Julianne loved making Irvin choose between two options. Over the last two years, I'd been forced into that sick game more times than I could count. Each time, I secretly hoped he'd choose me—even when I knew he wouldn't. I couldn't help wishing that, just once, he'd prove me wrong. But every time, I ended up crushed.Now Irvin faced yet another choice. This time, I didn't let myself hope he'd pick me.Instead, I frantically scanned my surroundings, refusing to accept death without a fight. Even though I'd already decided I'd rather die than be captured and tortured, deep down, I wasn't ready to give up. Even as their footsteps drew closer, I desperately searched for a way out.And then, against all odds, I found one.Behind two massive trees, hidden beneath tangled weeds, was a tiny cave. It was barely noticeable—small enough that no one would think to look inside. It was a perfect spot to hide in.With my heart pounding, I quickly stripped off my down jacket, tore it up, and
A fresh wave of anxiety gripped me.Travis was sharp—smarter than the average man. He wouldn't have made it this far if he weren't. It wouldn't be easy to trick him.Before the thought had even fully formed, I heard Travis bark coldly, "Search every damn inch around here! She didn't jump!"One of his guys asked instinctively, "How do you know she didn't jump?""The last time she jumped off a cliff, she broke every bone in her body and spent three months bedridden," Travis snapped back. "There's no way in hell she'd put herself through that kind of agony again. She'd rather die first!"I froze, stunned. I never expected Travis to actually understand me this well."Look at her footprints—she's hiding somewhere close by. Turn this place inside out!" Travis yelled again.Travis had worked for Irvin long enough to know exactly how ruthless he could be. He knew he was as good as dead if he didn't catch me now.Because I'd had no time, the footprints I'd left were concentrated within
"Take every single one of them back!" Irvin shouted.With his single command, his men immediately seized Travis and everyone he had brought with him.Seeing how boldly he had Travis taken down without hesitation, I figured there was a good chance he had already rescued Julianne. Otherwise, he wouldn't be acting so confident. And Travis wouldn't be surrendering so easily.Just as I was thinking I could finally come out, I saw Irvin walk straight to the edge of the cliff. Then, without a word, he jumped. I stood there, completely stunned, unable to process what had just happened.No one saw it coming. Everyone on the hilltop stared open-mouthed, dumbfounded. Even Travis looked shocked at first, but then, he burst out laughing like a madman.Travis knew—he'd always known—that despite Irvin pampering Julianne, despite repeatedly hurting me for her sake, I was the one he loved most.And now, Irvin had jumped after me, hearing I'd gone off the cliff.Travis knew he was screwed eithe
Quinton wasn't cursing at Irvin or his crew for failing to stop him from jumping off that cliff. Instead, he cursed me out, blaming me for everything. According to him, I was nothing but trouble. If I wanted to die, fine—but how dare I drag Irvin down with me?Hearing his rage made me shrink deeper into my hiding place, holding my breath. If Quinton blamed me that much, thinking I was already dead, he'd lose it completely if he found out I was alive while Irvin had jumped. He'd probably kill me himself.Luckily, Quinton was more worried about Irvin right now. Without another word, he rushed back to the helicopter to look for him.Only after the mountaintop fell silent did I finally dare to move, slowly stretching my stiff, curled-up body.Then, carefully, I started making my way down the mountain.As the sun sank below the horizon, the temperature plummeted. The icy wind whipped against my face, sharp as a blade.The down jacket I had slashed earlier to fake my fall was now she
When Irvin heard that I had jumped off the cliff, his mind went completely blank. He had told me so confidently that his plan was flawless, that nothing would go wrong.But, not only had his plan failed, but it had also led to me being pushed off the cliff.His head buzzed so much that he couldn't think. He only felt like the world was crumbling at his feet.Everything was over.He thought I would never want him again. Our relationship was already broken, to begin with. And now…But that wasn't the most important thing. What was important was that he knew I was always afraid of the cold. I had jumped into ice-cold water on a freezing day. What if I couldn't handle it?He also recalled how I had almost drowned the last time I fell into the pond.Without hesitation, he jumped in. It was the fastest and easiest way to find me. The mountain wasn't that high.Although the cliff seemed rather high on the way up, this side had a downhill slope. The level of the ground was higher tha
Irvin had actually believed that someone, who hated hospitals, would fake a serious injury and refuse to leave just to drive Julianne away.At this moment, he suddenly felt so foolish. So unbelievably stupid.He didn't know what was wrong with him. Why had he assumed that I would stay and make a fuss in a hospital for three months instead of going home?After I had fallen off the cliff, he had immediately sent Travis to look for me. Travis had told him I was fine but refused to come back to apologize to Julianne and even lashed out and threw things at him.Julianne had claimed she visited me at the hospital, but I got so angry that I knocked her out. Meanwhile, my parents had told him they had visited me. They said that I was perfectly fine, and told him to ignore me because I would stop throwing a tantrum eventually.He really wanted to blame it all on them. But he couldn't.He knew. He knew very clearly that he had made the biggest mistake.Instinctively, he didn't trust me, s
I smiled at Noah. "I'm okay. I feel great!"In this world, there's nothing better than being alive.I was so happy to open my eyes again. And my body genuinely felt great.After all the years we had spent together, Noah knew me well. He quickly understood why I was laughing.He also knew that I was being genuinely happy and truly feeling better. This realization put him at ease, and he smiled back at me.Once I had calmed down, he asked, "Emi, do you want some chicken soup?"As I hadn't eaten all day, I was actually starving after the initial exhilaration of surviving had ceased. I eagerly nodded. Noah chuckled and walked over to the table, scooping chicken soup from a thermal food container.After facing life and death, I came to a realization. The most important thing in life was being alive, and the second was eating well.After finishing a bowl of warm chicken soup, I felt like I had come back to life. I felt so cozy that my eyelids grew heavy as I sighed in satisfaction.
After Lance left, I didn't try pulling my usual stunt of leaving the hospital as soon as I could move. The doctor said I needed to stay for observation, so this time, I stayed.After facing death yet again, especially after everything I'd been through, I finally realized nothing mattered more than just being alive and healthy. Compared to that, any discomfort was bearable. But my body just wasn't what it used to be.I'd barely been awake long when exhaustion kicked back in, dragging me toward sleep. Noah noticed immediately and gently encouraged me to rest. The doctor had insisted I needed plenty of sleep to recover, promising I'd bounce back soon enough.He told me to rest easy, that he’d stay by my side the whole time.There was something about the way he looked at people—steady, reassuring, almost magnetic. It made people believe him without even thinking.I looked at him, remembering the little chubby kid who used to be so scared of the dark he couldn't sleep alone during a bl
"I agree," Grace said. "Which is why I suspect you hadn't given birth to fraternal twins but rather identical twin boys back then. One of them must have been switched at birth."She knew there needed to be an explanation for why Irvin and Timothy looked so much alike. Thus, she might as well reveal they were identical twins. However, no one aside from the Hardwells could know the truth behind why both boys hadn't grown up together.So, the only other believable story was that one of them had been switched at birth. Most importantly, the twin that died was Irvin, and the remaining one was the Hardwell heir, Timothy.It was true that in this world, two people couldn't look exactly the same unless they were blood relatives. I had mistaken Timothy for Irvin when we first met. That was why I had suspected they were identical twins. I wasn't surprised by what Grace had said. Even so, I felt one of the twins couldn't possibly have been switched at birth.As I said before, Claudeville an
Sure enough, there was a burn scar and a recent bullet-sized scar near his heart.Unexpectedly, I started crying when I saw them. I couldn't control my tears. My emotions hit me so suddenly and intensely that I was overwhelmed and defenseless.Timothy reflexively reached out to wipe away my tears when he saw this.He didn't understand what was happening to him. He obviously had a wife and memories with her, but he couldn't accept her touch. Yet, he had the urge to get closer to me.When I brought up treating his leg, Timothy had instinctively wanted to go with me despite the late hour. Then, when I told him to remove his shirt, he had done so without hesitation. Everything about this was unreasonable, yet he wanted to do everything I asked.He was about to ask me why I was crying when men dressed in black barged into my studio.Once they had taken their places, an imposing-looking lady and Mrs. Hardwell entered. The lady immediately scowled when she saw Timothy shirtless and reac
Irvin had a burn scar on his back from when he had saved me during the lab fire in our sophomore year. He had gotten it by shielding me from a falling, burning beam. There should also be a bullet scar, from when he had taken a shot for me on the cruise ship.As I recalled those memories and how Irvin had risked his life to save mine, I found it even harder to be distant toward him the way I had been when I had lost my memory.I had given him everything in the past and had treated him better than I treated myself. But back then, he had also reciprocated it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have loved him so strongly.William and Timothy were taken aback by my eagerness.Then, almost in unison, they spoke."Yes.""No!"Timothy had agreed, and William had been against it.I wasn't surprised by Timothy's response. Based on his earlier reaction, I sensed he felt something toward me instinctually despite his amnesia.What caught me off guard was William's objection. While we had known each oth
Willaim and I were stunned, and so was Timothy.Timothy had no idea why he had blurted out those words. They had just slipped out.William cocked an eyebrow at him once he came back to his senses. It was just as he had said—hypnosis was unreliable.Without realizing it, I walked toward Timothy and called out, "Irvin…"Timothy's gaze immediately darkened.I faltered when I met his cold and unfamiliar eyes. My steps instinctively came to a halt.I had been forced to deal with a dire scandal soon after learning Irvin might still be alive. As such, I hadn't had the time to think about anything else. But now, I suddenly saw him again.I felt a sharp pain in my chest when I met his unfamiliar gaze.I didn't know how to describe my feelings in this moment. My emotions were so complicated that I couldn't decipher what I truly wanted.Irvin and I had fallen in love when we were young. We were each other's first love. I had shared the purest and most beautiful moments of my life with hi
William frowned at Grace's idea. He was intrinsically against doing something like that to me.However, Grace added, "I miscarried because I had saved your life, Mr. Ashford. I had to lie in a hospital bed for more than a month before I was strong enough to move."I'm not asking you to do anything except stay out of it—please don't interfere with my plans to deal with Emilia Quill. Rest assured, I won't harm her."William studied her quietly as he mulled over her words. He had felt conflicted when she brought up her miscarriage.He was still semiconscious when he had been rescued from the sea. Thus, he could feel how much effort it had taken for his rescuer to get him back to shore.William was a ruthless and disloyal person by nature. Despite this, he had been unexpectedly moved by his rescuer's strenuous efforts to save him.This was especially so when she had performed CPR on him, and her warmth and scent had enveloped him. So much so that William had even wanted to pursue her
Before William could respond, Grace immediately added, "I don't mean to leverage my saving your life against you, but you did say you would grant me one request in return."William fiddled with the lighter in his hand. "Yes, I did say that. But I'm not a man of integrity, so I can always go back on my word."Grace was stumped.She hadn't expected him to say that. How could he make such a promise to her and then void it just like that? Shouldn't his word be binding, given someone of his status? It made her question if there was any point in her efforts to become his savior.Aside from Julianne and I, Grace was also present when I had saved Mr. Ashford on Daiti Island.She had just happened to be vacationing on the island at the time and had witnessed me save William. Then, she had also watched as Julianne emerged and carted him away when I left to get help.Initially, Grace had clicked her tongue upon seeing this and had planned on leaving. However, she changed her mind upon rec
The response from the Hardwells only deepened my suspicions that Timothy was actually Irvin. This only made me even more eager to see him again so I could confirm it for myself.However, I couldn't force a meeting if they didn't allow it. I might be wealthy now, but I was nowhere near comparable to the Hardwell family. For the time being, I could only have someone else look into it.After tending to company matters I had at hand, I put on my coat and headed out to meet a physics professor from Quantov University. It was thanks to him that I was able to invite the science research authority figures to help me clear my name.Just as I was about to enter a private dining room, I spotted a familiar figure. I paused and saw Mr. Ashford being led by the restaurant's manager toward a different private room.I thought of greeting him, but then I recalled how our last meeting had ended somewhat unpleasantly. I was also worried he might ask me to date Noah again, so I decided against it.Be
Timothy quickly pressed his blanket down."I thrash around in my sleep," he said. "You're pregnant—what if I hurt you?"He had gained many memories of Mrs. Hardwell upon regaining consciousness. Despite this, he still felt something was amiss. As such, he didn't want to be too close to her.Plus, his body rejected being physically intimate with her even though she was his wife. For some reason, Timothy's heart told him he shouldn't allow Mrs. Hardwell to touch him—he would be sullied if he did.Still smiling, Mrs. Hardwell replied, "You won't."She was about to pull on the blanket again when Timothy yelled, "Get out!"Tears welled up in her eyes. She had never been treated so coldly before."I just want to take care of you at night, Tim. We're husband and wife, aren't we?"Timothy knew she was right. They were married, so there was no reason they shouldn't sleep in the same bed. That being said, he just couldn't bring himself to accept it."I'm sorry, but I'm not used to shari
With the public eager to know the truth, hundreds of millions of viewers tuned in to the summit's live stream.People believed there were three things in this world that could never be taken away from a person—the food one had ingested, one's hopes and dreams, and lastly, one's mind.The third thing referred to intelligence, knowledge, and the ability to reason and think—which was what my battle plan relied upon.Lyle had all the experiment data. Thus, he could claim he was the reason our research had a breakthrough. However, he didn't know the reasoning and considerations behind the experiment's progression.It was similar to solving a math problem. Those who didn't know how to solve it could copy the answer, but they would never be able to explain the steps involved.Hence, I intended to use this principle to prove I was the one who led the research team while he was just a poser.To do so, I had arranged for Lyle and I to be questioned on our research and experiment.The summ