Chapter 2

The next day, I returned to the hospital armed with proof. I clutched our marriage certificate in a manila envelope, the paper a tangible link to a reality that David now denied. I thought if he could just see it, hold it, something might click.

"Look, David," I said, my voice steady as I slid the document onto his bedside table. "This is our marriage certificate. Sarah Miller and David Thompson. Signed ten years ago."

He glanced at it for a second before pushing it away, his disinterest a fresh wound. "I don't know who that is. It's just a piece of paper."

Just then, the door swung open and Chloe walked in, carrying a thermos. "David, I brought you some of that chicken soup you like," she cooed, completely ignoring my presence. The air in the room, which was already tense, suddenly felt suffocating.

David's entire demeanor changed. His cold expression melted into a warm smile. "Chloe, you didn't have to."

"Of course, I did," she said, pouring the soup into a bowl. "I need to take care of you."

That was it. The dam of my composure broke. "Take care of him? That's my job!" I stood up, my chair scraping against the linoleum floor. "What are you even doing here, Chloe? You're his assistant. Get out."

I moved towards her, intending to take the soup, to do something, anything to reclaim my space. I grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch her!" David's voice was a roar. He lunged forward, shoving my hand off Chloe with surprising force. Chloe stumbled back, a fake little gasp escaping her lips as she clutched her arm. "What is wrong with you? Look what you did. Apologize to Chloe. Now."

I stared at him, my mind reeling. David, my gentle David, was defending this woman against me. He was looking at me with pure hatred.

"Apologize?" I choked out. "She's trying to steal my husband!"

"She's the only one who's been here for me!" he shot back. "She's the only one who makes any sense. You just show up here yelling and waving papers around like a crazy person."

Tears streamed down my face, hot and furious. "I'm not crazy, David. I'm your wife. Remember our wedding? Under the big oak tree at your mother's house? You cried when you said your vows. You promised to love me forever."

Before David could answer, Chloe whispered something in his ear. I couldn't hear the words, but I saw the shift in his eyes.

"She told me you might do this," David said, his voice dripping with condescension. "She said you were unstable. That you were obsessed with me and would make up stories to try and break us up."

The absurdity of it was breathtaking. "Break you up? She works for you! We are married!"

"Were married, maybe," he sneered. "If any of this is even true. And from what I see, I must have been miserable. You look exhausted. Haggard. Look at Chloe. She's kind and gentle." He turned a soft, adoring look on his assistant, who was now pretending to cry softly into a tissue.

My world was tilting on its axis. This wasn't just amnesia. This was a cruel, targeted erasure of me.

My hand went to my neck, to the simple gold chain that held my wedding ring. I had taken it off and put it on the chain when my fingers swelled during a summer heatwave, and I never moved it back. I pulled it over my head, the worn gold band resting in my palm. It felt heavy, like the weight of our entire history.

"What about this?" I held it out to him, my last piece of hope. "You gave this to me. You said it was a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end, just like our love."

He looked at the ring in my hand. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something in his eyes, a shadow of the man I knew. But it was gone as quickly as it came.

He scoffed, a look of disgust on his face. He reached out, not to take the ring, but to bat my hand away. The small gold band flew from my grasp, hitting the sterile floor with a tiny, tinny clink before rolling under the bed.

It was the sound of my marriage ending.

"Get out," he said again, his voice flat and final. He turned his back to me, pulling Chloe closer to him. "And don't come back."

I stood there, frozen, for a long moment. Then, I turned and walked out of the room, leaving my ring, my hope, and the man I thought I knew behind.