Chapter 29: WHAT DO WE DO?

Chapter 29: WHAT DO WE DO?
Darius’s shout shook the room like thunder. He shoved his chair back, his hands gripping his hair as though trying to tear the truth out of his skull.

“Her memory? What the hell do you mean she lost her memory?!” His voice cracked with rage and disbelief.

Jenna flinched. She had prepared for this moment, but the reality of it still pierced her chest. “Honey, please, calm down. The doctors said”

“Don’t honey me, Jenna!” he snapped, slamming his hand against the table so hard the plates rattled. His eyes were wild, glossy with pain he couldn’t contain. “You should have told me earlier. You let me come all this way, sit down to eat, and only now you tell me my Betty doesn’t even know who she is anymore?”

Tears spilled freely down Jenna’s cheeks. She wanted to run, but she forced herself to stay. “I didn’t know how to tell you. You were barely strong enough to leave the hospital yourself. I couldn’t crush you with that news when you were still recovering.”

Darius paced the room, chest heaving, fists clenched. He looked like a man caught between collapsing and exploding. The name “Betty” on his lips burned Jenna more than his anger. Betty. Always Betty.

“She doesn’t remember me? Not even me?” His voice cracked again, but this time with sorrow.

Jenna swallowed, her throat dry. “No. The doctor said it’s partial amnesia. She knows her name, basic things… but the memories of us, of her life before, they’re gone. She didn’t even recognize me when I first went to see her.”

The words stabbed Darius’s heart. He sank back into his chair, his strength leaking away. His eyes stared at nothing, lost in a storm of grief.

Jenna reached across the table, her hand trembling as she touched his. “Listen… Betty might not remember now, but there’s hope. The doctor said sometimes memory comes back slowly, piece by piece. With time, with familiar faces, with love, she could remember.”

Darius didn’t move. His jaw was clenched tight, but tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. “And what if she never does? What if she never looks at me the same again? What if… what if she never remembers us, our vows, the nights we” His voice broke completely. He buried his face in his hands, and for the first time, Jenna saw him completely undone.

She hated herself for the flicker of selfish joy that whispered inside her chest. A part of her, the part that loved Darius more than she admitted, was relieved. Relieved that Betty’s memory loss meant maybe, just maybe, there was space for her.

But she crushed that thought instantly. Now was not the time.

“We’ll go see her together,” Jenna said firmly, though her own voice wavered. “Tomorrow morning. We can’t tonight, it's too dangerous to be on the road. But tomorrow, first thing. You’ll hold her hand, she’ll see you, and maybe something will spark inside her. Don’t give up before you even try.”

Darius looked up at her, his face pale but steadier. “I can’t lose her, Jenna. Not like this. I fought through hell to get out of that hospital, to come back, to see her. And now…” His eyes hardened with determination. “I don’t care what it takes. I’ll fight for her memory, for our love. Even if she looks at me like I’m a stranger, I’ll make her fall in love with me again.”

His words sliced Jenna’s heart in two. She smiled faintly, but her stomach twisted with a silent ache.

Night fell quickly. The mansion was quiet, yet every shadow seemed louder than usual. Jenna found herself glancing at the windows, her nerves frayed. That text message earlier still haunted her. Someone was out there, watching, waiting.

Darius finally drifted into a restless sleep on the bed. Jenna stayed awake, sitting by the window with her phone in hand. She scrolled through the message again, the chilling words replaying in her mind:

We’re closer than you think.

A sudden sound outside made her jump. Tires on gravel. Not the driver he had left hours ago. She peered through the curtains, her breath catching. A black SUV idled across the street, its headlights off.

Her pulse spiked.

Were they watching the house? Was this about her… or about Darius?

She reached for her phone to call the police, but before she could dial, the SUV’s engine roared. It pulled away, vanishing into the night.

Jenna’s hands shook. She almost woke Darius, but something stopped her. If she told him, he’d want to fight, to confront whoever was hunting them and in his condition, that could kill him.

She decided to keep it to herself. For now.

The next morning, Jenna forced herself to smile as she and Darius prepared for the hospital. He looked better after some rest, though the shadow in his eyes remained.

The drive was silent, the tension heavy between them. When they finally reached the hospital, Jenna’s chest tightened. She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

The nurse led them to Betty’s room. Jenna walked in first, forcing her face into calmness. Betty sat upright in bed, her eyes bright but blank, as if searching for something she couldn’t find.

Then Darius stepped inside.

For a moment, Betty froze, her gaze locking on him. Darius’s breath caught in his throat. His heart screamed please, remember me.

“Betty,” he whispered, his voice trembling.

Betty blinked slowly, tilting her head. Then, in a voice as soft as a ghost, she said:

“Who… are you?”

Darius’s world shattered. He stumbled back, his chest heaving as if the words had punched the air out of him. Jenna rushed to steady him, but before she could, Betty’s expression suddenly changed. Her eyes widened in fear.

“Get him out!” she screamed, clutching her head. “Get him away from me!”

The room erupted in chaos. Nurses rushed in, trying to calm her. Darius was dragged back, his face pale with shock. Jenna stood frozen, her heart pounding, torn between guilt and dread.

But then Betty stopped screaming. She went eerily still. Her eyes rolled back, her body trembling. And before anyone could move, she whispered something that made the whole room freeze:

“They’re
coming… for all of us.”

Then her body went limp.

The monitors are flatlined