“What favor?” Anna asked while frowning with a serious expression.
“I know things didn’t turn out well between you and Wayne and I won’t force you to be with Wayne for the sake of the children only. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to see you and Tammy more often in the future. After all, you two are still my family no matter what. I will definitely treat you as if you were my own child. This is the only way I can make it up to you, Anna.”
Hearing that, Anna went entirely still. It took her quite a while before collecting her thoughts and answering Jennie, “Jennie, I’ll be glad to do you the favor. Rest assured, I’ll visit you more often with Tammy from now on. As for Wayne, I…”
Before Anna could finish her words, Jennie interrupted her anxiously, “Do you still resent Wayne? Can you say yes for the sake of Matthew? Or, do you no longer want to be associated with our family?”
Anna immediately explained, “No, it’s not what I meant. Let’s talk about this when Wayne wakes up. I’m a little confused right now, and I’m not sure what to say. But I’m not blaming anyone in particular.”
“Oh, that’s great,” Jennie sighed and was slightly relieved.
“Do you want to see him right now?” Anna asked.
“Sure!”
Jennie left after seeing Wayne in the ICU for a while because she was sure that Anna would take good care of Wayne. In the afternoon, Jennie returned to the hospital, bringing Matthew with her. Since Peace and Karl were also coming to see Wayne, they brought Tammy with them as well.
They all stood outside Wayne’s ward and watched him through the glass. Matthew looked worried clutched Anna’s hand tightly.
Anna reassured him by touching his hand, saying, “It’s all right, honey. When your dad wakes up, he will be transferred to the general ward and will soon leave the hospital. Don’t worry.”
Tammy stood in the crowd and reached out to touch the icy glass outside the intensive care unit. She sobbed as she looked inside at Wayne, who was with tubes all over his body.
“Is he really going to wake up?” Tammy asked worriedly.
“I’m sure Daddy will wake up,” Matthew said as he wiped his tears.
“Matthew…” Tammy sobbed as she hugged Matthew.
Matthew stroked Tammy’s hair and comforted her. He was growing fast and was already a little taller than her.
While stroking Tammy’s hair, Matthew looked at Wayne and said, “No matter what happens, I’ll be there for you, dad.”
Seeing the reaction of the children, Anna had mixed feelings in her heart. Then she hugged them both tightly and shed tears as well.
***
The next day, Anna received good news: Wayne was awake.
Overwhelmed, Anna stood in the doorway to Wayne’s ward and watched as a group of doctors walked around. Nancy told Anna they had taken him to the general ward, and she felt much better.
“But there is something I must tell you. I’m not sure if you can handle it,” Nancy said with a serious face.
“What exactly is it?” Frowning, Anna asked anxiously. Meanwhile, she thought, Even if Wayne becomes disabled because of the surgery, I won’t leave him no matter what.
“He has brain damage and memory loss.”
Anna asked, surprised, “Huh? You mean amnesia?”
After the doctor had finished administering all of the medical tests, Wayne was lying alone in his hospital bed. He just stared at the ceiling.
Anna approached him cautiously as Nancy stood in the doorway staring at her.
“Wayne.” Anna said tenderly.
Wayne moved a little and looked back at her, but his gaze was blank. He didn’t seem to recognize Anna at all. Anna froze, and tears almost streamed down her cheeks. “You don’t remember me?” she asked.
Wayne blinked and murmured, “Anna.”
The doctors in the ward were all taken aback and looked at Anna in awe.
Anna quickly approached him and leaned in closer to hear herself more clearly. She asked, “Do you remember me? Wayne, do you really remember me?”
Wayne, to her surprise, asked, “Who is Wayne?”
Anna was taken aback. She went to the brain doctor’s office to find out what was wrong.
The doctor pointed to a brain CT scan, saying, “I’m sure what Wayne is suffering from is selective amnesia, and I’ve seen similar cases before. The lump in his brain had not completely dissipated and is causing nerve compression. Because his brain is not working properly, he loses some part of his memory.”
Upon hearing the doctor’s words, Anna had mixed feelings and asked, “Then, what should we do now? Should we simply wait for the blood clot to dissolve on its own? Can’t we do something about it?”
The doctor said, shaking his head, “Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do. We can give him medicine, but it’s not very effective. It all depends on himself whether he’ll regain his lost memory or not.”
Three days later, Ryan and Emily visited Wayne in the hospital.
The bandages on Wayne’s head were still on, but he appeared to be in good spirits. He was drinking water while leaning against the bedside.
As soon as Ryan walked in, he said, “Wayne, it’s me.”
“Who are you?” Wayne asked in puzzlement, frowning.
Ryan stopped, looked at Anna in surprise and asked, “Huh? He really doesn’t remember me?”
“Wayne, this is your brother,” Anna said as she shook her head and walked over to Wayne.
Wayne frowned and thought for a moment, and he still couldn’t recall Ryan. Then he shook his head and said flatly, “No, I don’t remember you.”
Ryan said in disappointment, “Ah! Are you serious? I used to act like I had amnesia, and I was super good at it. Does that run in the family? You can fool others, but you can’t fool me!”
Wayne glanced at him coldly and ignored him. Then he said to Anna, “This guy is too loud! Get him out of here, Anna! I’m going to take a break.”
Hearing that, Ryan was at a loss for words, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground. After helping Wayne lay down on bed, Anna walked Ryan and Emily to the door, shaking her head.
She gave them a brief explanation of Wayne’s physical condition, “Aside from the memory loss, he’s in good health right now. They’ll take the gauze off his head in a week. But he still has a blood clot in his brain, and we have no idea when he will recover. He’ll remember everything eventually.”
“Is there really such a thing as selective memory loss? Maybe he’s lying to us, because it doesn’t seem real to me.” Ryan asked.
Emily elbowed him and said, “Shut up! Nobody would ever lie about that!”
“That’s not necessarily true. How could he have forgotten about all of us and only remembered Anna? This is not true! I’d like to speak with him again.”
Anna stopped him, “All right, stop it. Even if he’s lying, I’ll still take care of him.”
Stunned, Ryan asked, “What? Have you forgiven him?”
“Yes, I’ve thought things through. I’ll be with Wayne no matter what happens,” Anna nodded.
“I guarantee that if you tell him that, he’ll get his memory back right away,” Ryan said cheerfully.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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