Ashton had always been deeply devoted. However, on the day his first love was diagnosed with cancer, he handed me a pill that could erase memories.

"Macie," he said gently, "Lydia doesn't have much time left. Give me three days—to give her the wedding she's always dreamed of."

"I promise I won't break your heart.This pill will make you forget, just temporarily. Once it's over, you'll take the antidote, fall in love with me again, and we'll get married—properly, this time."

His eyes left no room for doubt.

So I took the pill and swallowed it. No hesitation.

However, what Ashton did not realize...

I created the memory-erasing drug.

There is no antidote.

In three days, I'll forget him—forever.

Ashton Smith checked his watch as he left the County Clerk's Office, the divorce papers still warm in his hand.

"In two minutes, the pill will kick in. You'll lose every memory of loving me for the next three days. Once you pop the antidote, you won't remember a thing that happened while we were apart—no pain, no heartache.

"This split? It's just a break. We'll get married again once the dust settles. You're the only one for me, Macie. Always."

I watched him as a silent storm brewed inside me.

I knew too well the power of the pill I created. It did not wipe memories in a snap but washed them away slowly until the love I knew vanished into thin air.

The worst part was that there was no antidote. Not yet, at least.

Ashton, however, did not have a clue.

"Are you sure about this?" I whispered.

He grinned, running his fingers through my hair with a lover's touch.

"Lydia's been crazy about me for ages. Her wish is to have a big, fat wedding. I couldn't say no. No regrets, not when it comes to love.

"Macie, you're the understanding type. There's no need to pick fights with a sick woman. We'll get back to bliss soon enough."

I forced a smile, the acid of unshed tears spreading through me. I stayed quiet.

Once, in our golden year, I battled for his projects, drank until my stomach rebelled, and he pulled all-nighters for my research until his heart skipped beats.

I teased him once, asking what he would do if I got old and forgot him.

His eyes turned glassy as they welled up with tears, and he kissed me hard.

"Macie, I love you. Don't forget me, or I'll lose my mind."

When he found out his first love, Lydia Sharp, was battling cancer, he blindsided me with divorce papers, insisting I take pills to wipe our history from my mind.

I bet he wanted to give her three perfect days of love with no flaws and no inconvenient wife in the picture—just his undivided affection.

If he was bold enough to fall out of love in broad daylight and make me swallow those pills, why bother remarrying me?

It was all so pointless.

I could not help but let out a bitter laugh, my lips twisting into a sardonic grin.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my head, my balance faltered, and I leaned forward.

Ashton's quick hands steadied me, his eyes a deep well of worry.

"Feeling off? If you're that scared I won't come back, I can leave the divorce papers and everything else with you."

I straightened up, giving Ashton a puzzled look as I asked, "What divorce papers?"

He hesitated, then probed cautiously, "Macie, you're divorced, remember?"

"Divorced?"

The confusion on my face sparked a flash of joy in his eyes that he could not quite hide.

I glanced down at the divorce papers I was clutching and it hit me.

The drug was kicking in, scrubbing the first memory it was designed to erase—our divorce.

Ashton snatched the papers from my hand, his voice gentle, maybe too gentle.

"Macie, I'm your brother. You've been sick, and you've lost some memories. I'll keep these important papers safe for you."

I met Ashton's shifty eyes and kept silent, not calling him out on his lie.

If he wanted to play that game, I would play along.

Just then, a syrupy voice cut through the air.

"Ashton, there you are."

I turned towards the commotion and saw Lydia prancing our way, tripping over a stone in her path.

Ashton instinctively released me to catch her in his arms.

I was caught off guard and stumbled against the wall, throbbing in my head then a sharp stab of pain.

Lydia nestled into Ashton's embrace, her smile tinged with bashfulness. "Ashton, thank you for catching me."

Ashton's expression shifted as he realized the situation. Then he quickly turned to me.

"Macie, are you alright? Lydia's not well, and a fall could cause serious bleeding. I had to make sure she was safe first. I'm sorry."

I steadied myself as I brushed off the dust. With a strained voice, I replied, "I'm fine."

Lydia sidled up again, clinging to Ashton's arm, her voice a whisper.

"Ashton, we're only talking about a divorce. Why is it taking so long? I've been waiting for you."

I could not help but stare at them, and Ashton, with a guilty cough, met my gaze but did not shake her off.

"It's all settled now. We can get on with the wedding."

A gleam of triumph flashed in Lydia's eyes as she gave me a smug look. "Macie, I've loved your brother for five years, and now, we're finally getting married. The wedding's in three days, so you have to be there."

I forced a smile. "My brother's wedding? I wouldn't miss it."

Her grin widened. "Great! You'll be our wedding photographer. Make sure to capture the moment Ashton and I kiss..."

"Lydia…"

Ashton's expression turned stormy, a silent plea for her to hold her tongue.

His gaze fixed on me, searching my eyes for sorrow and finding none, a wave of discomfort washed over him.

"She doesn't need to be at our wedding."

I kept my face carefully neutral.

Lydia's brow creased as she heard Ashton address me. With a feigned fragility, she crumpled into his embrace.

"Ashton, my chest… It's hurting terribly. I can hardly breathe."

Ashton's eyes flashed with concern as he wrapped his arms around her. "Is it the illness flaring up? Just hang in there. I'll get you to the hospital immediately."

He then glanced at me and asked softly, "Macie, you still know the way home, right? Do you need someone to escort you?"

I shook my head. "No, I've got it."

Ashton was silent for a moment, recalling what the staff had told him. The drug would only erase memories of the person I loved most, not harm other memories.

As he realized he was that person for me, his frown eased.

"Okay, then head on home. I need to get Lydia to the hospital."

He gently lifted Lydia into his arms and they got into the car.

In his hold, Lydia's voice was barely a whisper, "Ashton, to be held by you, out in the open like this... If I died now, it would all be worth it."

"Don't speak like that," Ashton murmured back, a soft reprimand.

Through the car window, I watched him buckle her in. Lydia seized the moment to pull him close, pressing a tender kiss to his earlobe.

The sight sent an icy, sharp pang through my heart—the sting of betrayal.

As his car faded into the distance, my phone began to ring.

When I answered, the person on the other end of the line spoke.

"Ms. Pearson, the Aetherion Research Institute has everything set for your welcome ceremony. We're looking forward to seeing you in three days."

After hanging up the phone, I headed home. It was only then that I was struck by the stark emptiness of the place.

There was nothing left but a hollow shell.

It was the house Ashton and I had made our own, where he once promised we would spend our lives together in that cozy little nest.

However, the coffee set we had lovingly designed, the knick-knacks we had chosen—all traces of him had vanished without a trace.

He must have been afraid I would cling to the memories, or maybe he did not want me to spiral out of control and ruin his upcoming wedding with Lydia. He had even turned the soil of the flowers we had nurtured together on the balcony.

Looking around the barren rooms, I could not help but smirk bitterly.

'Ashton, you've covered all your bases. Are you more afraid of my pain or the chaos of me remembering and wrecking your big day with Lydia? Would you have any regrets if you knew there was no turning back for me, no memories to reclaim?' I mused silently.

I slipped off my wedding ring, penned a final note to him, and sealed both our rings in an envelope, tucking it into the empty space of a flowerpot.

Just then, my phone rang with urgency.

It took a moment for my best friend, Noelle Mason, to find her words.

"Macie, I've got to tell you something. Ashton's cheating. I just caught him outside the hospital, all wrapped up with another woman."

I let out a nonchalant hum and replied, "It's fine. Let him do what he wants."

Noelle's voice cracked with surprise, "Macie, are you... Are you sure you're alright?"

Her concern was so genuine that it brought a laugh out of me.

"What could go wrong for me now? Ashton and I have already signed the divorce papers."

"Divorced?!"

I laid out the whole messy tale for Noelle, and when she heard about the pill I had taken, she let loose with a string of expletives.

"The nerve of him, scheming to marry that woman. He'd stoop to anything. You passed up the great opportunity at work to stand by him, poured your heart into his success—half of what he has is all thanks to you.

"Now, for some other woman, he's ready to sideline you, feeding you some cock-and-bull story about sparing you pain, slipping you a memory-wiping drug. What gives him the right? How can he even look at himself in the mirror?!"

A sharp pang shot through me, my face draining of color.

Five years back, when Ashton was down and out, I did not think twice before saying 'I do'.

I called in every favor to breathe life back into his business.

He used to cling to me every night, murmuring that I was his eternal love.

However, as time wore on, things started to shift.

Ashton's heart made room for someone else.

He brushed aside everything I had done, expecting me to be the perfect, understanding wife, even as he begged me to pardon his soft spot for Lydia.

Was it so hard to keep loving someone, just as before? Why was it that I could, and he could not?

Noelle was on the other end of the line, letting rip a storm of words, and after wearing herself out, she finally caught her breath and laid down her verdict.

"I bet my bottom dollar that he'll rue the day he divorced you and fed you those amnesia pills! Ha! He has no clue you haven't whipped up an antidote. Let him suffer the consequences, and you, you're finally free to move on."

My eyes flicked to the letter tucked away between the flowerpots.

After all the years with Ashton, I knew his routines inside out.

Ashton would often find solace in a lonely glass of liquor on the balcony when the blues hit him hard.

If he truly felt remorse on the day I walked away, that letter would surely catch his eye.

Deep into the night, Ashton came inside and turned the room upside down.

"What are you up to?"

He froze, catching sight of me in my pajamas at the bedroom door.