❥𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 || 𝐌𝐉 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 ❥/𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓮𝓭/•

•❥𝟵: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝘆

"I just need to sit down," you mumbled, refusing to let Mark help you as you struggled back to the sofa.

Sure enough, sitting down again helped ease the pain, causing it to morph from sharp to dull - and dull was a lot more bearable.

"I should call Dr. Kensington to find out if there are other things we can do for the pain," Mark cleared his throat, trying to change the subject.

But naturally, that failed. How could the topic be detoured from when it was so essential?

"Mark," you stated firmly, making sure you kept your eyes on him. "What's going on?"

Mark stared at you for a couple of seconds, his expression sad. Eventually, he replied.

"Michael....is your husband, and obviously, you are his wife," he sighed. "You...don't remember because you...met him a little less than three years ago. Unfortunately, the rest of the world does remember....which is...why we....tried to keep you extremely isolated from public view,"

You didn't know how to feel, in that moment. The only sensation you could make out was your shortness of breath.

"He...he was driving the car when it crashed, but...you got the worst of it. You were....on your way to see your mother-in-law, and...you were involved in an argument with Michael. It all...just went wrong, and the accident happened,"

Somehow, despite still not remembering, you could feel echoes of every emotion that you'd experienced during those three years, and it was so mixed up that all you could feel was emotional pain.

There was a bit of unanticipated anger too.

You wanted to ask so many questions, because you needed so many answers - but only one inquiry seemed to drift around in your mind.

"If he's my husband...why did he abandon me?" you asked, your voice a little hoarse. "Why wouldn't he want to be with me? He left me in the hands of someone else, obviously...so-"

"(Y/N), if anything, Michael is insane about making sure that you're taken care of," Mark shook his head. "Trust me, the last thing he wanted to do was leave your side,"

"Then why did he leave? And why have I been deceived all this time?" your voice grew a little firmer.

"He just.....he loves you so much that he doesn't want you to know that he's your husband without you also knowing how you felt about him," he sighed again.

"So...you all just agreed to hide that from me - the most important thing to have told me," you let out an exasperated breath. "How long did you intend to keep this up? Does Lila know as well?"

"She....she's the one that Michael asked. He wanted to tell you, that morning he came to see you after you regained consciousness, but when he realized that you didn't remember the version of him that he had long given to you, he felt like he couldn't tell you just yet," he continued. "So he asked Lila if we could....just keep you sheltered while you were here-"

"Sheltered is an interesting way to put it," you let out a rueful laugh. "I asked him, and I asked you about my memories, and you refused to tell me. They're my memories, aspects that I have the right to know....and you all just...hid it from me - for your own benefit,"

"No...no, (Y/N), that wasn't the way of it, at all," Mark argued.

But at that point, you just wanted to be alone. You were in pain, both physically and emotionally - there was just too much to process.