That question felt like it was meant to corner Marc. He let out a long breath, refusing to let his emotions take over.“She misunderstood everything. She thought I hired someone to kill her,” Marc explained. “But in reality, I was assigning someone to protect her.”“Really?”Marc clenched his jaw. “What about you? What did you do in the past? Why does that man want to kill Cassandra so badly? What sin did you commit twenty years ago?” he shot back.Irfan chuckled and shook his head. “Why do you care? Isn’t the important thing that I made all that money you could use?”“If Cassandra isn’t your biological daughter, why were you willing to marry her mother twenty years ago?”“Because her father offered Sophie Laurent in return,” Marc answered for him. “And I couldn’t refuse, because back then you needed a lot of money for your education.”“Ridwan Sanjaya didn’t want his granddaughter to be called an illegitimate child. So he picked one of Marini’s male friends to marry his daughter. He e
“Amnesia?”Marc’s eyes widened in disbelief at what Dr. Ivan had just said.“Dissociative amnesia,” Ivan explained calmly. “There are parts of her memory that she’s lost—likely as a result of trauma from the past. Her mind is basically blocking out memories it doesn’t want to remember.”“So... she doesn’t remember me at all?” Marc asked, his voice tight and strained.“She might recover eventually,” Ivan said. “But it depends on her. Not even the best doctors can predict when—or if—her memory will come back.”Marc felt the strength drain from his body. The hope he’d been holding onto suddenly vanished. It felt like he’d been shoved off a cliff by the truth.“Cassandra… my daughter,” Irfan murmured, his face red and unreadable. “I should’ve been there more for her. Please, Doctor… do whatever it takes to help her recover.”“We’ve done all we can, Mr. Irfan,” the young doctor replied. “The rest… we leave to God.”Ivan patted Marc on the shoulder. “All we can do now is pray for her recove
Marc stared at the pale face lying weakly beside him. He held the hand of the girl who seemed to be fast asleep.Her head was wrapped in bandages, and an IV line was attached to her wrist, making Cassandra look even more fragile.Since that incident, Marc hadn’t left the room. He felt responsible for everything that had happened to Cassandra. The guilt weighed on him, and he couldn’t bear to leave her side, not even for a moment.No more cheerful, playful voice calling him "Uncle." No sweet coaxing voice begging him for something.Marc lowered his head. His eyes felt heavy from not getting any sleep for the past few days.Still holding her hand tightly, he tried to close his eyes for a bit. But like a dream, he suddenly felt the fingers he was holding twitch.He quickly lifted his head again and looked at the pale girl still lying motionless. His heart sank when she didn’t wake up.Marc lowered his head once more, resting it on his folded arms beside her bed. Within minutes, he drifte
Wham!Irfan’s fist landed square on Marc’s face. The older man, probably in his fifties, was red with anger.“You bastard!” Irfan shouted, stepping forward and punching Marc again.Marc didn’t move. He didn’t fight back. Deep down, he knew this was his fault. He deserved the hit.“Cassandra… my daughter,” Irfan said, his voice trembling. “I raised and protected her so carefully. And because of your carelessness, she has to suffer like this.”Marc clenched his jaw. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. That was all he could manage to say.He slumped into a seat in the waiting room, ignoring everything his brother was yelling at him. All he could think about was her. Cassandra. He could only wait, hoping for some word from the doctors still examining her.“Marc, answer me. What made her do something so reckless?” Irfan pressed him.“Someone’s been trying to hurt her,” Marc answered, finally looking up at his older brother. “So I secretly hired someone to protect her. But she misunderstood—she thoug
“Please don’t tell me my brother’s the one behind this,” Marc cut in, his voice sharp with worry.His chest tightened at the possibility that Irfan might actually be Cassandra’s biological father.The man on the other end let out a dry chuckle, amused. “No... he’s not. The whole case was covered up. Never went public. No police reports. The witnesses stayed quiet—because Marini’s father wanted it that way.”Marc’s eyes narrowed. “That’s insane.”“Not really. Powerful families bury scandals like this all the time. They can’t afford a stain on their legacy—especially not from a reckless child.”Marc leaned back in his chair, frustrated. Once again, he was hitting a wall. Every trail led to half-truths or silence.“So what do you think really happened?” he asked. “Between the four of them?”“My guess? After what went down, Marini confessed Irfan was the father. Her father panicked and rushed to marry them. Wouldn’t take much to push Mona into a breakdown.”Marc muttered under his breath,
"Why, does your leg hurt again?" asked Marc with a worried face.The girl tugged at the corners of her lips as she shook her head. Marc's heart, which was about to burst, suddenly felt relieved."Looks like you need to be punished," he whispered in her ear. "I won't spare you, little brat." A pair of large hands tickled Cassandra's waist, making her laugh as she squirmed like a worm in heat. But Marc didn't seem to want to stop tickling. He continued tickling without heeding his niece who was screaming for mercy. Not losing her mind, Cassandra wrapped her arms around Marc's neck. But because Marc kept tickling, Cassandra attacked him with a peck. And she succeeded, Marc's attention was distracted.The two went back to passionately lapping at each other. While their hands were busy undressing each other, it was as if they were racing to enjoy what was hidden underneath.Marc climbed up onto the sturdy wooden table, he locked his girl's hands above her head. Like a big baby, he begin