1. Who Are You?

[Arella]

"Doctor, her vitals are coming around—come quick!"

Everything around me feels hazy, like I’m trapped underwater.

Urgh, why is there so much noise? My limbs are heavy and sore, my mouth unbearably dry.

My mind feels foggy and I try to open my eyes, but my lids won’t obey—just like the rest of my body.

What happened to me?

The last thing I remember was…the truck slamming into our car!

A gasp escapes my mouth, raw and faint, as my eyes peel open wide.

“Deric!”

My voice sounds bruised, almost alien, as if I haven't used it in years.

“Calm down, Mrs. Smith. You’ll be fine,” a voice reassures me, calm and gentle, but my panic refuses to settle.

A quick sting hits my arm, and a wave of sleepiness washes over me, pulling me back into darkness.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“What do you mean I’ve been in a coma for two years?!”

My voice is still hoarse, strange and rough to my own ears. Looking around, my head spins as I try to process his words.

“This is the situation, Mrs Smith,” the doctor says, his eyes sympathetic.

"I-I... Deric! What about my husband?"

I manage, my heart pounding as panic rises within me.

“He is in the ward opposite yours. Thankfully, he came around two weeks ago, but we hav-”

I don’t hear the rest of his words as my body moves on instinct, needing to see Deric, to feel his comforting presence. Ignoring the sharp sting as I pull the IV drip from my arm.

I wince, struggling to stand on unsteady legs. The hallway spins around me as I stagger toward the ward across from mine.

And there he is, my husband, the love of my life. Relief floods through me as I drink in the sight of him.

“Deric.”

I whisper his name, my heart filling with love.

It feels like just yesterday we were returning from our honeymoon, full of dreams and plans for our future together. I can’t believe the accident took two years from me.

But it doesn’t matter. We’ll get through this. We always do.

I reach out, rushing into his arms, desperate to feel the warmth of his embrace. His familiar scent wraps around me, calming my heavy heart.

Then, something unexpected happens—Deric’s hands grip my shoulders. Hard. And he shoves me to the floor, his face filled with disgust.

I look up, confused at his cold and distant expression.

"Who the hell are you? And what gave you the right to barge into my ward and hug me all of a sudden? Are you some kind of sicko?"

The words cut deeper than any physical blow.

I wince, struggling to get up from the cold floor, a wave of dizziness hitting me as I look at him, confused at his behavior.

“Deric, what’s wrong? Why are you—”

“Deric, I’m back! And I brought you your favorite blueberry pie!”

I freeze, watching in horror as Deric turns away from me, walking toward the door with a warmth I haven’t seen in his eyes since I woke up.

He wraps his arms around a figure standing there.

“I missed you, babe. Why did you leave me for so long?”

My heart thuds painfully, my mind struggling to understand what's going on.

Babe? Who’s he calling babe?

I take a shaky step toward them, my legs wobbly beneath me, as I call out again, my voice trembling.

“Deric?”

They both turn to me, and a choked gasp escapes my lips.

“V-Vivian?!”

The woman my husband just called "babe" is Vivian—my college junior and a close friend of both me and Deric.

“W-What are you doing here?” I manage, my voice barely a whisper.

Her eyes widen as she looks at me, a flicker of shock flashing across her face before she smiles, her tone overly sweet.

“Oh, Arella, you’re finally awake! It's been so long!”

“Look here, lady, you’re intruding on my privacy. Why don’t you just leave already?” Deric’s voice snaps, filled with contempt as he glares at me.

A tremor runs through me. Why is he talking like this?

“Deric, it’s me, Arella. I’m your wi—”

“This is the lady I told you about Deric.” Vivian interjects, a sadness in her expression that makes my stomach churn.

“So it’s you!”

He points at me, his eyes blazing with fury. “Get out! Get out, right now!”

His raised voice draws the attention of nurses and doctors, who rush over, guiding us out of the room despite my protests.

Once in the hallway, I turn to Vivian, her face filled with worry as she keeps glancing at Deric’s door.

Anger bubbles up inside me, my hands clenching at my sides as I take in her appearance.

She’s wearing an outfit nearly identical to the way I usually dress, even down to the colours Deric always says look good on me.

She had always admired me in college, but this… this feels too much, too unsettling.

“Explain yourself, Vivian. Why was my husband calling you baby?”

She stiffens, her eyes darting to the side as tears begin to pool around them.

“I-it’s not what you think. Please you have to understand, i–i”

Her voice is shaky, but the way she clings to her words makes my skin crawl with suspicion.

“Answer the question, Vivian!”

Passersby give me disgusted glances. Maybe I look deranged, yelling at her like this, but I can’t find it in myself to care.

She sniffles, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, looking more fragile by the second.

“I—”

“Mrs. Smith, may I have a word with you? It’s urgent,” the doctor says, a grave look in his eyes.

Reluctantly, I tear my gaze away from Vivian, giving her one last look before I follow the doctor to his office.

“Doctor, what’s wrong? Something feels off with my husband.”

“Please calm down, Mrs. Smith. Although you miraculously don’t have any complications from your coma, we…we can’t say the same for your husband.”

My hands curl into fists, my heart pounding with a new kind of fear as a sickening dread fills me.

“W-What does that mean, doctor?”

“We’ve been running tests on him since he regained consciousness two weeks ago, and… I’m sorry to say this, but your husband is suffering from amnesia, with no recollection of the last three to four years.”

A lump rises in my throat as I stammer.

“H-he doesn’t remember anything about…me? About us?”

The doctor’s gaze softens.

“I’m afraid so. As far as your husband is concerned, you are… a stranger.”

My heart thuds painfully as a wave of panic crashes over me.

My palms become slick with sweat, and I feel my breath quickening, almost like I’m gasping for air. Darkness falling over my eyes.

Why does it feel like I’m losing everything all over again?