The Heiress' Revenge

Dante’s POV

I sat in the living room, the house was quiet, too quiet, almost like it wasn’t like this before.

Melissa was at the office again.

She was always at the office now.

She said she was handling things and fixing things now that I am unable to, and I was very grateful for that, but I wanted her next to me.

The door opened, and Marcus walked in. He looked at me, his face was worried.

He always looked worried now.

Like he was waiting for something bad to happen, like he knew something I didn’t.

"You look terrible," he said as he sat down across from me. "When did you last sleep?"

I shook my head. "I don’t know, a few hours or maybe more.... I can’t sleep, I can’t think. I don’t feel like myself. Something is wrong; it feels like something is missing. I feel like part of me is gone, like I lost something important and I don’t even know what it is."

Marcus leaned forward with his hands clasped together. "What do you mean? What feels missing?"

"I don’t know," I said. "I can’t explain it, I just feel... empty like there’s a hole inside me. A hole that nothing can fill. I thought coming home would help. I thought being here with Melissa would make me feel better, but it doesn’t; if anything, it feels worse. I feel lost."

Marcus was quiet for a moment, thinking.

"Have you talked to Melissa about this?" he asked. "Have you told her how you’re feeling?"

I laughed.

It was a bitter sound. "I barely see her, she’s always at the office and leaves before I wake up. She comes home after I go to bed. When we are together, she’s on her phone. She’s distracted and distant. Like she’s somewhere else. Like she’s with someone else."

"Someone else? What do you mean?"

I shook my head. "I don’t know, I’m probably being paranoid, but something has changed. Since the wedding, she has become colder and more focused on work, less focused on me. On us."

Marcus leaned back with his crossed arms. "Did you ask her about it? Did you try talking to her?"

"I tried," I said. "Last night I asked her if something was wrong. I asked her if I had done something to her before the accident. Something I don’t remember and that had made her pull away."

Marcus stood up. He came to stand beside me. "What did she say?"

I turned to look at him. "She said I was being silly, that everything was fine. She said I should focus on getting better and stop worrying about things I don’t understand. Then she kissed my forehead and went to sleep like I was a child, like my feelings didn’t matter."

Marcus put his hand on my shoulder.

I stared at him. "Why is she so distant? Why does she feel like a stranger? Why do I feel like I don’t know her anymore?"

Marcus sighed.

He took his hand off my shoulder.

He walked back to the couch and sat down.

"You’re probably just paranoid," he said. "You’ve been through a lot: coma, brain trauma, and memory loss. Your body is healing, so is your brain. It’s normal to feel confused and feel like something is wrong when it’s not."

"You think I’m imagining it?"

"I think you need to give yourself time to heal, adjust, and figure out who you are now. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Don’t think too much. It’s not good for your health. The doctors said you need to rest and relax. To let your brain recover."

I put my head in my hands. "I don’t know how to rest, I don’t know how to relax. Everything is strange, like I don’t belong here ."

Marcus was quiet for a long time.

He just sat there watching me with his face unreadable.

"You belong here," he said finally. "This is your home. Your family, your life, and you just don’t remember it yet, but you will if you give it time. It’s okay to not be okay right now."

I looked at him.

"Marcus," I said. "Did I love her? Melissa? Did I really love her?"

Marcus’s eyes flickered; something passed across his face. Something I couldn’t read. Then it was gone. "Yes," he said. "You loved her. You wanted to marry her. You wanted to spend your life with her."

I nodded slowly. "Then why doesn’t it feel like that? Why does it feel like I’m going through the motions? Why does it feel like I’m pretending?"

Marcus stood up.

He walked to the door and paused. He didn’t turn around.

"Maybe because you are," he said quietly. "Maybe because part of you knows something is wrong. Part of you knows you’re not where you’re supposed to be. Part of you knows you’re with the wrong person."

I stared at him. "What? What does that mean?"

He turned and looked at me. "I can’t tell Dane! Fuck I can’t. I wish I could, I just hope you remember before it’s too late."

"Huh?"

"Don’t think too much about it, okay? Just get some rest... goodnight."

He opened the door and walked out before I could respond.

I sat there for a long time.

Staring at the door.

Thinking about his words.

Part of you knows you’re with the wrong person.

What did that mean? Who was the right person? Who was I supposed to be with? Who was I supposed to love?

There was definitely something he was hiding that he wasn’t supposed to be hiding, but what was it?

I needed to know who I was and what was missing in my life.