Nathan carried her out of the restaurant like his life depended on it. Mateo was crying, holding onto Nathan’s leg, but the bodyguards quickly picked the boy up. They rushed to the hospital. Nathan didn’t care about the speed limits. He only cared about the woman breathing shallowly in his arms.

When they got to the hospital, the doctors took her away on a stretcher. Nathan had to stay in the hallway with Mateo. The boy was shaking.

"Is Mama okay?" Mateo asked. His eyes were red from crying.

Nathan knelt down and hugged him. "She’s going to be okay, Mateo. She just needs to sleep for a bit."

After an hour, a doctor walked out. He looked tired. Nathan stood up quickly.

"How is she?"

"She is stable now," the doctor said. "But her brain is under a lot of stress."

"I warned you, Mr. Keith," the doctor said in a low voice. "I know her history because you told me yourself. Her brain is physically damaged from that accident years ago. It has built a wall to protect her."

"I just wanted her to remember," Nathan muttered, rubbing his face with his hands.

"If you force it, you will break her," the doctor snapped. "Her brain reacted to your ’story’ by shutting down. That faint was a warning. If her blood pressure spikes like that again because of emotional shock, she could have a stroke or permanent brain damage. Do not try to bring her memory back. It has to happen on its own, or not at all."

Nathan looked at the floor. "I was telling her about... her past. Things she forgot."

The doctor’s face became very serious. "You have to stop. Immediately. Maybe you don’t realize how serious this is, Mr. Keith.....Her brain has built a wall to protect itself. When you try to break that wall too fast, it causes a physical reaction. Her blood pressure spiked so high she could have had a stroke. Her mind is literally rejecting these memories to stay alive. If you force her to remember everything right now, you could cause permanent neurological damage. She could lose the ability to speak, or she could go into a coma."

Nathan felt cold. He was trying to save her, but he was actually killing her.

"So I can’t tell her who she is?" Nathan asked, his voice breaking.

"Not yet," the doctor said. "She has to find the pieces herself, slowly. If you push, you lose her forever."

#####

The doctor’s words stayed in Nathan’s head like a heavy weight. He wanted to scream the truth, but he couldn’t risk her brain shutting down again. He had to be patient, even if it was killing him.

Nathan walked into the hospital room. Viktoria was awake, looking at the ceiling. She looked pale and tired.

"I’m here," he said.

"What happened? Why am I in a hospital?"

"You fainted at dinner," Nathan said. "The doctor says you are just very tired. Too much stress."

"How do you feel?" Nathan asked softly.

Viktoria turned her head. "Better. But my head feels heavy. Like there are too many things inside it."

Nathan sat on the edge of the bed. "The doctor said you need to relax. No more stories for a while."

Viktoria looked at him. "That story you told... about the marriage proposal. I saw it when I closed my eyes. But I couldn’t see the man’s face clearly. It was just a shadow."

Nathan held his breath. "What did you think when you saw it?"

"I think... it must have been Nikolai," she said, her voice uncertain. "Before the accident. We were dating for a long time in Russia, right? He told me he loved me from the moment we met. Maybe that memory was from when we were younger, before Mateo was born."

Nathan felt a sharp sting in his chest. He wanted to tell her that Nikolai was never there, that it was him in that restaurant, but he remembered the doctor’s warning. He had to let her believe the lie for now.

"Does it feel like Nikolai when you remember it?" Nathan asked, his voice tight.

Viktoria frowned. "I don’t know. The feeling was so strong... so much love.

It felt like a knife in Nathan’s chest. She was taking his memories—their memories and giving them to the man who kidnapped her.

"Maybe," Nathan said, his voice tight. "Don’t think about it too much. The doctor says you need to rest your mind."

"I felt so guilty in the dream," she continued, not stopping. "I felt like I was supposed to say yes, but I was scared. Why would I be scared of Nikolai? He’s been so good to me."

"Viktoria, stop," Nathan said. "Just sleep."

"Where is Mateo?" she asked.

"He’s right there," Nathan pointed to the chair.

She looked at the sleeping boy and softened. "He is the only thing that feels real. Sometimes, when I look at you, Nathan... I feel something. But then my head hurts and I feel like I’m falling."

"I won’t tell you any more stories," Nathan promised. "I promise."

The next morning, they went back to the villa. Nathan was silent. He had the DNA results in his pocket, but he couldn’t show them to her. He had the truth on his tongue, but he had to swallow it.

Alex met them at the door. He looked worried. He pulled Nathan aside while Viktoria took Mateo upstairs.

"Sir, Natasha is making moves," Alex whispered. "She’s been seen near the old cemetery. And Nikolai’s men are looking for Viktoria’s location. We can’t stay here much longer."

Nathan looked up the stairs where Fiona...the woman he lovedwas living a lie.

"We stay," Nathan said. "But double the security."

"Yes, sir"

Nathan went to his office and locked the door. He took out a picture of Fiona from years ago.

He realized he was in a war. On one side was Natasha, who wanted him. On the other side was Nikolai, who had his wife. and in the middle was Fiona, who didn’t even know who she was.

He picked up his phone and called his lawyer.

"I want to start a trust fund for Mateo Keith," Nathan said.

"Pardon me sir, is there a mistake?" the lawyer asked.

"No," Nathan said firmly. "Mateo Keith. He is my son. And soon, the whole world will know."

He hung up. He knew he was playing a dangerous game. If he pushed too hard, she would break. If he didn’t push at all, he would lose her to Nikolai.

He walked out of his office and saw Viktoria standing on the balcony, looking at the city. She looked lonely.

"Are you okay?" he asked, standing a few feet away.

"I keep thinking about the ’Cupcake’ girl in your story," she said without turning around. "What happened to her in the end?"

Nathan looked at the back of her head. "She came home," he said. "It took a long time, and she went through a lot of pain, but she eventually remembered that she belonged to the man who never stopped looking for her."

Viktoria turned around. There were tears in her eyes. "I hope she did. Because if she didn’t... that is the saddest story I have ever heard."