When Love Forgets

Chapter 20

                    

                        Mina POV

Time passed but I'm still in my place near him, watching him.

His face was so pale, so still. A sharp contrast to the person I remembered. The one who laughed with me on summer nights, who made promises under the stars. The one I loved with all my heart.

But now? Now I didn’t know who he was.

And yet, as I stood there watching him, everything that had happened between us seemed to fade. The divorce papers, the fights, the coldness all of it felt so far away, like a distant nightmare I didn’t want to remember. I didn’t care about the anger, the pain, the way he had pushed me away. None of it mattered now.

What if he never woke up?

The thought made my chest tighten, and I reached out, my fingers hovering above his hand. I wanted to hold it, to feel the warmth I used to know. But I stopped myself, pulling back. What was I doing? How could I still care after everything he put me through?

I stepped back, the sudden conflict inside me pulling me in two different directions. My heart screamed at me to stay, to hold on, but my mind... My mind was reminding me of the truth.

I left the room before I could fall apart. The cold air in the hallway hit me like a slap, and with it came the flood of memories. All the pain, the rejection, the way he had looked at me with nothing but indifference. He didn’t want me anymore. He didn’t love me anymore. How could I forget that, even for a second?

The battle raged inside me. How could I stand by his side when he had thrown me away like I meant nothing? But how could I walk away when he was lying there, helpless? I was so confused. So lost.

Before I could drown in my thoughts, Taehyung's parents appeared, their faces drawn with worry. They had been here all night, sitting with me, but now it was late, and they were tired. Jin and his wife, Jisoo, stood beside them, equally exhausted.

"You should go home and rest, Mina," Taehyung's mother said softly, her voice filled with kindness. "We’ll be back in the morning. You need your strength, too."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. Home? Where was home now? I hadn’t told them anything. They didn’t know about the divorce papers, about me moving out, about the life Taehyung and I had been living. They still saw me as his wife, as part of their family. If they knew the truth... I couldn’t even think about it.

I forced a smile, nodding politely. “Thank you. I’ll be here in the morning.”

They left, their footsteps echoing down the long hospital hallway. I watched them go, feeling the distance between us growing with each step they took. The second the door slid shut behind them, I was alone. Truly alone.

And that’s when it hit me.

All the strength I had been clinging to crumbled, and before I knew it, my legs gave out. I collapsed onto the cold, hard floor, the tears I had been holding back finally spilling over. I couldn’t stop them. I didn’t even try. Sobs wracked through me, shaking me to my core, and I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold on to something, anything.

I had no idea what to do. No one knew the truth. Taehyung’s family still thought we were the perfect couple, that everything was fine. But the truth was, I had nothing left. No home to go back to. No husband to lean on. I was completely and utterly alone.

The pain was unbearable, clawing at my chest, making it hard to breathe. I felt so lost, so broken. I wanted to scream, but there was no one here to hear me. No one who could help me. Taehyung's parents... They had no idea that I wasn’t the person they thought I was. That the life we had built had crumbled long ago.