My Husband Hates Me, But He Lost His Memories - Chapter 1.2
Chapter 1.2
Translator: Yonnee
—
“Milord?”
On my behalf as I couldn’t answer, the military doctor carefully called out to my husband. The doctor glanced at him, but my husband never took his eyes off me.
As though he didn’t want to miss any detail, he looked at me closely, and my shoulders shrank down without me realizing it. What’s wrong with him? Did he really not recognize me?
“Don’t you remember, Milord? She is your wife.”
“Wife…”
My husband murmured as though it was a new word he learned for the first time, then he blinked. I covered my mouth with one hand as he asked himself quietly.
“I’m married?”
At his reaction, the doctor’s eyes trembled greatly. He tried to hide his astonishment and calmly asked.
“You don’t remember, sire? You married Her Grace more than a year ago. You know who I am, but how come…”
The doctor glanced at me. I just stared at my husband with my hands slowly slipping down. My heart was beating so fast that I could feel my pulse beating at the back of my neck.
What’s going on? My husband couldn’t remember me?
“…I don’t remember.”
At his hushed words, the doctor said, ‘Oh my goodness,’ under his breath. He placed a hand over my husband’s shoulder as though to calm him, then he asked several questions.
Over ten minutes had passed. Then, the doctor looked at me as I continued to stand frozen stiff like an old tree. With a look of bewilderment, he spoke.
“The Duke… seems to have lost his memories.”
“What…?”
“Fortunately, he seemed to have retained important memories, but… everything about the Madam…”
“……”
The doctor trailed off, but I understood what he was going to say.
My husband lost his memories.
But only his memories of me.
It didn’t make any sense.
“We’ll have to hope that this memory loss is only temporary. Let’s wait and see if Milord’s memories of the Madam will come back…”
The doctor, who was looking at me as he spoke, slowly retreated back towards the wall. He seemed to be signaling for me to talk to my husband. Maybe he was thinking that his memories of me would return after I talked to him.
But rather than speaking with him, I just wanted to run away.
All of it felt like a dream. He just suddenly got a head injury and forgot only memories of me, who he hated.
Did he forget because he despised me so?
“Can you come closer?”
As he reached out to me, my husband asked me to come and sit by the bed. At that moment, I flinched hard and hesitated, feeling my stomach sink heavily towards the ground. I was scared just seeing him. I was even more scared to come closer.
What if I went there and his memories returned?
“Please.”
This pleading tone was so strange. It was so different with the way he usually treated me. Right now, he looked so gentle and kind. Staring with eyes that expressed how sincerely curious he was about me… it made me dizzy.
Why was this happening? I’d been living well—living as though I was dead—and when the time came, I was just going to get divorced calmly.
“Madam.”
The military urged me once more, trying to hurry me over and listen to my husband’s request. I could feel no malice from him. But at the same time, I wasn’t sure if this was a situation akin to me jumping willingly down a cliff…
“……”
With a low sigh, I approached my husband reluctantly. Right then, I decided that I’d gone crazy because this wasn’t something I would have done if I were of the right mind.
When I stopped in front of him, my husband slightly shook his still-outstretched hand in the air as if he wanted me to hold it. And so, I held it.
It’s been a long time since I had held his hand. It was large, warm and full of hard calluses. Meanwhile, my hands had always been small. He clasped my hand tightly, and it made me think how easily it could be for him to crush my bones with his strength.
“……”
My husband kept his eyes on our hands, and he stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. When I tried to move away in surprise, he grabbed my hand even tighter to prevent me from running away. I stared at him with my eyebrows knotted and my lips pursed.
As though to reassure me, he smiled softly.
“It’s alright.”
“……”
May I know your name?”
…If he couldn’t remember me and didn’t know my name, I didn’t think it mattered anymore. But still, perhaps he needed to know who he married. I slowly opened my lips.
“Lily.”
“Lily. What a beautiful name.”
“My maiden name is Lily Everett.”
I saw him flinch a little the moment I said this.
“Everett…?”
He frowned slightly and he blinked for a moment, but soon smiled.
“I didn’t know I married someone from the Everett Duchy.”
“…Do you really not remember anything?”
“Yes, absolutely nothing.”
As I tried to pull out the hand caught in his, I spoke.
“If you would like to know the details of how exactly we got married—no, ask someone else. Then you’ll get a sense of how you think of me.”
“Please wait a minute.”
“I need to leave. Please let go.”
“Don’t go.”
My husband grabbed my other hand and pulled me closer—and I panicked and struggled a lot. Surprised by my reaction, he froze for a moment, but he didn’t let me go.
His blue eyes took a closer look at my complexion, but I avoided his gaze and clenched my teeth. Right here, I wanted to melt and disappear just like snow.
“Towards you… Did I do something wrong?”
No. It was my father and the Everett family who had many transgressions. My husband, Theodore Valentino, was the victim.
“How did we get married? You… My wife, please tell me. Is this a difficult request?”
It was something that almost made me laugh. A difficult request, he asked?
I had taken it upon myself to remember each and every day all the transgressions that my family had done to him.
And it had always been painful.
I was the daughter of a wicked man, but I had never committed any evil deeds like my father. Actually, I always thought it was unfair. There were times when I held some hope that my husband would recognize this injustice placed upon me, but…
It didn’t matter now.
“Please ask another person. To say it myself… Even someone like me feels shame. Please let go.”
At this, my husband’s grip loosened, and he blinked vacantly.
I quietly left the room and ran away without looking back.
·
It was two years ago that I, Lily Everett, met Theodore Valentino. During that time as well, my father had been hell-bent on looking for an opportunity to swallow the Valentino family whole.