Recognition Failed–1
Sebastian’s POV
“What the fuck, Thea?” Maximus roared, helping Seraphina steady herself. “Why would you push her away?”
Seraphina stared at Thea, her face a mix of shock and heartbreak. Thea didn’t respond, just grabbed her head and started slowly rocking back and forth. A sinking feeling settled in my gut. Something was seriously wrong. Why wasn’t she happy to see her biological parents?
I could sense the answer lurking deep in my consciousness, but I refused to acknowledge it. Call it denial or whatever the hell you want, but I wasn’t ready to accept it. Thea was awake and recovering–that was the only fucking fact I was willing to accept right now.
“Everyone needs to calm down,” the chief physician began. “I’m sure Thea has perfectly valid reasons for her reaction. Agitating her won’t help her recovery.”
Thea looked up. I could see a storm of emotions battling inside her. Her eyes were getting wet, and in that moment, I realized she had no clue what the fuck was happening. She
was confused and scared shitless.
“No, I understand she just woke from a coma, but I want to know why she’s being so rude,” Maximus said, his displeasure evident.
Thea flinched at his words. I silently cursed, stood up, and sat on the bed, pulling her into my arms. She clung to me like her life literally depended on it.
Facing Maximus and Seraphina, tears streaming down her face, she said, “I’m sorry, I really am. But she came at me out of nowhere and I don’t know who she is. She fucking scared me.”
My arms tightened around her, but my eyes widened as we all stared at her in shock. Goddess, please let me have heard wrong. Let my damn ears be malfunctioning for some unknown reason.
“Thea, dear,” the nurse called gently. “You know both of them.”
She shook her head violently, then winced in pain.
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“No, I don’t. I have no idea who they are,” she cried. “Why does everyone think I know them? Should I know them?”
released her, running my hand through my hair. Fuck. This wasn’t what I’d expected when she woke up. I thought things would go back to normal, but this? None of us had seen this coming.
“Who are they, Sebastian?” she asked me, not recognizing her own fucking parents. When she’d woken up and called my name, I thought she’s good. Shit, I guess I was wrong.
“They’re your parents,” I said softly, watching her reaction.
“What?” she practically shrieked. “No, they’re not. Margaret and Derek Sterling are my parents. You know that, Sebastian, why would you say otherwise?”
“He’s not lying. You’re our daughter. I’m Seraphina, and this is Maximus.” Tears streamed down Seraphina’s face, her voice choking.
Thea just shook her head. “No, you’re not. I would know. I would remember something
like that.”
The chief physician interrupted: “Something’s clearly wrong, so let’s run a few tests.”
He walked straight to her, pulling out a small flashlight. He shined it in her eyes, switched it off. Next, he asked her to open her mouth, checking her tongue.
then
“Everything looks normal so far, which is good,” he told us, then focused on Thea. “Do you remember what happened to you?”
“No.”
“Can you tell me the last thing you do remember?”
At first she seemed hesitant, like she was embarrassed or something. Finally, after a
moment, she spoke.
“I was getting ready for bed. It was my anniversary with Sebastian, and I was waiting for
him to come home, but he never showed up.”
My heart clenched painfully. I’d deliberately missed all our anniversaries just to hurt her. She was a romantic at heart, so anniversaries meant everything to her. I knew this. That’s
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why I made sure to miss every fucking one.
“Do you remember when that was? The exact date?” the physician pressed.
“Of course,” she answered, sounding certain, “May 18th, 2021.”
Recognition Failed–2
The room instantly went silent. Her tone suggested this should be normal, but everyone except her knew it wasn’t.
Seraphina and the nurse gasped. I knew things were bad, but I hadn’t expected them to be this fucking bad.
Her gaze swept over our faces. “Why do I feel like that’s not the answer you were
expecting?”
“Thea, it’s 2025,” I told her gently.
“Holy Goddess.”
That’s right. This meant Thea didn’t remember the last four years of her life.
The chief physician pulled out his notebook, scribbling something down. “I need to arrange some things. We need to do some scans. These things happen, but we need to make sure we have the right diagnosis.”
He rushed out of the room. The nurse quickly followed.
The rest of us looked at each other. No one knew how to react or what to think. This was a situation none of us had prepared for. We hadn’t seen this coming. It was too fucking
shocking.
“So you really don’t remember us?” Seraphina asked after a while.
I felt really bad for them. They’d been through so much, and now this on top of
everything.
“I’m sorry, but no. The last thing I remember is crying myself to sleep.”
Maximus hugged his wife. I could see how much this hurt them. Learning Thea didn’t remember them was fucking painful.
We remained silent until the nurse returned with a wheelchair. Seraphina and Maximus decided to stay behind to make calls and spread the news. I chose to go with Thea and the
nurse.
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11:50 pm 17
Recognition Faited 2
We went to a bunch of rooms, undergoing a series of tests, including scans. By the time we finished, Thea looked exhausted. I wheeled her back to her room. The chief physician would come to see us once they had a clear diagnosis.
We returned to her room to find it crowded. Everyone was there except my parents, Roman, and Aurora. Surprisingly, Leo was present too.
“I had Iris bring him from school. Class isn’t out yet, but I thought he should be here now,” Jaxon told me when he saw me looking at Leo.
We would never be best friends, but for Thea and the kids, we’d put our differences aside.
Thea looked intimidated by the number of people in the room. Shit. She didn’t remember them, of course she’d be nervous.
“Mom, you’re awake!” Leo shouted, excitement radiating from him.
Her gaze turned toward him, her eyes widening. “Oh my God, Leo?”
I helped her onto the bed. Once she was settled, Leo gave her a hug that lasted several minutes.
“I missed you so much, Mom.”
“I missed you too,” she pulled back slightly, staring at him wide–eyed. “How did you get so tall? Last time I saw you, you weren’t this big.”
Iris, Jaxon, and Sophia exchanged weird glances. I guess no one had told them about the new situation.
“You last saw me three months ago. I haven’t changed much,” he laughed. “Hey, have you seen Phoenix yet?”
Shit. I’d completely forgotten about Phoenix.
“Who’s Phoenix?”
“Are you kidding, Mom?” Leo laughed. “Phoenix is my sister. We picked her name
together.”
Her shocked gaze turned to me. “What the fuck! We have a daughter?”
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She was so shocked she didn’t even realize she’d cursed in front of Leo. Leo looked at her strangely, and I tried to come up with an answer.
How was I supposed to tell her Phoenix wasn’t mine but Kane’s, and she didn’t even
remember Kane?
Before I could say anything, the door opened, and the chief physician walked in.
“I have the test results, and I’m afraid not all of it is good news,” he began.
My heart pounded heavily in my chest, dreading their findings. I already knew what was wrong with her; I was just fucking scared to hear it said out loud.
“I’m sorry, but Thea appears to be suffering from selective amnesia.”
