Chapter 6

The next morning, I woke up to find it was already nine o’clock.

Stretching my stiff neck, I got up, freshened up, and headed downstairs.

The living room was empty, but someone was sitting in the dining room having breakfast. As I approached, I saw that it was Pierse.

The moment Pierse noticed me, he let out a disdainful snort and turned his head away, refusing to look at me.

My gaze dimmed slightly, but I ignored him and went to the kitchen to find something to eat.

The kitchen offered slim pickings—some cold oatmeal and a few stale slices of toast.

Frowning, I opened the fridge, grabbed some milk to heat up, and fried two eggs for myself.

When I carried my simple breakfast out of the kitchen, Pierse looked at me as though he’d just seen a ghost in broad daylight.

I frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I forget to wash my face?”

Pierse pointed at the food in my hands, his tone incredulous. “You can cook?”

His questioning tone rubbed me the wrong way.

“It’s just fried eggs. Not exactly rocket science.”

Pierse quickly composed himself, narrowing his eyes at me with hostility. “Don’t think you can pull any tricks.”

With a loud thud, I set my glass of milk down hard on the dining table.

Pierse flinched at the sound but quickly recovered, his face flushing with anger. “What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to start a fight?”

Taking a sip of my milk, I replied coldly, “You’re insane.”

Pierse’s still-boyish face turned alternating shades of red and white. “Who are you calling insane? Don’t think you can act all high and mighty just because you’re out of the hospital! I’m here to keep an eye on you for my brother and Chloe. Don’t even think about ruining their relationship again!”

I chuckled, and Pierse looked even more bewildered.

“What are you laughing at? I mean it. This time, I won’t let you hurt Chloe. Don’t think you can throw around your White family heiress attitude. Chloe might fear you, but I don’t!”

I extended my hand toward him. “Alright, then. Pay up.”

Pierse shot me a look that screamed, “I knew it,” and sneered. “Money? What money? Evelyn, you’re nothing but a greedy gold digger. You schemed your way into the Moore family and married my brother, all for money, didn’t you? You’re absolutely shameless.”

I remained expressionless. “Yep, I’m shameless. Now, pay up.”

Pierse, flustered by my calm demeanor, snapped, “Pay what?”

My smirk deepened. “What else? The one hundred million dollars this ‘gold digger’ invested into your Moore Group.”

Pierse froze, completely stunned.

I chuckled mockingly. “Five years ago, a hundred million dollars in equity would have generated staggering dividends by now. And if it were a loan? Well, with interest compounded over five years—how much do you think you’d owe me?”

Pulling out my phone, I opened the calculator app and began tapping away. “With high-yield investments at 11 to 12 percent annually… well, well...”

I shook my head in mock pity.

Pierse’s handsome face flushed red, then green, clearly struggling to find a retort.

It was obvious he wanted to lash out at me, but the words just wouldn’t come.

I, on the other hand, happily finished my simple breakfast under his burning glare. After wiping my mouth, I stood up.

Pierse finally managed to spit out a sentence. “Evelyn, you crazy woman—what the hell do you want?!”

I turned to face him, looking directly at the face that seemed so foreign compared to my memories.

In a soft voice, I said, “You used to call me Eve all the time.”

Pierse’s expression shifted as though he’d been struck by lightning.

He stood frozen, staring blankly, while I walked upstairs without looking back.

…

Exhaustion weighed heavily on me—who knew even eating breakfast could be this draining?

The more I thought about it, the more resolute I became about leaving Julian.

I picked up my phone and called Dolly.

She answered weakly, her tone laced with sarcasm. "What’s the matter, Miss White? Have you made up with Julian yet?"

I denied it immediately. "No."

“What?! What did you just say?!” Dolly’s high-pitched shriek nearly blew out my eardrum.

I held the phone away from my ear, frowning. "I said I haven’t made up with Julian."

Dolly quickly collected herself. "Oh. So, what’s the plan? Are you giving him the silent treatment? That won’t work. Julian’s a Scorpio—he’s a master of cold wars. You can’t win against him. Try another strategy."

I sighed. "I’m not trying to make up with him."

There was a pause before Dolly’s tone grew suspicious. "Then what are you trying to do? Oh, wait—I know! You’re planning to take out Chloe, aren’t you?"

Her voice turned panicked. "Evelyn, I’m warning you—murder is illegal! We’re law-abiding citizens here. You can’t just go rogue!"

I sighed again, this time with even more exasperation. "Dolly, I’m not going after Chloe."

I heard her choke on what must have been her own spit, followed by a long silence.

Finally, she asked cautiously, "Evelyn, what are you trying to do, then? Seriously. You’ve already hit the local trending topics for that suicide stunt. If it weren’t for the fact that the White family owns major shares in a few media outlets and your brother cares about his reputation, you’d have been torn apart by the internet by now."

I rubbed my temples, the pressure building. "Dolly, I’m serious. I’ve lost my memory. Julian doesn’t believe me. Do you really not believe me either?"

Her response was hesitant, tinged with embarrassment. She let out a couple of dry chuckles. "I thought you were faking it..."

Her words left me speechless, but a wave of sadness quickly followed.

How badly must I have behaved before losing my memory for everyone around me to doubt me now?

Feeling deflated, I said quietly, "Dolly, take some time off and come have lunch with me. I need to talk about what to do next."

Despite everything, Dolly was still my best friend, and at her core, I knew she was on my side.

She sighed. "What do you plan to do next?"

I bit my lip. "I want to divorce Julian."

Dolly was stunned speechless.

...

We met at a café later that day.

As soon as we sat down, Dolly handed me a bag.

I opened it to find fever patches, a thermometer, and flu medicine.

I frowned. "What’s all this for?"

Dolly busied herself unpacking the thermometer. "Here, check your temperature. Lots of people are catching colds lately. Let’s make sure you’re not coming down with something."

I reluctantly held the thermometer under my arm and scowled. "I don’t have a fever. My head’s just not right."

Dolly slapped her thigh dramatically. "Exactly! Your head must not be right! That explains why you’re suddenly talking about divorcing Julian."

She patted her chest in exaggerated relief. "Damn, you scared the life out of me."

That was when it clicked—Dolly thought I’d lost my mind, which was why she’d brought the medicine.

Taking the thermometer out, I looked her straight in the eye and said seriously, "I’m not joking. I want to divorce Julian."

Dolly seemed startled by my expression, freezing in place as she stared back at me.

Neither of us moved.

After about two minutes, Dolly blinked and said, "Alright, I get it. Let go of me."

I let go, only for her to pull out her phone and place it in front of me.

She casually opened an audio clip, and the sound of someone crying filled the air.

“Boohoo! Dolly, I want to divorce Julian! He doesn’t love me. He gave that bitch Chloe a birthday present...”

I froze, dumbfounded.

Without missing a beat, Dolly clicked on another audio clip.

“Dolly, I really can’t live without Julian! If I lose him, I’ll die. Do you understand? I’ll die!”

“I love him so much. Boohoo… hic… Dolly, it hurts so much. Why does it hurt so much? If I didn’t love him, I wouldn’t be suffering like this.”

“Dolly, I’m in so much pain. Why won’t Julian pick up my calls? Doesn’t he care that I might drink myself to death out here on the street? ... Ugh...”

Dolly stared at me, her expression a complicated mix of pity and amusement. "Eve, I know you’ve lost your memory, so let me help you remember just how much you loved Julian."

I buried my face in my hands, groaning softly.

After a long pause, I finally looked up, exasperated. "Dolly, I mean it this time. I’m really going to divorce Julian."

She sighed but started scrolling for more voice messages.

I grabbed her hand before she could hit play, my voice heavy with bitterness. "Don’t. Just… don’t. It’s not funny anymore."