Leon and Vicente turned their heads mechanically toward each other and exchanged glances.
'What did she just say?'
'Did she just say that Noah was her husband?'
'Who was John then?'
'I have no idea.'
'What's wrong with her?'
'I don't know either.'
Leon felt his scalp start tingling. Did giving birth somehow messed up Nina's memories?
If John had heard what she said just now, he would go mad.
Still stunned, Leon could not utter another word.
"Nina, what did you just call Noah?" asked Vicente tentatively as she flew past the shock.
Thinking that the two were acting strangely, Nina knitted her brows. "Noah is my husband. Don't you know that?"
This time, both Leon and Vicente could not stand it anymore.
Surprise and panic flashed through their eyes. For a moment, they did not know what to do.
They had never encountered such a situation.
Nina still remembered them, but she had John and Noah mixed up somehow. This was unbelievable.
Leon took two deep breaths and started pacing back and forth in front of his sister.
Vicente swallowed and thanked all the gods that John and Noah were not in the room.
Otherwise, the two men would have fought.
"What's wrong?" Nina asked.
"Nothing," Vicente answered quickly and then took out her phone. She had to confirm something.
"Do you recognize this man?" Vicente showed Nina a photo of John. "Who is he to you?"
Leon nervously watched the scene unfold before him. He was so anxious that his palms began sweating.
John's handsome face came into Nina's view. His angular features were like a godly masterpiece, and his dark eyes were colder than the winter breeze.
Nina's formerly gentle expression twisted into an agonized snarl. She pounded her chest with her fist, her face turning deathly pale. She felt like a huge boulder was slowly but steadily pressing on her heart.
Then, a splitting headache almost blinded her on the spot.
"Ouch! It hurts! It hurts!" Nina screamed. Every nerve in her brain seemed to snap and throb all at once, sending a wave of debilitating pain all over her body.
She held onto the sides of her head as if keeping them from popping clean of her shoulders.
"It hurts! Leon, please make it stop!" Nina let out a broken scream, and beads of sweat started gathering on her forehead.
She slapped away Vicente's phone and then held her head tightly with both hands.
Nina's sudden reaction to John's photo caught Leon and Vicente off guard. His sister's wail broke Leon's heart, so he immediately rushed over to her and hugged her tightly.
"Nina, I'm here. I'm here." Leon turned to Vicente nervously. "Go get the doctor! Now!"
Vicente nodded and ran out.
As soon as she arrived at the door, she bumped into John and Noah who hurried over when they heard Nina scream.
Fortunately, there were no other patients on this floor. Otherwise, they would have been awakened by the commotion.
"What's wrong? Is Nina okay?"
"What happened?"
When John and Noah were about to rush in, they heard Leon scream, "Don't let him in!"
Leon thought, 'If she sees John in person, the pain will surely kill her.'
Leon held Nina in his arms and pressed her head against his chest to prevent her from moving. Nina tightly grasped his waist, her fingernails digging into his flesh like sharp blades.
Vicente's words were like a bomb to John's ears. They went off so suddenly that he did not even have the chance to duck for cover.
With his eyes wide open, John turned to look at Vicente, trying to find a hint of a joke on her face.
He thought, 'Anyone who makes such a joke deserves to die!'
He clenched his fists so tightly that blue veins started popping out on the backs of his hands.
But Vicente had a serious expression. John gritted his teeth and asked what Vicente meant.
"When Nina woke up, she asked about her husband. Leon and I thought she was looking for you, but then she said she was looking for..." After a pause, Vicente continued, "Noah."
John's eyes started to look like two bottomless abysses. His knuckles popped as he balled his fists.
John signaled to Vicente to go on. If she dared to talk nonsense, he would bash her face in.
This time, Vicente was not afraid anymore because she was telling the truth.
"I tested her to make sure that there was nothing wrong with her memories. I showed her your photo and asked her if she recognized you. As soon as she saw your picture, she screamed and complained of a splitting headache. That's why Leon didn't let you in."
Hearing this, John stood still. Not even his facial muscles twitched.
Only his fists balled up tighter and tighter.
His shadow reflected on the white wall, shrouded in dead silence.
"John, are you okay?" Vicente could not help asking.
Anyone who put themselves in John's shoes would be heartbroken right now.
Boom!
Without saying anything, John punched the white wall. Fresh red blood flowed down the wall, streaking his shadow with dark red lines.
The sound of the impact echoed through the quiet corridor.
"It finally happened." Keeping his bloody knuckles on the wall, John spoke with trembling lips. His voice came out a little broken as if he was stifling his sobs.
What he had been worried about finally happened.
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