Page 12 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 3
A Whirlwind of Color - Chapter 6
Thursday
No matter what I did, I couldn’t wake up from this dream.
“Today’s the day you get out of here,” my doctor said cheerily as he strolled into my room. He sighed when he saw me. “You need to stop pinching yourself, Penny. This isn’t a dream that you can wake up from. He put his hand on top of mine to stop me from pinching my skin.
“I know it’s not a dream. It’s a freaking nightmare.”
He lifted his hand. “We’ve talked about this. You’re suffering from amnesia. Your memory should come back.”
“My memory is fine.”
“You fighting it isn’t helping.”
“I’m trying to hold on to my life.” I felt like I was drowning.
“Getting back into your normal routine is going to help you remember,” he said, ignoring me. “Your husband is filling out the discharge forms as we speak. And he left a change of clothes for you in the restroom.”
“Please don’t make me leave with him.”
“From everything I’ve heard and seen, you two are very much in love.”
A forced laugh came from my lips.
“You’re one of the lucky ones.”
I certainly didn’t feel lucky. Everything I knew and loved had been stripped from me. I was transported into this world I didn’t understand. With a brooding fake husband and a daughter? I didn’t know what was real anymore. Maybe I had imagined the little girl. I probably had. She’d never come to visit me in my room. Maybe I was imagining James.Please let me have imagined James too.
“Are you ever going to tell me about my scars?” I had brought it up yesterday after I came out of my forced sleep. But the doctor had insisted that I needed more rest.
He sat down in the chair next to my bed. “You’ve been having a hard time accepting things as it is. How about we make an appointment for you to come talk next week?”
“So it’s bad, huh?”
“You need to take it easy. You were unconscious for two weeks. You can’t resume normal activity for at least another two.”
“Is it my liver?” God, I just knew it was my liver. I could feel it.
He smiled. “No. Your liver is functioning properly. There’s nothing to worry about there.”
“So there is something to worry about?”
“No, no. You’ll live a full happy life. Come see me in a week.” He stood up.
Now that I was about to leave the hospital, everything suddenly felt real. It was slowly sinking in that I was stuck in whatever joke of a life this was. With a man I didn’t know. What was he going to expect of me when I went back to his place? I swallowed hard. I couldn’t do this. “There’s nothing you can do to jog my memory?”
“I know all of this is shocking. And it’s going to take some time to adjust. But please, try to accept what you hear. Everyone’s just trying to help. That 19 year old that you’re holding on to? From everything I’ve read about you and your family, you turned into quite the impressive young woman. Embrace her. You’ve been given the whole world. You’ll never want for anything.”
That wasn’t true. I wanted my old life back. But what did he mean by that? Was I rich? Had I robbed a bank? Had I won the Nobel Peace Prize? “Is James famous or something? Or…am I famous? Or…”
“Your husband will fill you in,” my doctor said. “In the meantime, if you don’t want to embrace this life, how about you pretend this is all real? Make a game of it.”
“You’re joking.”
He shook his head. “It might help. You’re going to have quite the eventful day. See you in a week, Penny.”
At least he hadn’t called me Mrs. Hunter.
