Better Left Forgotten

After falling into the sea and losing my memory, I spent five agonizing years trapped in a filthy, isolated fishing village. For half a decade, I survived by digging through dumpsters and wrestling stray dogs for scrap leftovers. I was barely human, living more like a ghost than a person. Then came the sixth year. A team of bodyguards tackled me on the beach and dragged me right to a woman’s feet. She took one look at the scaly, rotting skin on my cheek and pinched her nose in disgust. She claimed to be my wife. Claimed she’d spent the last six years searching everywhere for me. Yet there wasn't a single spark of joy in her eyes when she saw me. She didn't care that I was reduced to skin and bones. She didn't bother asking why I walked with a severe limp. All she cared about was shoving me onto a private jet as fast as possible. They flew me straight to an elite private hospital. Lying in the ICU was a young man who bore a strong resemblance to me. The second the doctor announced that my tissue was a perfect match, a smile finally broke across the woman’s face. I overheard her cold, sharp voice whispering in the hall, "Well, Aiden, I guess you're finally good for something." In that exact moment, my lost memories came flooding back like a violent tidal wave. She hadn't spent six years searching for me out of love or desperation. Tessa Laurent had spent six endless years hunting me down for one single reason: to rip out my healthy kidney and give it to my half-brother. Chapter 1 The hospital room was a chorus of celebration over the miracle match. My dad stood off to the side, wiping away theatrical tears. "Thank goodness we finally tracked him down. Otherwise, what would have happened to my boy?" My wife, Tessa Laurent, gripped my half-brother Levi Cole's hand, tears of relief streaming down her face. "Levi, you're finally going to get your health back," she whispered. "You'll never have to be trapped in this hospital bed again." Levi let out a soft hum of agreement, shooting me a sharp, mocking look from across the room. That was the exact moment I finally found my voice. "I'm not doing it." Tessa whipped her head up, stunned. After carefully smoothing down Levi's blanket, she marched right over to me. Her hand came down hard across my face, the blow landing with a vicious crack. My left cheek burned with blinding agony, and the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth. Tessa glared down at me, her voice dropping into a dangerous, icy hiss. "Say that again. I dare you." I kept my gaze locked downward, every single word heavy and deliberate. "I said, I’m not donating my kidney to some pathetic piece of trash." That single sentence shattered whatever patience she had left. She gave a subtle flick of her eyes. Instantly, bodyguards lunged forward, their iron grips slamming onto my shoulders and forcing me violently to the floor. The brutal impact of my knees hitting the hard tile sent shockwaves of pain through my entire body. I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached, refusing to let out a single groan. Tessa loomed over me like a predator, her gaze as cold as a blade. She crouched down, clamped her fingers tightly around my jaw, and forced my face up to meet her eyes. "Aiden, do you honestly think you have any right to say no to me? "If I hadn't bothered to search for you, you'd still be rotting away in some miserable fishing village! "Levi is your brother! It's just a single kidney. Why are you being so selfish?" Hearing her throw every insult at me while fiercely defending Levi made my chest tighten with a suffocating, stinging pain. Tessa knew damn well that my mother had died because of the mistress my father kept on the side and her illegitimate child. Yet here she was, trying to force me to save the child of the very woman who destroyed my mother. I refused to beg. "My mom only had me," I spat out. "What kind of brother is Levi to me?" Before the echo could fade, another sharp crack split the air. This time, it was my dad's hand. He looked at me with disgust. "How can you even say something like that to Levi? "Do you have any idea how many shots he's had to take these past few months? How many medications has he choked down? "Are you really going to let Levi die just to honor some dead woman?" Tessa nodded solemnly, her tone turning even more glacial. "It looks like you didn't suffer enough in that village," she said. She spun around, fixing her eyes on the guards waiting by the door. Chapter 2 "Force him down onto the floor and make him think about what he's done until he agrees to the donation. "Nobody is allowed to let him up, and he doesn't get a single drop of water or a bite of food without my permission." The bodyguards obeyed Tessa’s instructions instantly, shoving me down and pinning me hard against the floor. Inside the room, Levi watched my miserable state, a smug, triumphant smirk curling the corners of his lips. Meanwhile, my own biological father turned his head away in sheer disgust, looking at me as if I were something vile and filthy. Levi's smile only grew more arrogant. He cleared his throat and let out a tiny whine of pain. The moment he did, Tessa's blazing fury vanished, instantly replaced by a sickening tenderness. She smoothly peeled back the blankets and reached inside to gently massage Levi's lower back. "Just hold on a little longer, Levi," she cooed. "Once the transplant is done, you'll never have to hurt again." My dad eagerly rushed over, serving him water and fussing over him like a servant. I lowered my head, fighting desperately to swallow down the bitter, burning acid rising in my throat. Yet my tears still betrayed me, spilling down my face. … Six years ago, Levi didn't exist in my world. Back then, my parents were devoted to each other, and our family was happy. Tessa and I were deeply in love, our relationship rock solid. Then, on the day of our wedding, Levi burst through the doors brandishing his biological mother's cancer diagnosis, dropping to the floor, begging my dad to divorce my mom to fulfill a dying woman's final wish. Just as I thought Levi was nothing more than an unhinged lunatic, my father packed up and walked away with him. That day, my wedding turned into a catastrophic circus. My dad brought Levi and his mother straight into our home. The very first thing he said to my mother was that he wanted a divorce. When she refused, my dad locked her in the basement to starve her into submission. A fire broke out in that basement, and my mother was burned alive. Every single piece of evidence pointed directly to Levi, who had been wandering around in the middle of the night. Instead of investigating, my dad destroyed every piece of evidence and coldly warned me to never lay a hand on my own brother. The flames that devoured that basement burned away the very last shred of love I had left for my father. At the funeral, Tessa held me tight, swearing she would help me get revenge. At first, she kept that promise. She secretly splashed cold water on Levi and put tacks inside his shoes. Whenever Levi and I came to blows, she tossed aside her polished manners and jumped in to help me beat him back. As time passed, however, the hatred in her eyes when she looked at Levi gradually gave way to something resembling admiration. Her tone toward him changed, too, shifting from harsh contempt to a soft, patronizing pity. "Levi is really innocent in all of this," she would say. "Why take out the sins of the older generation on him? "Aiden, your mom is already gone. Can't you just let go of your hatred?" I brushed her words aside, foolishly believing she was just being too kind-hearted for her own good. That was until Levi texted intimate, private photos of Tessa straight to my phone, gloating about how amazing she was in bed. That night, I grabbed a kitchen knife, ready to drag him down to hell with me. Just as I raised my arm to strike, Tessa lunged forward and shoved me away with all her might. I tripped over the edge of the balcony and plunged straight down into the black ocean. I struck a jagged rock and lost my memory. Surviving by the shore was a waking nightmare. I had no idea who I was, and I certainly didn't know how to fish. I survived on scraps, picking at discarded fish bones just to keep starvation at bay. The limp in my right leg was a souvenir from a fishing trip where a shark had nearly torn it clean off. The memory slammed into me like a physical blow, snapping me back to reality as I gasped for air. The lights overhead were blindingly bright. Without me noticing, Tessa had slipped back into the room. She crouched beside me, holding out a steaming bowl of broth. "You haven't eaten all day," she murmured softly. "You must be starving." For a split second, hearing those words made me foolishly hope that the old Tessa, the girl who used to love me with her whole heart, had finally come back. Chapter 3 The words that followed next, however, plunged me straight into a freezing abyss. "Levi was the one who reminded me to bring this for you. "Look at him, always thinking of your well-being. Can't you open your heart and treat him a little better in return?" I stared down at the scraps floating in the thin broth, a sickening wave of nausea rolling through my stomach. "Tessa, you're feeding me Levi's leftovers. Do you even have a heart? "Or what, has it been six years and the Laurent Group is about to go bankrupt? You can't even afford a single bowl of fresh broth?" Tessa snapped to her feet, her face flushing with furious embarrassment as she splashed the hot broth in my face. "Why do you have to be so vicious with your words? Are you still holding a grudge because I shoved you back then? "I was only trying to protect you! If you had actually stabbed Levi, you would have ended up in prison. What was I supposed to do? "I spent six whole years looking for you! Can't you find it in your heart to forgive me?" Hearing her hypocritical words made me laugh until tears blurred my vision. The fishing village where I had been trapped was only thirty miles away from the city. With the vast resources of the Laurent family, even if she had dragged her feet, she could have tracked me down within a single month if she actually cared. Yet Tessa let six years pass, leaving me to burn under the harsh seaside sun for two thousand days and nights. During that time, she erased my existence from the media and threw a massive, public engagement party for Levi. Back when I still had my amnesia, I had caught a glimpse of them on a digital billboard, a picture-perfect couple smiling back at the world, and felt a strange, piercing ache in my chest. At the time, I didn't know that specific ache was the agony of losing everything. I pointed a shaking finger toward the door. "Get out. Get as far away from me as you possibly can!" Tessa loomed over me, her gaze freezing cold and terrifying. "Aiden, no matter how much of a tantrum you throw, I’m getting that kidney. "The doctor already said it. In three days, once your strength is back up, we'll do the surgery!" Without waiting for my answer, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. A few moments later, cheerful laughter drifted over from the adjoining room. It was Tessa and Levi, excitedly planning their post-recovery honeymoon vacation. A violent coughing fit wracked my body, my chest burning as though something inside me were tearing apart. Suddenly, a warm, metallic taste filled the back of my throat. I instinctively slapped a hand over my mouth. When I pulled my hand away, bright crimson blood smeared across my palm. Instead of panicking, a bitter laugh escaped my lips. Tessa had no idea that I had been diagnosed with early-stage stomach cancer six years ago. Back in the fishing village, frequent nosebleeds and stabbing stomach cramps had become my normal. As my memories were erased and I had no money to seek treatment, I had simply gritted my teeth and pushed through the pain. After six miserable years without treatment, I knew I had little time left. … Waiting until the bodyguards let their guard down, I climbed out of the window, dropped to the ground, and escaped. The drop from the second floor onto the grassy lawn wasn’t too bad, but it aggravated the old injury in my crippled leg. With nowhere else to go, I limped all the way back to the house I used to call home. Mrs. Morgan, the housekeeper who had raised me since I was a child, was still working there. After all those years apart, her hair had turned noticeably grayer. The moment she laid eyes on me, she recognized me instantly. Pulling me into a tight embrace, her eyes welled up with tears. "Thank God you're back," she choked out. "Let me whip you up something good to eat right now." Taking advantage of her trip to the kitchen, I slipped upstairs to the second floor. All of my favorite books had been thrown out long ago, replaced by rows of expensive collector models. My old art studio had been converted into a personal rock-climbing wall for Levi. Even my former master bedroom had been completely overhauled into the shared suite for Levi and Tessa. I pulled open the nightstand drawer and found a crumpled wrapper from an opened box of condoms. I had known for a long time that they were together. Yet seeing the undeniable proof with my own eyes still felt like a knife twisting in my chest. Chapter 4 I let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. Another violent wave of agony ripped through my stomach. Blood suddenly dripped from my nose, staining the freshly printed divorce papers. I grabbed a pen, signed my name at the bottom, and left the document resting on the nightstand. When I limped back into the kitchen, Mrs. Morgan walked out holding a plate of pasta. The moment she caught sight of my pale face and the blood smeared across my hands, she nearly dropped the plate in absolute terror. "Oh dear! Aiden, what on earth happened to you?!" I forced a weak smile onto my face and shook my head. "It's nothing, Mrs. Morgan. Just an old issue." "What do you mean an old issue?! You're bleeding! No, we’re going to the hospital right now!" Hearing the genuine worry in her voice sent a rare flicker of warmth through my frozen chest. Even a housekeeper with no blood relation to me cared whether I lived or died, while my own biological father only wanted to march me to my execution. "No, I'm not going." I caught her hands, pouring every ounce of remaining strength into my plea. "Mrs. Morgan, please. I'm begging you, don't let them take me to the hospital. "After I finish the meal, I just want to visit my mom's grave." I took the plate from her hands and wolfed the food down as fast as I could. The burning heat of the pasta filled my empty stomach, dulling the sharp claws of pain just a fraction. Mrs. Morgan chatted softly as she stood beside me. She rattled off all the devastating changes that had torn through the household over the years, venting about how my dad treated Levi like precious gold and how Tessa had stepped in to rule the house like a tyrant. Mid-sentence, she caught herself, her eyes widening in panic as she anxiously checked my reaction. Before either of us could say another word, a set of tires shrieked outside in a brutal, ear-piercing halt, followed instantly by Tessa's shrill voice tearing through the air. "Aiden! Get your ass out here right now!" She had figured out where I ran off to. Color drained completely from Mrs. Morgan's face, and she instinctively stepped in front of me to shield me with her own body. I gently patted the back of her hand to reassure her, then stepped past her into the main foyer. Tessa burst through the double doors with a mob of guards trailing behind her, her teeth bared in pure venom. "The surgery is right around the corner. What the hell do you think you're doing running all over town? "I'm telling you right now, even if you run to the ends of the earth, I’ll hunt you down and drag you back to give Levi your kidney!" My dad marched in right behind her, his face twisted in rage. "You ungrateful monster! Levi's life can't wait! You’re coming back with us right this second!" Levi let out a pair of weak, pathetic coughs, frail fingers clutching at the sleeve of Tessa's jacket as he put on a masterclass of understanding and grace. "Don't be too hard on Aiden, Tessa. He probably just couldn't process everything all at once. "I'll be fine. If it comes down to it, I just won't get treatment. Let me die instead!" Tessa stroked his cheek gently. Then she whipped her head up, glaring at me like a cornered, furious lioness as she shrieked. "Aiden, did you hear that? Levi is still pleading for you! How can you be so vicious and cold-blooded?" Watching them orchestrate this sickening little performance made my stomach turn with violent nausea. When Tessa saw that I remained completely unfazed, she turned her sharp, cruel sights straight onto Mrs. Morgan standing behind me. "Mrs. Morgan, you're fired. Pack your things and get out of this house today!" Hearing that, Mrs. Morgan collapsed to her knees on the marble floor in despair. "Tessa, please have mercy. My family is still depending on me. This job means everything. I'm begging you, don't fire me." Tessa let out a cold, mocking sneer. "Who told you to hide Aiden's location and fail to report it to me the second he showed up?" … The anger that had been simmering deep inside my chest for years suddenly boiled over like a volcano hit with a river of gasoline. I could stomach Tessa’s insults and endless cruelty. However, I would not let her destroy an innocent person who actually cared about me. "Mrs. Morgan didn't do a single thing wrong," I roared, stepping forward. "What right do you have to punish her? "She gave the best decades of her life to this family, taking care of me for over twenty years! "When you first married into this family, did Mrs. Morgan ever treat you with anything but kindness?" Chapter 5 Tessa recoiled a step, startled by the fierce, savage look in my eyes, but she quickly forced herself to stand tall and push back. "Aiden, stop acting like the good guy here! "Mrs. Morgan was only fired because of you, anyway. Who told you to be so disobedient?" I whipped my head around to face my dad. "Dad, is that what you think, too? "To save the man who killed your wife, you're willing to have your own son's kidney cut out! Are you even human?!" My dad's face drained of color under my roar, and he pointed a shaking finger right at my nose, red with furious embarrassment. "You ungrateful monster! Shut your mouth! Levi is my son, too!" Tessa snapped. She pointed straight at me, her expression twisted into pure cruelty. "Aiden, even if you have to die today, that kidney is staying with Levi! Guards! Tie him up and drag him back!" Mrs. Morgan tried to step forward and help me, but a single threat from Tessa froze her in her tracks. "If you dare take one more step, I'll make sure your son never finishes school." Mrs. Morgan froze, unable to meet my pleading eyes as she pulled back. The only person who cared about me had been cornered and forced away by their threats. Once I was securely tied up, Levi put on a sickening display of feigned innocence. "Tessa, what if he runs away again? "I think we need some leverage to keep him in line." As those words left his lips, a cold wave of panic gripped my chest. Levi smiled triumphantly. "Naturally, I mean Aiden's mom's ashes. "He loves his mom so much, surely he wouldn't want her ashes scattered into the open ocean." They dragged me straight to my mother's columbarium where my mother’s ashes were kept. The rough, uneven ground scraped raw against my already mutilated knees. Yet that physical agony was nothing compared to the anguish tearing through my soul. My eyes locked desperately onto the ceramic urn clutched in Levi's hands. Levi seemed to revel in the hollow, shattered look on my face. He deliberately hefted the urn in his hands, wearing a smile that was equal parts innocent and sadistic. "Aiden, look how nice I am to you. "I even brought you out to visit your dear mom whom you haven't seen in six years." My eyes burned with rage. "Levi, if you dare lay a finger on her, I swear..." He chuckled lightly. "Let's see what happens if I do." He made a sharp, theatrical motion as if to pop open the lid. "No!" I screamed, my voice completely shattered and hoarse beyond recognition. Tessa crossed her arms, watching the spectacle with cold indifference. "Who told you to be so difficult? Levi is just making sure you finally learn to listen." Hearing those words, a profound, suffocating despair washed over me. I stared at my mother's urn, and my tears finally broke free, flooding down my face. "I'll do it. I'll donate the kidney," I whispered, breaking down completely. "Just leave my mom alone. I can't bear to see her dragged through this after death." The smug triumph froze on Levi's face as if he never expected me to give in so easily. Tessa frowned, shooting me a sharp, suspicious glare. "Aiden, what kind of sick game are you playing this time?" I shook my head slowly. "I'm just tired of fighting." "I only survived because I was lucky enough to make it out of the sea alive. "My mom is gone, my home is gone, and the woman I loved belongs to someone else. What's the point of living anymore?" Levi refused to accept my surrender. Faking a sudden, violent medical crisis, he stumbled and let the urn slip from his hands, smashing it against the hard ground. A sudden gust of wind swept across the grass, sending a gray cloud of fine dust scattering into the air. "No!" I choked violently, a burning, metallic wave of dark blood surging uncontrollably from my throat. The very last thing I saw before my eyes slipped shut was Tessa scrambling forward, screaming my name in panic.