Chapter 139: Chapter 139 Moving Forward
Elara
Dominic and I raced to the hospital.
The moment I pushed open the door and saw my grandmother sitting up against the pillows, tears started streaming down my face.
"Grandma, you’re awake!" I almost launched myself at her.
Elizabeth felt the warmth on her shoulder and patted my back gently. "Is that Elara?"
"It’s me!" I lifted my head, wiping away tears as I looked at her sweet face. My voice cracked. "Grandma, don’t you recognize me?"
"Of course I do." Elizabeth smiled softly. "How could I not recognize you?"
Dominic had followed me into the room. He stood quietly by the wall, not interrupting our reunion.
Elizabeth’s puzzled gaze landed on him. "Elara, who is this young man?"
My heart sank. "Grandma, you don’t remember him?"
Dominic’s eyes showed concern, but he introduced himself calmly. "Hello, Grandma. I’m Dominic. I’m Elara’s husband."
"We’ve met before. You might have forgotten."
Elizabeth looked completely lost. "Oh, we have?"
"Elara. Marriage is such a big thing. Why didn’t you tell Grandma?"
Both Dominic and I were shocked by her words.
He gave me a gentle shake of his head. "I’ll go find the doctor."
I didn’t understand why Grandma couldn’t remember Dominic. Maybe she’d forgotten other things too.
"Grandma, do you remember what I do for work?"
Elizabeth looked thoughtful. "Elara, didn’t you say you work as a secretary at a big company?"
"You told Grandma the pay was good and the work wasn’t too hard. You said you were happy there. Did you change jobs?"
It hit me then. Grandma hadn’t just forgotten Dominic. Her memory was stuck years in the past.
She’d forgotten everything from recent years.
I kept smiling, not trying to explain.
A nurse came in just then, and I asked her to stay with Grandma for a moment. Then I headed to the doctor’s office.
I could hear the doctor talking to Dominic before I even reached the door.
"The patient just woke up, and we’ve noticed some memory loss. She had a heart attack, which meant her brain didn’t get enough oxygen for a while. That could have caused some damage."
"But given her age, I think she’s developed Alzheimer’s. It’s degenerative. She’ll have memory issues, confusion, trouble speaking. The worst part is she might forget things that just happened, or her memory could be stuck years in the past. There’s no cure. She needs constant supervision and should always carry ID."
My stomach dropped through the floor.All the happiness from seeing Grandma awake just vanished.
Dominic noticed me standing in the doorway. "This happens a lot with elderly people. We’ll spend more time with her. Once she’s feeling better, we’ll bring her home to live with us."
He tried to make me feel better, teasing, "If I have to, I’ll just introduce myself to Grandma every day."
My worried, broken heart found a little comfort. "Okay. Thank you."
I took a deep breath, forced a smile, and walked into the room. "Grandma, Dominic and I came to see you!"
"Dominic!" Elizabeth seemed to remember Dominic again. "Elara, how long have you and Dominic been together? When are you getting married?"
I felt sad inside, but kept smiling. "Grandma, we’re already married. In a few days, once you’re better, I’m taking you home. You’ve been living with us. You just forgot."
"Really?" Elizabeth wrinkled her forehead, thinking hard. But living with her granddaughter made her happy. "Alright then. Grandma will do whatever you think is best."
Three days later, the doctors checked my Grandma and agreed she could go home.
I learned all the care instructions and brought Grandma home with us.
Since Grandma was coming back, Dominic sent Orion back to his older brother.
We really didn’t have the energy to look after a child right now.
Orion left sadly, making Dominic promise to keep his room ready so he could visit on weekends.
I had Linda prepare a separate room for Grandma, with a nurse for nighttime care.
And because Grandma was here now, I had no choice but to move into the master bedroom with Dominic for now.
"Grandma, try Linda’s cooking. How do you like this egg salad?"
Elizabeth took a small bite and couldn’t help but praise it. "Delicious. Ha, this old woman is living like a queen with you two."
"Don’t say that." My eyes got watery. "Having you here makes me happy."
Elizabeth accepted the fact that her granddaughter and husband were together. She asked curiously, "Dominic, how many kids are you and Elara planning to have?"
My sweet moment crashed and burned.
My face turned red. "Grandma, we haven’t thought about that yet."
"Why not?" Elizabeth’s tone was serious. "Elara, having babies while you’re young is better for your body. Grandma’s been through this. I know better than you do!"
She suddenly studied the young man sitting across from us, then leaned close to my ear and whispered. "Tell Grandma the truth - is Dominic not... up to the task?"
Grandma probably thought she was being quiet, but everyone in the room heard her perfectly.
Including Annie, the nurse. Including Linda.
The room went dead silent.
Dominic coughed lightly. He looked genuinely offended.
I shook my head quickly. "Oh God, Grandma, no. He’s... perfectly fine. I’m just not ready yet. Grandma, we’ll figure this out, I promise."
"Good, good. As long as you have a plan!" Elizabeth dropped the subject.
At eight o’clock, after helping Annie get Grandma settled in bed, I didn’t know how to deal with going back to the bedroom with Dominic.
I grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and sat on the huge terrace, drinking slowly by myself.
Right now, I felt really peaceful.
Grandma was awake. I’d gotten my revenge. Everything was back to normal.
Warm breath tickled my ear as he asked in a low voice, "You told Grandma I was ’perfectly fine.’ Were you talking about my performance in bed?"
