His Ex Wife

Chapter 19: He wakes up

Later that same night

His head felt heavy, so freaking heavy…the splitting headache felt like someone had been constantly smashing his forehead with a huge rock over and over again. He scowled loudly in pain, sitting up immediately and holding his head between both his hands. It had been an entire 24 hours after he was gaining conscience now, probably more.

The room he woke up in had a more than a creamy texture perfectly laid on the thick walls surrounding him, it seemed like a deluxe room, with comfortable couches laid across the room and a woman was sitting there. She seemed like a young woman, he couldn’t see her face though, she had probably fallen asleep, her face was still buried in the magazine she may have been reading, her back was facing him. He did not care about that right now.

He placed his hand around his face and for some strange reason it felt weird, his jawbone seemed thicker now, he had even grown a beard, he felt the pricking hair on his face- his jaw, his cheeks, nothing remained unscathed from the hair that had grown all over his face, his mind boggled with unending confusion. He tried to recall what had last happened but nothing came to his mind, he tried again and his eyes narrowed, his forehead wrinkling in uncertainty.

Nothing came to him, nothing that could explain why he was lying in a hospital bed with half his head bandaged.

Frustrated, he punched the bedside table in anger with his right hand that was heavily bandaged as well. The loud thud made Yvonne jump in her sleep. She heard Scott wincing in extreme pain, he cursed his bandaged hand, the blood was probably oozing out by now, his bandaged hand could not hide the resurfacing of a few red spots.

“Fucking hell!” he scowled, trying to hold his hand steady in a straight way but failed. The pain grew unbearable by now and Scott felt his head bursting.

Yvonne rushed to hold his fragile hand and she carefully rested his hand on the wide bed handle that was specifically drawn to hold a wounded hand.

“You are such an idiot!” she reprimanded, not looking at him and now she held his shoulders with both her hands and pressed him against the bed now elevated to match his sitting posture.

Though Scott had a wavering focus, divided between a fractured hand and a headache that was practically killing him on the inside, he still managed to notice how beautiful the girl in front him was. He was seeing her for the very first time yet his heart refused to agree that she was new to him. He felt like he was strangely used to her presence.

The headache did not stop, he now placed his hand on the left side of his head and screamed, “Fuck!!”

Yvonne, on the other hand, seeing how painful it had grown for him along with the damaged hand that he had just injured again, instantly rushed out of the door to call Dr Lolark now, she wondered if he had still been on shift, the last she had seen of the young doctor was during the evening and now her wrist watch ticked 1:20 am.

It had been seven long hours since she had been at the hospital. Yvonne had not left the hospital and Scott’s side for a single moment. It was not that she cared about him- in all these years, she had neutralized the feelings that had once been too intense towards him. More than that, she knew Aana would not care for him as much, it was evident, she had briefly come back with Emmett to sign the formalities and then left Scott on his own. Maybe she relied on Yvonne too or maybe she was just done with the whole drama.

Though Yvonne could have done the same, she did not want to, she just could not be that heartless in return- it did not really have anything to do with her personal life but rather she stayed for the sake of humanity, she knew in times like these, one needed someone of their own- at least she could give Scott the reassurance of her being there for him.

Some minutes later, Dr Andrew stood in Scott’s room; he was apparently the senior of the young Dr Lolark and he was the one who had handed the case of Scott to him. Dr Andrew was a smart surgeon- the best of Welkor in fact, it was already impressive that the man had achieved this position in his late thirties.

The nurse who had accompanied the doctor and Yvonne to the room was already undoing Scott’s bandage by now while Dr Andrew insisted Scott to swallow a painkiller for the headache, after which he only felt slightly dizzy but luckily the headache seemed to fade. He seemed to focus better now, almost like his memory had started functioning again.

“Why did you punch the table Scott?” Dr Andrew asked him politely. Yvonne stood beside the doctor, she recalled how she had called him an idiot earlier and felt guilty for that, she hoped Scott had forgotten about it.

“Where is my mom? Is she alive?” Scott asked looking at Yvonne, his head felt lighter after the strong painkiller that had already started affecting him. His attitude was still unchanged towards people though- he had completely ignored the doctor.

Yvonne’s eyes widened at the scene, she wondered if Scott was just pretending not to know about his own mom. Andrew continued nevertheless.

“You had been alone in the accident Scott, how do you feel now?” Andrew asked him softly.

“Alone? Is this some kind of a sick joke? Where the fuck is my mom?” he glared angrily at the doctor now. Yvonne felt a small surge of unease taking over her, he really had lost his memory.

“I am certain, you had been alone,” Andrew reassured, not a single line of offence on his face. He had to confirm however knowing Scott was highly likely to experience amnesia. “Scott, tell me what year is it?” Dr Andrew asked him.

Scott’s eyebrows twisted questioningly but he answered anyway, “2009 of course! Now would you bother telling me where my mom is?” he asked again, irritated. This time, he looked at Yvonne and asked Andrew, “And who is this woman in my room?” he asked pointing at her directly.

Yvonne could already feel the unsettling vibe in the room consume her. She did not even know how to answer to his constant queries. She knew that the death of his mother had always been something that Scott did not mention a lot, even to her, he rarely mentioned her. But, in reality he had never been able to eat up the fact that he had valued the worth of his mom- step mom- Julie Anderson, after she had left the world.

Scott’s memory had halted in his last moments with Julie. The month had been in November and they had been traveling from the Upper East Side where their penthouse was located to Manhattan for a fashion show. Scott’s girlfriend then, Samantha was the showstopper model for that show and Scott had been all excited about it, just like his mother.

Samantha was the first girl that Scott was able to look at after Mariella’s death in 2008 and Julie had been happy about it. In fact, she had wanted things to work out between Samantha and Scott, she was the daughter of the famous fashion designer Monique after all, Julie’s friend. Scott and Samantha had gotten to meet at their fashion success party in London and soon Scott had moved to New York to be with her.

His mother’s plan was simple though- hitch Scott off with Samantha and get them married as soon as he would descend upon the throne of his father; at least one of her sons would settle down the way she had wanted to. Julie had heartily disliked Mariella and she knew her obsession had driven both her sons crazy, she cursed that girl- her death had brought her nothing but joy. But she could not see Scott the way he had been after her death- gloomy. Iyan had clearly cut off all ties from the family after Mariella’s death and though he was Julie’s own blood, she had only felt pity and regret for losing a son over that wretched girl.

The day that was stuck to Scott’s mind, it had only been a second’s distraction when Scott had been driving; the lively conversation with his mom was about to be the last conversation. Julie was just about to mention the party she was planning about Samantha where she wanted to announce their engagement when in a flash, the Mercedes they had been driving had been upside down, it was Scott’s fault again; he had been accelerating beyond speed limit on the road and he just could not control the vehicle. Julie had died on the spot in that accident.

Now, Scott’s big blue eyes stared into his wife’s, demanding an explanation. Yvonne was unsure of whether she should even tell him about the death of his mother or the tragic marriage they had had or about the divorce he had gotten from his second wife just a day earlier…

Andrew took charge instead, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, he continued, “Scott, listen to me very carefully, you are in the year 2020. 11 years away from 2009 now. Tell me of the last moment you remember,” he asked.

Scott faced absolute confusion in this position, disbelief flooding his eyes.

“Year 2020…” he murmured under his breath not believing it. He genuinely had no memory of all this time just passing away.

Taking a moment to absorb this shock, he went on, his face perplexed, “The last I remember before opening my eyes here is my mom. She was right next to me and I was driving, we were going to Manhattan. And I suddenly lost control when a car overtook me on the road, I was trying to control my speed and we had a bad crash, that is all I remember.”

Andrew went on asking him some basic questions such as his mom’s name, his birthplace, his date of birth, the year he graduated high school etc. And the surprising fact was that all his memory gave him was till that day of accident, when he had lost his mother.

Yvonne’s stomach twisted and turned at the fact that she would have to start over again- he did not remember anything- getting married to her, meeting her or what he had done with her. She wondered whether she should tell him about his mother or not- it could come as a shock to him but she could not conceal anything from him anymore; he was not her husband anymore.

“Where is my mother now? Is she okay?” Scott had dumbed his tone down by now, it came more as a concern than an order, he felt at a complete loss…anyone would if they had just lost 11 years from their lives on one fated random day!

Dr Andrew glanced back at Yvonne and suddenly, she grew conscious that both, even Scott, were now looking at her.

“She’s dead, she died right then that year on that day of the accident,” Yvonne blurted out before she could think any further. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

The hurt that reflected in Scott’s eyes was almost instant and vigorous. The regret and shock of her death was not something he was ready to take yet. For the moment the shock of her death had overwhelmed him; his eyes grew teary. He controlled it though and asked for all of them to leave. Even the nurse stood in silence watching Scott. Respecting his privacy, Andrew indicated Yvonne and the nurse to get out and followed them.

Right before leaving, he reminded Scott to not force his nerve cells to remember or hurt himself again, patients with amnesia were unpredictable at times. He left Scott alone with his thoughts and his self- suffering filled with guilt- he had killed his mother.

Once outside his room, Dr Andrew started explaining Scott’s case to Yvonne.

“Scott is suffering from retrograde amnesia, he has forgotten all events of his life, practically everything after the incident with his mom. His memory is stuck in the year 2009 when he was probably much

younger…” Andrew said analyzing Scott’s state.

Though Yvonne was quite in a lot of shock herself after listening to all this, she tried to control her shock, someone had to be responsible and mature right now to handle the situation.

She asked Andrew, “Doctor, will he be able to get his memory back soon enough?”

“I cannot say Yvonne, in these cases we do not like to give fake reassurance to the closed ones of the patient- some patients regain their memory after a month, some take years and some never remember…Looking at Scott and his mental state right now, he might take long to regain his memory, till then someone will have to be there for him all the time, to help him adjust with everything that is new from 2009; I mean the digital world, and his personal life as well. He might get depressed if he is not able to cope with things as they are at present. As you saw him, tragic news is very sensitive to him and may cause damage to his nerve cells if he is not protected.”

“Doctor I’m his first wife, I don’t know if I am suitable for the job you describe, his ex-wife Anna may be in a better position to handle him,” she said confused.

Andrew looked at her seriously this time, his dark brown eyes fixated on her with unwavering focus, “Yvonne I know about the messed up life of Scott Anderson, the divorce with his wife Anna had been the hot topic on every news channel till yesterday. Personally, I know I might be asking you a lot but I don’t think you should put him in the hands of Anna if you want him to get the care that he needs as an amnesia patient,” he stared at Yvonne’s puzzled face.

Without further ado, he added sternly, “You can help him heal and I don’t think you should withdraw from that having the heart of a human.”

Opening the file he had in his hand, he started scribbling something on the front page and continued, “We will keep him under observation for 3 more days and after that, I’ll let you sign the discharge

papers, make sure you just bring him to the clinic every 2 weeks for regular scans and check-ups,” he finished not even looking at Yvonne.

Dr Andrew was stubborn and it remained unchanged that he was not going to take no for an answer, who could argue with him, he was a professional in the field.

But that did not help the current situation of Yvonne- her eyes widened again at this, but it had already been decided before she could even say a word- despite her own wishes; she would be the one taking Scott home, it was not going to be Anna this time.