The Woman I Couldn't forget
1464 Words
Dominic's Pov
I felt the breath leave her lungs as she fell limply into my arms.
"Athena?"
I called, shaking her gently but her lopsided face was still sagged by the side.
My heart skittered to a stop.
This better not be what I thought it was..he raised a finger below her noise and let out a deep breath when he felt the trace of life fan his skin.
He carried her up to the bed and without wasting time, pages his family doctor.
"Anton!"
* * * *
"What is wrong with her Doctor, she muttered some words and just fell unconscious." I volunteered."
The doctor adjusted his glasses.
"She's suffering from key symptoms of post traumatic stress symptoms. They're very likely in patients that have lost their memory. Tell me again, where did you find her?" The doctor asked.
"I met her at the hospital. Her deceased boyfriend was brought into the hospital"
"Doesn't she have any family members to call?" The doctor, with concern laced in his voice asked.
"We tried looking for some sort of identity but it seems, she has none. Ana she believes that she only has h r deceased boyfriend as her family."
The doctor's lips pursed in thought.
"That's is really concerning"
"When do you think we should talk to her concerning this?"
"Not right now. Trying to force her to remember what her body and mind has tried so hard to forget could cause catastrophic results. Let's just observe her.In most cases, post traumatic patients with supposed memory loss, end up getting some sort of jolt from memories of their past".
As soon as the doctor exits.
Athena fidgets and begins to mumble something incoherent in her sleep.
I moved closer to catch a glimpse of what she was saying.
Sweat creased her brow.
Her fingers were clutching the sheet tightly.
"They lied..."
"She... stole everything..."
"Why?"
"My baby..."
I took a step back I suprise
I took a step back in surprise.
"My... baby?"
The words echoed through the room long after they had left her lips.
For a moment, I wondered if I'd heard her correctly.
No.
That couldn't be right.
Athena had never mentioned a child.
Not once.
From the little I knew about her life, there was only Lucas—the boyfriend who had overdosed in my emergency room—and a lonely existence that seemed to revolve around surviving another day.
So who was she talking about?
I looked back at her sleeping figure.
Her breathing had become uneven again, and another tear escaped the corner of her eye, sliding silently down her temple before disappearing into the pillow.
Even in her sleep, she looked terrified.
Like she was trapped somewhere I couldn't reach.
The room suddenly felt unbearably quiet.
I dragged a hand down my face.
This wasn't my problem.
It shouldn't have been.
She was a stranger.
A woman who had slapped me in front of my staff.
A woman I had reluctantly brought into my home because Ethan had begged me not to leave her alone.
So why did seeing her like this make my chest feel so... heavy?
Why did I feel responsible?
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.
"Dad?"
Ethan.
I turned immediately.
"You should be asleep."
He stood barefoot at the doorway in dinosaur pajamas, rubbing one sleepy eye.
"I heard voices."
His curious gaze drifted past me until it landed on Athena.
"Is she sick?"
I hesitated before nodding.
"She'll be okay."
He walked into the room without waiting for permission.
Children had a strange way of ignoring invisible boundaries adults spent years creating.
He stopped beside the bed and stared at Athena for a long moment.
Then, with surprising tenderness, he reached out and held her hand.
"It's okay," he whispered. "You're safe."
Something tightened painfully inside me.
Athena's clenched fingers slowly loosened around the bedsheet.
Her breathing steadied.
It was almost as if Ethan's tiny hand had pulled her back from whatever nightmare she had been trapped in.
How?
The family doctor had been trying to calm her for nearly an hour.
Yet my six-year-old son had done it with four simple words.
I watched in stunned silence.
"Daddy..."
"Hm?"
"She's crying."
I looked closer.
He was right.
Fresh tears slipped down her cheeks even though she remained asleep.
Without thinking, I reached for the tissue box and gently wiped them away.
The moment my fingers brushed her skin—
A sharp pain exploded behind my eyes.
I staggered backward.
Images flashed before me.
White roses.
Church bells.
A woman's laughter.
Sunlight dancing through stained-glass windows.
A delicate hand sliding a silver ring onto my finger.
"...until death do us part."
The voice was so clear that I instinctively looked around the room.
But there was no one there.
Only Athena.
Sleeping.
My breathing became shallow.
What was that?
Another image came.
A silver necklace.
The same necklace Athena wore.
I blinked.
The vision disappeared as suddenly as it had come.
"Daddy?"
Ethan's worried voice pulled me back.
"You look funny."
I forced a smile.
"I'm fine."
It was a lie.
Nothing about this felt fine.
Not the headache.
Not the strange memories.
And certainly not the unsettling feeling that I'd seen Athena somewhere before.
Somewhere important.
But where?
I couldn't remember.
And that frustrated me more than I cared to admit.
Just then, my phone vibrated inside my pocket.
Thomas.
I frowned before answering.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"Not exactly."
"I heard you left the charity gala early."
I glanced toward Athena.
"Something happened."
"Is it... the woman?"
My grip tightened around the phone.
"How did you know I was with her?"
A brief pause followed.
"I guessed."
His answer came too quickly.
"You've been distracted since she moved into your house."
I leaned against the wall.
"She collapsed."
"What?"
"The doctor says she's recovering memories."
Silence.
Longer than it should have been.
When Thomas finally spoke again, his voice sounded oddly strained.
"Has she remembered anything?"
I frowned.
"Why are you asking?"
"No reason."
He laughed awkwardly.
"I'm just curious."
I wasn't convinced.
Thomas rarely sounded nervous.
Yet there was unmistakable tension in his voice.
"She was only muttering in her sleep."
"What did she say?"
I hesitated.
Something inside me told me not to answer.
"I couldn't make it out."
Another pause.
Then Thomas sighed.
"Well... keep me updated."
"I will."
The line disconnected.
I lowered the phone slowly.
That conversation had left an unpleasant feeling in my stomach.
Thomas wasn't usually this interested in my personal life.
Especially not where Athena was concerned.
Maybe I was overthinking.
Or maybe...
No.
I rubbed my temple.
I needed answers.
Not assumptions.
I stepped into the hallway and dialed another number.
The call connected on the second ring.
"Jeff speaking."
"I need you to investigate someone."
"You finally sound serious."
"I'm sending you her photo."
"What am I looking for?"
"Everything."
I stared through the half-open bedroom door.
Athena hadn't moved.
"I want to know who Athena Laurel really is."
"You think she's lying about her identity?"
"I don't know what to think anymore."
Jeff was quiet for a second.
"I'll need time."
"You have forty-eight hours."
He chuckled.
"You never ask for small favors."
"I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important."
"I understand."
"I want birth records."
"Okay."
"Hospital records."
"Noted."
"Employment history."
"Done."
"And any missing-person reports that resemble her."
Jeff inhaled sharply.
"You think she might be someone else."
"I have a feeling."
"What kind of feeling?"
I looked back at Athena.
The moonlight spilling through the curtains illuminated her sleeping face.
For a split second...
She didn't look like a stranger.
She looked...
Familiar.
Painfully familiar.
"I don't know," I admitted quietly.
"But every instinct I have tells me that meeting Athena wasn't an accident."
"I'll start tonight," Jeff replied before ending the call.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and returned to the room.
Ethan had fallen asleep beside Athena, his small head resting against her arm.
She hadn't pulled away.
Even unconscious...
She seemed to instinctively shelter him.
I stood there watching them for what felt like forever.
A strange warmth settled inside the room.
One I'd never felt since Lisa's death.
It scared me.
Because for the first time in years...
This house didn't feel empty.
I quietly draped a blanket over Ethan before switching off the bedside lamp.
As I turned toward the door, Athena suddenly tightened her grip around Ethan's tiny hand.
Her lips moved again.
This time her voice was barely a whisper.
"Don't... take him from me..."
I froze.
A chill crept down my spine.
Who was trying to take whom?
And why did those words feel less like a dream...
...and more like a memory?
- Writer
