Chapter Seventeen: Memories

As I left grandma's ward, a strange, uneasy feeling gnawed at me. Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t shake it off, like a weight pressing on my chest as I recalled grandma's words–’She once saved your life’.

I was just about to call Aria when a nurse suddenly bump into me, her face pale.

“Mr. Sinclair!” Her voice trembled. “Your wife… she’s been in an accident!”

My heart stopped. “What? What happened?”

“She fell down the stairs. There’s a lot of blood…”

I didn’t wait to hear more. My legs moved on instinct, pushing past the nurse and racing towards the stairs.

No, no, no…

When I reached the stairwell, I froze at the sight before me.

Aria lay at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious, her body motionless in a pool of blood. Her hair was matted with blood, staining the floor around her head. For a second, my vision blurred with panic.

I rushed to her side, my hands trembling as I gently cradled her head, lifting it slightly off the ground. “Aria… Aria, wake up!” My voice was shaking, filled with fear.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow and faint. I quickly checked her pulse—weak, but there.

“Someone get help!” I shouted, my voice echoing down the hallway.

Within moments, medical staff arrived with a stretcher. They moved quickly, but every second felt like an eternity. The sight of Aria lying so still, her pale face stained with blood, tore through me.

They lifted her onto the stretcher, and I followed close behind as they rushed her to the emergency room. My mind was racing, overwhelmed by a torrent of emotions—fear, guilt, protectiveness, anger.

I clenched my fists, feeling helpless. How did this happen? She was fine moments ago.

As they wheeled her into the emergency room, a doctor stopped me at the door. “Sir, we need to assess her injuries. You’ll have to wait outside.”

I stood there, frozen, my heart pounding in my chest. I watched as they closed the doors, leaving me outside, alone with my thoughts. My mind was spinning—how could this happen so suddenly?

A few minutes passed before the doors opened again, and the doctor rushed out, his expression grave.

“Doctor, how is she” I asked

“She’s lost a significant amount of blood,” he said, his tone urgent. “We need a blood transfusion immediately, there's not enough blood in the blood bank.”

“What’s her blood type?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“O-negative,” the doctor replied.

My heart surged with relief. “I’m O-negative too. Take my blood. I’ll donate.”

The doctor nodded, quickly gesturing for the nurses to prepare the equipment. I followed them into the donation room, rolling up my sleeve and sitting down. They inserted the needle, and I watched as the blood slowly began to flow into the bag.

What seemed like hours passed, just then I heard the nurse say to me “Mr Sinclair, you have donated too much blood your life might be in danger”.

“Nevermind, keep going” I insisted, though I could feel the world tilting slightly.

Just then Dr. Hensley approached me trying to take off the needle,but I grabbed his hands stopping him.

“Alexander, Don't you want to live anymore?”

“Saving her life is my priority right now” I weakly responded.

“All the blood in the blood bank is on the way already, no need for you to donate anymore!” he said as he gently pulls out the needle.

I clenched my jaw, knowing he was right but hating how helpless I felt. Still, I couldn’t shake the image of Aria lying there, bleeding out. I wasn’t willing to take any chances.

“Get to the emergency room quickly,make sure to save her”. I said as I lean weakly on the seat.

“Don't worry,I won't let anything happen to her” Dr. Hensley replied as he walked out.

Finally, the door to the emergency room opened, and the doctor stepped out, pulling off his gloves. I rushed toward him, my heart pounding.

“How is she?” I asked, barely able to get the words out.

“She’s stable, but it was a close call,” the doctor said, his voice calm and measured. “She suffered a severe head injury and lost a lot of blood. We’ve stopped the bleeding, but she needs to rest. We’ll monitor her closely for the next 24 hours.”

Relief washed over me.

“Can I see her?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

The doctor nodded. “She’s sedated, but you can sit with her.”

They wheeled me back to her room, and I sat there beside her bed, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest. She was still unconscious, but the color was beginning to return to her cheeks.

"Who are you exactly?" he whispered to her, his voice barely audible. "Why do I keep recalling memories I’ve never seen?”

Since she had entered his life, strange images had surfaced in his mind, memories that didn’t feel like his own, yet somehow… they were. His childhood—he could barely remember any of it—had been a blur, but these memories were different. Vivid. Frightening.

He closed his eyes, and once again, the scene played out in his mind. He was a child, younger than he could remember, locked in a dark room. His body was weak, bruised, starved. The air was thick with the stench of dampness and neglect, and he could barely move. The door creaked open, and he braced himself for the worst. But instead of more punishment, a girl was pushed inside.

"Alexander! I knew I would find you. Get up, let’s go home!" her voice had been filled with determination, even though she was just as small as he was.

The memory played out like a scene from a dream. She had grabbed his arm, tugging with all her might to lift his frail body. He could still hear the desperation in her voice as she tried to save him, despite her own fear.

"Go home?" A woman’s cold, menacing voice had echoed in the room, chilling him to the bone. "Since you’re here, no one is leaving.”

Alexander flinched, shaking his head as the memory faded. A sharp pain cut through his temples, and he grimaced, rubbing his forehead as the migraine hit. He felt the weight of it all crashing down on him—the confusion, the fear, the connection to Aria that he couldn’t fully understand.

Looking down at her, his gaze softened. There was something about her that tugged at memories he wasn’t sure were even real. Who was she? Why did it feel like their fates were intertwined in ways that went beyond what he knew?

"Aria," he said, his voice low but filled with a fierce determination. "I don’t care who you are or what this all means, but you have to wake up.”

His hand reached for hers, grasping her fingers in his. "I haven’t figured it out yet," he continued, his voice growing more intense. "But until then, I won’t let anything happen to you. Not now. Not ever.”