Chapter 4

I climbed back into bed, my heart pounding.

[Aww, Landon is so devoted. Even with amnesia, he's still completely loyal.]

[Once he gets his memories back, he'll choose Selena anyway. People belong with their own kind.]

[This woman never deserved Landon's love. Maybe she should've thought about that before treating him like dirt.]

That night, after we lay down, Landon rolled over to face me.

"Carol."

"Yeah?"

"I'm not that tired tonight." His voice was low. "What do you want to do? I'm up for anything."

I opened my mouth but couldn't find the words.

In the end, I only managed two.

"I don't."

He reached out and brushed his fingers against my cheek.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked softly. "Just tell me. I'll fix it."

I took a deep breath.

Part of me wanted to stop hiding and just tell him everything.

"Landon, I'm actually preg—"

Before I could finish, his phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the caller ID.

His brow furrowed.

After a moment's hesitation, he answered.

"Hello?"

I had no idea what the person on the other end said.

But I watched his expression shift from confusion, to shock, and finally into a gravity I'd never seen before.

"I understand."

He ended the call and immediately sat up to get dressed.

"What happened?" I asked, my nerves tightening.

"Something urgent came up." He pulled on his shirt. "Get some sleep. Don't wait up for me."

He hurriedly kissed my forehead, slipped on his shoes, and left.

The moment the door closed, new comments drifted across my vision.

[Selena has arrived with a top neurologist. Tonight, Landon gets his memories back.]

[This women's good days are officially over.]

[By this time tomorrow, Landon will be the heir to one of Kingsford's most powerful families. This apartment will have nothing to do with him anymore.]

I sat alone in the darkness.

Cold seeped through my entire body.

Landon never came home that night.

…

At ten o'clock the next morning, someone knocked on the door.

Thinking Landon had finally returned, I rushed over and pulled it open.

A woman stood outside.

She was dressed in designer pieces straight off the latest runway, a Hermès bag hanging from her arm. Every detail of her appearance was flawless, down to the last strand of hair.

Everything about her clashed with the shabby surroundings, like a diamond dropped into a junkyard.

She looked me up and down once.

The contempt in her eyes wasn't even concealed.

"You're Carol Stone?"

[She's here! Selena Lowe is here!]

[Look at that presence. Carol doesn't stand a chance.]

[It's over. She is finished.]

Before I could answer, she walked straight inside.

Her gaze swept across the cramped living room, and the corner of her mouth twitched downward.

"My name is Selena Lowe. I'm Landon Pierce's fiancée."

She turned to face me, her tone calm and matter-of-fact.

"He lost his memory. That's the only reason he ended up with you. Now that he's getting those memories back, it's time for him to come home."

My grip tightened around the doorknob.

"What proof do you have?"

She took out her phone and pulled up a photograph.

It was a picture of Landon standing beside an elderly man in front of a sprawling estate.

In the photo, Landon was dressed in a tailored suit.

He looked nothing like the man I knew.

He was elegant, reserved, and untouchable, like someone from an entirely different world.

"This was taken with his grandfather."

Selena put her phone away.

"His real identity is the sole heir of the Pierce family, one of the most powerful families in Kingsford, and the future head of Pierce Group. You were a nurse. Do you honestly think you're his equal?"

Every word felt like a needle piercing my chest because she wasn't entirely wrong.

This relationship was built on a lie from the very beginning.

Yet hearing it spoken aloud so bluntly still hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes.

"He... got his memories back?" My voice trembled.

"Yes." Selena let out a cold laugh. "The treatment last night was very successful. He'll remember everything."

She looked at me.

"What do you think happens after he remembers who he really is? Do you honestly believe he'll still choose you?"