MasukChapter 290Ethan's POVPrisca stood completely naked in front of me.No hesitation. No shyness. No attempt to cover herself.Just bare skin and deliberate seduction, her body positioned in a way that was impossible to ignore.And despite everything—despite the confusion clouding my mind, despite the emptiness where my memories should be, despite the desperate loneliness that had been my constant companion for six months—I felt my body respond.Heat pooled low in my stomach.Blood rushed places it hadn't in half a year.My breath caught.Because it had been so long.Six months since I'd woken up in this farm house with no memory of who I was or how I'd gotten there.Six months of living in this isolated farmhouse with Gavin and Prisca, working the fields, trying desperately to piece together fragments of a life I couldn't remember.Six months without touch. Without intimacy. Without anything resembling normalcy.And my body—traitorous, desperate thing that it was—wanted this.Wanted t
Chapter 289Cynthia's POVI was still trying to figure out how to politely extract my hand from Nikolai's when he suddenly smiled and said, "I have something for you."Before I could respond, he stood up from his seat and moved around the table to stand behind me."Nikolai, what are you…" I started.I felt something cool and delicate settle against my collarbone, heard the soft click of a clasp being fastened at the nape of my neck.A necklace.He'd put a necklace on me."There," Nikolai said, his voice warm with satisfaction. "Perfect."I reached up instinctively, my fingers finding the pendant—something smooth and substantial, probably expensive if I had to guess based on the weight of it."What is this?" I asked, my voice coming out sharper than I'd intended.Nikolai returned to his seat, looking pleased with himself."Just something I saw on my way to your restaurant," he said casually. "I thought it would be beautiful on you."The words hung in the air between us.Just something
Chapter 288Ethan's POVSix months.One hundred and eighty-three days since I'd woken up in a strange bed, pain radiating through my chest, my head pounding, my memories completely blank except for fragments — scattered pieces of a puzzle I couldn't put together.My name was Ethan.I knew that much because the old man who'd found me half-dead in his field had gone through my pockets looking for identification and found nothing except a wedding ring.A simple gold band that had two names engraved on the inside.Ethan & CynthiaEthan. That was me.And Cynthia... Cynthia was someone important. Someone I'd married. Someone I needed to find.But I didn't know who she was.Couldn't picture her face. Couldn't recall a single moment we'd shared together.Just her name, burning in my mind like a brand.Cynthia.The old man's name was Gavin.He was in his seventies, weathered and bent from decades of farm work, with kind eyes and calloused hands that had carefully tended to my wounds when he'd
Chapter 287Cynthia's POVNikolai had insisted on staying to help me close up the restaurant.We moved through the space together in comfortable rhythm—him wiping down the counters in the prep area while I organized the sample menus and design sketches I'd been reviewing earlier."I still can't believe they actually found him," I said, breaking the silence. "After all this time, Pascal was just... here. In Missford. The whole time."Nikolai looked up from the counter he was cleaning, his expression thoughtful."It makes sense, though," he said. "Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight. The police were searching everywhere except right under their noses.""But now they have him," I said, unable to keep the excitement from my voice. "Or they're close to having him. And once they do, he'll have to tell them where Ethan is. He'll have to—"My voice caught, emotion threatening to overwhelm me.Nikolai set down the cloth he'd been using and crossed the kitchen to stand beside me.
Chapter 286Bryan's POVPascal had been found, orr at least, there was a lead on his location.The text Cynthia had shown me before I left the restaurant flashed through my mind as I drove through the darkening streets of Missford.Possible sighting near the docks. Moving teams into position now.Normal people—would have felt relief at that news.Hope that finally, after five months of searching, answers were within reach.But I wasn't normal people.And relief was the last thing I felt.How could Pascal be so careless?So sloppy?Five months of successfully staying hidden, and now he was spotted near the docks like some amateur criminal who didn't know how to cover his tracks.It was almost insulting how easy he'd made it for them.I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my jaw clenching.This wasn't supposed to happen.Ethan wasn't supposed to be found.I'd been so careful. So patient. Playing the role of the concerned friend, the supportive presence, the man who just wanted to help C
Chapter 285Cynthia's POVI was reviewing the final menu selections for the restaurant's soft opening when Bryan walked in.Right on schedule, as he had been for the past few weeks. Almost every evening after work, Bryan would stop by, ostensibly to check on the progress of the restaurant, but really — I suspected to check on me."Hey," he said, offering a tired smile as he approached the table where I was working."Hey yourself," I replied, setting down the menu mock-ups. "Long day?""Aren't they all?" Bryan said, pulling out a chair and sitting across from me. "How are you feeling?"The question had become routine between us, but today, for the first time in months, my answer was different."Hopeful," I said, and I couldn't keep the smile from spreading across my face. "Really, genuinely hopeful, Bryan."Bryan's expression shifted slightly, something flickering in his eyes that I couldn't quite read."The DNA results came back," I continued, the words tumbling out in a rush. "From t
Chapter 167 Cynthia’s POV I noticed Bryan wasn’t leaving and I guess Ethan noticed it too. Ethan leaned back against the wall, arms folded loosely, eyes sharp despite the exhaustion tugging at his features. “So,” he said casually, too casually, “why aren’t you leaving?” Bryan didn’t look at him
Chapter 164 Ethan’s POV I didn’t realize how tightly I’d been holding myself together until Cynthia walked out of that room looking like she might collapse. She didn’t owe my mother anything. Grace had been cruel to her. Manipulative. Dangerous. And yet Cynthia had still laid herself on that ste
Chapter 174 Cynthia’s POV “Aren’t you going to bathe too?” The question was simple, almost casual, yet it landed in my chest like a spark thrown onto dry tinder. Ethan’s voice was low, tired, but there was something else threaded through it — need, raw and unguarded. My heart fluttered violently
Chapter 165 Cynthia’s POV I felt weak… lightheaded, hollow. Yet somehow, both Ethan and Bryan were hovering over me, each of them gripping an arm, steering me toward the chair like I was on the verge of collapsing. I wasn’t dying. I’d simply given blood. Still, the tension between them crackled







