Julian clipped the final scan onto the lightboard, the stark black-and-white images of Rebecca's brain illuminated between them. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose before looking at Anderson.
"Physically, Anderson? She's perfect," Julian admitted, tapping a finger against the frontal lobe on the scan.
"There's no swelling, no lesions, no sign of a stroke or blunt force trauma. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was in peak health."
Anderson's jaw tightened, his arms crossed over his chest. "So she's lying. It's an act."
"I didn't say that." Julian turned to him, his expression grave. "What we're likely looking at is a Dissociative Fugue. Her brain has essentially hit a massive 'undo' button. It's not a physical break; it:s a psychological one."
"Somewhere in the last few weeks, something triggered a total rejection of her current reality. She didn't just forget you, Anderson—she deleted the version of herself that lived this life."
Julian stepped closer, lowering his voice. "The scans show high activity in the hippocampus but a complete lack of emotional 'tagging' for any recent data. To her, the last eight years doesn't just feel far away—it doesn't exist. She truly believes she's eighteen."
Anderson looked through the glass window at Rebecca, who was sitting on the edge of the exam table, tilting her head at a simple bowl of fruit as if she'd never seen anything so fascinating.
"How do I fix it?" Anderson asked.
"That's the thing," Julian warned. "You might not want to. If you force the 'old' Rebecca back too quickly, you could cause a total psychotic break. But if you let her stay like this... you're living with a ghost in a stranger's body."
Anderson clenched his fists, closing his eyes tightly. He didn't know that this truth was like this.
"What do we do?" He finally asked.
Julian leaned back into his chair. "We wait."
Anderson exhaled.
Later—
They stepped out of Julian's office together.
Rebecca walked beside him, her hands clasped behind her back, her steps light.
Anderson's phone rang.
His expression shifted the moment he saw the caller ID.
"Take a seat," he said, glancing at her briefly. "I'll be back."
Rebecca nodded. "Don't take too long."
He stepped away, already answering the call.
After he left, Rebecca didn't sit. Instead, she wandered around, her mind a mess.
She didn't know what the results of the tests were, and even after insisting they told her, their lips were tightly shut.
But she could sense a change in Alexander's behaviour. The way he stared at her, it was filled with... tenderness.
Which was completely different from the cold look this morning.
She played with her fingers as she walked slowly.
Her footsteps came to a complete halt when she came face to face with two people—a man and a woman.
Their hands were interlocked, and their posture intimate.
"Rebecca."
In response, she stared at the two, confusion flickering in her eyes.
"Mister, I thought I told you yesterday that I didn't know who you were." Her face morphed into a frown. "Then, why do you keep pestering me?"
'So, he is the one I was crazy about.' She thought, shaking her head internally. 'I didn't take a good look at him yesterday. But I must have been truly blind to throw away my dignity for him.'
It turned out that it was Carl. The woman with him was naturally Sophie.
"Becca," Carl started.
"We are not close enough for you to call me Becca." She cut him off immediately, her eyes darkening.
Carl's face alternated between red and black. Since when has Rebecca ever countered his words.
Sophie finally spoke up.
"Rebecca, please don't get mad at Carl." She started, her voice soft and fragile. "He is only accompanying me for a checkup. We absolutely have nothing to do with each other."
She bit her lips as tears pooled in her eyes.
Rebecca stared at her speechlessly. "Who are you?"
Sophie blinked, taken aback. She exchanged glances with Carl who gave her the 'I told you so' look.
"Rebecca, have you forgotten me?" She asked softly, her tone probing.
"Was I meant to know you?" Rebecca replied with a tilt of her head. "Look, I don't know who you are. And I absolutely do not care about the relationship you have with him."
She paused, her tone lowering into a warning. "I only require one thing from you both: stay away from me." Her tone was filled with finality.
"Besides," she played with her hair, a smile tugging on her lips. "If my husband sees me with you, he might truly divorce me and take my kids. Then, I'll truly be left alone."
Carl didn't believe her words. Or rather, he chode to live in the reality he created for himself.
"Didn't you hate Anderson the most?" He asked softly. "What changed?"
Rebecca rolled her eyes at him. "Husbands and wives have issues. Who says I hate my husband?" She then scoffed. "If I truly chased after you, then my eyes were probably blinded. Since I'm in a hospital, I should probably visit the optometrist."
Carl's mouth hung open in shock. Since when was Rebecca so glib in her speech?
Rebecca looked over his shoulders, not caring about the shock her words gave him.
Her eyes met with Anderson's, and she beamed. She walked past both of them, and walked straight to him.
"You are here." She held his arm, looking up at him. "You have no idea, but I was almost harassed by those two."
She shivered as if feeling repulsed. "Let's go. I don't want to stay in the same vicinity as them. They ruin my mood." She pulled him away, while Carl watched them, his jaw tightening.
Anderson didn't stop her.
He allowed himself to be pulled along, his gaze flickering briefly over his shoulder.
Carl stood rooted in place, his expression dark, while Sophie clutched his arm, her nails digging into his sleeve.
"Carl…" she whispered, unease creeping into her voice.
Something wasn't right. That wasn't the Rebecca they knew.
Carl's jaw tightened. "She's pretending," he muttered, though even he didn't sound convinced.
Back at the corridor—
Rebecca slowed, her grip on Anderson loosening.
"Andy…" she called softly.
He looked down at her.
Her smile faded slightly.
"…you told me I threw my dignity away for him." She looked back at the hallway, her expression hardening.
"But looking at him now... he's so small. So transparent. How could I have been that blind? What was wrong with me?"
Anderson's steps halted as his gaze darkened.
Anderson said nothing.
His gaze remained on her. His eyes were deep and unreadable.
Rebecca frowned slightly. "What?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Nothing," he replied after a pause, his voice low.
But his eyes lingered on her for a moment.
Small?
Transparent?
Those were never words Rebecca would have used for Carl.
He exhaled quietly and turned away. "Let's go."
Rebecca didn't question him this time. She simply followed him.
Behind them, Carl's gaze remained fixed on their retreating figures, his expression darkening with every step they took.
Something was slipping out of his control.
And he didn't like it.
At all.