Chapter 17: Chapter 17

"W-WHAT do you mean, Amelia?"

My mouth dropped as I stared at Gideon's mother in front of me. I couldn't believe everything I had heard from her.

After receiving the call from Amelia, Charlie and I drove back to the hospital.

I hadn't seen Gideon yet. Amelia said she needed to talk to me first… about Gideon's condition.

According to her, Gideon had woken up this morning. Even the doctor couldn't explain how he miraculously woke up from being brain-dead for three months.

But the doctor had found out something wrong after talking to him.

"G-Gideon has amnesia?" The words barely came out of my lips.

Amelia and I were here at the hospital's cafeteria.

"Gideon lost his entire memories, Bianca. He doesn't remember anything. He couldn't recognize me. He couldn't even recall his own name." Amelia blinked away the tears in her eyes. "The doctor said he was suffering from generalized amnesia."

Gideon… suffering from amnesia. That was hard to believe.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Are you sure about this… Amelia?"

Did Gideon really have amnesia? What if… this was another ploy? What if Gideon's only acting?

"The doctor already did some tests, Bianca. They found something wrong in his brain. His amnesia was caused by his traumatic brain injury."

My eyes blinked a few times. "B-but you just told me he's looking for me."

"Because I told him about you, Bianca," Amelia said. She placed both of her palms on the cup of her coffee. "He saw the ring on his finger. I told him it's his wedding ring. I told you about him, Bianca. I thought…  I thought he might remember you."

"D-did he?" I asked, my voice almost a whisper.

I didn't know what to feel. I didn't want what had happened to him. But at the back of my mind, I knew that Gideon's amnesia was a good thing.

He couldn't remember me. I could easily ask for a divorce.

"He did not." Amelia shook her head. "He couldn't recall anything, Bianca. But despite that, I'm still happy that he's now awake." She held my hand. "I'm so happy, Bianca. Finally, Gideon has come back to us."

I gave her a small smile as I watched her dabbed tissue in the corner of her eyes.

"Do you think it's wise if I talked to him?" I asked Amelia as we stopped outside Gideon's room. He was already transferred to a private room.

Half of me wanted to see him to confirm if he really did lose his memories. But half of me… was scared.

"He was looking for you, Bianca. Just don't mention anything about your accident. The doctor says it might affect him."

I nodded at Amelia. "Don't worry, I won't."

I took a deep breath before I entered the room. I could feel my heart thumping inside my chest. I shouldn't feel nervous. Gideon couldn't remember me. Even if he did, he couldn't do anything to me anymore.

The moment I opened the door, Gideon turned his head in my direction. His icy blue eyes met mine.

I cleared my throat. "Hi, Gideon."

My jaw almost dropped when I saw his lips curved in a soft smile. "Hey."

I blinked my eyes. Was I dreaming? This was the first time he'd given me that kind of smile.

Damn. Amelia wasn't lying. Gideon… he was really suffering from amnesia.

"H-how are you?" I asked. My voice was shaking from shock. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Was this really Gideon?

I surveyed him. He was sitting on the bed wearing a hospital gown. He looked pretty normal. The bruises he got from the accident were now healed. Well… he was comatose for three months.

"Well… here, finally awake." His lips curled in another soft smile. And again, I almost stepped back from shock.

"But the doctor said I'm suffering from amnesia… and my legs needed therapy first before I could walk again."

My eyes went to his lower body. Amelia had already said that to me. The accident had done damage to Gideon's legs. But they would go back to normal, with the help of therapy.

I nodded as my eyes went back to his face. His expression was soft and a little confused. His blue eyes were bright like a calm sea. It was far different from the dark look he had always given me ever since I met him.

"Are you… Bianca? My wife?"

My lips parted at the look of innocence in his eyes. "Uh, y-yeah. I'm Bianca."

His brows furrowed a little. "Are you just going to stand here?"

I realized I was standing near the door and staring at him like a fool. "I'm sorry. I just… couldn't believe what's happening."

I slowly walked towards him and sat on the stool beside his bed. I swallowed as I looked at him.

"What do you remember, Gideon?"

"I can't remember anything, Bianca. I can't even recall who I am." He looked up and stared at the white ceiling before his eyes went back to me.

"Amelia, I mean my mother, told me my name's Gideon Henry. That I'm thirty-two years old, CEO of Henry Corporations, and that I have a wife named Bianca."

He let out a sad smile as he shook his head. Every expression I was witnessing from him now made me want to question if he's really the Gideon I married.

He turned three hundred sixty degrees from the Gideon I knew. It was like I was standing in front of a different person!

"Why do you keep on looking at me like that?" Gideon asked. He was frowning, but there was a slight amusement on his face.

"Like what?"

"Like you've seen a ghost. Aren't you happy to see me?"

I swallowed. "I… I'm sorry. I just couldn't believe this had happened to you. That you'd woken up with no memories of anything from the past."

"I'm sorry I couldn't remember anything." He sighed.

My lips parted. This was the first time I heard Gideon apologize. Saying sorry? It wasn't in his character. But now… What really happened to him?

If not only for his face, I would easily say that he's not the real Gideon Henry.

"N-no. It's okay. It's not your fault, G-gideon."

He looked at me, and smiled. "Thank you, Bianca."

And now, he's thanking me. This feels like the end of the world.

I cleared my throat. "You're w-welcome, Gideon."

His blue eyes remained on me, like waiting for something.

"Uh… d-do you want something, Gideon?"

This was getting weirder and weirder every minute. Maybe I should get out now? Right.

Gideon slightly pursed his lips. "Well… aren't you going to hug me, wife?"

This time, I almost fell off the stool. I blinked. "Oh… I'm sorry, G-Gideon." I tried my best to hide my shocked expression.

"It's just… you've lost your entire memories. I know you won't feel comfortable with me since… you can't remember me."

"No." He shook my head and gave me a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Bianca. I'm sure that even if I don't remember you, I won't feel uncomfortable. You're my wife, after all."

What the hell was he saying?

Of course, he had lost his entire memories! He thought that since we're married, we're in love with each other!

"A-are you sure, Gideon?"

"The moment you entered the room, I already knew you're my wife Amelia has been talking about." He smiled. Then he opened up his arms.

"Come on, Bianca."

I didn't have a choice but to stand up and give in to what he wanted.

My eyes widened when I felt his warm arms envelop me. His hand was on my back, hugging me with so much care and gentleness.

This was the first time Gideon held me in this way. Suddenly, I remembered that night… when he slammed me onto the wall and pushed me to the floor.

I stiffened. I could feel the tears in the corner of my eyes. My anger for him finally resurfaced.

Why did I let him hug me?

"Mom said I've been comatose for three months." I felt his breath on the back of my neck. I felt suffocated and scared but at the same time weirded out. My heart started to beat loudly inside my chest.

"I couldn't imagine how hard this has been for you. I'm so sorry, Bianca. I'm sorry for worrying you…" His voice was gentle and soft… contradicting everything I was feeling right now.

"I'm sorry for losing my memory."

"I-It's fine, Gideon," I said, my voice only coming out as a whisper.

"Being this close to you like this feels so good."

"G-gideon… I guessed we should—" I stopped when I heard someone knock. "Gideon… there's someone."

He slowly let go of me. I felt relieved. But then Gideon took my hand. "What do we call each other?"

"Huh?" I said, stopping myself from taking away my hand. I couldn't be rude to him.

"Endearment, Bianca?" He pursed his lips. "Do we have one?"

Endearment? Oh. You call me a bitch and I call you a devil.

My lips parted. "N-no. We don't have one. We simply call each other by our name."

Another knock on the door before it opened.

Gideon and I both turned to Charlie who just entered the room. Charlie's eyes met mine. Before it went down to my hand that Gideon was still holding.

He frowned.

"Hi." It was Gideon who broke the silence. "Are you my brother Charlie?"

I turned to Gideon. My jaw almost dropped to the floor when I saw him smiling.