Chapter 2

My compromise allowed everyone in the room to breathe a sigh of relief. Little did they know, this surrender would buy me permanent freedom.

Cole, still lying in the hospital bed, suddenly asked, "Where's your ring?"

I lowered my eyes to my ring finger. It was bare.

I brushed him off casually. "Oh, I left it at home."

Then, as if reminded of something, he explained, "I only asked because I noticed the ring on my own finger."

I nodded, pretending I understood what he was going through. Whenever Cole lost his memory, it was almost as if he became a completely different person.

Once, I was riding my bike to work when a car suddenly cut me off. I lost my balance and hit the ground hard. A familiar car passed right by me—it was Cole's. He didn't slow down for even a second.

Back then, I told myself he must not have seen me. Maybe he wasn't even in the car.

Today, I knew I could no longer lie to myself.

Beside me, Roselle chimed in, "The ring is so pretty, Cole. I want one, too."

As soon as her words fell, everyone's gaze turned to me again. They couldn't be any more direct. They wanted me to give in again.

I walked out of the hospital room, grabbed a tissue, and started digging through the trash can. Thankfully, there wasn't much in it, so I found the ring quickly.

It was sticky and grimy, with who-knew-what smeared all over it.

I walked over to Roselle and handed it to her with a smile. "Here. A set with Cole's."

Without a second thought, Roselle slipped it onto her finger.

"Rach, seriously? Have you no sense of hygiene? Why is this ring all sticky?" she complained with obvious disgust.

I smiled. "Because I just pulled it out of the trash. Do you like it?"

Immediately, she screamed. Just like that, the engagement ring I had spent two months custom-making was hurled out the window.

The moment Roselle's eyes brimmed with tears again, Cole ripped the IV needle from the back of his hand. "Enough, Rachel! How could you do something like that? Don't you know how much you've hurt Rosie?"

He stood there, glaring down at me, but I felt nothing anymore. "And how about when you fall in love with her every single time you lose your memory? Did you ever stop to think about how much you were hurting me?"

Of course, he didn't.

I stared at the thin streak of blood the needle left on the back of Cole's hand, momentarily lost in thought.

Cole had always been terrified of pain. Back when he was himself, I was always afraid he would get hurt. Even the smallest cut on his hand was enough to make my heart ache.

Now, I felt absolutely nothing.

When Cole noticed me staring at the back of his hand, he looked slightly uneasy. "Are you going to bandage it for me?"

I shook my head without thinking. "No. Have Roselle do it. We've broken up. It wouldn't be appropriate anymore."

Cole's expression darkened, but he still nodded.

"Cole, my hand feels a little uncomfortable," Roselle said softly, carefully wrapping her arms around him. "Could you come with me and help me disinfect it?"

He parted his lips, as if he wanted to explain something to me, but I walked away without looking back.

Whatever we had before, I wanted none of it.