He Thought I'd Forget Novel by Elena Grey _ Novel




He Thought I'd Forget Chapter 01

Everyone in the neighborhood knew that I—Dr. Malcolm Chawner's wife—suffered from retrograde amnesia. My memory was permanently stuck seven years in the past.
So, when I ran into Malcolm in the elevator with a pregnant woman on his arm, I simply stepped aside without a word.
He froze, instinctively pulling his arm away from her.
"Do you know her, Dr. Chawner?" the woman asked.
Malcolm looked at me with a conflicted expression. "Yes, we used to be neighbors."
When the elevator doors opened, I was the first to push the stroller out.
His footsteps followed behind me, soft and hesitant. "Do you remember what happened today?"
I shook my head. "I can't even remember what happened yesterday."
He let out a sigh of relief, then crouched down to play with the baby in the stroller.
"Your son is adorable," he said.
"Thank you."
Before he stood to leave, he gave me one last look—as if saying a final goodbye.
I pushed the stroller slowly back home.
From my bag, I pulled out the diary I had hidden for three years, turned to the latest page, and recorded every word of our conversation today.
At the bottom, I wrote, "He is expecting a child with someone else.
"If he no longer wants the baby or me, then this marriage is over."
***
"The child she's carrying is yours, isn't it?" I asked, looking at Malcolm with a blank expression.
His face stiffened, and he stared at me in confusion.
"Honey, what are you talking about?"
I watched the evasion in his eyes and repeated myself.
"In the elevator, Meredith Feld is pregnant with your child."
His expression shifted several times before finally settling back into his usual gentleness.
"So what if she is? Honey, you won't remember any of this when you wake up tomorrow anyway.
"Once Meri gives birth, I'll bring the child home. You can just treat it like your own, okay?"
I couldn't believe these words were coming from Malcolm.
"That's your child with Meredith, not mine," I said, trembling with rage.
"Daph, don't be unreasonable."
He reached out to grab my arm, but I jerked away sharply. His hand hung frozen in mid-air, yet his voice remained steady, laced with that familiar mix of patience and manipulation.
"I know you've always wanted children, but with your condition...the doctor said the genetic risk is too high. We have no way of knowing if our child will end up like you.
"I'm doing this for your sake, and for the sake of the child."
My voice cracked as the tears started to fall.
"Malcolm, if you were so ashamed of my illness, you never should have married me in the first place.
"And now you're still trying to lie to me with this nonsense."
The tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. I didn't care how I looked to him anymore; I simply stared at this stranger Malcolm had become with my reddened eyes.
"This is called cheating. You just won't admit it. All this time, you haven't been loving me—you've just been pitying me in your own arrogant way."
The mask of tenderness on Malcolm's face crumbled, replaced by irritation and a flash of disgust.
He frowned, closing in on me until he had me backed against the wall.
"Enough!"
He cut me off with a sharp sigh.
"Daphne Erridge, can't you be reasonable for once? I try to explain things, but you refuse to listen. I keep telling you this is for your own good! Why is that so hard for you to understand?
"It's exhausting talking to you, do you know that? You don't trust me. What am I supposed to do? Force her to abort a child that's already formed? Do you have any idea how much that would hurt Meri?"
I didn't understand why Malcolm was angrier than I was. Wasn't he the one who betrayed me?
Did he think my memory loss gave him the right to twist right and wrong so confidently?
When he saw me choked up and unable to argue, my eyes raw from crying, his voice softened back into that familiar, gentle tone. He pulled me into his arms.
"Daph, I know you've always listened to me. Look at yourself—you're being hysterical. What happened to the poise and grace expected of my wife?"
I had no idea how he could say something so cruel. He was a stark contrast to the man I remembered.
The Malcolm in my mind was still the version of him from seven years ago, back when we were deeply in love.
It felt like my heart had been torn open, raw and bleeding; even breathing brought a searing pain.
I stumbled away from him and pulled out the suitcase I had already packed.
"Malcolm, we're done."
My voice shook violently, and heavy tears splattered onto the floor.
"I'm taking my child. I want a divorce."
He let out a scornful laugh, as if he'd just heard something ridiculous.
"Take him and leave? Daphne, where on earth do you think you can go?"

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