Amnesia Saved Me From My Family

When I fell into the ocean, my childhood sweetheart swam toward my cousin, leaving me to be swept away by the tide.

My family assumed I was dead.

My childhood sweetheart married my cousin.

Three years later, I returned home, but my parents' first reaction wasn't relief or joy.

It was fearfear that my return would stress my cousin and threaten her pregnancy.

My mother avoided my eyes; my fathers face was dark with warning.

Ever since my cousin moved in years ago, my family had forbidden me from competing with her for anything, including the man I once loved, Elvis.

But what they didn't know was that the fall into the sea had wiped my memory clean.

And in that blank space, I had found a fianc who truly loved me, and a real family.

01

It had been three years since I plunged into the dark water.

My mother, her eyes red and swollen, reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "Bea, sweetie... please don't hold a grudge against them. No oneliterally no onethought you were ever coming back."

I felt a sudden spike of discomfort and quietly pulled my hand out of her grasp.

My father slammed his hand onto the dining table, making the silverware rattle. "The rescue team went out three separate times and came back with absolutely nothing. You had bad luck, Beatrice. Who else are you going to blame for that?"

He pointed a finger at me. "Chloe married Elvis, and shes pregnant. Theyre coming over in a little bit, and I swear to God, if you say a single word to upset her, there will be consequences."

I looked down at the fork that had rolled off the table and onto the hardwood floor.

I felt completely detached.

Elvis?

The name sounded vaguely familiar, ringing a faint, distant bell in my mind, but I couldn't attach a face or a feeling to it.

When I was lost at sea, drifting for three days and three nights, a man named Wright Godfery had pulled me out of the water. He told me I had struck my head against a jagged reef, leaving my brain a clean slate, stripped of every memory.

It was only recently that a few fractured images had returned, suggesting I might have a family waiting for me in Hartford.

Honestly, I hadn't wanted to come back.

But Wrights family was incredibly loving. They simply couldn't comprehend a mother and father who would give up on their own child unless there was absolutely no other choice, so they encouraged me to seek closure.

Now, watching my mother guiltily look away and my father glare at me with cold hostility, I realized my intuition had been right all along. I shouldn't have bothered.

But it didn't matter anymore.

Once you've looked death in the eye and felt the ocean swallow you whole, your perspective changes. I only had room in my heart for the people who loved me. For those who didn't, I had nothing left to give.

"Sure," I said, my voice flat and even. "I won't say anything to upset her."

My father choked on his words, momentarily stunned by my lack of drama.

My mother sighed, placing a piece of roasted chicken onto my plate. "Bea, these past three years haven't been easy on any of us. Chloe was the one who stayed by our side, helping us get through the grief. And Elvis... he was practically consumed by guilt because he couldn't pull you up in time."

She looked at me as if asking for sympathy. "You have no idea how much they suffered. Elvis lost nearly fifteen pounds. Chloe had to force a smile every single day just to keep your father and me from falling apart."

I picked at my food, carefully pushing the onions to the side.

Suddenly, I felt a deep ache of homesickness for the dinners Wrights mother used to make for me.

02

Half an hour later, the front door opened, and our guests finally arrived.

Chloe entered the room, her hand resting protectively over her slightly rounded belly. Her face was a picture of delicate, theatrical guilt. "Aunt Meredith, Uncle Richard... I am so, so sorry we're late."

She glanced toward the hallway, looking fragile. "My stomach was cramping a little before we left, and Elvis got so panicked. He insisted we go straight to the clinic to get checked out."

My mothers face paled with worry as she immediately turned to Elvis. "What did the doctor say? Is the baby okay?"

I let my gaze drift over to them.

Elviss eyes were bloodshot. The moment our gazes met, he looked away so fast it was almost comical.

It was bizarre.

I had already explained to my mother that I had no memory of Elvis, but she assumed I was just acting out of spite. She had spent the morning lecturing me, telling me how he and I used to be inseparable, how we were childhood sweethearts who had practically planned our entire lives together.

"Bea, let's just make this transition peaceful," she had pleaded. "For everyone's sake."

She had used the word "peaceful" and "good" a dozen times.

Yet, not once during my entire first day back did she ask the one question that mattered:

"You were missing for three years. How did you survive?"

When Wright found me, I had no phone, no wallet, and no identification. How did I buy food? Where did I sleep? Who kept me safe?

I wasn't angry. I didn't even feel disappointed.

The Godfery family had showered me with so much warmth and security that I had genuinely believed I belonged to them. I was simply curious from a psychological standpoint.

How could biological parents be this cold to their own flesh and blood?

03

From the moment Chloe walked through the door, her eyes had been darting in my direction. When she noticed my brief glance at Elvis, her expression shifted into one of profound sorrow.

"Bea, I'm so incredibly sorry," she sobbed, her voice trembling. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to pull you down into the water with me. I... I honestly thought Elvis would save you first."

Elvis looked completely panicked now, his face flushing as he stared at the floor, refusing to meet my eyes.

My father immediately cut in, his voice booming through the living room. "Chloe, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for!"

He glared at me. "We all know Beatrice was the one who pushed you first. You just lost your balance and grabbed her on your way down. Elvis did the right thing by saving you first. You were the innocent party."

My mother stepped forward, gently stroking Chloes hair. "Sweetheart, Bea is your cousin. She knows you didn't mean any harm, and she would never hold a grudge. Just focus on the baby. Your uncle and I will handle everything else."

Good lord.

I had always wondered why I had such a visceral, paralyzing fear of deep water, and why I would have been near the ocean in the first place.

So, I didn't just fall. I was dragged down.

When I remained silent, Chloes face turned even paler, as though my quietness was an active assault on her delicate nerves.

But it was a fascinating tactic. Every time she spoke a word of "apology," my parents found a new reason to paint me as the villain.

I couldn't remember what kind of person she used to be, but the energy in the room was suffocating.

My fathers tone turned harsh and authoritative. "Now that you're back, we are closing this chapter. No one is to ever bring up that day again. Understood?"

"Understood," I murmured.

My biological father was a terrifying man. He lacked even a fraction of the gentle, soft-spoken grace that Wrights father possessed.

And my mother was just as bad, instantly granting forgiveness on my behalf without even checking to see if I was okay.

Whatever.

Honestly, maybe I should thank Chloe. If she hadn't dragged me into the sea, I might still be trapped in this house, living under their thumbs. I would never have met Wright.

Wright's grandmother, a wonderfully spunky old woman, once told me: "Sometimes, a disaster is just a blessing in disguise. Surviving a tragedy means the universe is redirecting you to a much better path."

04

I stood up from the table and walked into the kitchen to clear some dishes.

A moment later, the door swung shut, and Elvis stepped inside.

We stood face-to-face in the narrow space, and the silence between us was painfully awkward.

"Bea," he began, his voice thick with emotion. "These past three years... were you okay? Where were you?"

"I was fine," I replied simply.

"If you survived... why didn't you come back? Was it because of me? Because I didn't dive back in for you?"

I leaned against the counter, wanting to end the conversation as quickly as possible. "Something like that. But mostly, it was because I had amnesia. I had no idea I had a family here."

Elvis froze, his entire body going rigid.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the kitchen door swung open again. Chloe stepped in, her eyes immediately scanning the space between us. She quickly walked over and wrapped her arm around Elviss, her voice dripping with sweet affection. "Honey, my back is hurting a little. Can we go sit down? And would you mind peeling some shrimp for me?"

Elvis nodded dumbly and let her lead him back to the dining room.

I turned back to the stove, noticing a pot sitting on the burner. I remembered Wrights mother telling me that steamed egg custard shouldn't be left in the hot pot for too long, or the texture would get ruined and tough.

I grabbed a potholder and lifted the small ceramic bowl out of the pot.

My mother walked into the kitchen right then. The moment she saw what was in my hands, her face tightened with anxiety. "Bea, Chloe is pregnant. That seafood and truffle custard was prepared specifically for her."

Chloe, who had followed her back toward the kitchen, lowered her eyes with a martyr-like sigh. "It's fine, Aunt Meredith. Bea has had such a hard time out there in the world. Let her have it. I don't mind."

My fathers voice boomed from the doorway, as if he were suffering from some sort of reflex. "She chose not to come back on her own! This has nothing to do with you, Chloe. Beatrice, put that down. It's not for you."

He was so hostile.

A small spark of anger flickered in my chest, but I quickly suppressed it. The Godferys had spent the last three years wrapping me in so much love and patience that my rough edges had been completely smoothed out. I didn't have the energy for petty arguments.

I offered a polite, empty smile. "I didn't plan on eating it. I just saw it was done and took it out of the pot so it wouldn't overcook."

Elvis stared at me, a strange, bewildered expression on his face. "Bea... you've changed so much."

"Have I?" I asked, completely indifferent.

My father took a slow sip of his whiskey, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. "In the past, you would have thrown a tantrum and fought your cousin for it. It looks like life on the streets finally taught you some humility and manners."

I was speechless.

This neighborhood wasn't cheap; their house was worth a decent amount. Yet they were acting as if a single portion of seafood custard was a rare luxury they had to ration like wartime survivors.

I found myself missing Newport again.

Since the town was right on the water, Wright's family practically lived on fresh seafood. They would steam whole sea bass, grill giant scallops with garlic butter, and crack open fresh crabs on the deck.

Whenever we sat down to eat, the entire family would vie for my attention, piling the best cuts onto my plate.

05

Chloe had a prenatal yoga class scheduled, so she and Elvis left shortly after dinner.

My mother spent ten minutes praising how attentive Elvis was, calling him the perfect future father. Elvis had given me one last, complicated look before walking out the door, which I completely ignored.

Upstairs, I walked into my old bedroom. It was pitch black and smelled of mildew. Realizing I wouldn't be staying here long, I flicked on the dusty overhead light and began sorting through the clutter.

My mother walked in, gasping when she saw what I was doing. "Bea! Isn't that your favorite silk dress? Why are you throwing it onto the discard pile?"

She looked sentimental, lost in her own memories. "I remember when I bought that for Chloe first. You were so furious you refused to eat dinner for two days until I bought you the same one."

"Had I really been that pathetic?"

If Wrights younger brother, Jude, ever found out about that, he would tease me endlessly.

I picked up the dress by the hanger and tossed it onto the trash bag. "I don't remember. Besides, the style is completely outdated. If you don't want to waste it, you can cut it up and use it as a dust rag."

My mother looked as though I had slapped her.

In her mind, even when I used to lose every argument against Chloe, my eyes had still held a desperate, lingering hope for her approval. I had wanted her to be fair. I had wanted to be loved equally.

But now, as she stared at me, she saw nothing but a blank, chilling indifference.

I tied up the heavy trash bag, intending to leave it by the curb.

On my way down, I passed Chloes old room. The door was open, revealing a beautifully decorated space. Even though she had married and moved out, everything was immaculate. The sheets smelled of lavender and fresh laundry.

It was a stark contrast to my cramped, dusty room that made me cough the second I opened the door.

My mother noticed where I was looking and quickly tried to explain, her voice strained. "Chloe is very particular about cleanliness. I come in and air out her room every week."

She took a step closer to me. "Tomorrow, I'll hire a professional cleaning service for your room. And I'll buy you that designer bedding set you used to beg me for. I promise."

"Don't worry about it," I said.

I had only come back to Hartford to settle my legal status.

Wrights parents had wanted me to have my family present for our upcoming wedding so I wouldn't have any regrets, but now I saw that their concern, while lovely, was entirely unnecessary.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

The screen lit up with a message from my contact: "Clingy Golden Retriever Fianc."

Wright had sent a barrage of texts:

"Babe, how is it going with your parents? Are you happy to see them?"

"Why haven't you sent me my bedtime kiss yet? Is someone being mean to you?"

"I bought your mom a gorgeous emerald necklace, and I heard your dad likes off-roading, so I placed an order for a custom Land Cruiser. It should be around $200k."

"Let me know if that's enough of an impression. My parents want to ship a whole truckload of gifts over too."

I stared at the screen for a moment, then typed a quick, seven-word reply.

Within three seconds, my phone started ringing.

06

"Babe, what do you mean by 'I don't think they deserve it'?"

Wrights voice was laced with immediate concern, his protective instincts flaring. "Did they say something to you? Are they treating you badly?"

He was always terrified of me experiencing even a shred of discomfort.

I told him the truth, repeating what the clerk at the municipal office had told me earlier that afternoon.

"Your parents filed a petition to declare you legally dead," the clerk had said, looking sympathetic. "Usually, a person has to be missing for at least four years before we approve that. But because yours was a maritime accident, your family petitioned the court to expedite the process. They had you declared dead in just under two years."

I had practically laughed out loud in the office.

A cold, hard realization had settled in my chest. Why had my father been in such an absolute rush to declare his own daughter dead?

On the other end of the line, I could hear Wright grinding his teeth. "Are you kidding me? What kind of parents do that?"

He sounded a hundred times angrier than I felt.

"I'm so sorry, Bea. I should have gone with you." Wrights firm was handling a major corporate merger in the next state over, and though he had desperately wanted to accompany me, I had insisted he focus on his work.

"Are you hurting, babe?" he asked softly.

"Not really," I murmured. "It's just... a very strange feeling to find out your own family legally erased you."

I couldn't quite describe it.

I didn't care about their love anymore, but there was still a dull, heavy pressure in my chest.

07

The next morning, I walked to the courthouse to file the paperwork to revoke the declaration of death.

On the courthouse steps, I ran into Elvis.

He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at me with an intense, unreadable expression.

"Bea... after your father legally finalized the death certificate, I went down to the cliffs every single week to leave white roses for you."

I nodded, feeling incredibly awkward. "Well, since I'm not actually dead, I guess you wasted a lot of money on flowers."

He shook his head quickly, then rushed to add, his voice desperate with the need to explain himself, "We only got together after you were declared dead. Chloe and I... we were both drowning in grief. We only survived because we leaned on each other."

"That's nice," I said politely. "You two seem perfect for each other."

Elviss eyes welled with tears. "Bea, I know I was the love of your life. But I'm married to Chloe now. I have a duty to her. I can't betray her."

He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a pleading whisper. "Please don't take your anger out on her. She's delicate, and shes carrying my child. She can't handle any emotional stress right now."

I blinked, thoroughly confused. "I'm not doing anything to her."

Elviss face stiffened. "Good. Because once the baby is born, Chloe really wants you and Aunt Meredith to help us take care of him."

He was watching me closely, clearly testing my reaction.

I shook my head. "That won't work. I'm leaving Hartford very soon."

Elviss face went entirely pale. He reached out and grabbed my wrist, his grip tight and trembling. "What did you just say?"

"I said I'm leaving."

"I just got you back!" he raised his voice, a desperate edge cutting through his tone. "How can you just leave again?"

I pulled my wrist out of his grip with a sharp tug. "My fianc lives in Newport. It's only natural that I go back to him."

"No, thats impossible," Elvis stammered, his eyes wide. "You promised me when we were teenagers that wed get married... How could you choose someone else?"

I looked at him, feeling a deep sense of pity. "Look, your name is Elvis, right? To me, you are a complete stranger. You married my cousin. Please stop saying these bizarre things to me."

I took a step back. "My fianc is incredibly protective and gets jealous very easily. If he finds out you're harassing me, he will destroy your career, and I won't stop him."

Elvis stood there, his body shaking as his eyes turned a deep, painful red.

"Does this guy have some kind of chronic eye infection?" I wondered as I quickly turned and walked away.

08

I wondered if running into Elvis had cursed my day, because not ten minutes later, I literally ran into another ghost from my past.

The moment she recognized my face, she shrieked, jumping back as if she had seen an actual demon.

"Beatrice! Oh my God, I am so sorry! I know we were work rivals, but that was strictly professional! Please don't haunt me in broad daylight!"

She threw her hands up in a defensive gesture. "I am terrified of ghosts! I swear I'll go to Grace Cathedral tomorrow and light a candle for your soul!"

I stood there, completely deadpan.

After a few minutes of dramatic panic, she noticed my shadow stretching across the pavement in the bright morning sun.

Jessica finally calmed down, clutching her chest as she exhaled a massive sigh of relief. "Okay, don't blame me for overreacting. Everyone at the news station thought you were dead."

She shook her head. "Your dad literally marched into the station managers office with your death certificate and a framed black-and-white photo of you, screaming at the top of his lungs. He claimed you fell into the ocean while investigating a story on local fishing docks, and he demanded they give Chloe your investigative reporting slot as compensation. He threatened to protest outside every day until they agreed."

To prove to the rest of the world that I wasn't a wandering spirit, Jessica dragged me back to the station.

I had only worked there for a short time before my accident, but I had a solid degree and a strong work ethic, so my former colleagues had actually liked me.

The moment we walked in, the staff started venting about Chloe.

"She can't write a coherent copy block to save her life," one editor grumbled. "Whenever she messes up, she just cries, and the rest of us have to pull overtime to fix her mistakes."

Another reporter chimed in, "If it weren't for your memory, and the fact that her husbands family buys half our commercial ad blocks, she would have been fired months ago."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. To show my appreciation for their hard work, I ordered a round of high-end coffees for the entire department.

09

By the time I walked back into my parents' house, the atmosphere felt as heavy and grim as a cemetery.

The second I crossed the threshold, a heavy ceramic mug came flying toward my head, shattering against the doorframe.

I barely managed to duck in time.

Without even asking what had happened, my father stood in the living room, shouting at me.

"Beatrice! Look at what you've done! Was it really necessary to go to the station and humiliate your cousin in front of her colleagues?"

My mother glared at me, her voice dripping with disappointment. "Chloe is pregnant, Beatrice. She already has to take time off, and her coworkers are already jealous of her. Now that they know you're alive and she took your job, the management is going to make her life a living hell."

Chloe sat on the sofa, her eyes rimmed with red, looking like a victim of a great tragedy. "Bea, I didn't mean to take your job. Uncle Richard said we shouldn't let a good position go to waste, and that it would bring prestige to Elviss family. Thats the only reason I took it."

So, my father had rushed to declare me dead just to clear a career path for Chloe.

I stared at them for a long moment, and then, a dry, cold laugh escaped my lips.

"Chloe, your writing skills are practically nonexistent. How did you ever think you could handle an investigative beat? You should be carefultaking things you didn't earn always backfires."