A Second Chance at First Love - Chapter 4

Louis scanned the spreadsheets in front of him through tired and blurry eyes. He could hardly focus.

It had only been about an hour since he'd ended the call with Gemma, but something didn't sit right in his chest.

She wasn't answering her phone, but he tried to tell himself that was no cause for alarm. That it could be due to all the dead cellular spots the side roads on the Cape ran through.

One thing was certain—if he didn't hear from her within the next hour, he would find a way to get to New England himself. No matter what it took.

Louis rubbed his eyes and slammed his laptop cover closed. No use trying to get any work done. His brain only kept wandering. Maybe he was being paranoid but he was genuinely worried about his wife. Call it a gut hunch.

His worst fears were realized when his phone finally vibrated with an incoming call. But it wasn't Gemma's ringtone that rang. Instead, his mother-in-law’s info popped onto the screen.

Addie never called him. There were very few reasons Louis could think of for her to be doing so now.

None of them good. He'd never deserved Gemma. He should have guessed it wouldn't last.

***

There's been an accident. You need to get down here.

The words echoed in his head four hours later as Louis ran through the halls of Cape Cod Medical Center just outside Hyannis. He'd called Gemma's mom as soon as his jet had touched down for an update but the woman had been maddeningly unforthcoming.

He saw she was waiting for him in the hallway as he approached the room he'd been told to go to.

Louis didn't bother with a hello. "How is she?"

Addie had dark circles under her eyes and a weary set to her lips. They hadn't always gotten along, but Louis knew the woman cared deeply for her daughter. She had to be a mess, too.

"She's stable. Woke up about an hour ago. All the tests have come back reassuring so far."

"Thank God." He made for the door to her room but Addie stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Wait."

"What is it?" Louis bit out the question. He was in no mood to wait, desperately needing to see his wife.

"You should speak with the doctor first. He'll be here soon."

Louis blinked at her in confusion. "I thought you said she was stable. That she was even awake."

Addie nodded once. "She is."

"Then what? Just tell me, Addie. If we need to have her airlifted to Boston—"

She cut him off. "She's seeing a specialist next week. Right now, the doctors say she just needs to rest."

Alarm bells rang in Louis's head. Specialist? What kind of specialist would Gemma need? How badly was she hurt?

"What's going on?" he demanded to know. "Just tell me."

Addie squeezed her eyes shut as she spoke. His blood turned to ice at her words. "Gemma's lost a good chunk of her memory, Louis. The last several years of her life have been wiped from her brain."

But that meant…

Addie confirmed his thoughts. "She doesn't remember being married. She doesn't remember you."