After Wiping My Past, She Pleaded for My Return

The female doctor looked at me with such gentle eyes. The moment I woke up, my heart started hammering uncontrollably in my chest.

You are so pretty. Could you be my mom? I couldn't help but ask her.

It was only later that I learned the woman pacing outside the hospital room, secretly peeking through the glass and sighing heavily, was the woman who actually used to be my mother.

She had found her biological daughter, and terrified that I would somehow get in the way of their perfect reunion, she paid someone to completely erase all my memories of her.

"Taran, do not blame me for being cruel," she must have whispered to herself at the time.

"Sloane is so fragile. She cannot survive without me."

"But you are different. You are so bright and resilient. Even without a mother, you will be absolutely fine."

"So, I have to ask you to make this sacrifice. You just need to forget me completely."

She was right about one thing. I was a very bright, resilient girl.

...

The beautiful doctor blinked, clearly taken aback by my question.

She offered a soft smile. "Sweetheart, you just got out of surgery."

"You need to rest. Do not overthink things right now."

She hurried out of the room, looking a little flustered, and practically ran straight into my former mother, who had been hiding in the hallway.

"Mrs. Kensington, you are still here?"

Caroline Kensington didn't answer directly. She just smoothed a hand over her meticulously styled blowout. "How is Taran doing?"

"The patient is physically stable. But aside from entirely forgetting you, she seems to have lost quite a few other memories as well. Do you want to go in and see her?"

Beneath her long hair, the woman's expression twisted into something complicated.

"I think it is best if I do not. If I go in there and she sees my face, she might subconsciously latch onto me again."

"It would just be too messy."

The doctor let out a heavy sigh. "The human brain is an incredibly complex structure. We performed the displacement procedure on her hippocampus, which houses memory storage."

"But the surgery wasn't flawless. Taran has forgotten a lot more than we anticipated. She doesn't even remember where she lives."

"She is probably absolutely terrified right now. Are you sure you don't want to check on her?"

"How annoying."

Caroline frowned deeply.

But then, as if justifying it to herself, her posture relaxed.

"Fine. After all, I am the mother she loved the most."

"I will let her see me one last time. Consider it a reward for being such a good girl and going through with the surgery."

She walked into the hospital's public restroom, pumped a handful of cheap hand soap, and smeared it directly into her expensive hair.

Then, she put on a surgical mask and a pair of dark sunglasses before finally pushing open the door to my room.

I stared at the bizarrely dressed woman walking toward me. I blinked, a strange sense of familiarity washing over me.

"Hi, you look really familiar. Do we know each other?"

Caroline instinctively touched her face, looking surprised.

Only after verifying her mask and sunglasses were firmly in place did she let out a quiet breath of relief.

She leaned down beside the hospital bed, gently patting my head. Her eyes crinkled in a warm smile. "Did you really forget me?"

"I suppose it is for the best. If you recognized me, you would probably just start..."

Looking closely at this woman with weird, sticky gel globbed in her hair, I honestly just felt a wave of disgust.

"Excuse me, could you tell me who you are?"

I hesitated for a second, then couldn't stop myself from scooting away from her, pressing my back against the opposite rail of the bed.

"And also, could you please back up a little? You look... kind of gross."

Even behind the dark lenses and the mask, I could visibly see her face freeze.

It took her a long time to finally speak. "I am your aunt."

"You were in an accident a few days ago. You suffered a traumatic brain injury."

Oh. She was my family.

A sudden wave of guilt hit me. She was nice enough to come visit me in the hospital, and I had just called her gross to her face.

"I am so sorry. I can be a little too blunt sometimes."

I quickly tried to fix it. "You are not gross. You just look a little... sticky."

The moment the words left my mouth, I realized I had messed up again and immediately clamped my mouth shut.

Caroline didn't seem to care. She just sighed and said, "Since you are awake, you should go home to your own apartment."

She pulled a single brass key out of her designer bag and placed it in my palm.

Then, she pulled out her phone and texted an address to mine. Just as I was about to nod and say okay, a girl who looked exactly my age stormed into the room.

She looked absolutely furious.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"Why are you letting her stay in the townhouse?!"

Before I could process what was happening, the girl lunged at me, violently ripping the key out of my hand.

Her sharp acrylic nails dug into my palm, slicing the skin open. It stung fiercely.

I stared at Caroline in shock. "Auntie, what is she..."

Caroline let out a long, heavy sigh. "Taran, do not take it personally."

"Your cousin Sloane was kidnapped when she was little. She suffered so much out there in the world, while you got to live in my house and soak up all the motherly love that rightfully belonged to her."

"You owe her for that."

"Tell you what. Apologize to her right now, and we can consider the matter settled."

But Sloane getting kidnapped had absolutely nothing to do with me.

I physically couldn't force an apology out of my mouth.

This terrifyingly angry girl, Sloane, must be my aunt's actual daughter.

And I was just the outsider who lived in their house, relying on their charity.

I couldn't help but ask, "Auntie... where is my real mom?"

For some reason, that single question seemed to trigger something dark in Sloane.

Before my aunt could even open her mouth, Sloane shoved me hard against the mattress.

"Taran Lund, you are nothing but a motherless piece of trash."

"What right do you have to even say the word 'mom'?"

I lost my balance and tumbled off the edge of the mattress, my back slamming hard against the metal frame of the bed. Pain shot up my spine.

But the physical pain was nothing compared to the sudden, hollow ache in my chest.

I stared blankly at the linoleum floor. "Oh... so my mom is already dead..."

For some inexplicable reason, that made Sloane even angrier.

She lunged at me, grabbing a fistful of my hair, and slapped me hard across the face. My cheek burned instantly.

"Taran, you ungrateful bitch! How dare you talk about her like that?!"

"I am talking about my own mother! What does that have to do with you?!"

I completely snapped. I wasn't going to take this kind of abuse from a stranger. I grabbed Sloane's hair right back, and the two of us tumbled onto the floor, wrestling violently.

I was physically stronger than her. Within seconds, I had her pinned to the ground and slapped her twice, hard, across the face.

We were only pulled apart when the family's private security guards rushed into the room.

My aunt's face was as cold as a glacier.

"Taran Lund. The second you lose your memory, your true, violent nature comes out?"

"Sloane was just trying to kindly remind you not to curse your own mother."

"And you throw a tantrum and attack her? How did I ever raise such a vicious, ungrateful animal?"

I refused to back down. I glared straight into my aunt's eyes.

"Is it not true?!"

"If my mom isn't dead, then why would she abandon me at your house and let you and your daughter treat me like garbage?"

"Tell me!"

"Are you talking back to me?!"

My aunt's fury exploded. She ordered the guards to pin me to the floor. Then, she took a riding crop and brought it down hard, right across my back.

She beat me until my skin tore and my shirt soaked through with blood. She only stopped when I finally blacked out from the pain.

"Enough. I raised her for years. Beating her still breaks my heart."

When I finally woke up, it was two days later.

My aunt was standing over me, rubbing a thick, medicated ointment onto the raw wounds on my back.

She was still wearing the surgical mask and dark sunglasses, acting as if she were terrified I would actually see her face.

When she noticed my eyes open, she let out a dramatic sigh.

"Do not blame me for this. You made a mistake, and actions have consequences."

"Your cousin Sloane is still very upset. Since you are awake, get up and go upstairs to apologize to her."

My entire body throbbed in agony. I didn't even have the energy to argue with her.

I just turned my head away, refusing to look at her.

Her voice dropped an octave, dripping with condescension. "You really are a spoiled brat. I gave you too much freedom in the past."

"When you do something wrong, you apologize. Were you born completely devoid of basic morals?"

When I still refused to acknowledge her, she slammed the tube of ointment onto the nightstand.

"Fine. If you want to play the martyr, you are not eating for three days."

"Let us see how long that precious pride of yours lasts when you are starving."

She stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard the walls shook.

But my aunt didn't actually make it three days.

Seeing me dizzy and pale from starvation, she walked into my room on the second night holding a tray of food and a brand-new smartphone. She tossed the phone onto the bed.

"Eat. Once you get some strength back, you are going to school tomorrow."

I felt completely lost. My mind was still an absolute void.

The accident from a few days ago had practically wiped my brain clean.

It wasn't until I picked up the phone that instinct finally kicked in. I unlocked it and immediately scrolled through the contacts list.

My gut told me that the contact named 'Chloe' was someone I was deeply connected to. Someone who could actually help me.

I quickly typed out a message. "Hi. I have amnesia and can't remember anything from my past."

"But looking at your name makes me feel safe. Do we know each other?"

The reply came almost instantly.

"Taran! You are finally online!"

Before I could even type a response, a FaceTime call popped up on the screen.

I hit accept, and the screen was instantly filled with a girl's face. She looked like she was about to cry from sheer relief.

"Taran! Oh my god, I am so glad you are okay!"

The pure, unfiltered kindness radiating from this girl made my chest ache. I took a deep breath, trying to force my voice to stay steady.

"Hi. My aunt told me I was in an accident a few days ago that caused me to lose my memory. Do you happen to know what actually happened?"

"Your aunt?"

"Are you talking about Caroline Kensington?"

I nodded.

The girl on the phone froze entirely. She stared at me for a long, heavy moment before speaking. "She isn't your aunt, Taran. She is your mother..."

It took her over half an hour to explain the entire, twisted nightmare to me.

Years ago, while shopping in the city, Caroline lost her biological daughter.

She was destroyed by the grief, spending her days staring at her daughter's photos and crying until she made herself sick.

Eventually, unable to bear the pain any longer, she went to a local orphanage and adopted me.

She treated me like her own daughter, projecting all her desperate, shattered love onto me.

And for years, I loved her back, fully believing she was my real mother.

But everything came crashing down exactly one month ago.

They found her real daughter, Sloane.

From that day on, I became an absolute burden. The unwanted spare part in their perfect family.

Terrified that I would cling to her and beg for the maternal love that now belonged strictly to Sloane, Caroline forced me to undergo a radical, experimental surgery and intensive hypnotherapy to completely eradicate every memory I had of her.

I listened to the story, feeling nothing but a profound, suffocating sense of absurdity.

No wonder she wore a mask and sunglasses every time she looked at me. She was terrified I would recognize her.

But Caroline... the second I agreed to let them cut into my brain, my heart was already entirely dead to you. Why on earth would I ever cling to you?

I had been unconscious for two days, and awake for two more.

I hadn't eaten a single thing in four days. I was starving.

I looked down at the tray Caroline had brought me. It was a bowl of plain white rice, a few wilted vegetables, and a single, unappetizing slice of pure fat.

I didn't care. I picked up the bowl and started shoveling the rice into my mouth like an animal.

I had barely swallowed two bites when the door to my room swung open. It was Sloane.

She was holding a massive, expensive Alaskan king crab leg, elegantly peeling the meat off the shell.

She watched me aggressively scarfing down the dry rice, a mocking sneer spreading across her face.

"Look at you. Did you starve to death in a past life?"

I ignored her completely.

Suddenly, Sloane tossed the half-eaten crab leg directly onto the floor in front of my feet.

"Go ahead. Pick it up and eat it. I wouldn't want anyone saying I abuse you."

I finally looked up at her. "Are you psychotic?"

She stared at me for exactly two seconds. Then, without any warning, she let out a piercing, hysterical scream.

The sound instantly summoned Caroline.

"What happened?!" She sprinted into the room and immediately pulled Sloane into her arms, checking her over frantically.

Sloane blinked her massive eyes, and thick, dramatic tears instantly spilled down her cheeks. She looked like a terrified victim.

"Mom... I was just worried Taran was still hungry, so I brought her some of my dinner to share."

"But then..."

She choked back a sob, looking utterly traumatized. "Taran threw the crab leg on the floor... and then she tried to hit me!"

"Taran Lund!"

Caroline's face went completely black with rage.

"Sloane is kind enough to forgive you for attacking her yesterday, and she even brings you food, and you treat her like this?! How can you be this ungrateful?!"

Here we go again.

I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I didn't even have the energy to defend myself.

When I didn't say a word, Caroline's fury only grew. "Fine. Then you can forget about your allowance. You are getting nothing."

She wrapped a protective arm around Sloane and marched her out of the room.

I didn't care. This house had completely rejected me. I didn't belong here anymore.

And I had absolutely no business holding onto even a shred of hope for the woman who used to be my mother.

My only real concern was that I had missed over a week of classes, and I was terrified of falling behind.

So the next morning, the very first thing I did when I got to school was bury my face in my textbooks and study.

It wasn't until the lunch bell rang and I walked into the cafeteria that I realized I didn't even have a student meal card.

I checked my phone. My bank account balance was zero.

My stomach was growling aggressively. Just as I was standing there, deeply embarrassed and trying to figure out what to do, a familiar voice called out to me.

"Taran!"

I turned around. It was Chloe.

I gave her a small, tight nod.

"I cannot believe Caroline is doing this to you! You loved her so much, even if..."

"Even if you aren't her biological daughter, you guys lived together for over ten years!"

She was practically shaking with anger. "Taran, look at me."

"You are coming home with me tonight. You do not have to be her daughter anymore."

I hesitated, unsure if I was crossing a line.

"Do not worry about it! My mom absolutely adores you. You probably don't remember this, but my mom always used to say that if you were her daughter, she would be the happiest woman on earth."

When she saw I was still hesitating, Chloe grabbed my hand tightly.

"I swear, I am not lying to you."

Looking into this girl's fiercely genuine eyes, I finally nodded.

When I went back to the Kensington estate that afternoon, I packed a single duffel bag with my clothes and walked straight toward the front door.

Caroline, wearing her ridiculous surgical mask, was standing at the top of the grand staircase.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"Somewhere I am actually wanted."

"Tsk. Look at that temper. You are seriously pulling the 'running away from home' stunt?"

Sloane, standing right beside her, let out a loud, mocking laugh. "You are an orphan, Taran. My mom is the only family you have in the entire world."

"If you leave her, where exactly are you going to go?"

Caroline didn't say a word, but the smug, self-assured look in her eyes proved she completely agreed with Sloane.

Sloane wasn't finished. "Besides, you used to be completely obsessed with my mom. You followed her around like a lost puppy."

"When you inevitably regret this in a few days, do not come crawling back here crying and begging her to let you back in."

She opened her mouth to spit out another insult, but my phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming FaceTime call.

I hit accept. The screen lit up with the face of Chloe's mother, Mrs. Evans.

"Taran, sweetheart! Chloe told me you are coming to stay with us tonight! I have been waiting all afternoon! Are you on your way?"