The next morning came earlier than Mr.
Whitmore expected.The hospital was already awake.
Nurses moved hurriedly from one corridor to another, patients walked slowly through the halls, and doctors discussed cases in hushed voices.
Yet despite the usual morning chaos, there was something unusual about the atmosphere.
Everyone seemed to be watching one person.
Mr.
Whitmore.He had spent the night in a hospital chair near the theatre where the anonymous lady was undergoing surgery.
At some point, exhaustion had finally overcome him, and he had fallen asleep.
When he finally opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a doctor standing beside him.
“Sir, please, wake up.”
Mr.
Whitmore slowly lifted his head.
The doctor immediately helped him to his feet.
“Are you alright, sir?”
Before Mr.
Whitmore could answer, another doctor brought him a glass of water while a nurse adjusted the chair behind him.
The treatment he was receiving was unusually respectful as though he was not merely a visitor in their hospital, but someone whose comfort was one of the utmost importance.
And perhaps that was exactly how they viewed him.Mr.
Whitmore was a powerful businessman.
His name carried weight, and everyone in the hospital knew it.Moments later, his personal assistant walked through the entrance carrying a cup of freshly made coffee.
“Sir.”
He handed it to him and Mr.
Whitmore accepted it without saying a word.
As he stood there, the nurses and doctors passing through the reception area couldn’t help but stare.
They were confused because he was not the man they had heard about.
Mr.
Whitmore was known for being stern, distant, and almost completely emotionless.
Yet one unexpected incident had kept him in a hospital throughout the night, sitting beside a woman he didn’t even know.
Two nurses stood behind the reception desk, whispering.
“Are you sure that patient isn’t Mr.
Whitmore’s girlfriend?”
The other nurse shook her head.
“No,she isn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“I was here last night when she was brought in.
It was confirmed that she’s a complete stranger to him.
“Ohhh…”The first nurse widened her eyes as their quiet gossip continued while the doctors tried to make Mr.
Whitmore comfortable but he wasn’t interested in the attention.There was only one question on his mind.”How is she?”
The doctors exchanged glances.
“She is better now,” one of them finally answered.
Mr.
Whitmore immediately stood.He walked quickly towards the theatre but when he arrived, the woman was nowhere to be found.His expression changed.
“Where is she?”
The doctor hurried after him.
“Sir, please calm down.
The surgery is over.
She has been transferred to the caring ward.
The nurses are attending to her there.”
Mr.
Whitmore didn’t respond.
He simply turned around and headed towards the ward,his bodyguards and assistant followed closely behind but when he reached the entrance, he suddenly stopped.His eyes fell on the beautiful lady lying quietly on the hospital bed.
She looked different from the helpless stranger he had found the night before.Her face had been cleaned.
Her hair had been arranged neatly, and the bruises around her face were less frightening beneath the soft hospital light.
Mr.
Whitmore stared.
Something about her face struck him.
Amemory suddenly flashed through his mind.
He was young again.
A little boy running across a large playing ground.
“Mommy!
Mommy!
Mommy!”
His small voice echoed through the memory.He remembered playing hide-and-seek with his mother.He remembered searching for her.The image was blurry, incomplete, and distant but the warmth of those moments remained.
Then he looked at the young lady again.For a moment, it felt as though he was looking at a piece of that forgotten past.His expression softened.
The doctor standing behind him noticed it immediately which left him shocked because Mr.
Whitmore was not a man who showed emotion.
Everyone around him knew that.
His bodyguards exchanged confused glances.
Why was their boss reacting this way to a complete stranger?
Finally, Mr.
Whitmore stepped into the room.The woman slowly turned her head towards him.Their eyes met as she looked confused but there was no fear in her eyes.No recognition either.
Then Mr.
Whitmore walked closer.
“Good morning.”
The woman stared at him silently.
Then she gave him a small, uncertain smile.
“Good morning…” Her voice was weak.
Before Mr.
Whitmore could say anything else, footsteps approached the ward.
The police had arrived,the doctor immediately signaled to them.
“Officers, may I speak with you privately?” The police followed him away from the patient.
Mr.
Whitmore watched them carefully.
A few moments later, the doctor returned and quietly pulled him aside.
“Mr.
Whitmore…”
“What is it?”
The doctor lowered his voice.
“She has lost her memory.”
Mr.
Whitmore froze.”What?” He snapped
“Due to the violent assault, she suffered severe trauma.
Her brain was affected, and for now, she cannot remember who she is or what happened to her.”
His eyes moved towards the young lady sitting quietly on the bed, looking around the room as though she had just woken up in an unfamiliar world.Mr.
Whitmore’s expression hardened.
He didn’t know where she came from or who had assaulted her.
And now she couldn’t even tell them herself.
“I don’t know her from anywhere,” he said quietly.
His bodyguard immediately stepped closer and whispered into his ear.
“Sir, if the police know you don’t actually know her, they may take her into custody while they investigate.
We don’t even know if her family is involved.”
Mr.
Whitmore’s eyes narrowed,he looked towards the police.Then he looked at the lady.
Something inside him refused to let her be taken away.
Perhaps it was the memory of his mother.Perhaps it was the necklace he had seen beneath her palm the night before.
Or perhaps it was something he couldn’t explain.
Whatever it was, he knew one thing.he couldn’t simply walk away.
Mr.
Whitmore quickly approached the police.
“I know her.”
The officers turned toward him.
“You do?”
“Yes.”
One of them studied him suspiciously
“Who is she?”
Mr.
Whitmore hesitated for only a second.
“She is an old school friend.”
The police exchanged glances.
Mr.
Whitmore continued before they could ask another question.
“She lost her parents when she was very young.”
“And her name?”
He swallowed.
“Valentina.”
The officers remained silent.
It was obvious they found his sudden explanation suspicious but Mr.
Whitmore was not an ordinary man.His reputation and influence made the officers cautious about pressing him too aggressively, especially when the victim herself could provide no information.The doctor stepped forward.
“Her condition is still delicate.
Her internal injuries have not completely healed, and the surgery wounds are still recovering.”
“When will she regain her memory?” one of the officers asked.
The doctor paused for a while….
“It is difficult to say exactly.
She needs time.
We need her physical wounds to heal first.
It may take several months before her brain has recovered enough for her memories to begin returning.
Four months is possible, but there is no guarantee.”
The officers nodded.
“So until then?”
“We continue monitoring her.”
The officer looked at Mr.
Whitmore.
“The case will remain open.
Once she regains her memory, we’ll question her again and reopen the investigation properly.”
After a few more questions, the police finally left.
Mr.
Whitmore remained standing in silence.His mind was already working.
He needed to find out who had done this to her and needed to discover where she came from also who her family was.
And most importantly, he needed to know what had happened that night.
But he couldn’t allow her to be dragged into a complicated investigation while she was still vulnerable.Not yet.He looked at her again.
There was something about her that pulled him towards her,something he couldn’t explain.
Suddenly, the woman spoke.
“Who am I, please?”
Mr.
Whitmore looked at her.
“What happened to me?
Why am I here?”
“Kindly calm down,”he said gently.
“Then why am I here?”She looked at him curiously.
“Am I supposed to be somewhere?”
One of the guards answered before Mr.
Whitmore could.
“No.
You should rest.”
The woman shook her head.
“I don’t remember anything.”Her eyes became desperate” Who am I, please?”
Mr.
Whitmore and his assistant exchanged glances.
He slowly moved towards the bed and leaned closer to her.
“Your name is Valentina…”
The woman waited.
“You are my…” He stopped; his mind raced.
What was he supposed to call her?
a stranger?,A victim?
Or a lady he had rescued?None of those answers would protect her.
He looked at his assistant.The assistant immediately understood that his boss was about to do something unexpected.
“I’m your what, sir?” the woman asked.
Mr.
Whitmore looked back at her and without giving himself enough time to reconsider, he answered…..
“You’re my girlfriend.” Silence filled the room,his assistant froze.His bodyguards stared at their boss even the lady looked completely confused.
“Your… girlfriend?”
Mr.
Whitmore nodded.
“Yes.”
The woman stared at him, clearly trying to search her broken memory for something,anything that would confirm his words.Nothing came.
His assistant lowered his head, pretending the decision had nothing to do with him.
But deep down, he couldn’t help feeling relieved.
For the first time, he was seeing something different in his boss…
A man who had always been cold and ruthless was suddenly protecting someone who meant nothing to him.At least, that was what everyone thought.
Because Mr.
Whitmore himself didn’t understand why he had just lied.
He only knew that he couldn’t let anyone take Valentina away not yet.
And perhaps the real reason wasn’t simply to protect her,perrhaps he was protecting the only clue he had to a past he had spent years trying to forget.