Chapter 39~WHEN MEMORIES FADE

Chapter 39~WHEN MEMORIES FADE
Cherry’s POV

Every single day, I visited Nathan at the hospital. Even though I wasn’t allowed to see him since Mrs. Jones strictly prohibited me—I still went. I was a wreck. I lost weight, and no matter how much Mom, Jason, and Belinda tried to comfort me, nothing helped.

One month passed, then two, and before I realized, an entire year had gone by. Still, there were no signs of Nathan waking up. I even graduated in that time. SG was shaken without him, yet they continued making music. Nathan’s company stood strong for him.

And me? I was worse than ever. After graduation, I barely did anything. Whenever I managed to sneak into his room, I cried by his bedside, begging him to wake up. Watching him lie there, breathing through machines, made my entire world stop.

Jason was there for me too. One day, while driving me to the company where I worked as an intern, we sat in silence until he broke it.
“Cherry,” he started.
“Yes, Jason?”
He smiled faintly, taking my hand.
“That look doesn’t suit you at all.”
“Stop,” I giggled softly.
“Nathan will be fine. Trust me,” he said, suddenly serious.
“I know he’ll be fine,” I whispered back.
“I just want him to wake up soon… so I don’t have to see you like this anymore,” he added.

I stared at him for a long time, thinking about how he’d treated me all this while.
“Why are you so nice to me?” I finally asked.
“What kind of question is that?” he replied, avoiding my eyes.
“Honestly, I don’t understand…”
“You really don’t know? Or are you just choosing not to?” he said quietly, still refusing to look at me.
“Jason…”
“I’m still waiting for you, Cherry. I’ll stick around until you finally notice me,” he said firmly.

My heart broke for him. I knew I was being selfish, leaning on him while my heart belonged to someone else.
“I’m sorry, Jason. You know we can’t—”
“I know,” he cut me off, chuckling awkwardly. “I must be out of my mind saying this when I know exactly where your heart is.”
“It’s not like that, Jason,” I said sadly.
“Don’t pity me. I’ll be fine,” he said with a fake smile that hurt me even more.
“Jason…”
“Oh, we’re here,” he said quickly, parking the car.

At the journalism company, Belinda who worked with me rushed to me.
“You’re late again!” she scolded, pulling me to my seat.
“I went to see Nathan first,” I sighed.
She gave me a worried look and squeezed my hand.
“Don’t give me that look,” I said, forcing a smile.
“Cherry—”
“Just seeing his face gives me strength to get through the day,” I interrupted.

Before Belinda could reply, one of the seniors stormed in.
“Girls, less talking, more working!” she barked. I quickly got to my seat.

I was doing the usual intern work running copies, delivering papers when my phone rang.
“Mom,” I answered tiredly.
“Cherry! What are you going to do?” she said, her voice trembling with excitement.
“What happened?” I sat up.
“Nathan woke up!”

My heart skipped a beat.
“What… what did you just say?” I said loudly, making the whole office stare at me.
“He did, but—”

I didn’t let her finish. Grabbing my bag, I ran out, leaving Belinda stunned.

On the taxi ride, my emotions were all over the place. I was anxious, excited, terrified. My heart was racing so fast I had to force myself to breathe.

When I arrived at the hospital, I didn’t care about rules or obstacles. I was going to see him.

I entered his room. His parents and Tasha were already there, but all I saw was Nathan awake, sitting up, staring at me with a confused expression. Like I was a stranger.

“Why are you here? You don’t deserve to be here!” Tasha snapped.

“Cherry…” Mr. Jones sighed. “Nathan lost his memory. He doesn’t remember you.”

The phone slipped from my hand. My heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

“No… he’ll remember me. Right, Nathan?” I said desperately, moving closer and reaching for his hand. But he pulled away.
“Who are you?” he demanded coldly.
“It’s me… Cherry.”

“Shut up and get out! How dare you show up? It’s all your fault!” Mrs. Jones shouted furiously.

“Nathan, don’t mind her. She was just your fan,” Tasha said sweetly, taking his hand.

“My fan? How did she even end up here?” Nathan asked, glaring at me.
“We should be the ones asking her,” Tasha added with a smirk. “She’s been stalking you for years. A crazy fan, Nathan.”

My head spun. Everything felt heavy. I thought I’d collapse.

“Take her out,” Nathan ordered coldly. “No one I don’t know should see me like this.”
“Exactly. Get out,” Tasha sneered, rolling her eyes.

And just like that… I was erased from his world.