Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

”I’ve been keeping an eye on him,” the caregiver said, walking over when he saw them arrive. ”He woke up about an hour ago. He didn’t say a word at first, just stared blankly at the ceiling. Then he suddenly started giggling and calling out for Chloe non-stop, so I rushed to call you.”

”Did you call the doctor?” Daniel Hayes asked.

The caregiver nodded. ”Yes, the doctor on duty came to check on him. He said we should wait until the family arrives to run tests. Should I go notify the doctor now?”

”Yes, go ahead,” Daniel Hayes agreed with a nod.

The caregiver hurried out of the ward. Daniel Hayes then turned his attention to Chloe Reed. ”Chloe, don’t worry too much. There shouldn’t be any major problems.”

”Chloe... Chloe...”

Over on the bed, Charles Reed continued to mutter her name. His eyes were completely hollow and vacant, his expression totally blank.

Chloe Reed pursed her lips and walked over. As she stood before the hospital bed, Charles Reed, who had been fixated on the ceiling, shifted his gaze to her face.

”Oh? Chloe?” A look of pleasant surprise washed over his face as he broke into a wide smile, the wrinkles on his face crinkling deeply into heavy folds. But just as quickly, he shook his head. ”No, you’re not her. How could Chloe be this grown up? Chloe is still very small. She is only ten years old.”

He quickly looked away from Chloe Reed, returning his gaze to the ceiling as he resumed muttering her name.

Seeing this, Chloe Reed’s heart gave a heavy THUMP.

The doctor arrived shortly after. Seeing them gathered there, he said, ”We need to take him for some scans and tests now. I suspect a few possibilities: the first is severe memory confusion, and the second is Alzheimer’s disease. You should prepare yourselves mentally.”

Alzheimer’s disease—commonly known as senile dementia. Regardless of which it was, they would have to wait for the test results for a definitive answer.

Chloe Reed nodded slowly in understanding. Charles Reed was then wheeled away, still mumbling under his breath, ”Chloe, Dad will buy you a present.”

The ward soon fell quiet.

Daniel Hayes scratched his head and looked at her with deep concern. ”Chloe, how are you holding up?” he asked hesitantly.

Hearing this, Chloe Reed looked at him and shook her head. She pulled out her phone and typed, ”I was just thinking that heaven is actually showing him mercy by giving him an illness like this.”

Daniel Hayes was at a loss for words for a moment.

Chloe Reed continued typing, ”If it’s memory confusion, then his brain is protecting him, preventing him from remembering those sad and painful things. If it’s Alzheimer’s, the same applies.”

He wouldn’t remember any of the sad, painful, or regretful moments. Instead, he would only remember the happy and joyful times. She wondered if this was heaven’s true mercy upon him.

Daniel Hayes furrowed his brows. ”But this is cruel to you. You remember everything perfectly clearly.”

Chloe Reed gripped her phone tightly and slightly lowered her eyes. After a long while, she finally typed, ”Once he physically recovers, I’ll send him to a nursing home to spend his twilight years. I’ll just consider it as repaying them for raising me.”

Daniel Hayes didn’t say anything else, only looking at her with sympathetic eyes.

The test results came back quickly. The final diagnosis was Alzheimer’s disease. Charles Reed had developed senile dementia.

However, his symptoms were a little different from others. His memory had completely stopped at the year Chloe Reed was ten years old. He had forgotten everything else.

When he was brought back to the ward, Charles Reed saw her again. His aged eyes lit up brightly as he asked, ”You look so much like my precious daughter.”