers to create one-of-a-kind pieces tailored to her style and taste. If Rivka wanted something, Jayden always found a way to give it to her. And yet, in the span of only six months, all of it had disappeared as if it had never existed. "Ms. Woodard, have you decided whether you truly want to let go of the past?" The doctor's voice pulled Rivka out of her thoughts. She looked down at the photograph on her phone screen and hesitated. Just then, her phone rang. The moment she saw the caller ID, she answered. "Hello..." "Rivka, where did you put that diamond-encrusted watch I gave you? Willow saw you wearing it the other day, and she really likes it." The voice on the other end was cool and detached, and Rivka felt her heart sink all over again. The woman he wanted the watch for was Willow Norris. Willow was the daughter of one of the Lindsey family's oldest friends, and the first love Jayden had carried in his heart for years. "You do remember that watch was a gift to me, don't you?" Rivka tried to keep her tone even, but disappointment still slipped through. There was a brief pause on the other end. Then Jayden said heavily, "Willow is sick. I promised her parents I would take care of her. Are you really going to make things difficult for someone who's ill? Since when did you become this petty?" The second Willow came up, his tone changed. The way he defended Willow, anyone would have thought she was his wife. Apparently, all it took was one tear from a man's first love to make the woman beside him disappear. Willow was sick. Six months ago, Willow's fiancé had died in a car crash. She had suffered a head injury in the same accident and lost her memory. When she woke up, the only person she still remembered was Jayden, the childhood sweetheart she had grown up with. The thought left a bitter taste in Rivka's mouth. "I don't remember where I put it," she said quietly. "If you want it that badly, go find it yourself." But Jayden was clearly displeased. "You know where everything in this house is. Come back and find it." Then he hung up. Rivka stared at the dark screen in her hand. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, there was nothing left in them but resolve. "I've decided. I'll come back in ten days for the procedure." The moment she stepped out of the hospital, a gust of cold wind struck her full in the face. Rivka pressed a hand to the dull ache in her chest and murmured. "Ten days from now, once I forget him, this won't hurt anymore." Only the cold moonlight answered her. She got into a cab and went home. ***** When she returned to Nebula Villa, Rivka had just reached the spiral staircase when Willow came running down. "Willow, slow down. You're going to fall." Jayden's voice came from behind her as he hurried after her. The three of them froze as their eyes met. The first thing Rivka noticed was the warmth in Jayden's eyes. Then Willow lifted her right hand with a bright smile and said, "Rivka, you're back. Jayden was joking that he's finally got me tied down." Rivka's gaze dropped to Willow's wrist. The diamond-encrusted watch glittered there as if it had always belonged to her. Just as Jayden had said to Rivka three years earlier, "Rivka, I've got you now."