**Chapter 2**
When I next awoke, I was met with the harsh, glaring white of a hospital room.
“Elara, how are you? Is there anywhere else you’re uncomfortable?”
A familiar voice reached my ears, followed by a gentle, kind face. Liam Parker sat by my bedside, his eyes bloodshot. He looked like he’d been watching over me for a long time.
“…Liam?”
My memory from before I fainted slowly trickled back. I forced myself to sit up. “Was it you who saved me?”
Liam nodded, his voice laced with lingering fear. “I tried calling you repeatedly, but you didn’t answer. When I rushed to the Sterling mansion, I heard you’d been locked in the cold storage…”
He trailed off mid–sentence as the hospital room TV suddenly blared a news report-
“Sterling Financial Group and Reed Industries formally announce their engagement today. Mr. Damien Sterling and Miss Seraphina Reed will hold their wedding next month…”
On screen, Damien was impeccably dressed in a suit, his face stern, while Seraphina, clinging to his arm, smiled radiantly.
A perfect match, made in heaven.
Liam immediately grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.
A brief silence fell in the room.
After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and looked at me. “Elara, I know about everything that’s happened recently.”
D
9:26 AM
<
“Before, you couldn’t escape, but now… Damien has amnesia.” His voice was soft but firm. “I’ll take you away. How about
it?”
I lowered my eyes. “Thank you, Liam. I’ve already made arrangements to finalize my overseas paperwork.”
“The Sterling family has been in politics for three generations. He can’t leave the country.” I paused. “As long as I go abroad, he’ll never see me again.”
A flicker of joy crossed Liam’s eyes. He instinctively reached out and grasped my hand. “That’s wonderful! I’ll go with you to get the paperwork done!”
I tensed slightly, subtly pulling my hand away.
He realized his overstep and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, I just… I got too excited.”
He paused again, his gaze serious and gentle. “But I hope you understand how I feel.”
“It’s been so long. You can tell, right?”
I remained silent, offering no reply.
Of course, I knew.
From the very first day Damien had taken me by force, Liam had been secretly helping me.
He had once proactively offered to help me escape, but I knew Damien’s methods better than anyone.
I’d tried running ten or more times, and not once had I succeeded. The longest I’d lasted was no more than ten minutes
before being dragged back.
Once, a man at a bar merely tried to chat me up, and the very next day, his entire presence vanished from the city.
Damien’s influence spread like an inescapable net. I couldn’t get away, and I certainly didn’t dare implicate Liam.
So, I had never responded to his feelings.
I closed my eyes, my fingertips trembling slightly. “Liam, I…”
He seemed to sense what I was about to say and quickly cut me off. “I’m not asking you to respond right now!”
“I just want to tell you…” He took a deep breath, his voice gentle and firm. “Once you leave this place, you can finally live your own life.”
“Do the work you love, go to places you like, and… fall in love, the kind that makes your heart flutter.”
He smiled, a hint of bitterness in his eyes. “Even if it’s not with me, I’ll be happy for you.”
“I just hope you can return to a normal life and not be affected by this past year.”
I froze for a moment, my eyes welling up.
After a long pause, I softly said, “Thank you.”
9:26 AM
<
“Once I leave here, I’ll resume a peaceful life.” I looked out at the bright sunshine through the window, my voice light. “Travel, work, and… fall in love.”
Liam finally breathed a sigh of relief, his brows relaxing. “Then I’ll go with you to get the paperwork done.”
That afternoon, Liam accompanied me to complete the expedited overseas procedures.
“Your visa should be ready in two weeks at the fastest.” The staff handed back my ID. “Have a pleasant trip.”
Stepping out of the embassy, I let out a long breath. The sunlight warmed my face, and a long–lost sense of ease washed
over me.
Liam drove me back to the mansion, and all the way, he chatted casually about my arrangements abroad.
He said that once the paperwork came through, I should go first. His family also had businesses overseas, and he would apply to transfer there.
“Elara, don’t feel pressured,” he added quickly, as if fearing I’d refuse. “Our family just happens to be expanding into the overseas market; it’s not specifically for you.”
The car stopped at the mansion gates. I was about to get out when Liam suddenly called out, “Wait.”
He reached out and gently smoothed my wind–blown hair, his movements as tender as if he were handling something fragile and precious.
I instinctively looked up, but the next second, my entire body stiffened.
Not far away, on the steps, an icy gaze was fixed on me!
