Deceitful Marriage

Chapter 01

     My mind is blank and vibrating with emptiness. It's not lonely or sad. There's just nothing—like a canvas waiting to be painted. Warm air brushes along my forehead and it slightly makes me tingle, sending a spark into my empty mind. Or was that a hand? My eyelids are too heavy to open, but my ears can detect mumbling. Two voices that are not recognizable, but it's slowly becoming clear for me to understand.

"Dr. Dusana, I understand how you're feeling—"

"No, you don't." A rich voice snaps at the other one. "Run up another test and send me the results."

"We've already done countless of—"

"I will fire you and everyone else that was assigned to her if you don't listen to me. Do it. Now." The voice is coming from a man of higher authority, and it's sending shivers down my spine. The bad ones.

"As you wish," the other voice is from a woman sounding tense and small footsteps quickly leave the room.

It's quiet for a long moment before I feel the same warm air against my cheek, brushing small circles. Oh, so it is a hand. Who's touching me?

"We will overcome this. I promise everything will go back to the way things used to be." The man's voice is soothing and gentle, nothing like how it was a few seconds ago. That warm touch vanishes and my heart races.

Please, don't go.

Whoever you are, don't leave me.

But it's too late when the door shuts and I'm left alone in a room I can't see. This time, my mind isn't the only thing that's being pulled into the empty void.

     My eyelids aren't as heavy as they were when those two people were arguing, so with all of my strength, I finally open them. The room I've been picturing was nothing compared to what I'm seeing right now. The lights are dimmed and the walls are painted a light grey, to my left is a curtain covering half of the room and to my right is—wow.

A beautiful bright city sits below me with the lights twinkling like stars. The sky is dark and the moon shines brighter than anything I've ever seen before. Tears pool out of my eyes because the sight is so lovely and calming, but where am I? There are wires through my arms and an oxygen mask covering half of my face. Surely, this couldn't be a hospital. Right? My body jumps when the curtain is pulled back to reveal a nurse with blonde hair; her bun is so perfect that not a strand of it is trying to escape. When the nurse makes eye contact with me, the clipboard that was clung to her side, falls to the ground along with a loud gasp.

"Oh my gosh!" Before I could say a word, the nurse rushes out of the room. What's wrong with her? Is it the way I look?

What do I even look like?

Not a minute passes by when two unfamiliar men run through the door, along with the nurse. They all have shocked expressions on their faces while staring at me. My body heats up from shyness because what are they gaping about? One of the men, wearing a doctor's coat, strolls by my side and checks the machine.

"How are you feeling?" He stares at me with curious eyes and has a notepad in hand. The man is much older, maybe in his late forties but has a friendly face I'm comfortable looking at.

"F-fine." My voice comes out scratchy and I have to cough through the annoying oxygen mask.

The man writes something down. "Do you know you're name?"

I wanted to scoff at his assumption because how could anyone not know—fear runs through my chest down to the tip of my toes. My hands curl into tight fists and my breathing tenses.

I don't know who I am.

"Ma'am?" He questions again and notices my uneasiness.

"N-no." My voice sounds so unfamiliar to me and sweat forms at the base of my forehead.