Womanizer (Spoilt) (21 page)

Sile
nce followed. Nathan and Jared - who had since joined them with Charlotte - saw the signs of Mitch being about to have a meltdown. His usual relaxed manner had been replaced by clenched fists and a thin-lipped expression.

“That son of a bitch!”
Mitch shouted, startling other loved ones in the room waiting for news. “He’s lucky he’s dead or I would kill him myself.”

The black look in hi
s eyes needed to be controlled, as his brothers were all too aware. Mitch might be a laid back person under normal circumstances but on the rare occasions he became angry, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

“Let’s go and get some air,” Jared suggested. When Mitch couldn’t be persuaded, his brothers took one arm each and guided him with gentle force towards the exit. “Charlotte, will you stay and let us know when they bring her back?” She nodded her assent with a worried frown.

Once outside, Mitch stomped his way around the small, private grassed area they located outside the hospital. His anger simmering inside was ready to explode like a volcano.

“Mitch,” Nathan said, “
try and calm down. You need to be there for her and you’re no good like this.”

Mitch didn’t reply, just continued to pace, hands clenched and jaw tight. Jared took him by the shoulders and waited for Mitch to meet his eyes. Growing up, Jared had been the only one who could calm Mitch’s storm.

“You need to calm down, Mitchell.”

“Take your hands off me, Jared.”

In a vain attempt Mitch tried to pull away but Jared gripped tighter. If he let him go now Jared couldn’t be sure of exactly what Mitch would do.

“Being angry is not going to help her through this. I know how hard this is, but you have to pull yourself together.
For her and for Jesse.”

The anger dissipated from Mitch’s eyes and was replaced with despair. Although this wasn’t an improvement, at least he wouldn’t hurt himself or destroy anything now.

“Thanks, Jared,” Mitch said before hugging his brother. “I’ll be OK. I’m ready to face whatever happens. I kind of lost my head there for a moment.”

“Happens to us all.”

Chapter Twenty Four

Strangers

Jared and Mitch were almost back to the intensive care ward when they ran into Charlotte.

“I was just coming to find you. Isabelle’s back in her room.”

“Has anyone updated Carol yet?” Mitch asked.

“I’ll do it if you want,” she said.

“Thanks, Charlotte. That would be great. I can’t imagine what she’s going through right now.”

Mitch assured them he would be alright and there was no point in them hanging around as he would be sitting with Isabelle. Once they felt certain he was sure, they both left. Summoning all of his strength, he prepared himself for what he could be about to see.

Upon entering her room
, he realized nothing could have prepared him. Her pallor was much whiter than before and the were several more tubes and extra equipment connected to her. The slow hiss of the rise and fall of the machine helping her breath would be something he would never forget. When he sat beside her and took her hand, it was still cold. Leaning forward, he stroked her cheek, hoping the physical contact would help.

All night he sat awake in vigil
at her bedside, watching, waiting for her to open her eyes. Memories flooded his mind and he hoped with all he had they wouldn’t be the only ones he would ever have. Her condition remained stable and gave him a glimmer of hope. The doctor had said if she pulled through the night then she had a chance.

When
Dr Greene came to see her in the morning, he advised Mitch that her surviving the night was an excellent sign but his concern over her prolonged lack of response to stimuli dampened Mitch’s hope again.
Keep talking to her
, the doctor had said,
it might help.

Carol had mentioned a book that Isabelle had started to read
, so Mitch had located it amongst her belongings at her apartment and it now sat on the table beside the bed where he’d placed it the previous day. He picked it up and began to read from the first page. When he came to the erotic parts he smiled at her choice of novel and pictured them playing out the scenes. He swore to himself that he make them a reality when she woke.

On the third day after Isabelle’s operation, Mitch hadn’t moved from her side except when the nurses persuaded him to use the staff facilities to shower and freshen up. He would be forever grateful for their courtesy and compassion. One of his considerate family members had also packed a bag of clean clothes for him.

Mitch spoke to her in a constant stream. Told her how much he loved her and recounted their time together. His hope diminished with each passing hour and began to fade almost completely. When her eyes seemed to flicker, as though trying to open, he wasn’t sure he’d actually seen it. His imagination was taking control of reality.

“Isabelle?” he asked her softly. “Can you hear me?”

She felt like she was swimming through a fog, and as light pierced through her closed eyes, she attempted to open them. It proved to be a struggle and her eyelids felt heavy as though they were weighted down, just like when fatigue overcomes you and you can’t keep them open. She couldn’t understand why she couldn’t force them open and why she felt like she’d slept for an eternity. Something was lodged in her throat. A warm pressure on her hand pacified her fear. Her head thumped out a sharp, piercing beat while one side of her body felt like someone had pounded her with a brick.

As she attempted again to open heavy eyes she heard an unfamiliar voice say her name. Although her vision blurred
, she could make out the owner of the deep, pleasant-sounding voice. An attractive blond with beautiful sky-blue eyes stared at her with relief. He also seemed to be the source of the warmth in her hand. Why was this stranger holding her hand? Where was she? Uneasy and confused, she attempted to pull her hand away from the stranger’s.

Mitch watched as her eyes flickered again. A low, muffled groan sounded deep in her throat. When her eyes opened, a tremendous relief washed over him. He’d never been happier to see her lovely green eyes. The look of surprise and confusion in her eyes concerned him but his relief overpowered his anxiety. When she tugged her hand away, however, he knew something wasn’t right. He leaned over and pressed the call button to alert the hospital staff. Dr Greene strode in with one of the nurses and smiled when he saw his patient was awake.

“Welcome back, Isabelle. We were getting a little concerned about you. Do you remember what happened?” She shook her head. “You’re in the hospital. You suffered a severe blow to the head and internal injuries
, both sustained from an accident. I’m going to remove the tube from your throat which will make you more comfortable.”

He instructed he
r to take a deep breath and breath out as he removed the tube. A profuse coughing followed, so the nurse assisted her with some water before administering pain medication. Once her coughing subsided, Dr Greene continued his evaluation of her condition.

“Do you remember who you are?”

“Yes, Isabelle Winters,” she rasped and paused to take several breaths before continuing. “Where’s my mum? Is Adrian here?”

Mitc
h’s heart lurched when he realized she was remembering another time, a time which definitely wasn’t the present. The doctor turned to Mitch with a questioning look.

“Adrian was Jesse’s father.”

“Who’s Jesse?” she asked.

“Your son, Isabelle,”
Dr Greene said.

“I don’t have a son. I’m a student.” Her voice started to sound frantic and confused. “Where’s Adrian?”

“Isabelle,” Dr Greene said in a calm voice, one Mitch didn’t think he could provide, “because of your head injury you are now experiencing post-traumatic amnesia. This is common with an injury of your magnitude. There is a possibility that your memories will come back over time but there is also the chance you will only remember some things. You may not remember anything at all. I don’t want to alarm you as it is early days yet and you have a long way to go.”

Her sharp intake of breath and
the plethora of emotions passing over her face almost stopped Mitch’s heart.

“Where are my mum and Adrian?”

“Your lost memories can be filled in over time. I don’t want to overwhelm you all at once as the stress could be detrimental to your recovery.”

“I want to know.”

“Your mum is upstairs on another ward. She was shot when a man kidnapped your son. Her wound was relatively minor and she will make a full recovery. Jesse, your son, was released but Anton abducted you in his place. You went off the South Coast Bridge in the car which ruptured your spleen. You lost consciousness and hit your head on some rocks when you swam to shore.”

Her eyes flicked from one person to the next as she digested the information. Mitch saw confusion rather than recognition when their eyes met for a brief moment.

“Oh … I can’t believe … this is so …” she stopped. “Adrian?”

Again
Dr Greene turned to Mitch and he knew he would have to give her the information that the doctor was unaware of.

“I’m sorry, honey but he was killed in a car accident when Jesse was a baby.”

“What?” Shock, grief and confusion forced a single tear down her cheek and Mitch ached to wipe it away, to wipe it all away. “Who are you anyway?”

Her
cold tone drove a knife into his already bleeding heart.

“We’ve just bought a house together and were about to move in when this all went down.”

“Adrian’s dead?” she whispered. “I’m a mother? Adrian ...”

Tears now streamed down her face. Mitch attempted to ignore his frustration and hurt by the ignorance of his words by her regarding their life together.

Isabelle struggled to get her head around what they were telling her. They’d only been friends, best friends from children, how was it possible they had a baby together? Now Adrian
was dead and she had a child, a child she didn’t even remember. An ache stormed through her chest and hollowed it out.
Adrian’s dead.
Then, to confuse her even further, there was this man claiming they had some kind of relationship. Frustration and confusion ensured she had no idea what to do next.

“I’ll be back to check on you a bit later, Isabelle,” the doctor said, breaking through her troubled thoughts. “Try to take it slow. This could take some time.”

“Thanks, Dr ...?”

“Greene.”

“Thank you, Dr Greene.” She offered a small smile.

“Don’t overload her,”
Dr Greene said to the stranger before he left.

“What is your name?” she asked the handsome stranger.

“Mitchell Montgomery.”

“How did we meet?”

“I was the photographer at a modeling shoot you were at.”

“What was I doing at a mode
ling shoot? Haven’t I finished my degree? Why aren’t I teaching?”

“You w
ere the model. You took up modeling to support your family after Adrian died. You didn’t finish your degree because of this.”

“Is this some kind of joke? Where is this son I’m supposed to have?”

Confusion turned to panic as she studied him and listened to his words. All of this was as unfamiliar to her as the stranger’s face.

“
Izzy, it’s not a joke. It would be a cruel one if it was. My brother and his wife are looking after Jesse. I’ll have them bring him in to see you if you would like.”

“I must be dreaming. This isn’t real.”

Silence followed as she absorbed the information. Perhaps seeing Jesse would help her recall all that has supposed to have occurred. It was reasonable to believe that she had lost her memory. Her head certainly hurt and she was in the hospital.

“Yes, I would like to see him.”

When Nathan arrived with Jesse half an hour later, Mitch decided he should warn Jesse about his mother’s condition before going in.

“Jesse,” he began crouching down so they were eye to eye, “before I take you in to see your mum, I have to talk to you about how she is. Sometimes when someone hits their head really hard they can forget things. At the moment your mum has forgotten things. She might not remember who you are but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. Do you understand?”

He nodded. “Will she remember me later?”

“We hope so.”

The rage inside simmered again and his fury over the damage Anton had caused threatened to boil over. Jesse, looking braver than his four years, told Mitch he was ready to see Isabelle.

Chapter Twenty Five

Memories

Thoughts swirled about Isabelle’s already muddled mind. How was all this possible? Why couldn’t she remember anything? She knew the medical reason for this but her frustration at lost memories left her feeling numb and sad. The shock of knowing Adrian had died and she’d already lived through it once already was crushing. She had a little boy that she didn’t even know. How difficult was it going to be for him? To have a mother
who didn’t recognize him. Furthermore it seemed she had formed a relationship with an incredibly sexy man and she couldn’t recollect any of their time together. He also seemed devastated by this. How deep were her feelings for this man?