Chapter 13 The birthmark
Rafael
She went limp in my arms.
For a terrible moment, I thought she was dead. My heart stopped. My breath caught in my throat.
"Eva?" I shook her gently. "Eva, wake up."
There was no response. Her head fell against my chest. Her breathing became shallow.
What had I done?
“Eva,” I whispered again.
I cursed under my breath and tightened my hold on her. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. This wasn’t how I imagined it. She was supposed to remember. She was supposed to soften. She was supposed to look at me the way Eva used to.
Not collapse in terror.
I carried her to the bed and laid her down carefully. The duvet had fallen away. I quickly covered her naked body. My hands were shaking badly.
"Marco!" I shouted. "Get the doctor! Now!"
Footsteps thundered down the hallway. Marco burst through the door immediately. He took one look at Flora's unconscious form, and his face went pale.
"What happened?" His voice shook.
"I don't know. She just collapsed. Get Dr. Russo. Tell him it's an emergency." I said quickly, trying to control my trembling hands.
Marco pulled out his phone and made the call while I sat on the edge of the bed, holding Flora's hand. It was so small and so cold.
Her face was pale. Dark circles shadowed her eyes. When did she get so thin? Had she been eating?
Guilt twisted in my gut like a knife.
I'd been so focused on transforming her into Eva that I hadn't noticed she was falling apart. I hadn't cared that she was suffering.
What kind of monster was I?
The same kind that pulled off her towel. A voice whispered in my head.
The same kind that touched her without permission. The same kind that made her scream in fear.
I pushed the thoughts away. I can't start feeling guilty. Not now.
Not when fate had brought her back to me. This was my Eva. She just didn't remember yet.
"Boss?" Marco was staring at me with concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Where's the doctor?" My voice cracked.
"He's on his way. He should be here in ten minutes."
I nodded and turned back to Flora. Her breathing was still shallow. Her skin was still too pale.
"Has she been eating?" I asked.
Marco hesitated. "The staff said she's barely touched her food for two days. Since the transformation started."
Two days without eating. No wonder she collapsed.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" My brows raised.
"We thought you knew, boss. We thought you wanted her to suffer." He said plainly.
Did I? Had I been so consumed by my obsession that I'd been starving her?
The guilt twisted deeper in my chest.
Dr. Russo arrived within minutes. He was an older man, gray-haired, with kind eyes that had seen too much. He'd been our family doctor for twenty years. He knew how to be discreet.
"Rafael." He nodded at me. "What happened?"
"She collapsed. She hasn't eaten in two days." I said quickly, leaving out the part of me almost raping her.
I felt Marco's gaze on my skin.
Dr. Russo set down his bag and began examining Flora. He checked her pulse, her breathing, her eyes.
And he frowned.
"She's severely dehydrated, malnourished and exhausted. Her body shut down from stress and lack of food." He looked at me with those knowing eyes. "What have you been doing to this girl, Rafael?"
"That's none of your concern." I said coldly. “What I called you for was to treat her. Not question me.”
"It is my concern, if you want me to help her." Dr. Russo pulled out an IV bag and began setting it up. "She needs fluids, nutrients and a good rest. And she needs to eat regularly from now on."
"Fine. Whatever she needs." I said nonchalantly.
Marco shook his head in frustration.
I don't care how she feels. All I care about is bringing my wife back.
When that's achieved, she’ll have the best things in the world.
"What she needs is to not be locked in a room being tortured." Dr. Russo said it quietly.
"You don't understand."
"I understand that you're killing her. Just like you're killing yourself." He inserted the IV needle into Flora's arm with practiced ease. "This isn't healthy, Rafael. For either of you."
He has seen the resemblance between my wife and this girl. He knew what I was doing to her.
I said nothing. What could I say?
Dr. Russo finished setting up the IV and packed his bag. "She'll wake up in a few hours. Make sure she eats. Small portions at first." He paused at the door. "And Rafael? Whatever you're doing here, think carefully about whether it's worth destroying two lives."
He left, leaving me alone with the unconscious girl.
I sat in the chair across from the bed and stared at her. The black hair that used to be auburn. The green eyes hidden behind closed lids. The face that was so achingly familiar.
This was Eva. It had to be.
But doubt crept in like poison.
What if everyone was right? Isabella, Marco, Dr. Russo. What if I was just seeing what I wanted to see?
I stood and walked to the bed. I needed proof. Something concrete. Something that would silence all the doubts.
Eva had a birthmark on her left shoulder blade. A small brown mark shaped like a crescent moon. I'd kissed it a thousand times, traced it with my fingers and memorized every detail.
If Flora had that birthmark, then she was Eva. No matter what anyone says. No matter what she claimed to remember.
But if she didn't…
I couldn't finish the thought.
Gently, I pulled back the duvet, revealing Flora's bare back. My hands shook as I moved her slightly, turning her to see her left shoulder blade.
My breath caught.
There it was.
The birthmark. Brown, and small, shaped like a crescent moon.
Exactly like Eva’s.
Relief flooded through me so powerfully I nearly collapsed. Tears burned my eyes.
"I knew it," I whispered, my voice breaking as I choked back my tears. "I knew you were her."
I traced the mark with trembling fingers. The same mark I'd kissed on our wedding night. The same mark that proved Eva's body had a unique imperfection she was always self-conscious about.
But I loved it. I loved everything about her.
And now she was back.
All the doubt. All the guilt. All the questions. It all fell away at that moment.
This wasn't Flora Rossi. This wasn't some random girl who happened to look like my wife.
This was Eva. My Eva. She had returned to me just as she promised.
I covered her again and sank to my knees beside the bed. I took her cold hand in mine and pressed it to my lips.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry for doubting you. But you're home now. You're finally home."