CHAPTER 430

ARIA’S POV

Ethan can’t be pulling off a prank this elaborate. I keep telling myself that over and over, trying to calm the whirlwind in my mind. Revenge, a joke, a twisted plot—none of it fits. Maybe, just like me, he lost his memory. That thought strikes deep, unsettling me. I know what it feels like to have your past stripped away, to wake up and not recognize your own life. Is that what happened to him? Is that why he doesn’t know me?

But then, I hear the whispers around me growing louder, piercing through my thoughts.

“How shameless! Going after someone else’s man!”

The words sting even though they’re coming from strangers, people who don’t know anything about the situation. I try to block them out, but they keep echoing in my mind as I watch Ethan—Aiden, he insists—and that woman, hand in hand, disappearing down the street.

Something clicks. I know that woman. My heart skips a beat as I realize who she is. Lydia. Of course, it’s Lydia—Ethan’s ex. How could I have forgotten? It’s