LILY'S POV
The words weren't making sense.
Lily stared at Dr. Mitchell like the doctor was speaking a foreign language. Traumatic brain injury. Retrograde amnesia. Two years of memory gone just like someone had reached into Ethan's brain and deleted everything.
"I don't understand," Lily said slowly. Her voice sounded like it was coming from underwater. "What do you mean two years?"
Dr. Mitchell gestured for her to sit. Lily didn't move. Sitting down felt like admitting this was real, and if it was real then everything was about to get so much worse.
"The accident caused significant trauma to his temporal lobe," the doctor explained, her voice gentle like she was talking to a child. "The last clear memories he has are from approximately two years ago. Everything after that is essentially erased."
Two years ago.
That was before Rebecca came back. Before everything started falling apart. Before Ethan looked at Lily like she was poison instead of the woman he'd promised to love forever.
"So he won't remember..." Lily trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence. Won't remember what? The divorce? The cruel words? The way he'd looked at her with disgust when she asked him to try harder, to fight for them?
"He won't remember the accident that just happened," Dr. Mitchell continued. "He won't remember the year before that. And from what I understand about his personal life, there may be significant events during that two-year period that his brain has essentially locked away."
Daniel appeared beside Lily like he'd materialized from nowhere. His hand touched her arm gently, anchoring her to something real.
"What she's trying to say," Daniel said quietly, "is that Ethan thinks you two are still together. Still married. He's been asking for you since he woke up. Keeps saying your name like you're the only person who matters."
Lily's knees felt weak.
The divorce. Six months ago. The courthouse. Ethan's lawyer across from hers. The way he wouldn't even look at her when she signed the papers with shaking hands. All of it was gone from his mind like it never happened.
"That can't be right," Lily whispered. "You have to tell him. You have to explain what actually happened between us."
"That's the complicated part," Dr. Mitchell said, and now Lily could hear the warning in her voice. "Sudden emotional trauma could trigger a cascade of other problems. His brain is already dealing with severe injury. We need to reintroduce memories slowly, carefully, guided by professionals."
"So what are you saying? That I should just lie to him?" Lily's voice came out louder than she meant. "That I should pretend we're still married when we're not?"
"I'm saying that telling him right now, in his current condition, could cause serious complications," Dr. Mitchell replied calmly. "A few hours of confusion while we assess his stability won't hurt him. But shocking his system with the knowledge that his wife left him and filed for divorce could push him into a psychological crisis we're not equipped to handle."
Lily felt like she was suffocating. The hospital room seemed to be getting smaller. The beeping machines, the antiseptic smell, the weight of Daniel's hand on her arm. All of it was pressing down on her chest.
She should tell Ethan the truth. Right now. Walk into his room and explain that they weren't married anymore. That he'd stopped loving her. That she'd signed papers that made her a stranger to him. That she had no right to be here in his hospital room pretending like his heart breaking again was worth protecting him from.
She should do that.
But the word kept playing in her head. The word Daniel had used.
Asking.
Ethan was asking for her. Not his mother. Not Rebecca. Her.
When was the last time he'd asked for her like that? When was the last time she'd mattered that much to him?
"How long will he be confused?" Lily heard herself ask. Her voice sounded distant, like it belonged to someone else. Someone who was about to make a terrible decision.
"It could be hours. Could be days. His memories might return gradually or all at once," Dr. Mitchell said. "We won't know until his brain heals enough to process them. But I would recommend you speak with him soon. Honesty will be important once he starts recovering his memories."
Lily nodded but she wasn't really listening anymore. She was thinking about walking into that room and seeing Ethan's face light up when he saw her. She was thinking about what it would feel like to be loved by him again, even if it was built on a lie. She was thinking about how long she could hold onto this before everything came crashing down.
Daniel squeezed her arm. He knew what she was thinking. She could see it in his face. He knew she was about to choose the easy path instead of the right one.
"Lily, don't do this," he said quietly, so Dr. Mitchell couldn't hear. "You know how this ends."
"I know," she whispered back. "But I need this. Just for a little while. I need to be someone he wants again."
"That's not fair to him."
"Nothing about this is fair," Lily said. "But he won't remember what happened anyway. So what does it matter?"
It mattered. She knew it mattered. But she was already standing up, already moving toward Ethan's room. Already deciding that a beautiful lie was better than a painful truth.
Before she could reach the door, a nurse came rushing out of Ethan's room. The older woman looked panicked.
"Is Lily Hart out here?" the nurse asked loudly.
Lily's hand froze mid-step. "That's me."
"He's getting agitated. Very agitated. His heart rate is spiking and he keeps demanding to see Lily." The nurse looked at her urgently. "Are you family?"
Daniel answered before Lily could. "She's his wife. His wife is right here."
The word landed heavy. Wife. Not ex-wife. Not divorced. Wife.
The nurse nodded with relief. "He's asking for you. It might help if you go see him. We'd like to keep his stress levels down while he recovers."
Lily looked at Dr. Mitchell. The doctor's expression was unreadable but there was something in her eyes that looked like resignation. Like she knew exactly what was about to happen and had decided not to stop it.
"Just remember," Dr. Mitchell said softly, "that when he remembers the truth, there will be consequences. For both of you."
Lily pushed open the door to Ethan's room before she could change her mind.
He was awake.
His green eyes found hers immediately and the relief that washed over his face was so pure, so desperate, that Lily felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest.
"Lily." Her name sounded like prayer coming from his lips. Like she was the answer to something he'd been praying for his whole life. "Thank God you're here. I was so scared. I thought I'd lost you."
He reached for her hand with his good arm, his fingers trembling.
And Lily Hart, standing at the edge of an abyss she couldn't climb out of, took his hand.
She should have let go. Should have told him the truth. Should have protected both of their hearts from what was coming.
Instead, she held on.
"I'm here," she whispered, and meant every word. "I'm right here with you."
Ethan's face transformed with relief so profound it looked like he could finally breathe again. He pulled her closer carefully, like she might disappear if he wasn't gentle enough.
"I love you," he said against her hair. "I love you so much. Don't ever leave me."
Lily closed her eyes and let the lie wrap around them both like a cocoon.
In the hallway, Daniel leaned against the wall outside the room and prayed that somehow, against all odds, this wouldn't blow up in their faces.
It would.
But nobody knew that yet.