All Chapters of She was never his to own: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

137 Chapters

The coma decision

My stomach dropped. "What?""The doctors think it's his brain trying to process the missing memories. They're saying the stress is making things worse.""What stress? He doesn't even know about the custody battle—""They think he's sensing it somehow. Or maybe it's just the trauma of losing six years. But Elena—" Marcus's voice cracked, "—they're putting him in a medically induced coma."The world tilted slightly. I gripped the edge of the bench."Why?""To let his brain heal without the stress. They said—" he paused, "—they said the ongoing legal proceedings, even though he doesn't know the details, are creating stress his brain can't handle. They asked if there's any way to halt everything. The custody battle, the hearings, all of it."I looked down at my belly, at Sofia moving inside me. At the life I was trying to protect."They think the custody battle is literally killing him," Marcus said quietly. "Even though he doesn't remember starting it."I closed my eyes.The man trying t

Fragments of truth

"It's not life or death. It's about treatment options—""Isn't it, though?" I stood, pacing the small chapel. "If I refuse the procedure and he doesn't recover, he could have permanent brain damage. He could die. If I approve it and his memories come back, he could become that person again. Either way, I'm responsible for what happens to Sofia's father."I hung up before she could respond. Sat back down, hands pressed against my belly where Sofia moved and kicked, oblivious to the impossible choice her mother faced.The chapel door opened. Sarah rushed in, still in her pyjamas, her hair uncombed. "Rosa called me. Tell me what's happening."I explained everything—the procedure, the choice, the weight of it all."Tell me what you're thinking," Sarah said, sitting beside me."I'm thinking that I hate him." The words came out raw, honest. "I'm also thinking that I don't want Sofia to grow up knowing I could have saved her father and didn't. I'm thinking that every choice here destroys me

Beyond Reason

I looked at Rosa, then at Jessica. Both of their faces showed concern and support in equal measure."No," I said honestly. "But let's do it anyway."---The therapy room was nothing like the ICU. It was designed to be comfortable—soft lighting, upholstered chairs in soothing blues and greys, plants in the corners, and an observation window disguised to look like a mirror. It could have been any therapist's office in Seattle.Except for the man sitting in one of the chairs.Alexander looked up when the door opened, and I froze.He looked different. Thinner, like he'd lost weight in the hospital. Older, somehow, despite the amnesia theoretically making him younger mentally. Exhausted in a bone-deep way that had nothing to do with physical rest. The bandages were gone now, but I could see the healing scar at his temple—a visible reminder of the accident that had stolen his memories.He wore hospital-issue clothes—soft pants and a long-sleeve shirt in neutral grey. No designer suits. No p

The weight of words

I should have said no. I should have protected myself, maintained my boundaries, and remembered every reason I had to stay far away from this man.But looking at him now—lost and scared and reaching for me like I was a lifeline—I found myself nodding."Maybe," I heard myself say. "I'll think about it."The relief that washed over his face was genuine and profound. "Thank you. Thank you, Elena."Dr. Chen appeared at the door, a clear signal that the session was over. I turned to leave, Rosa's hand immediately on my back, guiding me."Elena?" Alexander's voice stopped me at the door.I turned back."Promise me you'll come back,” he said.I nodded once, not trusting my voice, and fled.---In the parking lot, I sat in the driver's seat, unable to start the car. My hands shook on the steering wheel, trembling so badly I couldn't get the key in the ignition."Why did I tell him we're still married?" I asked, staring straight ahead. "Why did I lie?""Because he looked so lost, mija," Rosa s

The first fragments

"When?""It could happen tomorrow. Or next week. Or while you're sitting across from him in that therapy room." Catherine's voice was urgent now. "Why are you telling me this?""Because I failed to protect you once. I saw what my son was doing to you, and I looked away. I made excuses. I chose my comfort over your safety. I won't make that mistake again."Silence stretched between us."If you go back to see him," Catherine continued, "you need to be prepared. The Alexander you saw today—confused, vulnerable, genuinely horrified by evidence of what he did—that might not be the Alexander you see tomorrow. When that memory surfaces, when his brain starts putting those puzzle pieces together, I don't know which version of my son will be left standing."I sat in the darkness of my room, one hand on my belly where Sofia slept peacefully, unaware that her father's broken mind was a ticking time bomb."Thank you for warning me," I finally said."Elena—" Catherine's voice was thick with emotio

The careful distance

Before he could finish, his face transformed. His eyes went distant, unfocused. His breathing quickened, became shallow."Mr. Blackwood?" Dr. Chen was already moving toward him, her professional calm cracking slightly.But Alexander held up a hand, stopping her approach. His eyes were locked on something invisible, something only he could see. I'd seen this before—the thousand-yard stare of someone watching a memory play out like a movie only they could see."You were leaving," he said, his voice strange and flat, emotionless. "I came home early. You were in the bedroom, packing a suitcase. Your favourite blue dress, the one I bought you. You were folding it carefully, and I just... I was so angry."My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought it might break through. This was it—a memory surfacing. Not the art museum. Not the happy times. The day I'd first tried to leave him, eight months into our marriage, when I'd still thought escape was possible."Why was I so angry?" Alexa

The Night Vigil

My hand went instinctively to my belly. I didn't answer."You don't have to tell me," Alexander continued, his voice hollow. "I can see it in your face. In the way you stand by the door. In the fact that you're even here at all when you should have run and never looked back." He paused. "Thank you. For helping me. Even though I clearly don't deserve it.""I'm not doing this for you," I said, setting down the spoon carefully. "I'm doing it for my daughter's father. There's a difference."---The next afternoon, I returned despite every reasonable voice in my life telling me not to. I'd told myself it was just to check on him, but that was a lie. Some part of me needed to witness his confusion, needed to see if his horror at that single memory fragment was genuine.I arrived during what the nurses delicately called "a difficult moment”. Alexander needed to use the bathroom but was too weak and dizzy to walk unassisted. The male nurse assigned to help him was new, and Alexander was refus

While He was Sleeping

Jennifer hesitated. "Visiting hours ended at eight. But given the circumstances..." She glanced at my belly, then at Rosa's protective stance beside me. "Five minutes. And I'll be right outside the door."Alexander's room was dim, lit only by the monitors beside his bed and the soft glow from the hallway. He was sitting up, staring at his phone, his finger scrolling through something I couldn't see from the doorway."Alexander?" I said softly.His head snapped up, and the relief that washed over his face was so profound it actually hurt to witness. "Elena. You're okay. You're..." His voice cracked. "I thought something happened. I kept calling your number, but it went straight to voicemail, and I thought…..""You've been calling me?" I pulled out my phone and saw it then: seventeen missed calls from an unknown number. I'd had it on silent. "I didn't know. I had my phone off."He closed his eyes, and I saw his whole body sag with relief. "I thought I'd hurt you again. The memory– I kee

The Breaking Point

I made it home at two in the morning, exhausted and emotionally wrung out. Rosa had watched me with worried eyes the entire drive back, but she'd stayed blessedly silent. What was there to say? That I was making a mistake? That I was getting too involved? That watching Alexander sleep for twenty minutes instead of the promised fifteen was proof I was slipping back into old patterns?I already knew all of that.Sofia had finally settled down, no longer kicking frantically against my ribs. I collapsed into bed still wearing my clothes, too tired to change, and fell into a restless sleep filled with fragmented dreams of Alexander's face shifting between kindness and cruelty, hospital rooms that morphed into our old penthouse, and Sofia's cries echoing from somewhere I couldn't reach.My phone woke me at seven AM. Jessica."We have a problem," she said without preamble. "Alexander's lawyers filed a motion yesterday afternoon. The Emergency custody hearing has been moved up to next week."

Beyond redemption

Reading your words and knowing they were true. Knowing that somewhere in my broken brain, I remember doing all those things and thinking I was justified. Thinking I was protecting you. Protecting us. Protecting our marriage."He stopped pacing, turning to face me directly."I tracked your phone. I monitored your emails. I made you quit your job. I isolated you from your friends and family. I interrogated you for hours because you smiled at someone or took five minutes too long at the grocery store. I made you afraid to exist in your own life."Each statement was a hammer blow. I'd lived through all of it, but hearing him say it out loud, hearing him acknowledge it without defensiveness or excuses, was somehow worse than when he'd been doing it."And then you got pregnant," he continued, his voice breaking. "You got pregnant, and you were so afraid of me that you hid it. You planned your escape in secret because you knew I'd never let you go. You waited until I was out of town to pack

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