Chapter 6

“A fire! This is bad! Help!”

The towering flame soared into the sky and transformed the night sky into a terrible shade of red.

“Grab the garden hose and call the fire department! Hurry up!”

Everywhere Ana turned, people were shouting frantically as they tried to put out the fire, while others hurried to carry belongings out of the house.

She stood in place the whole time without scrambling about, for she did not want to add to the list of trouble.

At one point, amid the chaos, she heard Celeste’s harrowing voice.

“Noah! Don’t go! You already got hurt from shielding me from a falling, burning beam! She’s not worth the risk! What am I to do if something happens to you?”

The contents of the rest of their argument had become muffled. While Ana was figuring out what they were saying, she heard someone calling out her name.

“Ana!”

Startled by someone calling her, she looked up, transfixed only to see Noah standing at the window of her room on the second floor. His silhouette stood out against the fire, and his face was riddled with anxiety.

“Ana! Where are you? Answer me!”

Ana tried to cry out with everything she had in her, only to realize her voice had turned so cracked that even she could barely recognize it.

When she watched the way his figure appeared so frantic in the fire, she felt as if she had been transported out of herself.

A voice inside her was screaming, “Look! Even with his memory gone, he’s still trying to save you! It’s an instinct that has been drilled into his bones!”

At the same time, another voice retorted calmly.

“You should’ve learned this lesson from your past life. His heart has always been split between Celeste and his dutiful obligation toward you.

“That isn’t love. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

The answer was clear.

At the same time, Noah leaped down from the windowsill.

He went straight up to Ana, who immediately noticed the gruesome wound on his back, which he must have sustained from shielding Celeste from a burning beam that dropped from below.

Celeste quickly ran up to him and threw herself in his arms. When she turned back to Ana, she appeared victimized and cried out, “Ana, how could you do this? How could you set the house on fire even when I said I wasn’t going to hold your past against you anymore? You should realize that by trying to hurt me, you’re affecting Noah as well because he’s always with me!”

Ana watched her play out the whole song and dance in silence, then faced Noah calmly.

Beads of sweat accumulated on his forehead from the pain.

She asked faintly, “Would you believe me if I said it wasn’t me who set the house on fire?”

There was a dark look in his eyes. He did not respond.

Ana took the hint.

He did not believe her.

Even though he had risked his life to save her, Celeste’s claims still meant more to him at the end of the day.

“You have to pay for what you’ve done to Celeste,” Noah stated bluntly, his voice cold as ice, “I’m taking you to the police station. Maybe you’ll learn a lesson after you get punished for what you’ve done.”

Ana suddenly recalled Celeste’s remark, which trailed off moments before she threw herself into the pond.

Celeste must have been referring to how she wanted to plant the idea in Noah’s mind that Ana was an evil person. She wanted to turn Noah against Ana so that even if he were to regain his memories, he would still hold a grudge against her.

Surely, this was Celeste’s intention all along.

She was so threatened by the mere fact of Ana’s existence.

Ana decided she was not going to get in between the couple anymore. She was going to give them what they wanted.

Even if Noah were to remember her one day, the half of his heart that used to be filled with obligation toward her would have been taken over by his desire to protect Celeste.

So be it. This shall be his repayment for taking care of her in the past life.

At the same time, it would also fulfill the final request he made moments before her death, which was to let things be.

With this in mind, Ana smiled before stating ironically, “Too bad for you then. Nobody in the city is going to arrest me, and besides, I don’t think your parents would ever let me set foot in a police station anyway.”

Just like that, she managed to instigate Noah, evident by the incensed look that immediately erupted in his eyes.

Suddenly, she stepped forward and brushed the tips of her fingers against his chest. She provoked him again, “Still, why did you rush into the burning house to look for me? Could it be that… You couldn’t bear losing me? That you actually like me?”

Noah smacked her hand away from him, leaving a burning sensation where he struck her.

Then, he seized Ana by the throat and let out a sharp, condescending laugh. “I would’ve saved a dog stuck in that burning house. As for you, you’re no better than a dog.”

Then, the look in Noah’s eyes sharpened. “Besides, I still have some use for you. Having you, my oh-so tyrannical ex-girlfriend, at my wedding standing next to Celeste would only make her come across better to the public. Don’t you think so?”

Ana’s face became flushed with red when the breath choked out of her. All she could do was feebly strike at his wrist.

Without warning, Noah flung her to the side before taking Celeste’s hand and strutting away.

“The engagement party is in three days. I expect you to be there.”

Ana dropped weakly to the ground and immediately started to cough violently. She looked up to face Celeste, who was casting an indecipherable look in her direction, then offered a faint smile and replied, “I’ll be there.”

Her mission was going to be complete in three days.

Though Russell and Mylah still expressed their reservations about Celeste, they could not talk Noah out of his decision.

In the end, they decided to honor Noah’s wish out of love for him as he was their son. With that, they started to plan the engagement party.

With Noah overseeing the operation, the party turned out to be exceptionally grand.

Everyone in the banquet hall was dressed in the most luxurious suits and dresses money could buy. The clinking sound of glasses could be heard everywhere.

The guests, who consisted of a long list of big names from the business and political worlds, mingled around. Their hushed conversations would always link back to the central figures of the night.

“The bride’s name is Celeste, isn't it? I could have sworn Mr. Wilder was in love with some girl who went by another name…”

“Haven't you heard? He went missing for a while, and when his family finally found him, they realized he had lost his memory. Since then, he’s been insisting that Miss Celeste Paisley is his bride instead.”

“Wasn’t he madly in love with that girl Ana Avery over there?”

One of the elderly guests gestured toward the corner of the hall with a tilt of his chin, where Ana could be seen burrowed in the corner as if she had become camouflaged as a fixture in the hall.

Then, one of them heaved a sigh and lamented, “There’s always been talk about them being childhood sweethearts and a perfect match, by all accounts. It was to a point where I knew better than to introduce my granddaughter to him.

“If I had known things would have turned out his way, I would have at least had my granddaughter give it a shot!”