I found a makeup box that had been put away for a long time under the bed, and I cleaned myself up.

However, Brody did not come back even after the sun had set.

Tears flowed down my foundation-covered cheeks, and I stared at my crestfallen reflection before I swept all my makeup products down to the floor. Suddenly, I felt like quite the joke.

What was I doing?

Could I not survive without Brody?

The bottles scattered all over the floor and revealed the words at the bottom of the makeup box.

[Leave him.]

My mind went blank.

It was my second time seeing these words.

I rolled up my sleeves and compared the handwriting. I wrote the words, alright.

What did they mean?

Who was “him”?

I heard noise from the living room and instinctively rushed out of the room. Just as I expected, Brody had returned. But I saw someone else I was not expecting as well—Rose.

She was dressed differently compared to the day. Clad in a fitting gown, she appeared vibrant and full of life.

“Oh? Were you crying?” She cast me a glance and threw her expensive handbag on the couch before she went to the master bedroom. “I’m tired. I’m going to take a shower.”

This was too much to take in, and I did not know how to react. I instinctively looked at Brody for help.

He had not changed much over the past two years, but he had become more mature. But when I saw his indifferent expression, I found him to be a stranger. I could not feel any sort of closeness to him.

He sighed and reached out to me.

Yet, when he touched my arm, I instinctively shook it off for some reason. His hand remained frozen in the air as a result.

“Rose moved in to take care of you. Don’t read too much into it, okay?”

I merely lost my memories; I did not have dementia. Did I really need her to move in to take care of me?

As I lay in bed, I found myself unable to understand it.

Just then, Rose knocked on my door and placed a glass of water beside me. Her attitude was completely different from before.

“It’s time for your medicine, Riley.”

She looked at me eagerly, as though she would not leave if I did not take my medicine.

Brody sat on the couch and looked at her before turning his gaze to me. In the end, he nodded.

“The doctor prescribed it for you. Take it.”

That night, I slept deeply.

When I woke up, the spot beside my bed was cold. Brody had left a long time ago.

Rose was checking her makeup at the door. Her lips were eye-catching, but even more eye-catching were the marks that her low collar could not hide.

If I remembered correctly, her neck was free of marks last night.

It was just one night. How…?

I narrowed my eyes and motioned at the marks with my hand.

“Your neck…”

“Oh, I nearly forgot.” She grabbed a scarf and wrapped it around her neck. “Brody’s telling me to hurry up, so I have to go. Don’t misunderstand. We’re just meeting up with a client.”

Rose flashed a smile at me.

The morning sun shone on her, but I felt chills down my spine.

In the afternoon, Rose sent me a message saying that she and Brody would come back for food. But they only returned as midnight rolled over, and they stank of alcohol.

Brody stared at the food on the table and frowned. “Didn’t you eat?”

“Oh, I’m so forgetful!”

Rose batted her eyelashes and feigned frustration as she looked at Brody. “I forgot to tell Riley that we weren’t coming back to eat.”

“It’s fine. She’s the stupid one here.”

Soon, Rose gave me another glass of water and asked me to take my medicine. Brody continued to allow this to happen.

“Do I have to?” I asked him.

He sat in a dark corner, and I could not read his expression. After a moment, he nodded.

I was indeed stupid, but I was not going to be stupid twice.

I already found it strange that I fell into such a deep slumber last night. So, right before them, I put the medicine in my mouth. Feeling satisfied, Rose left, but I immediately spat out the medicine that I had hidden under my tongue.

This time, I clearly noticed how she brushed the marks on her neck as she gave Brody a flirtatious glance.

I shut my eyes, and my heart raced.

Soon, I heard Brody get up. The sound of his footsteps drew closer to me before leaving my side. Then, he left the study.

I dragged my feet behind him and felt like my entire world was a huge lie.

Yesterday, I had a loyal lover, just like the ones written about in fairy tales. But at this moment, it felt as if someone had pricked the bubble that was my dream, and everything turned to nothing.

Brody had Rose pinned against the couch as he embraced her like an unrestrained horse. They looked like a pair of lovers who could not control themselves around each other, just like in the movies.

I finally knew how Rose got those marks.

The second Brody saw me, the passion in his eyes disappeared, and he reached out to tug Rose’s collar.

Anger made me snap. I rushed in and slapped him across the face. I was so mad that I was trembling.

“Why?! What did I do wrong that you’d humiliate me like this?!”

The tattoo on my arm, the hint at the bottom of the makeup box, and the marks on Rose’s neck… I finally understood everything.

No one would take care of others without expecting anything in return.

“I told you to go to the room, but you insisted on doing it in the living room.” Rose caressed Brody’s cheek with pity on her face. “Look. We messed up when it’s only Tuesday.”

I could not believe my ears and found the entire situation ridiculous. I could not imagine just how many times I had seen this over the past two years.

Brody walked over to me with a dull, unreadable look in his eyes.

“Please just let me leave…”

My body moved ahead of my thoughts. Seemingly in shock, I avoided Brody. But before I could reach the door, he dragged me back and held me tightly.

“Don’t go.”

I trembled like a leaf while he caressed my back with a gentle look on his face.

I absentmindedly thought that the Brody of the past had returned.

“Things have been hell for me over the past two years…” He tightened his hold as if he was worried that he would lose me at the next second.

“Over the past two years, I brought you to Disney World twenty times, and we went to see the aurora five times.” He wore a self-deprecating smile. “But you remember none of it.

“What you saw earlier isn’t what you think. Could you give me another chance?”

Brody choked up, and I felt my heart clench in pain.

The more loving his words were, the more he disgusted me.

Right then, Rose interrupted him.

“Let me talk to Riley,” she said before giving him a look.

After he returned to his room, he did not interrupt us again.

Rose sighed and sat beside me. A long period of silence passed before she hesitantly took out a medical report. Her name was written on it.

How could Rose have stomach cancer?

Rose told me that she had always liked Brody and had loved him for far longer than I had.

However, due to her low self-esteem, she never dared talk about her love. To her, Brody was the unreachable moon in the sky. Meanwhile, I was her best friend and the one who was most worthy of him. Ever since I started pursuing Brody, she decided to hide her love.

This lasted until she learned that she had terminal-stage stomach cancer.

“I don’t have much longer to live, Riley. I’m going to look for a quiet place and live out the rest of my life alone. After I die, you have to live a good life with Brody.”

I stared at her medical report and felt sad.

I did not hate Rose. Whether she had betrayed me intentionally or not, it no longer mattered.

We spoke for a long time. She left after that, but I could not calm down even after a long time had passed.

She was going to die anyway, but I still intended to leave.

When I woke up the next day, I found the house empty.

While there was no one at home, I quickly packed up, but I could not find my passport.

I could not find it even after searching through every nook and cranny. But I did find a battered notebook.

On the cover were two words.

[Leave him.]

With trembling fingers, I flipped the notebook open. The edges were yellowing. By the looks of it, these words had been written far earlier than the words at the bottom of the makeup box.

There were only a few words on the first page, but the contents were terrifying.

[Rose doesn’t have stomach cancer. Everything she says is a lie.]

[Rose gave you sleeping pills. Don’t eat them!]

[If you get a chance to grab your phone, call your parents for help immediately!]

The notes became sloppier with each page I flipped. By the looks of it, this notebook had been discovered more than once.

Every time, I would leave behind a few words of my own in the notebook.

The contents of the pen drive Brody showed me and the notebook made up the full truth of what I had gone through over the past two years.

[Brody said that this is the 80th week since I got transient global amnesia, and this is the hell he’s made for me.

[Someone, please save me…]

Every page contained a desperate cry for help, but no one could answer it.

Even if I did not have my passport, I could still leave this place first.

So, I approached the door with only the clothes on my back. But when I grabbed the door knob, I could not open it, even though I had just opened the door yesterday when a package arrived.

Anxiety filled my veins, and I started sweating bullets.

In my panic, I decided to climb out through the living room window.

Unfortunately, just like the door, the window was shut from the outside. It refused to budge. Just when I wanted to smash a vase against the window, the door opened.

It was Rose.

“Seriously, I’m so unlucky. You interrupted my date again.”

Rose had her phone in hand, and it showed security footage of the living room. The camera had long since revealed my actions.

“It would’ve been great if you really had stomach cancer.” I sneered at her. My throat was dry, and my voice was hoarse.

She threw her handbag at me, and her delicate features twisted into a savage expression. Shedding her nice facade, she glared at me. “Who do you think you are?! Just because you’re from a rich family, you want everything in the world?! That’s how you managed to get Brody to be with you!”

Rose had harbored a grudge toward me for a long time. I did not understand why she still pretended to be my friend when she hated me so much.

“Do you really think Brody loves you? If it weren’t for the investment from your family, no one would humor you. He even did it for two years!”

In her hysteria, she revealed everything, and it was solely because I had amnesia. Even if I exposed her, I would forget everything again in a few days.

However, everything would be different if I could walk out of this place.

I charged at Rose and threw the vase at her, but someone stopped it. The vase fell on the floor before shattering into pieces.

Brody had shielded Rose behind him, and disgust was rife in his eyes.

“Are you done?”

I lost all hope of winning and slid to the floor.

Over the next few days, I was only allowed to move around in my room.

Brody would visit me every day, but he would say nothing. It was as if he only wanted to make sure that I was still alive.

“Just kill me already, Brody.”

I lay in bed, and my tears slid onto my pillow.

Of course, I did not really want to die. He would not do anything to me because of the money. I just wanted to see how much humanity he had left.

He was stunned. After a long period of silence, he said, “I won’t let Rose hurt you anymore. It’s going to be Monday the day after tomorrow. Let’s start over again when the time comes. Go to sleep.”

Start over again?

Did he really think that I would still believe his lies at this point?

The next day, Rose was alone in the house, and she demanded that I cook for her.

“In any case, you’re free. If I’m in a good mood, I might even let you call your family.”

She just had to mention my family. It made my hatred for her burn endlessly.

My parents treated her like their own daughter. Even after they moved to another country, they would always get her something whenever they sent me a gift.

“If you’re not worried about me poisoning you, I’ll cook.”

I decided to throw caution to the wind. She was not really going to let me contact my parents anyway. Letting me out was just her way of tormenting me.

I tried to return to my room, but Rose grabbed my hair.

“You witch!”

I used all my strength to break free, but I lost my balance and fell against the stairs. The huge impact made me lose consciousness.

I felt warm liquid slowly drench my body, and my vision blurred.

In my daze, I saw Brody rush toward me in a panic. He looked anxious, just like he did when we got into that accident two years ago.

A large number of memories flooded my mind and showed me everything that had transpired over the past two years. It was just like how a person would see their life flashing before their eyes before they died.

“Riley, marry me.”

“Mark, Mary, I’ll take good care of Riley.”

“Can’t you be more considerate?! I have my own life too!”

“I’m hanging up. I need to work overtime.”

“Rose is your best friend! How could you hurt her?!”

“Riley, don’t make me hate you.”

When I woke up again, I saw a familiar, pure white ceiling. This time, I remembered everything.

Just like before, Brody held my hand.

“Riley, you’re awake. I know that you’re really confused right now. Calm down and watch the contents on the pen drive first.”