“The antacid is gone. Bring me a new box,” Justin said, his voice weaker than usual. He had always assumed the company kept it in stock and hadn’t given it much thought.Sam stood there awkwardly, clearly hesitant to speak.Justin frowned impatiently. “What are you waiting for? Go get it.”After a moment of deliberation, Sam finally spoke up, “Miss Emily was the one who always arranged the antacid for you.”Every time Justin was close to running out, she made sure to have more ready ahead of time. Now that he and she were no longer together, naturally, she wouldn’t be sending any more. But Sam was tactful enough not to say that part aloud.Justin froze. He hadn’t realized Emily had been quietly taking care of that for him.“I’ll go get some medicine right away,” Sam quickly offered, noticing the shift in Justin's expression.Left alone in the office, Justin’s gastric pain grew worse as frustration began to creep in. He had resolved to erase Emily from his life, to act as if she
The next morning, Emily got ready and headed out for her art class. She hailed a taxi on the street, something she hadn’t done in a while. Back when she was with Justin, she always drove one of the cars he had gifted her, but after she left, she hadn’t taken any of them. The cars and the jewelry he had given her, were all left behind at Villa One.As the taxi drove through the city, it passed the luxurious villa community where she used to live. Emily noticed a sleek black luxury car pulling out from the gates of Villa One. It was hard to miss, with its unique all-8 license plate, a rare sight in Lincourt City. She glanced at it briefly but quickly turned her attention to the scenery outside the opposite window, not wanting to linger on the past.The taxi driver, however, couldn’t help but comment. “Did you see that limited-edition luxury car that just passed by? With a license plate like that, people living in this area are definitely loaded.“These villas are worth millions!”
“Remember, ladies, always steer clear of stingy men or you’ll end up with nothing!” one of the influencers said as their gossip faded. They were trailing behind Emily at a discreet distance as they all entered the building.Emily, preoccupied with thoughts of her withdrawal from school, paid no attention to the quiet chatter behind her. The voices were soft enough that she didn’t catch any of it.In class, after one lesson had ended, the teacher called out just as the students were about to leave, “Hold on a second, everyone.”The class paused, turning back to listen.“Next week, the school will be hosting a commercial art exhibition. We’ve invited several wealthy and influential guests, and even the government has taken an interest. This is an incredible opportunity to showcase your best work and potentially launch your career. Don’t let this slip by and make sure you give it your all!” The teacher smiled brightly, clearly excited about the event.The class responded with enthusi
Hearing the noise from the next room, one of the students, who had been gossiping about Emily earlier that morning, rushed over. “Emily, are you okay?” she asked, her voice filled with concern. “Where does it hurt? I’ll call the teacher. Don’t worry!” She quickly pulled out her phone.Emily’s right side was throbbing with pain, tears streaming down her face as she lay there, feeling numb and barely able to move.The teacher arrived shortly after, clearly alarmed. “Call an ambulance, quickly!” she instructed, her voice sharp with urgency.Emily wanted to assure everyone she was fine, but as soon as she tried to speak, the pain surged again, and more tears flowed uncontrollably.When the ambulance arrived, the teacher turned to the students. “You all stay here and keep selecting your pieces for the exhibition. I’ll go with her to the hospital,” she said, her tone firm yet reassuring.At Lichfield Hospital’s emergency room, the doctor reviewed the X-rays. “There’s no fracture, just
Just then, Justin pushed the door open and entered the hospital room.Emily frowned, giving him a puzzled look, and asked coldly, “What are you doing here?”Justin glanced at her, as if looking at an idiot. “The school called, saying you got hurt.” With that, he tossed the bag in his hand onto the hospital bed.It was only then that Emily remembered. Since she had lost her memory and had no family, she had listed Justin as her emergency contact when she enrolled.She walked to the bed, picked up the bag of medicine, and muttered an awkward, “Thanks.”Justin was a bit surprised. She actually said thank you? Didn’t she act all fierce just a few days ago?“Where’s Sean?” he asked casually, like he was just gossiping with an acquaintance. “Why didn’t he come to the hospital?”“That’s none of your business,” Emily replied, clearly annoyed, as she checked her face in the small mirror by the hospital bed.At least her face was unharmed.Justin let out a mocking laugh. “So, did he pla
Emily looked back at her with calm confidence, smiling slightly. “Thank you both for going out of your way to visit me.”Emma opened her mouth to say something else, but Justin interrupted, turning to Emma. “Didn’t you say you were going to get the medicine from Zac? Did you get it?”“I did!” Emma answered, her gaze filled with happiness as she looked at him.“Then let’s head out. There’s still work to do at the office.” Justin took the bag from her hand and, with a smooth motion, intertwined his fingers with hers as they walked out of the hospital room together.Emily’s eyes flickered briefly as she watched their fingers locked together, a shadow passing over her face for just a moment.“Bye-bye, Emily!” Emma turned back, giving a cute wave before matching her steps to Justin’s.The door closed behind them.Emily tossed her clothes onto the bed and sat down, feeling suddenly drained of all her strength. They looked perfect together, happy, like they had never been apart. These
After Emily got home, the bruised areas from her fall started to ache, and there was a dull pain in her chest as well.She went to her room, took off her clothes to apply medicine. The bruise was on her right side, so she clumsily applied the ointment with her left hand. Once she was done, she felt hungry but didn’t feel like cooking, so she ordered takeout.Halfway through her meal, her teacher messaged her, first checking on her well-being and then offering to cover her medical expenses. Emily politely declined, as she had already withdrawn from school. After all, it was her own misstep that led to the fall, not the school’s fault. It was her teacher and classmates who had called the ambulance and gotten her to the hospital.She sent a message thanking them and resumed watching her show while eating her takeout. After finishing her meal, she continued binge-watching. Now that she didn’t have to attend school or work at the school’s art exhibit, she could focus on recovering.Mean
“I might go to another city, or even abroad. I haven’t decided yet,” Emily said, leaning back on the sofa, her tone calm.“Either one sounds great,” Helen agreed, surprisingly enthusiastic. “You could go to the Merika State. My family’s over there. I’d love to take you to visit!”Emily fell into thought. The Merika State was the place where Emma and Justin reunited.“Fleure Academy is in the Merika State, too,” Helen suggested cheerfully. “You could continue your studies there.” She could tell from Emily's expression that she was hesitating. “Merika’s huge! The chance of running into that jerk Justin is pretty slim! And unless you plan on leaving Earth, there’s no avoiding him completely!” Helen added.Helen made a good point, and Emily’s mind suddenly cleared. Fleure Academy was the pinnacle of art schools. It would be a shame not to give it a shot just because of one heartbreak.With renewed determination, Emily nodded. “Alright, then. The Merika State it is.”“Great! Just wa
Jacob rarely disregarded her suggestions, but this time, he merely let out a cold scoff before striding out of the room. Emma’s expression darkened as she watched his departing figure, resentment flashing in her eyes. With a loud bang, the door slammed shut behind him. Men and their sweet talk—nice to hear in bed, but the moment she needed them to actually do something, they scattered like cockroaches. Still, bitterness wouldn’t solve her problems. If Jacob was useless, she had to find another way. Grabbing her phone, she scrolled through her contacts, searching for someone with access to the project. *Inside RC Corporation, operations were running smoothly, especially in the marketing department. With a certain someone finally gone, the workload had eased, and the atmosphere had become noticeably more relaxed.“Ugh, that tyrant finally left. We really survived hell. I just feel bad for the people over at the branch office. They’re stuck under Miss Xanader for the r
The next morning, the sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. After getting dressed, Jacob was ready to head to work, leaving Emma behind at home. “I’ll have someone stall things for you at the branch office, so just stay put here and wait for me. This storm will pass soon, and in a few days, I’ll get you reinstated.” Standing in front of the mirror, Jacob straightened his tie, his tone arrogant—completely disregarding the company’s president as if he were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. In the mirror’s reflection, Emma sat behind him, her head slightly lowered, lost in thought. Clearly, she hadn’t been paying attention to a word he had said. Jacob’s expression darkened instantly. He turned abruptly, striding over to her in just a few steps. His fingers clamped around her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. His voice was sharp, threatening. “Don’t even think about double-crossing me. Like you said, we’re in this together. Justin will never take you back! O
A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the stormy night with a deafening clap of thunder. For a split second, its flash lit up Justin’s face—dark, grim, and foreboding. Something had happened to his mother. *Outside, thunder rumbled violently. "Ahhh!" Emma jolted awake, drenched in sweat, gasping for air. Her wide eyes darted around the dimly lit room. She had a nightmare. She had dreamed of Heidi. In her dream, Heidi had crawled out of a raging river, her body covered in blood—coming for her. Crack! Another lightning strike illuminated the room. Emma’s face turned ghostly pale, her lips bloodless. She wrapped her arms around herself, trembling, her gaze filled with cold hatred. “Heidi Yates… I wasn’t the one who killed you. You did this to yourself. “You should have just stayed out of it. “You should have never opposed my marriage to Justin. “And you should have never come downstairs that night. “If you hadn’t overheard
Evelyn’s suggestion gave Richard a new lead, and he wasted no time acting on it. Investigating Emma’s past wasn’t difficult. By nightfall, he had compiled her entire background. She was an only child. Her father worked as a bank employee and her mother was a teacher. Her preschool, elementary, middle school, high school, and college years were uneventful.Everything about her life was ordinary until her third year of university. That was when Emma suddenly vanished. For three years, she was completely off the radar. Then, out of nowhere, she resurfaced. Three years?Again, three years?That number—it was the same amount of time Haley had disappeared back when she was still Emily.The overseas trip that Justin had organized, taking Emma and his other graduating classmates along, wasn’t difficult to investigate. Justin hadn’t even bothered to hide it.Everyone within their social circle had known about it, but for those outside of it, access to such informati
“We’ve looked into it before. She was Justin’s first love, his so-called ‘dream girl’ back in college,” Richard said dismissively. Just mentioning her name made his expression darken with disgust. His sister had been nothing more than Emma’s stand-in for three whole years—all while she had lost her memory. Disgusting. Those two were the absolute worst. Evelyn, however, remained unfazed. “Since we’ve hit a dead end, let’s go deeper into Emma’s past.” “Got it, Mom.” *“Grandma? Grandma, where are you?” A soft voice echoed through the hallway. From the moment Alex woke up this morning, he had been excited to finally see his grandma. But when he got up, she was already gone—off to the hospital with Zac. He had waited all day, peeking at the door every chance he got. And now, finally, she was home. Evelyn paused mid-conversation, turned, and opened the door. Before stepping out, she looked over her shoulder at Richard. “Be patient. Pay attention to
At Mistletoe Villa, Evelyn stepped out of the car and made her way straight to Richard’s study.Inside, Richard sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen, his frown deepening the longer he looked.Every single one of Emma’s transactions—big or small—checked out. The numbers all lined up perfectly.So where was the problem? A knock on the door. “Come in.” It was Evelyn. She had come alone—Helen wasn’t with her. “What have you found?” she asked, getting straight to the point. Richard sighed, his expression troubled. “Mom, we’ve hit a dead end.“The one who made the attempt was just a low-level gun-for-hire, someone lurking on the outskirts of the underworld. Based on exposed skin and height comparisons, he’s most likely from Southeast Atlantis.“But as for the person who hired him?” Richard shook his head. “Still no leads. We’ve lost the trail.” His brows furrowed even deeper. They still hadn’t identified the one behind the attack on his sister. For the fi
“I don’t want a stake in the market,” Justin said firmly. “If Haley wants, I can transfer all my shares in the Merikan medical company to her immediately.“I can also give her my shares in RC Corporation.” As if one company wasn’t enough, he added another. “Cough—cough!” Zac had just taken a sip of water when he nearly choked at Justin’s words. Was he copying me? Did he really think this move would work on Haley? Zac had his doubts. Haley’s expression remained unreadable. She only blinked once before looking away. Helen, on the other hand, gawked. Fifty percent of the Merikan medical company’s shares? Plus shares in RC Corporation? That was an insane amount of money. With that kind of wealth as backing, their family’s power in Ostland State could double overnight. Wouldn’t that make them as rich as an entire country?As for the remaining fifty percent of the medical company’s shares?Of course, they were in her hands.Zac had already transferred
“Mom?” Haley was stunned for a second before her face lit up with joy. Evelyn stepped into the room. Oh, this was rich. One man had tricked her younger daughter into marriage.The other was lingering in her elder daughter's hospital room.What a pair of great ‘brothers’ indeed. “Hi, Mrs. Walker. It's great to finally meet you.”Justin, usually so composed, felt a rare flicker of nervousness in front of Evelyn.This was Haley’s mother, after all.Evelyn barely spared him a glance before replying, her voice cold.“I’m pretty sure our family doesn’t feel the same way.”The very first thing she said, and she had already put him in his place.It was clear just how unwelcome he was in her eyes. Seeing Justin completely shut down, Zac quietly laughed to himself. Finally. Finally, someone else had to experience his mother-in-law’s wrath. Why should he be the only one suffering? Justin opened his mouth but immediately shut it again, his voice stuck in his thro
Helen muttered under her breath, “We’re legally married.” Evelyn shot her a sharp glare. One look. That was all it took to shut Helen up. She immediately lowered her head in silence. “If he’s not willing to come, then he’s not fit to be my son-in-law.” Evelyn declared coldly. Helen didn’t hesitate. She yanked out her phone and quickly said, “I’ll call him right now. He’ll be here at seven sharp.” Only then did Evelyn seem satisfied. She followed the housekeeper upstairs, first checking on Chase and Alex, who were still sound asleep in the children’s room. Then, she returned to the room that had already been prepared for her. *Downstairs, Helen was grumbling the entire time as she reluctantly dialed Zac’s number. Turns out, he had just gotten home—but despite the late hour, he agreed to the seven a.m. pickup without a single complaint. The call ended, and Helen muttered bitterly, “She won’t take gifts, but she sure doesn’t hesitate to order people around.”