Chapter 10
Chapter 10
For Brain Warrick’s birthday, I bought him a custom watch.
When I went to pick it up, I happened to scroll through my feed and saw a friend’s post from a birthday party.
My fingers paused when I noticed Mack Washington in one of the photos.
It hit me–today was his birthday.
One week before Brain’s.
the lively private room, Mack sat alone in a corner, his expression faintly melancholic.
There were comments below the post:
“Why does the birthday boy look a little down?”
“Aren’t birthdays supposed to be happy occasions?”
“Maybe it’s the loneliness of being single, haha~”
I figured that was probably why he seemed unhappy.
He still hadn’t won Pearl Forbs back.
I locked my phone screen and pushed the thought aside.
Carrying the delicately wrapped watch, I headed back to campus. But halfway through my journey, while waiting for a transfer, I unexpectedly ran into Mack.
I thought back to the location tag on that earlier post.
If he were returning to campus, it didn’t make sense for him to be here.
The sunset painted the sky with a pale yellow glow. His gaze flicked down to the gift box in my hand before he said quietly,
“Today’s my birthday.”
I didn’t know why he had shown up in front of me so suddenly, but perhaps when you’re genuinely happy, everything in the world feels more beautiful.
So, I didn’t hold back from offering my blessing.
Recalling those comments from earlier, I smiled at him and said sincerely,
“Happy birthday!”
“And… I hope you’ll win Pearl Forbs’s heart soon.”
I truly meant it.
But his previously calm expression instantly turned cold.
He strode forward, grabbing my shoulders with such force that the veins on his temples bulged. His voice, harsh and urgent, cut through the air:
–“Crystal.”
“Whd gave you the right to wish me success in chasing her?”
Before I could process his words, he demanded angrily.
“Who gave you permission to really forget about me?”
Chapter 10
It was then that I smelled the faint scent of alcohol on him.
He’d been drinking.
His grip on my shoulders was painful, and I frowned, meeting his gaze.
I didn’t understand.
“So…” I asked calmly, “Were you faking your memory loss?”
The atmosphere froze.
The wind rustled the tree leaves, shaking them gently as though trying to clear the air.
tension in his posture slowly eased, and his hands released their grip on me bit by bit.
He seemed deflated, lowering his head as his voice turned hoarse:
“I remembered a little.”
“I remembered that you were my girlfriend.”
I corrected him, “We broke up.”
He was chasing Pearl Forbs.
And I was now with Brain Warrick.
“That decision was made when we had amnesia–it wasn’t my real intention.” He reached for my hand again. “Now that I’m starting to remember, you will too.”
I took a step back, my voice rising in irritation:
“But you’re the one who said it–if you truly love someone, even if you forget them, the feeling doesn’t disappear.”
The truth was, we broke up during the time we couldn’t remember each other.
My rideshare finally arrived. As I turned to leave, his hand encircled my wrist.
“Crystal,” he said, his eyes tinged with faint redness. “Once you remember, you’ll know just how much you loved me.”
Ishook off his hand without hesitation and got into the car.
In the dim evening light, his figure faded in the rearview mirror until it disappeared completely.
He said that once I remembered, I’d realize how much I loved him.
I didn’t know whether his memory loss was real or fake.
And I didn’t care.
But I did know that I wouldn’t remember.
Because you can never wake someone who’s pretending to sleep.
And I was pretending.
10.99
