Chapter 148 Rewriting History
Alexander's POV
This was it. The moment where I chose what truth to give her.
I could tell her about Julian Sterling. About the marriage that had destroyed her, the baby she'd lost, the pain he'd caused. I could tell her the child she carried belonged to a man who'd failed her at every turn.
Or I could give her something simpler. Something that wouldn't break her all over again.
"Yes," I said quietly. "The baby is mine."
Elena's eyes widened. "We're... we were together?"
"We've been close for a long time," I said carefully. "Since we were children. And in the past couple of years, our relationship became... more."
"More," she repeated numbly. "We're... what? Dating? Engaged?"
"Not engaged. Not officially. But we were planning a future together." I held her gaze. "We were going to raise this child together."
She stared at me, searching my face for deception, for lies. But all she saw was what I wanted her to see—concern, devotion, unwavering support.
"I don't remember," she whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I don't remember falling in love with you. I don't remember deciding to have a baby. I should remember these things. They should be the most important things in my life."
"They are important," I said firmly. "And maybe the memories will come back. Or maybe..." I paused. "Maybe we'll just make new ones. Start fresh."
"Mr. Sterling." I gave him a warning look; he immediately changed his wording. "Mr. Holt, may I speak with you outside?"
I stood, following her into the hallway. The moment the door closed, she turned on me.
"You can't do this," she said quietly but intensely. "You can't lie to a vulnerable patient about—"
"I'm not lying," I interrupted. "I'm protecting her."
"By claiming that baby is yours? By making her think you're together? Alexander, that's not protection, that's manipulation."
"Is it?" I stepped closer, my voice low. "She's carrying Julian Sterling's child. The man who let her be terrorized, who failed to protect her, who's probably the reason she ended up in that river in the first place. If she remembers him, if she knows the truth, it will destroy her all over again."
"So you're just going to keep her here? Keep her in the dark about her own life?"
"I'm going to give her a chance to heal without the weight of a past that nearly killed her." I met her eyes. "She's safe here. She's cared for. And she doesn't have to relive the trauma of everything she's lost. Isn't that better than the alternative?"
Dr. Garrison shook her head. "This is wrong, Alexander. On every level, this is wrong."
"Maybe. But it's the choice I'm making." I turned back toward the room. "If you can't support that decision, I'll find someone who can."
She grabbed my arm. "I'm not going to report you. I'm not going to sabotage this. But I want it on record that I strongly disagree with what you're doing. And when this falls apart—because it will fall apart—I want you to remember that I warned you."
"Noted." I pulled free and went back into the room.
Elena was staring out the window at the ocean, tears still streaming down her face. When she heard me enter, she turned.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice breaking. "I know I should remember you. I know this baby should mean something to me. But I just feel so lost. Like I'm floating in darkness with nothing to hold onto."
"You're not lost." I crossed the room and sat carefully on the edge of the bed. "You're right here. And I'm going to help you figure everything out, one step at a time."
"Why?" she asked. "Why would you want to be with someone who doesn't even remember loving you? Why would you want to raise a baby with someone who can't remember agreeing to any of this?"
"Because I remember," I said quietly. "I remember enough for both of us. And because the woman I care about is still in there, Elena. Memory or no memory, you're still you."
She searched my face, looking for truth, for certainty. Finally, she nodded slowly, though I could see the doubt still lingering in her eyes.
"I don't have much choice, do I?" she whispered. "I don't know who I am. I don't know where I came from. You're the only person I have right now."
It was more resigned than trusting, but it was enough.
"Get some rest," I said gently. "You need to heal. Both you and the baby."
"Will you stay?" The question was small, vulnerable. "I know I don't remember you, but I don't want to be alone."
"I'll be right outside," I promised. "If you need anything, just call."
Her eyes were already closing, exhaustion pulling her back under. I waited until her breathing evened out before standing and walking to the window.
I pulled out my phone and stared at it for a long moment. Then I dialed a number I'd been given months ago by a private investigator who specialized in finding missing persons.
The investigator who'd been hired by the Ashford-Moreau-Hunt family over twenty years ago and had never stopped looking for their missing daughter.
He answered on the second ring. "Sterling. I wasn't expecting to hear from you."
"I need you to pass a message to the family," I said quietly, my eyes on Elena's sleeping form reflected in the window glass. "Tell them I found her."
"Found who?"
I touched the glass where her reflection lay, the silver locket visible even from here against her throat.
"Tell them," I said quietly, "their sister has come home."