Recovering Memory

**STEVEN WOLKER’S POV**

*"I love you, Sophie!" I say the words with all my heart. She was the one standing in front of me on that sidewalk. It was her beautiful face I had seen just before a runaway car came hurtling towards me.

*"My God... I can't believe this. I... I love you too, so much!" she affirms.

*Nathaly screamed my name, and I returned to where she was in the building lobby. and I tell her with all certainty that the only person I love and want in my life is Sophie. I want us to have our children and build a family, which I never imagined desiring so much."

My eyes open, the brightness blinds me, and I grimace as I blink repeatedly to see.

"My dear Steven... how do you feel?" I hear my grandmother's voice.

I try to sit up nervously; she holds my shoulders, but I persist, doing everything to get up, ripping those intravenous accesses from my arm.

"Where's Sophie?" I ask anxiously.

"Dear, calm down. You fell and hit your head on the office furniture. It was just a household accident," she explains.

"I don't want to hear about that; I want to see her!"

My head feels like a computer loading a file, but in my case, it was several files simultaneously. The day we met, our first night together, the first difficult days, and the construction of a unique feeling that I don't know how I managed to confuse with such intense love for that woman.

"She asked for a divorce, Steven," my brother confirms.

With wide eyes, I look at him, leaning against the furniture in the room with his arms crossed. I advance towards him, grabbing the collar of his shirt, completely distraught.

"WHAT?" I shout.

"Hey, Steven... calm down, man!"

"Doctor, please. Do something!" my grandmother shouts.

"Bring Sophie right now; she didn't leave. Everyone is lying; she wouldn't just leave like that."

Then I feel a sharp sting in my arm; I thrash about for a few seconds before feeling my limbs go limp, and with help, I am placed in a chair next to the bed.

"This will calm you down a bit," the doctor assures.

"Why is he like this, Doctor? Doesn't he remember anything before?" my grandmother asks, desperate.

I look at everyone there, unable to see their faces, and the whirlwind of thoughts swirling around my head starts to slow down, being "downloaded" into my mind gradually now.

"It's normal, ma'am; he lost his memory, and now everything is very new to him. The mind collapses; about not remembering anything currently, I believe he will recall as things settle."

"Sophie... I... where is she? No..." I struggle to speak.

Then I fell asleep again; it was stronger than me. I tried to keep my eyes open as much as possible, but that wasn't enough.

When I woke up again, I felt a little calmer. Things were becoming clearer in my head, and I stayed silent, head bowed in embarrassment over everything that happened. I needed to find out where she was, what to do, or where to start.

"All I can do is wait. Look at everything she's been through, Grandma, I'm... lost."

"I'm sure, dear!" she touches my face.

"Oh, Mrs. Madson, my God..." I put my hands to my head.

"Take it easy, Steven, please; you can't give in to this. The first few days will be very confusing, but things will gradually sort themselves out.

We talked a little more, and my brother also spoke about his attempt to make me remember everything by taking her to the park. It was involuntary, but I gave a weak smile when I remember that day; I felt very sick on the roller coaster because she practically forced me to go on that thing.

"Regarding Nathaly? Can she be arrested now if I report her?"

"Dear, I think the case was won for her; I don't know if, after this time and with so many trauma reports, your words will have much credibility before the jury. But we can ask the lawyers."

Something comes to my mind. She was pregnant. I look down at the floor of the room, and the pain devastatingly invades my chest; someone, please tear it out of me. I couldn't bear it. I become a child, crying copiously.

"I would be a father, our child..." I can't; it hurts too much.

"Take it easy, son," my grandmother was crying too.

"I'll never forgive myself; I don't deserve her to even say good morning to me."

"Don't think like that. Everything is so complete."

I would be a father and have a boy or a girl running around the house while she tries to contain the child's antics. The information about her doctor about malformation also comes to mind; if I weren't on another planet like an idiot, I would move heaven and earth if it were possible.

Then my phone rings. I try to get up immediately, but I feel a slight pain in the back of my neck. My brother hands it to me, and I answer it immediately without even looking at the number and hoping that it's Sophie.

"Hello..."

***"Well, Wolker, I'm your current partner Anthony Miller. I'm calling to give you some not-so-pleasant news, but I hope you understand... I need to cancel our partnership."***

I'm intrigued; I furrow my brows and begin recalling things about the bastard who took Sophie away from me.

Facing this even more, he wished to cancel a contract that greatly benefited the company, but the last thing I was concerned about was money. I wanted to know the reasons why this was happening.

"What happened? Is there something you want me to clarify, Mr. Miller?"

***'I know everything, Steven. You married a girl to inherit the company, but you were never in love. A lot of things, really...'***

"What does one thing have to do with the other?" I ask, a little annoyed.

Even though I knew the answer, he had always made it clear that he was a man with some personal values, which included wanting people in his business circle who valued true and mutual feelings. I saw in some TV interviews that he stated that a man who loves and has a relatively unstable marriage can still manage his business responsibly and demanded this as a guarantee with whom he would be investing his brand and money.

***'You should be ashamed of yourself for what you did to your wife. We can talk better later.'***

Then he hung up. I threw the phone there amidst the worried looks of my family, but I think they were refraining from talking about this subject.

Then I hear knocks on the door; I keep an eye on it, hoping it's my wife coming back, which would be a tremendous miracle for me. But to my total dismay, Nathaly appears coming towards me. I take a deep breath, knowing I would have a massive headache dealing with her.

'Darling, I was so worried,' she tries to touch my face.

I can't stand any touch. I immediately push her hands away, and she furrows her brows as if she were quite surprised by my reaction. I thought I owed her something all this time, but I do not anymore.

'Steven, we're going out for—' My brother starts to say.

'No, don't go out now. Stay!'

And so they did, but only to find out what I was going to do from now on and to make it clear everything that happened since I was unable to deal with it a short while ago.

'You were trying to kill Sarah; if I hadn't gotten in that car, it could have been much worse. You are the most clueless person I've ever met.'

I stand up. She takes a step back; her eyes are enormous, and she has an astonished expression. She looks at my grandmother, then at my brother, who I know must be holding himself back, as my filters were different from his.

'Steven, you know it's not quite like that,' she lies.

'Don't come with your drama; my mind was a mess, and you took advantage of that to end Sara in every possible way.' I take a step towards her.

She continues to move away, and I ask for strength to speak everything that was stuck in my throat and to control myself at the same time because every moment I remember being in a different world, hatred consumes me overwhelmingly—imagining that my wife is somewhere broken inside because of someone so insignificant in front of me.

'You killed my son!' I tremble this time.

I grabbed her chin forcefully; it was stronger than me. My heart was shattered knowing I hadn't had the chance to enjoy even the time his heart beat inside my wife.

'You deserved to go through all the pain she went through, no...no...' I let her go and take a step back. 'Much worse, you deserve something much worse. I do, too, because I was an idiot for letting myself become your puppet.'

'Don't say that to me; I always gave you my best. I love you!'

'Screw you and that disease you call love, you...bitch!'

My grandmother comes to my side and hugs me, probably worried about me, and I touch her hand, caressing her to pass her tranquility. Leon also approaches and crosses his arms, looking at her with complete fury.

'You've lost your memory; I was trying to help you. I didn't know I was causing this.'

'I know your family, Nathaly; I've always greatly appreciated some people, and it's only for them that I don't encourage my grandson to do something.' My grandmother affirms.

Then she lowers her head as if feeling unfortunate, and I don't see any tears rolling down her face to prove it. I now remember everything and know she is not a victim in any situation.

After much effort, a tear rolls down her face, and she leaves with her head down. I take a deep breath, feeling the tight hug of my grandmother, who was crying. Seeing that breaks my heart. I was also in debt to her for my deplorable behavior. Honestly, I didn't know how to recover from so many blunders."