In Love With My Bully-Chapter 57: Forgotten Vows

My fingers froze over his brow. "Excuse me?" I asked again, hoping he was joking or messing with me.

"It’s a simple question, woman. Who are you? Why are you here? Why are you kissing me? Why are you fussing over me? Did my parents hire you?" I threw the questions one after the other, knives to my heart.

"You’re joking. Please tell me you are joking!" I said nervously, laughing while my hands shook. But I decided to indulge him. "I’m your wife. I am carrying your child."

He laughed coldly. "Wife? Baby? Am I in hell or heaven or in between? I can’t tell... I haven’t been there before.

"Maybe it’s just the medication messing with your head. You did have head trauma after all?" That must be the explanation, isn’t it?

"It just doesn’t sound like my life. A wife? A baby? The last woman I remember having sex with is... he stopped.

"Let me guess, Gwen?"

"Yes! How did you know?"

"Because she is pregnant too. Almost popping!"

"What the fuck!!!" he exclaimed, then winced. "Are you both sure the babies are mine? This stuff you’re telling me sounds really unreal, like I stepped into someone else’s life."

"It’s a long story, but I probably shouldn’t be the one to explain it to you. When your parents get here, they will."

"Well, I can’t wait. Where did we meet?"

"Richard, I need to get your doctor once more. Something is really wrong." But what I truly wanted to do was escape from there and cry my heart out.

I closed the door behind me and hurried to the nurse’s station. "Get my husband’s doctor, now!"

I went back to the entrance to wait for his doctor, but I couldn’t hold back my tears. He didn’t remember me, but he remembered Gwen.

His doctor arrived and asked what was going on.

I gathere the will to speak because I needed to understand what was going on. "He doesn’t remember me."

"Oh, okay. I will just check on him. could you wait in the waiting room?" I nodded and headed away, tears dropping from my eyes like a burst pipe of water. I sat at the waiting room, I wanted to run away. to go back home, to my parents house. I wanted to be a little girl once more whose father could solve all her problems.

Mr Numero came in a few minutes later with Gwen and Martin. "Nita, what happened? Whats wrong? Did something happen to Richard?"

"No, he is fine. The doctor is with him now."

"Then why are you here crying?"

"He has some memory issues."

"What?"

"I cant explain it but he doesn’t remember me...yet."

"What do you mean he doesn’t remember you?"

"Mrs Numero?"

"Yeah."

"I know this must be hard..."

"Doctor, tell me whats wrong with my son."

"He has dissociative amnesia."

"And whats that?"

"he cant remember a huge chunk of his life. He cannot remember anything from the past two years." He announced.

"the past two years? Then he should remember me... I left the others instantly and raced back into Richard’s room.

"Junior!" I called as soon as I entered.

"yes!"

"You know me. You have to remember me. I am Benny, nerdy Benny!" I said, hope filling my heart.

Richard chuckled. "Nerdy Benny? From board school!"

"yes!"

"I married you?!"

"Yes!"

"How?"

"Well... it was an arranged marriage." The door opened and Gwen waltzed in moving to his side with her huge bump.

"the doctor advises not to force your memories, sweetie."

Sweetie? "Gwen, get the hell away from my husband right this instant!" I wasn’t having any of this bullshit right now.

"Nita, he is the father of my child. I have every right to be by his side too." She turned to Richard once more. "I have been so afraid, babe!"

"Okay, I need both of you to leave, okay? Just go. I... I... need to think."

"Alright, love." Gwen said sickeningly sweetly. She walked to my side and smiled. "May the best woman win!"

Richard’s dad came in and rushed to his side. "Hey son!"

"Hi, Dad! Something weird is going on, and I need some explanations."

"It’s okay, son. No explanations needed. Doctor says not to load you with too much information. Your memory will come back to you."

"I have one very important question, though... Why the fuck would you and Mum arrange a wife for me?" He turned to look in my direction and snapped. "I told both of you to leave!" he shouted and winced.

I turned in that instant; I would wait, but I won’t force it. He would remember; he had to.

*****

Three weeks later

Richard walked into the home we shared, looking around like he was grateful something was a constant in his already chaotic mind. He took a deep breath as he sat on the sofa in the living room, Martin bringing in stuff from the car as quietly as possible.

I had given him space all these weeks, but nothing had changed. He had thought. He looked at me with expressionless eyes. He still didn’t remember me. The man who would go to the ends of the world for me was gone.

Our families didn’t come home with us. Gwen had left reluctantly with the Numeros driver. She had been stuck to his side all through his stay in the hospital. It felt like it was a time for me to go forgotten. Even Mrs. Numero would confuse me for Gwen sometimes.

"So we live here together now?" he asked.

"Yes. Do you want anything?" I asked.

"and I am guessing the garden out there is your doing?"

"Actually, it’s yours."

"I... came up with the idea of a garden?" He asked in disbelief.

"It was my idea; you just brought it to life. A present for me."

"Was it your birthday or something?"

"No, you just wanted to do something nice for me."

"Ah—ah. The more my missing time gets explained to me, the more I believe I have been living someone else’s life."

"Right." I turned to go get him a glass of water, but he held my hand. My world stopped moving. It was the first physical contact we had in weeks. I missed him, and he was right here with me. How is that even possible? I looked at his hand on my wrist and felt hot tears stinging my eyes.