Chapter 230

Chapter 230

A wave of surprise washed over her. Yanny brushed the messy hair from her face.

"Is he okay? Is he hurt?"

She fired off two questions back-to-back. William was quiet for a moment before he spoke.

"Yanny, it's complicated. You should come see for yourself."

His words took the edge off her joy, and a knot of worry began to form in her chest. She immediately called Bianca and Cleo, and the three of them rushed to the hospital together.

The moment she walked into the room, she saw Ethan lying in bed with a white cloth over his eyes. A girl was sitting beside him — sweet-looking, carefully feeding him his meal.

The two of them looked so comfortable together. Yanny and Bianca both froze in the doorway.

Then Bianca snapped out of it and rushed forward.

"Ethan, what happened to you?"

Ethan tensed up instantly. He grabbed the girl's arm and held on tight.

"Mia, who's there?"

Yanny stood rooted to the spot, completely stunned. She covered her mouth and stared at Ethan in disbelief, as if refusing to accept what was right in front of her.

Even Bianca stumbled back a couple of steps, nearly falling.

Mia looked at the two of them.

"You must be his family."

Bianca's tears were already falling. She didn't answer Mia. Her fingers trembled as she reached toward Ethan — only to be shoved away without a second thought.

"Don't touch me!"

Bianca clenched her jaw and turned to Mia.

"What have you done to my son?"

The commotion caught the doctor's attention.

"Are you Ethan's family? Come with me."

Yanny couldn't bring herself to look at the scene inside the room anymore. Her fingers were shaking. She couldn't understand how things had come to this.

She and Ethan had finally worked through everything between them — and now fate had pulled the cruelest joke on her.

Just seeing that girl sitting beside Ethan made her chest ache.

Outside the room, the doctor looked at them both with a grave expression.

"The impact caused Ethan to lose his memory. We're not sure yet whether it can be recovered. It's the mind's way of protecting itself — maybe the memories before were too painful, and he may never get them back. But there's also a chance he could recover someday. As for the blindness caused by the injury, all we can do is treat it and hope for the best."

After they left the doctor's office, Bianca couldn't give up. She headed back toward the room and nearly ran into Mia on her way out — just in time to hear Ethan call after her.

"Mia, come back soon. I'm scared being here alone."

The doctor shook his head with a tired sigh.

"That girl's name is Mia. She lives near the shore. She was out fishing when she found Ethan washed up on the beach. She's the one who called for help."

The doctor's expression stayed serious.

"So right now, she's the only person he trusts."

Mia stepped out and noticed Bianca. A small smile crossed her face.

"So his name is Ethan. That's a nice name."

She glanced down at Ethan's phone, and the look in her eyes made it obvious — she was already falling for him.

Bianca frowned. Once Mia was out of earshot, she turned to Yanny with frustration.

"You're not even going to say a word to him? That girl has some nerve — acting like she already has a claim on Ethan."

But in that moment, Bianca was firmly on Yanny's side.

"Right now it's just the two of them in there. I'll give you some space. Go talk to him. When Mia comes back, I'll keep her out."

Yanny pressed her lips together. She stared at the door but couldn't make herself move. She kept seeing the two of them together — how at ease Ethan was with Mia, how much he trusted her. It was something she had never had with him.

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Mom, I have something to deal with at work. I'll head out."

She was a complete coward, and she knew it.

Outside the hospital, Yanny took a deep breath. Her eyes burned, and she couldn't hold it back anymore. She called Xanthe, who picked up sounding excited.

"So? You two worked things out, right? Come on, tell me — are you and Ethan getting back together?"

Yanny pressed her lips together and told her everything that had just happened, every detail.

There was a short silence. Then Xanthe exploded.

"What is wrong with Ethan? Every single time you start to open up to him, he pulls something like this. What is his problem?!"

Xanthe was furious enough to storm over to the hospital and give him a piece of her mind — but he was a patient. And he had no memory. That made it even more infuriating, because there was nothing she could do.

"Yanny, don't you dare blame yourself for this. Whatever happened to Ethan, this is not on you. His brain got knocked around — just keep telling yourself that. It might help a little."

"Okay. I'm hanging up now."

It didn't help at all. After she ended the call, Yanny couldn't even think about work. She walked home feeling hollow — and found William standing at her door.

He was holding bags full of fruits and vegetables. When he saw her, he smiled.

"Yanny, I figured you probably haven't been eating properly lately, so I came to cook for you. I've been waiting out here for a while."

William had almost given up — but the moment he saw that Ethan had lost his memory, he saw his opening. He wasn't about to waste it.

Yanny saw right through him. She frowned.

"That's not necessary. You've done enough. Go home and rest."

But William ignored her and walked straight into the kitchen. Yanny was too drained to argue. She went to her room and collapsed into bed.

When she woke up the next morning, her pillow was soaked through.

She got herself together, covered her swollen eyes as best she could, and went to work. She didn't want to hear a single word about the hospital.

Cleo had been unwell and only made it to the hospital the next day.

"Ethan, it's me — your grandmother. Do you remember me?"

Seeing her grandson like this broke her heart, but Ethan's face was guarded.

"No."

Both Bianca and Cleo sighed, one after the other. They stayed by his side, talking to him, hoping for some kind of miracle.

The doctor eventually pulled them aside.

"I understand how you feel, but what you're doing right now isn't something I'd recommend. It could upset him emotionally and set back his recovery. He's still healing, and any additional stress could cause lasting damage."

The weight of those words hit them hard. They couldn't even bring up the past.

After a long silence, Cleo shook her head.

"We're his family. That's the truth, whether he accepts it or not. But in a situation like this..." She paused. "I can only imagine how much Yanny must be hurting."