CHAPTER 4~DON'T GO

IMANI

"Don't go." Dominique voiced as I signed the last piece of paper before placing it on the hospital bed.

I turned to him, confused. "Don't go where?"

"Home," he replied.

I frowned, and he sighed. "Don't go home; don't go to him."

"He's not at home."

"Does it matter? He called you and didn't care to listen to what you had to say. Didn't even act like what you saw last night mattered and instead he's ordering you around. Asking you to go cater to his mother's needs. You're not his maid."

I appreciate Dominique's concern for me, even though I know it didn't come from a place of genuine care. He is the type of man who finds your weakness, then sinks his teeth into that one spot and doesn't let up until he bleeds you dry. I've known him since before I met Louis. I know the type of man Dominique is; the reason he approached me all those years ago was because of my father's empire. Knowing what he would gain from being with me. I had seen through his lies and turned him down. It's been almost a decade now and the man still doesn't know when to take a step back. I was married to his nephew for god's sake.

"Imani, you can't possibly be considering going back to a man who cheated on you and you saw with your own eyes," he hissed as I stepped into the hospital's elevator.

That was the problem, though. The one he didn't know. I only know that Louis cheated on me because Dominique is saying it; I have no memory of it happening. Every time I try to remember the events from last night, that particular moment when I open the door of the bedroom becomes a blur. It's blank; there is nothing. Dominique claimed I saw Louis and his PA but how can I be sure that I did when I don't have any recollection of it happening?

Even if the images come now, I can't trust my memory. They could be images my brain was putting up because Dominique had been putting the idea in my head. I knew I remembered something jarring after he walked into my hospital room. The same thing I couldn't remember when the nurse asked me what I could remember from last night.

I could've sworn I had a recollection of that memory when Dominique started talking and then the call with Louis had happened. I was stressing over his reaction and everything went blank. Like someone had wiped that one memory clean.

"Imani," Dominique grabbed my arm as I walked out of the hospital. "Listen to me."

"And do what?" I snapped, letting my annoyance take over. "Not go home to my husband? What do you expect—that you'll lie to the hospital that I am your wife and I'll go home with you? How fucking pathetic," I sneered and he sighed.

"I told you why I lied to them. I had to sign some papers and they wouldn't have let me if they thought I was a stranger to you."

"You should've called my husband and let him know that I was being admitted. You only had to lie because you took me to a different hospital."

"I called him."

"You expect me to believe that? You don't like him. You've always hated him but your hatred for him grew when you found out I had chosen to be with him instead of you. You think I believe that you're that good of a person to call him?"

"See for yourself," he said through clenched teeth, handing me his phone.

I tried to hide my emotions as I went through his call logs, seeing the number of times he called my husband and Louis didn't respond.

"I—you weren't lying," I sighed in defeat as I handed him the phone.

"I am many things, Imani. A con artist, a businessman, a manipulator, a liar to men whose money I want to ruin. But I am none of those things to you. I may sugarcoat my words and badger you with my unwanted attention, but I'd never lie to you or manipulate you. Never, Imani."

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. I have to go home. I'll call my driver."

"I can't let you go back there, knowing you won't get to rest. The nurse said you needed to rest. And the doctor, remember what he said? He placed you on a diet; who is going to look after you at home?"

I eyed him with skepticism. "And who is going to look after me either way if I don't go home? You?"

"Yes," he answered boldly.

"You can't possibly be thinking I'd go home with you!" I asked, appalled at what he was implying.

"You need someone to look after you, Imani. Pending whenever you get better. I can take care of you. I'm not suggesting this because I have ulterior motives. I know I always have ulterior motives, but not this time, alright. I really do care about you. A lot. I don't need to manipulate you into coming to my place if I want to have you. I can think of better ways to play that game. But that isn't what this is. I am worried about you. Please come with me. If you don't trust me, you can stay at my place alone. I'll get an in-house nurse who will look after you until you're cleared."

"I—" Would it be asinine if I agreed to what he was proposing? I can't just agree to go home with another man. Knowing what his true intentions are about me. "You're my husband's uncle; what do you think people would say when they find out I absconded to live with you?"

"Nobody needs to know. I can assure you of that. And it's not going to be forever. Once you're healthy enough to confront Louis for his cheating, you can leave."

Confront Louis? What will I confront him with when I don't even have an accurate account of what happened anymore? I sighed. "It wouldn't matter anyway. I can't confront him, healthy or not."

"What do you mean?"

"Take me to your car; I'm tired."

"Why did you say you couldn't confront him? Are you just going to let this slide? That's not the Imani, I know from her college days." He opened the car door for me and I stepped in. Sighing as he walked around the car to get to the driver's seat.

"I can't. I don't re—." I stopped myself before I could say the words.

Silence stretched between us for a minute before Dominique spoke up. "You don't remember, do you?" He asked.

I felt the motion of my heart plummeting to my stomach. "Wha—what are you saying?"

"I know you have Dissociative amnesia," he dropped the news like it was nothing.

"What! How can you know? My records are private. No one knows about this except my husband, my late parents, and my doctor. It doesn't even come up in some of my hospital records."

"Louis might have let it slip when I confronted him about his affair with his PA and I threatened to tell you. He said I'd be wasting my time and he just had to convince you that it wasn't real. Slip you a few sleeping pills and you'll forget I ever told you."

"What?" My mouth hung open and my eyes widened. "What the hell!" I exclaimed, unable to believe my ears.