HELENA'S POV
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the pounding headache lodged firmly behind my eyes. I groaned, blinking against the blinding morning light seeping through the curtains. The pain throbbed in time with my heartbeat, as if my body was reminding me of everything that was wrong-everything that had been wrong for days now.
Dante was still in a coma.
That thought made the headache worse. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing for once I could just wake up and not think about it, about him. But it was impossible. Dante had been in that hospital bed for a week now, unmoving, barely breathing on his own. Every day, I dragged myself out of bed, put on the same hollow expression, and drove to the hospital, hoping today would be different. Hoping, foolishly, that today would be the day he opened his eyes and saw me standing there, waiting for him.
I sat up slowly, pushing my hair out of my face and forcing myself to look at the suitcases sitting in the corner of the room. They were still packed, untouched from the day I swore I would leave. I had packed them with every intention of booking a flight to France, of leaving Algreen Cove for good and freeing myself from the hell that came with loving Dante D'Angelo. But every time I got close to booking that ticket, something held me back.
What if he wakes up? The thought haunted me. What if he woke up and I wasn't there? What if, against all odds, he opened his eyes, and I had already left him? And worse-what if he woke up and didn't remember me at all?
I pulled myself out of bed, the wooden floor cold beneath my feet as I shuffled to the closet. I threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater, keeping my movements quick and automatic. I didn't have the energy for anything else. My reflection in the mirror looked as tired as I felt-dark circles under my eyes, my skin dull and pale. I didn't care. The only thing that mattered now was getting to the hospital.
Downstairs, the house was eerily quiet, as it had been for days. Matteo hadn't been around since the night I slapped him across the face. I had half-expected him to retaliate in some way, but he'd stayed out of sight, and I hadn't seen him at the hospital, either. Maybe he was avoiding me, or maybe he was just giving me space. Either way, the absence felt… off. I couldn't quite explain it, but I didn't have the energy to dissect it either.
I made myself a quick cup of coffee, barely tasting it as I swallowed it down in gulps. I grabbed one of Dante's car keys from the hook by the door and headed out, the chill of the morning biting at my skin as I slipped into the driver's seat. The drive to the hospital was almost muscle memory now. The scenery barely registered-gray skies, empty streets, the same dullness that had settled into my bones over the past week.
By the time I pulled into the hospital parking lot, I was already dreading the sterile smell of antiseptic and the quiet hum of machines that filled Dante's room. It was all so mundane now-routine. The same nurse was always at the front desk, the same people in the waiting room. Even the beeping of the machines in the ICU had started to blend into the background noise of my life. Every day was the same-waiting, hoping, and leaving with the same disappointment gnawing at my insides.
I walked briskly through the hospital, nodding at the nurse behind the desk. She gave me a strange look-something unreadable in her eyes-but I brushed it off. I didn't have time for small talk.
"Your husband is awake," she said, there was no sense of relief in her voice, it sounded more urgent.
I stopped dead in my tracks, the words barely sinking in at first. I turned to face her, my heart skipping a beat as the shock hit me full force. "What?" I whispered, my voice shaking. "He's… awake?"
The nurse nodded, but there was something in her expression-something that made my stomach twist. "There's something you should know-"
But I wasn't listening, I was already pushing past her and heading to Dante's room 'How about we talk about it later" I said hurriedly. He was awake. He was awake, and I needed to be there.
I speed-walked down the familiar hallway, my heart pounding in my chest. My mind was spinning with a mix of shock, relief, and excitement. After a week of watching him lie motionless, Dante was finally awake. My husband was awake.
I reached his room, barely registering the other patients or the nurses who passed by. The door was already ajar, and I pushed it open gently, my breath catching in my throat at the sight in front of me.
Dante was sitting upright in bed, his head still bandaged, but his eyes-those piercing, dark eyes-were open, fixed on the TV mounted on the wall. He hadn't even noticed me come in.
For a moment, I just stood there, frozen by the sight of him awake and breathing on his own. My heart swelled with relief, and before I knew it, I was moving forward, rushing to his side.
"Dante," I breathed, throwing my arms around him and pulling him close. He smelled like antiseptic, the sharp, sterile scent filling my nose, but I didn't care. I just wanted to feel him-to hold him. I buried my face in his chest, my heart pounding with a mixture of emotions I couldn't even begin to untangle.
He didn't move. He didn't say anything. And when I pulled away to look at him, his eyes met mine for the first time since I'd entered the room, and something was… wrong. There was no recognition in his gaze, no flicker of familiarity. Instead, he looked puzzled, as if he was trying to place who I was, but couldn't.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice calm but confused.
I froze, my breath catching in my throat as the words registered. "What?"
"I don't know who you are," he said again, his brows furrowing slightly. "Aren't you Anthonio's daughter – what was your name again – Elena? Was it?
My chest seized, and it felt like the ground beneath me had just disappeared. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. My mind raced, trying to make sense of what he was saying, but none of it made any sense. He couldn't be serious. He couldn't not know me. He's joking, I told myself. This has to be some cruel joke.
But then I heard the nurse's voice from the doorway. "That's what I was trying to tell you…"