LOGIN“Were you the reason Lia and I never got married?”For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The question hung between us.I looked at Adrian, then at Lia. She was watching me carefully, almost as if she already knew how I would answer. That was when I understood. This was exactly what she wanted. She had waited for Adrian to lose his memories, found her way into the mansion, and filled his head with her own version of the past.The urge to drag her out of the house myself was really killing me. But Adrian was sitting in front of me, confused and vulnerable. If I lost my temper now, Lia would use it against me and everything she has told him would be true. I took a slow breath.“No,” I said.Adrian frowned. “No?”“I was not the reason you and Lia didn’t get married.”Lia immediately shook her head.“That isn’t true.”I turned toward her. “I wasn’t talking to you.”Adrian raised his hand slightly. “Let her speak.”I looked back at him. He was serious. “Then tell me,” he said. “Did I marry you
During the drive to the mansion, I couldn’t stop thinking about Adrian. I kept seeing his face in my mind. The way he had looked at me before I left him. The trust in his eyes. The confusion he was trying so hard to hide. Then another image came back to me. The photographs. At the hospital, I had seen some of them underneath Adrian’s clothes when I was helping him with something. I had noticed them, but I hadn’t asked questions because there had already been too much happening. “Was he already hiding something from me?” I asked myself. “Ma'am, sorry what did you say? The driver asked me. “Oh sorry, I'm not talking to you.” Now I wondered if Lia had given those photographs to him. I wasn’t sure. But I knew Lia. If she had found a way into the mansion, she would not have wasted the opportunity. She had always known how to take advantage of a situation, especially when she thought she could use it against me. And Adrian’s memory loss had given her exactly what she needed. A man w
By the time I left Lumina, I was already exhausted.The governor’s wife had taken up more time than I expected, and now I had two companies waiting for me to deal with problems I did not have the luxury of ignoring. Hale’s Corporation came first.Nathan was already waiting when I arrived. For once, neither of us brought up anything personal. We had too much on our hands.“What’s the latest?” I asked as I walked into the conference room.Nathan handed me a tablet.“The market is still unstable. Some prices dropped suddenly, while others jumped without warning.”I looked through the figures. “Has it affected the major contracts?”“Not yet,” he said. “But if this continues, it will.”I placed the tablet on the table. “Then we stop it before it gets there.”Nathan nodded. “I already told the team to hold unnecessary transactions until we understand what’s happening.”“Good. Keep the important payments moving. We can’t freeze everything.”“I know.”I looked at him. “And Nathan?” He met my
Adrian stared at Lia, then at the guards surrounding her. “What the hell is going on here?” Lia opened her mouth, but one of the guards answered first. “Sir, we found her inside the mansion. She was not supposed to be here.” Adrian frowned. “Why?” The guard exchanged a look with the maid. “Mrs. Serena gave us orders not to allow her inside.” Adrian looked at the maid again. “Is that true?” “Yes, sir,” the maid said quickly. “We were only following Mrs. Serena’s instructions.” The guards nodded. “We are sorry, sir.” Adrian’s expression hardened. “Leave.” The guards hesitated. “Sir—” “I said leave.” They immediately stepped away. The maid lowered her head before following them out. Soon, Adrian and Lia were alone in the hallway. The quiet that followed felt heavier than the argument that had just ended. Lia looked at him carefully. “How are you feeling?” “I’m fine.” She nodded slowly. “I only came because I heard you had been discharged. I wanted to see you.” Adrian stu
Lia drove away from the Laurent mansion with her jaw clenched.She had been humiliated twice in one day. First, the guards had stopped her at the gate. Then they had spoken to her as if she were a complete stranger all because of Serena. But Lia was not ready to give up.She had known that mansion not quite long before Serena became part of Adrian’s life. She had walked through those doors freely. She had sat in Adrian’s office, eaten at the family table, and spent hours with him inside those walls.Now Serena had turned the entire estate against her.Lia glanced at the mansion in her rearview mirror.“You think you can keep me away from him?” she muttered.She drove away, but she did not go home.Later that afternoon, she returned to the area around the Laurent estate. She parked far enough away not to attract attention and watched the main gate from a distance. The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the high walls. She did not know exactly what she was waiting for. She only kne
Lia returned to the hospital before going anywhere else. She had spent the entire day thinking about Adrian. She walked through the hospital entrance and approached the reception desk. The air inside carried the familiar mix of disinfectant and quiet urgency. A nurse was arranging some files nearby. “Excuse me,” Lia called. The nurse looked up. “Yes?” “I’m here to see Adrian Laurent. Is he still in his room?” The nurse checked the computer, fingers moving quickly across the keyboard. “Adrian Laurent?” “Yes.” “He was discharged.” Lia’s expression changed immediately. “Discharged?” “Yes. He left earlier.” A bright smile spread across Lia’s face. “Where was he taken to?” The nurse hesitated briefly. “I believe his family took him back to the Laurent mansion.” “The Laurent mansion?” “Yes.” Lia almost laughed from relief. So Adrian was home. For the first time in days, she felt like things were finally moving in her favor. His memory loss had changed everything. Adrian mi
He smiled. Soft. Warm. Almost boyish. “There you are,” he murmured. My heart dropped. Because even now… He still thought I was Lia. He stepped in, jacket already off, shirt partially unbuttoned, the scent of whiskey and cologne clinging to him. His movements were unstable from drinking, but ther
The days before the wedding passed like a blur I couldn’t escape. People moved in and out of the house carrying fabrics, jewelry, flowers, and invitations while I stood in the middle of it all feeling completely detached. Measurements were taken and dresses were fitted. Every room was filled with
“There’s a family willing to help us,” my mother explained quickly. “Very powerful. Very wealthy. But they have conditions.”My stomach tightened. “What kind of conditions?” I asked.My sister let out a soft, shaky breath. “They want their son to be married so that they can get a grandchild out of
That night, I sat alone in the vast bedroom that wasn’t mine, wearing a white light robe they had given me after the wedding with no panties under. My hands were clenched so tightly in my lap that my nails left little crescent marks on my palms. I felt nervous.The door opened.He stepped in, jacke







