07

Please please God. His heart in jeopardy, they drove to the hospital and he was almost unwilling to enter the room. Feeling butterflies in his stomach, he slowed down his steps and wished Ryce had come along with him. Since Caitlin had insisted to come, her husband had come with her and Ryce had stayed at the house to look after the others.

Nobody was safe yet. There was still the possibility that a gangster was involved in the turn of events and he must be waiting to strike anytime. It was better to be safe than sorry.

As Alex and Bryan preceded him in the hospital room, he strained his ears to listen to whatever they were saying. Finally, he caught on some words about the victim being in an accident and could not stall the suspense any longer. Taking a deep breath, he entered the room and cringed at the sight in front of him.

The girl was unconscious and had her face completely damaged. But as Aidan tried desperately to search for any similarity between the face in front of him and the one etched in his mind, his heart sank with acute disappointment.

It was not Kate. His Kate could be doing much worse…

Mary was getting used to her new life. And her new name. She was surrounded by wonderful people who were taking great care of her and in return, she cooked for them. She was a great cook, she discovered. And she enjoyed cooking for everyone in the convent.

She was also good with accounts and therefore helped them with the budgeting and saving for the future. It was something she was used to do she was sure since she seemed to focus on every detail and derived astute strategies to maintain their current possessions.

Maybe it had something to do with her profession. She must be a banker or involved in a similar lucrative business that required such kind of creativity. She grimaced at the thought finding that particular profession quite mercenary something which she was not liking. But she had no right to be prejudiced especially in the state she was.

Two days had passed since her sudden rebirth and she had still not remembered anything yet. And except for the quick memory which she had on the first day, nothing had flashed again. It was futile trying to remember as ever time she would end up with her unbearable headache and she had no choice than to give up.

Thankfully, the wound on her head no longer ached and was on the verge of healing. She was having some difficulty in combing her hair but the sisters were always willing to help her. It had taken her little time to integrate among them.

During her free time, she had been given access to the library where they had a vintage computer but she had googled about the disease “amnesia”. From what she had learnt, there were several types and she assumed that hers was followed due to the trauma she had been through. And having longer periods of amnesia would only worsen her case.

And there was no specific remedy ; she had to wait for her memory to come back. There was the possibility of her to attend therapy but she had to consult a doctor for that and she was not willing to make surface for the time being.

What if someone had tracked down every nearby hospital and was just waiting for her to resurface to attack again ? She did not even know if there was anybody to protect her out there and it was too great a risk to take. What if she was an orphan who had only her fiancé to rely on and she had realized too late that he was not who he had seemed to be. It had to be big for her to take such a drastic step.

And when Mother Katherine had asked her to put up an advertisement about her disappearance, all she had done was stall for some time not willing to share her past with them yet. Seeing her reluctance they had not pressed her and she had been grateful for that. She could not afford to let her guards down so soon. It was better to be on the safe side for the time being.

“Mary ?” she heard someone call her and she stopped to look at the person trying not to show her grimace at the name. It was not her name, she was sure of that. It sounded strange to her and she so wanted to be called by her name.

“Yes,” she answered Sister Julie ; a lovely lady whom she had grown close during the two days of her journey.

“Mother Katherine is calling for you,” she was informed. “I think she had called for the doctor and would like you to consult him for your head injury.”

Trying not to panic at her words, Mary smiled submissively not wanting to show her emotions to the woman. But how could she consult a doctor ? And why had Mother Katherine taken such a step without consulting her ? There would be enumerable questions about her past and they would try to persuade her to come out in the open.

And how would she be able to convince them of something she herself was not sure ? How to convince them that somebody was attacking her when she had no proof whatsoever of what had happened ? The doctor would only blame it on her imagination and she would be helpless as she had no concrete proof of what her six sense was telling her.

Damn she was so screwed !

Sighing, she slowly went in the direction of Mother Katherine’s office and knocked politely on the door. She would talk to the doctor, she decided. And told him the truth. If he insisted, then she would have to take extreme measures.

“Mother ?” she asked opening the door and looking inside to find an elderly man sitting opposite Mother Katherine. They had been in deep conversation and stopped immediately at the sight of her hovering at the door. Instinctively, she knew they had been talking about her and groaned inwardly at the unexpected turn of event.

And just when she had thought the drama was over and she would settle down. And focus on getting her memories back rather than trying to save her skin.

“Ah Mary. Please come in,” Mother Katherine gestured her to come in at the same time as she spoke. “Here, meet Dr. Carl. I called him earlier so that he could get a look at the nasty wound on your head.”

Reluctantly, Mary entered the room and greeted the doctor politely. It was like she felt apprehensive and suddenly she knew the reason why. She was not willing to learn the truth of what had happened to her. It was something her mind had blocked and whatever it had been, it was not something she would like to be reminded of.

Her thoughts instantly went to the groom who must have betrayed her and that was why she had not expected that blow. Was she going to be able to remember her past ? What was she going to do if ever she found out that her future husband had been trying to assassinate her ? Would it break her heart once again ?

Was she still in love with him ? Would she be able to forgive for whatever he had done to her ? Or she would have to give him the benefit of the doubt since she was not even sure that he was the one who had tried to hurt her.

“So Miss Mary,” the doctor started as soon as she sat next to him. “Mother Katherine here has informed me that you have no memory of your past life,” he asked and Mary nodded in answer feeling her heart pick up speed as her nervousness grew.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Mother Katherine politely interrupted and before Mary could stop her, she got up and left the room.

Damn ! Now she was alone with the doctor and she was feeling even more uneasy. Would he probe in her mind and find out the truth ? Swallowing, she fidgeted with her fingers and tried to calm her erratic heartbeats.

“That’s right. The last thing I remember is that I had been running. I don’t even remember falling down and all I knew was that blood was oozing out from me somewhere,” she finally confessed in a small voice when the doctor was patiently waiting for her answer.

He nodded when she spoke and she felt her unease gradually fade. It was going to be alright. She was going to remember everything and the doctor was going to help her.

“When I felt my head, I realize that I must have fallen down while running,” she continued.

“Let me see that wound,” he asked in the same gentle tone and Mary bent her head to show him where she had been hurt.

“Does it hurt ?” he asked feeling the wound gently with his fingers and Mary tried not to wince at the pain she felt.

“Not like before. But when I accidently touch it, I can still feel some pain.”

“That’s normal,” the doctor informed her. “The wound has not dried up yet and it’s nothing serious. But I think it’s the thing which had triggered your amnesia.”

So it was amnesia. Her heart sank as she heard the doctor pronounce the word. She had been hoping that he might have diagnosed it as concussion or something. Something milder than amnesia. Even if she knew all along that it was amnesia. Wishful thinking on her part, she knew. But she was grasping at the tiniest thought of hope for the time being to keep her sanity.

“And Mary is not your real name ?”