The day my fiancé’s foster sister was diagnosed with stomach cancer, I got into a car accident.”
I remember thinking, ‘I can’t die. Not yet. If I do, he’ll fall apart.”
When I finally woke up, groggy and disoriented, I could barely make out Brian’s voice.
He was talking to someone–his private doctor, I think.
“Switch out all her meds for water. Don’t let her recover too quickly. And make sure she takes this drug. We need to guarantee she truly loses her memory.”
The doctor’s voice trembled. He clearly wasn’t comfortable with what he was hearing. “Mr. Thompson, crashing Miss Ellington’s car so that you can go on a dating show with your sister was already over the line. Besides, this medicine hasn’t been successfully developed yet. Apart from memory loss, there will be other side effects.”
Brian didn’t flinch.
His voice stayed cold. “Going on the show with Addison is her dying wish. But I don’t want Kaia to get hurt. If she forgets everything, she won’t feel the pain. Once Addison’s gone, I’ll give her the cure. She’ll fall for me all over again. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take care of her. For life.”
But what he didn’t know was that the drug wouldn’t just erase my memories. It would also make me lose every bit of love I had for him.
And that–well, there’s no cure for that kind of loss.
Three days later, I stopped loving Brian Thompson completely.”
Kaia’s POV
After giving me the drug, Brian stayed close. He sat by my side, holding my hand like he used to. The warmth of his touch nearly made me dizzy.
I squeezed my eyes shut. But the tears still came, slipping out from the corners like they had a mind of their own.
Panic crept into his voice as he tried to comfort me.
“Kaia, hey… does it hurt?” His voice was soft, almost tender.
I couldn’t fake it anymore. The side effects hit hard, and I started vomiting, nearly choking up bile.
Brian rushed over with a glass of water, moving so quickly that he didn’t even notice the glass cutting his hand.”
Still clinging to one last thread of hope, I looked up at him. “Who are you? And who am I?”
His eyes flickered for a second.
But Brian’s reply was calm and rehearsed: “Kaia, you’re my sister’s assistant and my friend. You were in a car accident. You lost your memory. I’m here to take care of you.”
I laughed bitterly, pushing him away with a wave of my hand.
Under his confused gaze, said, “Thanks. I can take care of myself.”
Four years as his girifriend. Two years engaged. We were supposed to be getting married.
Yet all I got was the label of ‘friend.‘
How ironic.
That stung more than anything.
Brian stood awkward as hell, trying to figure out what to say. I’d never pushed him away before, and now the space I put between us made him visibly uncomfortable.[]
He opened his mouth–maybe to explain or lie again–but a bright, chirpy voice filled the room before he could say anything.
“Brian! I missed you so much, and it’s only been an hour!”
A girl came bouncing in like a puppy off its leash, straight into his arms.§
He caught her automatically. One arm wrapped around her waist, the other rested gently on her head.§
Clinging to him like a koala, she turned and smiled at me. “Brian, shouldn’t you introduce us if she lost her memory?”
He ruffled her hair like she was made of glass. “Kaia, this is my sister, Addison.“!!
Addison pouted.
She protested, “Nuh–uh! I’m your girlfriend, too, remember? Right, Brian?”
He sighed, giving in. “Yeah, yeah, my dear girlfriend. Now get down. You can’t handle this physically.“@
I just stared.
The Brian I knew hated Addison. Sure, he treated her like a kid when they were growing up, but the moment she turned eighteen and confessed her feelings, he was horrified. He moved out that same week and cut her off completely.
When we started dating, he knew I might feel weird about Addison. So, to prove I came first, he sent her abroad and hadn’t seen or talked to her in six years.
So now what? Was all that just an act?
guess my expression gave me away, because Brian quickly tacked on, “My sister’s sick… she—“R
212
Addison interrupted sharply, “Brian, why are you telling my assistant all this?”
