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Now though, it was all over. She was alive.
A.L.I.V.E.
It hadn’t sunk in yet, but it would when I saw her.
The nurse directed me to the doctor’s office, so I headed there, but I spotted him waiting for me in the corridor. I was ready to move past him and hightail it to Marinka’s room, but I forced myself to be patient—not my strong suit.
“Mr. Dimitrei, we have to talk before I let you see her. This is a very sensitive situation,” Dr. Stephens said.
He was an older guy, probably in his early sixties, with the reputation of being one of the best in the country. In recent years, he’d proven several times over Marinka was in good hands.
Once in his office, I refused to sit. I was too fucking pumped and nervous, so I started pacing instead.
“Just tell me what happened. Did she just wake up all of a sudden? How is she doing now?”
I had so many questions. Everything had changed in these past years and my family nursed a grudge with the Italians over what had happened to Marinka. Currently, we avoided doing business with them.
That bastard Gino was responsible for her state. He’d wanted her dead because I chose the Russians over his family. I could have retaliated, gotten my revenge, which was more than expected. Yet, I’d developed this crazy idea that I wanted to be better than this. Better than the kind of man who demanded an eye for an eye, or worse. Marinka had made me that man. Dammit.
Dr. Stephens shook his head. “Please sit down and we’ll get to that,” he said.
My head was pulsating with dull pain. I promised myself that I would avoid stress and not take on too much. But how could I not? I had to stay busy, not just sit idly, waiting for things to happen. Thinking. Worrying. Again, not in my nature.
“Just tell me she’s going to be all right,” I said.
“Yes, Mr. Dimitrei, she’s presently stable but obviously we have to run a number of tests to determine whether there is any damage in her brain. She’s going to require a long series of physiotherapy sessions, so we can get her mobile again, but it’s her mental state that is worrying me a little,” he explained.
I finally sat down.
“What’s wrong with her mental state?” I asked, dreading the answer.
As Stephens didn’t speak right away, I thought I might lose my fucking mind.
“She doesn’t remember much, but that can happen with patients that have been in coma for such a long time. Her memories might come back sooner rather than later,” he explained. “But there’s no telling.”
If I had been standing, my legs might have given out on me.
“What do you mean, she doesn’t remember? What sort of timeline are you talking about? She doesn’t remember the last few years or she doesn’t remember anything at all?” I asked, my voice coming out more like a feral growl. This wasn’t something I could have prepared myself for, because I’d somewhat given up hope. I hadn’t thought she was going to wake up.
“She doesn’t seem to remember her life with you. Seems she recalls most of her life with her mother and father,” he said, and I had to suppress a laugh.
I grunted, because it was all I could muster for a moment. This wasn’t fucking possible. Marinka was my wife and we’d created a new and exciting life together after I took her away from her parents. I was a bastard in the beginning and treated her badly, but we moved past that. She started accepting me because we developed this unbelievable connection with each other. She gave herself to me wholly. How could she not remember me? Didn’t remember the good times at all.
I dragged my hand down my face and took a shaky breath.
“You never talked about this possibility…” I finally said.
“No, but I did say we couldn’t expect much. It’s a miracle that she actually woke up,” he countered. “We don’t know how this is going to play out, but until we assess the extent of the damage, it’s best if you don’t see her.”
“No way,” I argued, standing abruptly. “I have to fucking see her. We have a child together and we are married. When she sees me, I’m sure she will remember everything.” Blood rushed to my ears, and the world started to spin. I knew what he was saying was reasonable, for Marinka’s sake, but I just didn’t want to accept it.
The doctor sat stoically, as if waiting for me to calm down. He could see I didn’t move, even though I’d stood. My feet were rooted to the spot.
How could she not remember us? The explosive attraction between us had been undeniable, but I didn’t think I could do this all over again—try to win her over, be patient and understanding. Fuck, I wasn’t even like that when we met, so I couldn’t imagine having to act like complete strangers.
The doctor sat in silence, as if allowing me to wrap my head around all of this. I should have visited her more often but the business needed more and more of my attention. Things were precarious at best, and if I fell, everybody else would fall along with me. Too many people depended on me. I failed to kill Gino as I should have, out of some misguided attempt to patch things up, and my relationship with the Russians was also becoming a strain to the whole family. Marcus was dead and his cousin’s daughter, Sofia, was now in charge. With the change in dynamic, the pressure was real.
“All right,” Dr. Stephens said at last. “I will allow you to see her today, but keep in mind, she’s weak and disoriented, Sebastian. She keeps asking about her parents. We haven’t said anything to her, but eventually, she will have to learn about her past.” His voice held a weight I was forced to heed.
