Cyrus Sloan and Elara Wren couldn't wait to post several intimate relationship announcements on their social media, terrified that anyone might miss the news they were now together.
Beneath the posts, countless mutual friends congratulated them for finally overcoming so many obstacles to be together.
I threw myself onto the soft mattress and slowly closed my eyes.
Even though the person I forgot after drinking the potion wasn't Cyrus Sloan, at least I once had a wonderful time with him.
A few years ago, after a bad breakup, I ran away from home to another city.
It was Cyrus Sloan who came to my door to comfort me. He pulled my listless self up from the floor and pushed me into a race car.
He consoled me, saying there was no pain that a wild race couldn't fix.
Two race cars, one red and one green, tore across the extremely complex and dangerous terrain. We chased each other, finally stopping at the edge of a cliff at almost the exact same moment.
Cyrus Sloan rushed to the front of my car, ripped off my helmet, and, fueled by a wild rush of adrenaline, gave me a hard kiss.
Later, we went skydiving together.
We held each other tightly in the air, ~330 feet from the ground, as he listened to me scream that I wanted a fresh start.
On the day of my seventh race with Cyrus Sloan, we conquered another crater.
The two cars were parked behind us.
I cupped his face in my hands and said affectionately,
"I'll love you forever."
He said he would too.
'It turns out, we both had our own secrets back then.'
I curled up on the bed as a tear slid from the corner of my eye onto the pillow.
The next day, I returned to the racetrack.
As soon as I entered, I saw a figure in white standing next to the green race car.
Cyrus Sloan saw me and, for some reason, suddenly walked over to my car with Elara Wren.
"Julia, I remember you're a great driver. Help me train Elara a bit. She doesn't trust me."
My brows furrowed slightly. Before I could even agree, Elara Wren had already pulled open my car door and gotten in.
The moment the car started, Elara Wren suddenly turned her head to stare at me.
"You and Cyrus Sloan are close, aren't you? Is his driving as good as yours? Did you two use to race together?"
The string of questions irritated me.
But Elara Wren seemed completely oblivious to my silence.
"Ms. Sutton, do you know Cyrus Sloan's ex-girlfriend? Cyrus told me he was surprised that a daughter from a rich family like yours could have more tricks in bed than he'd imagined."
I frowned.
But this was no time to get distracted. I slammed on the gas and overtook Cyrus Sloan.
The moment I tilted my head to check my left rear, Elara Wren suddenly lunged over and grabbed the steering wheel from my hands.
Although I quickly pushed her hand away, the car was going too fast, and we slammed hard into the guardrail.
The loud crash of the car immediately caught Cyrus Sloan's attention. He ran straight to the passenger side and lifted Elara Wren out.
He carefully inspected her for scrapes, then watched as she limped, unable to stand steady, crying that her foot hurt.
"Julia, if you didn't want to drive with Elara, you should have just told me. There's no need to play with lives."
I had just been freed from the wreck by the track staff, my right hand fractured from the impact, only to look up and face a torrent of accusations from Cyrus Sloan.
Elara Wren huddled in his arms, sobbing softly, looking as fragile as a drifting petal.
Cyrus Sloan's eyes swept over my injured arm, then glanced at the car, noticing that the damage to the driver's side was more severe than the passenger's.
His lips parted, as if he was about to ask if he should take me to the hospital as well.
Just then, Elara Wren burst into loud sobs.
"Cyrus, it hurts so much! My foot isn't broken, is it?"
Seeing that I hadn't so much as frowned, Cyrus Sloan didn't hesitate to scoop her up into his arms, muttering,
"I never saw you get hurt when we used to race. Such a pathetic act. Did you think pretending to be hurt would make me feel sorry for you?"
: The Birthday Gift
In the end, my parents were the ones who rushed me to the hospital after hearing I'd been injured while racing.
But as we passed by a hospital room, we saw Cyrus Sloan at Elara Wren's bedside, softly coaxing her to drink some water.
My mother's fiery temper nearly erupted. She shoved her purse into my father's arms, ready to charge in and demand an explanation on my behalf.
I quickly held her back.
"Mom, Dad, Cyrus Sloan and I broke up. I'll explain everything to the rest of the family on my birthday."
As my mother watched the doctor bandage my arm, she suddenly mentioned that my brother would be able to come back from abroad for my birthday.
I gave her a confused look.
'Since when do I have a brother?'
My mother tapped my forehead with her index finger.
"You ungrateful girl. Your brother is the orphan of your father's comrade-in-arms. He took care of you for as long as you two lived together. How could you just forget him?"
She rambled on, saying she didn't know what happened as we grew up, but my brother's and my relationship had become completely strained.
He had even gone abroad to take on a project just to avoid me.
I froze.
Before I could dwell on it, Cyrus Sloan suddenly burst in.
He greeted my parents politely before fixing his gaze on me.
"Julia Sutton, you traumatized Elara Wren. Go and apologize to her."
He said it so matter-of-factly that I was stunned for a moment, then I laughed in anger.
"How does she have the nerve to expect an apology from me? If she hadn't suddenly grabbed my steering wheel, I never would have gotten hurt!"
The words had barely left my mouth when Elara Wren came stumbling in, wiping away tears, and dropped to her knees in front of me with a THUD.
"Ms. Sutton, you were going so fast, I was terrified! I wasn't thinking straight, I just wanted to beg you to stop."
"But I never expected that even though you're such a good racer, you'd still lose control of the wheel. If you want an apology, I'll apologize to you right now."
She bit her lower lip.
Her pitiful act immediately spurred Cyrus Sloan to scoop her up in his arms and walk out.
The whole series of actions was so fluid that by the time we processed it, my mother had nearly lost her temper and was about to tear the two of them apart. Thankfully, my father held her back.
Ten days later, Cyrus Sloan messaged me out of the blue.
"Elara Wren told me she was wrong about what happened that day. She wants to invite you to the amusement park. My driver is already at your house to pick you up."
He didn't give me any room to refuse.
As soon as we entered the amusement park, he led me toward the haunted house.
Cyrus Sloan walked ahead, holding Elara Wren's hand tightly, his other arm wrapped protectively around her waist.
They walked with their heads close together, leaving me to trail behind and watch their display of affection.
Deeper inside the haunted house, the two of them started to walk a little faster.
Suddenly, a hand clamped over my mouth, and I was dragged into the darkness.
An NPC in a monster mask cackled sinisterly as he taped my mouth shut. In the darkness, his rough hands began to roam all over my body.
The indicator light on the surveillance camera overhead flickered.
I struggled with all my might, but the NPC held me down, pressing my face against a cold one-way mirror.
"Don't blame me, Ms. Sutton. I'm just getting paid to take care of someone's problem."
On the other side of the mirror, Cyrus Sloan and Elara Wren were locked in a passionate kiss, like lovers reunited after years apart, desperate to meld into one another.
When the kiss ended, Cyrus Sloan gently cupped Elara Wren's face and placed a tender, cherished kiss on her forehead.
"Once I have the surveillance footage in my hands, Julia Sutton's big birthday present will be ready."
"Elara, you're the only one I've ever loved. I'll destroy the reputation of anyone who has ever bullied you!"
