"You're right. I'm doing this under someone's order."Vicky was not surprised. "Under whose order?""Lincoln Hart," replied Chris without hesitation.Vicky frowned and turned to look at him. "What exactly did he tell you to do?""Tyler cannot be placed under any form of stress right now, and Lincoln wants me to provoke Tyler until he goes insane."What surprised Vicky most was that Chris was telling the truth. She muttered, "Why are you...""I met Lincoln Hart after I was forced to leave Zendonia. He helped cure my mother, and I ended up working under him. At that time, he took a liking to my abilities and wasn't aware of your connection to me. Until not long ago, he wanted to take Tyler down and consulted a few of us for a solution. I voluntarily brought up my history with you and offered to undertake the task," he explained. "Once he learned about our past, Lincoln was greatly pleased and sent me here. He only knows that I used to be your assistant and was driven away by Tyler,
Chris seemed to be a trusted subordinate of Lincoln and knew quite a lot. He continued in a cold tone, "Though Tyler isn't completely insane, his situation isn't looking so good at the moment. The longer you stay by his side, the more likely you both will die. The drug Lincoln provided to Avery has no antidote and cannot be erased immediately. Your presence around Tyler will only provoke him."Vicky recalled the way Tyler harmed himself and could not help but agree that his condition had indeed worsened. Though he stopped losing his memories, what he was doing to himself made things a hundred times worse.Vicky and Chris fell silent.When they arrived at Vicky’s residential building, Chris got out of the car and opened the door for her. "Here you go." Vicky got out of the car and shot him a look. "Thank you."Her gratitude extended farther than his act of sending her home; it was for his honesty.Chris smiled. "His men are still watching me closely, so we still need to play alon
Tyler wanted to explain himself, but he was never good at it. In the end, he muttered, "It's a misunderstanding."Both Vicky and Chris looked at him condescendingly.Tyler's grip tightened around her wrist. Just as she was about to snap, he pulled her away abruptly. "Come with me."She wanted to fight back, but Tyler was too strong.Chris wanted to help, but Tyler simply shot him a sidelong glance contemptuously and said, "Are you sure you can stop me?"Chris paused in his tracks.Tyler had an air of complete disregard for him as he added, "Step aside and save yourself the embarrassment."Indeed, Chris could not stop Tyler from taking Vicky away. Tyler was legally Vicky's husband, while Chris was merely a friend to Vicky. Naturally, a friend had no right to intervene in a marital matter.It was unbecoming for adult men to engage in street fights like common thugs, and on top of that, Chris knew from Lincoln's information that Tyler was skilled in combat. Knowing that Tyler was
Vicky was stunned by Tyler's remark.Tyler sat down in front of the piano and began playing a pleasant melody. It was Vicky's favorite song, 'First Love'.Back when they first dated, Vicky tried teaching Tyler how to play the piano. However, at the time, they were in the honeymoon phase, and any attempt for a piano lesson would turn into a session of them in each other's arms.Tyler came from a decent family and had learned to play in the past, but there was evidently a difference between his skills and Vicky's.He focused mostly on business. While he enjoyed listening to piano, he was not entirely interested in playing the instrument.Vicky suddenly realized that Tyler had never once played the piano for her like this.Tyler had some basic knowledge about the instrument, and she had once given him a few lessons. Though his skills were hardly professional, the 'First Love' he played rivaled that of what Chris played the other day. It became clear to her that Tyler had been practi
Clearly, Tyler had practiced more than one song and was trying his best to win Vicky's favor.Vicky had grown accustomed to him being forceful, and his sudden act of kindness merely pushed her deeper into sorrow.'Don't be so nice to me,' she thought. 'I'm not worth it.'She desperately wished she could throw herself into his arms, name a few songs that she knew he could not have practiced just to tease him, and force him to think of other ways to cheer her up. She wished they could go back to how things were in the past, but that would be impossible."It's fine." Vicky remained expressionless. "It's getting late, so I'm going home."Tyler stared at her in silence, his gaze lingering.When Vicky noticed Tyler was not saying anything, she turned to leave.Suddenly, Tyler pulled her into a tight embrace from behind. "Don't go." His lips brushed against her ear, his voice low and pleading. "Vicky, please don't go."Vicky remained silent for a few seconds before she coldly uttered,
"Do you want me to forget you?!" growled Tyler."Yes.""Do you know what it truly means to forget everything?"Vicky smiled gently. "Haven't you done the same to me?""That's because I thought you didn't care at all and didn't want to remember the past," replied Tyler as he glared at her. "Have you forgotten? You once said being with me was the biggest regret of your life!"Vicky's expression fell slightly.Tyler, filled with suppressed anger, continued, "Since you didn't want to remember the past, I figured you don't need your memories. The reason I hypnotized you was because I still wanted a future for us, together!"When he hypnotized Vicky, it was because their relationship had reached an impasse and was beyond repair. Without the accident, they would have divorced.She had agreed to the divorce so readily without any attachment. It was likely that the thought had taken root even before her memory loss.He had used every excuse and means to keep her around as he did not wa
It was not until Tyler's lips brushed Vicky's neck that she spoke, sounding emotionally distant, "Are you planning to force yourself on me again?"Tyler stopped. He lowered his gaze to Vicky, and she gazed back at him indifferently. She was not flustered, enraged, in love, or even resentful. It was as though she was an emotionless machine.Tyler silently stared at her.They locked eyes for a few seconds before Vicky extended her hand to push him away. This time, she succeeded.She swiftly turned and walked away, only for her wrist to be caught again. She glanced back at Tyler mockingly.Tyler felt struck by the cold look on her face but managed to summon a calm tone. "I'll drive you back.""It's fine," she said. "I can manage.""It's late." Tyler watched her intently. "It's not safe for you to go home alone. I'll drive you.""You don't need to worry about my safety. I can have someone else come pick me up."Chris' face surfaced in Tyler's mind as it was Chris who was supposed
Aurora and Vicky were friends, and inviting Aurora to Vicky's birthday celebration was a must. Meanwhile, Noah, who shared a good relationship with them and was Vicky's senior, should also be included in the invitation list.However, considering the strained relationship between Aurora and Noah due to the cat incident, it became questionable if the two should be invited altogether.Vicky pondered. "Let's first ask Aurora and Noah. We'll see how they feel about it."For her past birthdays, Noah avoided attending to avoid suspicion, but whether he should be invited at all was a separate question.Jennifer agreed with the idea and said, "Sure. I'll call Noah later to ask."Jennifer, too, believed Noah might not come.However, when Jennifer called Noah in the evening to discuss the matter, he asked, "Is Aurora going?"Jennifer was taken aback. "I haven't asked Aurora yet...""Ask her now."Jennifer knew very well that Aurora would most likely agree to come. However, she would not