Billionaire's Forgotten Love

“It’s not like good men just appear before me!” Esther was practically screaming. She vented in the back seat of the Rolls Royce to the only person she ever felt listened to her. Archie was her bodyguard, therapist and best friend rolled into one.

The giant of a man passively nodded his head, understanding her predicament. He would wait his turn to inject some reason into her rant.

Her father had been urging her to get married. He had recently just upped the stakes. Now her inheritance was on the line. If she didn’t get married, she would lose what was rightfully hers. The injustice of it all made her blood boil. She felt like she was living in the 1800s.

“It’s not like I’m decrepit. I’m still quite far away from my expiry date… I just don’t understand why he has to—”

Archie had taken his eyes off the road for only a second. He looked in the rearview mirror to show Esther that he was paying attention. When he looked back at the road, everything went to hell.

Esther’s voice was cut off by the whining sound of screeching tires. It all happened so fast.

She had been in such a mood when she first jumped into the car that putting on her seatbelt felt like an afterthought. That was a mistake, and she felt the consequences hit her hard. Literally.

Something had forced Archie to slam his massive foot on the brakes. Esther’s body was flung towards the front. Her acceleration was broken only by her head slamming into the passenger seat.

“Miss Clark! Are you okay?” Esther was his first concern as Archie turned around and checked for any signs of injury.

Esther grabbed the side of her throbbing head. “I’m good, but a little shaken. What the hell was that?”

Esther rubbed her temples as she moved back onto the seat. She peered forward out of the front of the car and noticed a man lying in front of the vehicle.

“Archie, what have you done? You hit someone?!” This was bringing back really terrible memories. She could feel her heart in her throat.

“He came out of nowhere! I looked away for a second!”

Esther threw up her hands as she struggled to reposition herself in the car. She got out and slowly walked towards the man on the ground, like that would somehow help the situation.

He was bleeding from his head. The twisted position of his body made Esther put her hand to her mouth.

“Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead!”

She only noticed Archie had gotten out when he rushed past her to inspect the man for himself.

“No! Don’t touch him, you don’t know how badly injured he is! Just call an ambulance,” Esther yelled out to an overzealous Archie.

Archie, who hadn’t noticed that he was bleeding from a cut on his lip, swiftly fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed 911.

Esther looked around for anything that might tell her who the hell they had just hit. It would be just her luck if this was some politician’s wayward son.

She stretched her neck to get a good look at him. He was holding a piece of paper that she had to squint to read. ‘Thomas Baxt…’ that’s as much as she could see.

Luckily, the ambulance came swiftly. This was a relief to Esther, who didn’t know how much longer she could stand to look at the crumpled image.

She told Archie to drive like a madman and follow the ambulance back to St. Alexandra hospital. It was the least she could do. It wasn’t her fault, but she felt responsible for him.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, the paramedics had already loaded him onto a stretcher and pushed him inside.

Esther stood in the waiting room, not knowing what to do next. This room was a familiar sight to her and Archie. They had spent hours here, waiting for news of her father. This felt like déjà vu.

“Excuse me, Miss.” The police came from nowhere. Two men in blue were on either side of her. It was just too much like the last time. “We’d like to ask you some questions about the accident.”

Folding her arms, Esther braced herself and nodded. Archie stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder. They were so close that he knew when she was struggling. He was ready to take one for the team.

“Don’t worry, Esther. I was driving the car, so I’m more familiar with the situation. Let me give them my statement instead.”

Archie walked side by side with the officers as he recounted the event.

“Are you related to the patient?”

Where did all these people keep coming from?

Esther had just tried to make herself comfortable when a woman in a white coat approached her. She was hoping to hear news about the man. If he died, she needed to know first so she could mitigate the press.

“Sorry? No… I’m not related to him. I was the one who made the 911 call.” Nerves got the better of her as she rubbed her hands together. They were clammy and full of sweat.

“So you have no idea how he got those bruises. He’s covered in them. They’re pretty old, so they can’t be from the accident.” The doctor made a note on her clipboard.

“No, I’m sorry. I have no idea. Do you know how he is?”

“You want the good news or the bad news?”

“Ah… just give it to me straight.”

“Well, because of your quick action, he’s out of the woods. He’s likely to make a full recovery. The bad news is that he’s currently in a coma. The police found no ID on his body and he didn’t have a phone. Do you have any way we can contact his relatives?”

“I really wish I could be of more help.”

The doctor looked weary as she spoke again. “Well, someone has to pay for this. We have to put him on life support, and the bills won’t be cheap. Without confirmation from his family, we can’t get the go-ahead.”

“I’ll pay for it, as long as he needs it. Just please, keep him alive!”

Money, Esther had in abundance. Her reputation, however, did not need another knock. She had spent years rebuilding it after the last fiasco.

All she could see were those God-forsaken headlines. ‘Billionaire heiress knocks down homeless man’. Her father’s heart would not be able to take it.

Archie walked over with a disposable cup in hand.

“Y’know, he dashed out of nowhere. I took my eyes off for just a second…”

“It’s not your fault, Archie. We’ll get through this. We always do.”

Archie nodded. They had been through a lot together, and somehow they always came out on the other side. Esther was the little sister he had always wanted.

Esther took a sip from her cup. “Look kid, if the guy’s in a coma, there’s no point in waiting here. The doctors will call us if there’s any news. Let’s sign the paperwork and get out of here. No offense, but you’re a mess.”

After signing the paperwork, she made the doctor promise to call her with any updates. Archie put his arm around her shoulder and walked her out of the hospital doors.

***

A week later, in room 308, the man slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was his head. The sharp ache was overwhelming.

A nurse entered the room. It had taken him a while to realize he was in a hospital.

“Sir, please don’t try to get up. You have some serious injuries.”

“Who are you? Where am I? Everything hurts.” Despite the pain, his eyes stared straight through her.

“You’re in the hospital. You’ve been in quite the accident, and you’ve been in a coma for about a week. Do you know of any family we can call?” She knew the guy was sick, but his stare made her nervous.

“Family? Do I have a family?”

The question took the nurse by surprise. “You’ll have to tell me, Sir.”

“You don’t know who I am?”

“Should I?”

“I don’t know.” He spoke so quietly that she almost didn’t hear him. The nurse suddenly realized the gravity of the situation.

“There might be someone who can help. There was a woman and an older gentleman that brought you in. Let’s start with them and see if that helps, okay?”

The man simply nodded. When he was sure that the nurse was far enough away, he tried to stand.

He finally made it to his feet and found they could hardly carry his weight. He wasn’t that big, was he? No, just weak. He almost had to remind his legs how to walk.

He got to the mirror, took a deep breath, and stared at his reflection. Behind the bruises was a man he did not recognize staring back at him.

---

Esther’s phone started ringing. She stared at the number and her heart dropped. She didn’t know how much more she could take this week.

First, the car accident. Her publicist kept reporting that there had been nothing in the press, but every second that man lay in a coma was crucial.

If that wasn’t bad enough, her father had taken a turn for the worst mid-week. Everything was crumbling.

Was this it? Was her father lost forever? Did she really have no family left in this world?

“Hello... Yes, it’s Esther speaking. Is my father…?” Esther spoke first, anxiously trying to get the news.

Archie, who had been making coffee in the next room, peaked his head around at the mention of her father.

“Hello, Miss Clark. We’re actually calling about the patient involved in the car accident last week. He’s awake now, but… there are some complications. It would be best if we could speak to you directly.”

Esther breathed a sigh of relief. Everything really was going to be okay.

“I’ll be on my way over. We’ll talk when I arrive. Thank you.” She smiled in Archie’s direction so he could take a breath. “Get the car ready! Mr. John Doe is awake!”

The trip to the hospital passed in a blur. She walked in so fast that she nearly ran into the doctor in front of the reception.

“Easy, Miss Clark. Thank you for coming in. We spoke earlier.”

“Yes, how is he?”

“Physically, he’ll be fine. However… there seems to be a lapse in his memory.”

“What do you mean by a lapse in his memory? So he doesn’t remember the accident?”

Esther couldn’t help the thought that this might work in her favor. She could feed him any story she wanted and he might not try to sue her for damages.

She needed to make sure that she and Archie got their stories straight through. As far as they were concerned, this was his fault, one hundred percent.

“It goes beyond that. It seems he can’t remember anything at all. Not even his name,” the doctor replied.

“We’ve checked with the police and even they can’t find anything on him. For now, he’s like a ghost. We’ll keep him for observation for the time being, but once we discharge him, it’s dangerous for someone like him to be alone. This is a lot to ask, Miss Clark, but—”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

The doctor was cut off mid-sentence by another call on Esther’s phone. Reception was calling. This time, her worst fears were confirmed. She answered and tears welled up in her eyes as she turned and ran towards the nearest elevator.

Her father needed her…