The doctor closed his medical case with a quiet click.
"She needs rest. She's recovering nicely."
I said nothing.
My eyes remained fixed on Jennie.
She looked too still beneath the white sheets, her face pale except for the faint traces of dried blood near her temple.
"How serious are her injuries?"
The doctor glanced toward the bandage above her ear before answering.
"Nothing appears life-threatening from what I can see. The concussion is mild to moderate, but I want her monitored closely for the next twenty-four hours. If she starts vomiting repeatedly, develops a seizure, becomes difficult to wake, or her pupils stop responding normally, she needs immediate hospital attention."
Mark gave a firm nod from near the door.
"Understood."
The doctor should have left then, but he didn't.
His attention returned to Jennie.
"There's something else."
My gaze shifted to him.
"What?"
He hesitated, choosing his words carefully.
"Her reaction."
Samantha lifted her head slightly.
"To the stitches?" Mark asked.
"No." The doctor shook his head. "To whatever memory she was experiencing."
His expression had changed. He no longer looked at Jennie like a patient who had suffered an unfortunate accident.
He looked at her like a puzzle.
"People don't usually speak in complete phrases while unconscious from an ordinary concussion," he continued. "And she wasn't reacting to the pain."
My jaw tightened.
"And what she said?"
The doctor's eyes met mine.
"She wasn't reacting to the injuries."
I remembered the words again.
I wouldn't cry when they touch me.
They had lodged themselves somewhere inside my mind, refusing to disappear.
Who had touched her?
And why had the memory terrified her enough to follow her into unconsciousness?
The doctor picked up his case.
"The injuries will heal," he said quietly. "But whatever caused that reaction…"
He paused.
"That may not heal anytime soon."
Silence settled over the room.
My gaze returned to Jennie.
Her chest rose and fell beneath the blanket, slow and steady. Her eyelashes rested against her cheeks, completely unaware of the questions her own unconscious mind had left behind.
I listened.
One heartbeat.
Then another.
Weak.
Human.
But beneath it.
Something else.
A strange rhythm brushed against my senses.
I leaned closer.
Nothing.
Only the faint, familiar pulse of a human heart.
I straightened.
"Doctor."
He looked at me.
"Stay."
His brows drew together.
"For how long?"
"Until she wakes."
He studied me for a moment before nodding.
"Of course."
He moved to the chair beside the bed and sat down. Mark remained near the door, while Samantha stood quietly beside him.
I looked at Jennie again.
A faint crease appeared between her brows.
Her lips moved.
No sound came.
Then her fingers tightened around the sheets.
"Don't…"
I moved closer before I could stop myself.
Jennie's head shifted against the pillow.
"Please…"
Her breathing quickened.
I reached for her hand.
The instant my fingers closed around hers, her entire body went rigid.
Her eyes remained shut.
But her heartbeat changed.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
It accelerated violently beneath her chest.
The doctor stood immediately.
"Sir…"
I didn't release her.
Jennie's fingers suddenly closed around mine with surprising strength. Her nails pierced into my skin, hard enough to make a human bleed.
"Jennie."
She didn't respond.
Her body trembled beneath the sheets.
Her lips quivered.
Then she whispered words that stopped everything inside me.
"He's coming back."
My gaze hardened.
"Who?"
Her grip tightened.
"For me."
A single tear slipped down the side of her face.
Something cold settled in my chest.
For the first time since I had found her, I had the distinct feeling that whatever had happened to Jennie was far more complicated than a fall, a concussion, and a few unexplained memories.
Her eyes opened slightly.
I froze.
Something was wrong.
Her brown eyes were no longer brown.
For one brief, impossible moment, the darkness inside her pupils seemed to swallow everything around them. The soft brown disappeared until her eyes looked almost completely black.
She stared directly at me.
But she wasn't looking at me.
It was as though she were looking through me.
Then her eyes rolled backward.
Her hand went limp.
"Jennie."
The doctor rushed to her side.
"Jennie?"
He checked her pulse immediately, then her breathing. He carefully lifted one of her eyelids and shone a small light into her eye.
I remained beside the bed, staring at her.
Her body had become completely still.
"Doctor."
"She's breathing normally."
He placed his stethoscope against her chest.
"Her heart rate is elevated, but it's coming down."
I looked at Jennie.
The darkness was gone.
Her pupils were completely normal.
As though I had imagined it.
As though my senses had betrayed me.
"What happened?" the doctor asked.
"She suddenly held my hand and went limp."
He frowned and examined her again.
"Nothing abnormal now."
Mark stood near the door. Samantha remained beside him.
Neither of them had heard what Jennie whispered.
Good.
I wasn't ready to explain anything.
He's coming back.
For me.
The doctor adjusted the blanket around Jennie's shoulders.
"Blood pressure is stable. Respiration is normal. No seizure activity. Her pupils are responding properly. She should wake soon."
A sharp vibration came from my pocket.
I reached inside and pulled out my phone.
Work.
My jaw tightened.
I answered.
"Jacob."
The voice on the other end immediately launched into an explanation.
I listened without interrupting, my attention still fixed on Jennie.
The woman lying on that bed looked so ordinary.
So fragile.
So human.
"Handle it," I said.
There was a pause.
My expression hardened.
"No. I'll deal with it myself."
I ended the call.
Mark looked toward me.
"Problem?"
"Work."
I glanced at the doctor.
"Stay with her."
He nodded.
"Of course."
I turned toward the door.
Samantha and Mark followed.
Before leaving, I looked back.
Jennie hadn't moved.
Her eyes remained closed, her breathing quiet and steady.
There was something unsettling about the way she looked so peaceful.
She had spent the last few minutes fighting something only she could see.
And somehow, I had become part of it.
I didn't understand why that bothered me.
I only knew that it did.
Mark closed the door behind us.
We walked toward the elevator, the sound of our footsteps echoing through the quiet hallway.
Samantha broke the silence.
"Is she going to be okay?"
I kept walking.
"She'll wake."
She looked at Mark, perhaps expecting him to say more.
He didn't.
Neither did I.
The elevator doors opened.
We stepped inside.
As the doors slid shut, I stared at my reflection in the polished metal.
My hand still carried the faint scar of Jennie's fingers.
I flexed it once.
Then my skin went back to normal.
The elevator descended.
By the time we reached the lobby, David was already waiting beside the car.
He opened the door.
"Destination, sir?"
"Office."
I entered the vehicle.
Mark and Samantha followed, and the car pulled away almost immediately.
The ride was quiet and fast.
The city blurred beyond the tinted windows, buildings and headlights becoming nothing more than streaks of movement.
Normally, I would have been reviewing the situation at work.
Instead, my mind kept returning to the same moment.
Jennie's hand around mine.
Her trembling body.
The tear on her cheek.
Those impossible eyes.
He's coming back.
My fingers curled against my palm.
Whoever he was, Jennie knew him.
And whatever he had done to her, her body remembered even if her conscious mind didn't.
The car eventually slowed before the towering glass structure that housed my company.
The skyscraper rose above the surrounding buildings, its elaborate architecture reflecting the afternoon light. Employees moved through the entrance in hurried streams, some stopping to greet us before quickly continuing on their way.
The moment I stepped inside.
Staff straightened.
Greetings followed us down the polished hallway.
Some people tried not to stare.
Others lowered their heads and moved aside before I even reached them.
I ignored all of it.
My mind was elsewhere.
We entered my private office.
The large wooden door carried my name in engraved lettering.
Inside, everything was exactly where I had left it, except the desk.
Documents covered the surface.
Messages had accumulated across my phone while I had been at the hotel.
I removed my jacket and placed it over the back of the chair.
Mark stepped forward.
"I'll handle the reports."
"Do it."
He gathered the files.
I took the waiting call.
The matter was resolved within minutes.
My voice remained calm throughout the conversation, even though my thoughts kept drifting back upstairs.
When I finally ended the call, silence filled the office.
My gaze shifted toward the door.
"Sir?"
Mark looked up from the documents.
"Call Lily."
He reached for his phone.
"I'll—"
"I'll do it."
I took out my phone and dialed.
She answered almost immediately.
"Jacob?"
"Where are you?" I asked
"The hotel."
"Go to my room."
There was a slight pause.
"Why?"
"Monitor Jennie."
"Jennie?"
"She fell. She's unconscious."
Lily's voice immediately changed.
"Is she recovering?"
"Yes."
My eyes lowered to the desk.
"But I'm not sure how long she'll remain unconscious."
There was silence on the other end.
"Okay."
"Stay with her."
"Of course."
"Don't leave the room."
"I won't."
I ended the call.
Mark was watching me.
"You want Lily stationed upstairs?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
"Understood."
I returned my attention to the desk.
"Now…"
I pulled the nearest file toward me.
"The report."
Mark opened the second folder.
He began speaking, explaining everything that had happened while I had been away.
I listened.
I answered when necessary.
I made decisions.
I dealt with the business waiting for me.
But somewhere in the back of my mind, I could still feel the faint pressure of Jennie's fingers around mine.
And I couldn't forget the look in her eyes.
Because I had spent centuries learning to recognize emotions .
She had been afraid of someone coming back for her.
And for reasons I couldn't yet understand, the thought of that someone finding her again bothered me far more than it should have.
Upstairs, Jennie remained beneath the doctor's watch.
And for the first time in a very long time, I found myself impatient for someone to wake,
I want answers only she can provide.