The Divorce That Backfired

The divorce papers weren't even finalized before I got into a car accident and lost everything.

When Liam handed me that divorce agreement, I gasped so loud. "You've been secretly hoarding this much money?!"

1

Hospital room.

Liam had been pacing outside the door for ages, like he was debating whether he should push me on this right now.

He mumbled a bunch of things I couldn't understand. Then the doctor came in, confirmed I had genuine amnesia—not faking it. Liam's expression cycled through about five different emotions before he finally told me we'd been on our way to get divorced, and that I'd already backed out countless times before.

Okay.

I'll admit it—his face was pretty handsome. I liked what I saw.

But…

"Weren't we… mortal enemies back then?" I coughed awkwardly. "How did we end up married?"

Liam froze. He clearly hadn't expected me to forget that part too.

"Maybe it's better you forgot. Don't bother remembering…"

"LIAM!!!"

I shrieked.

I grabbed the divorce agreement and clung to him desperately. "Holy crap, you made THIS much money in a few years?!"

2

Liam, Vance, and I met in high school.

Back then, Vance was the academic superstar, and I was the slacker.

I'd grown up with Vance—my mom had him keep an eye on me and force me to study.

Liam was that cocky, handsome delinquent who tempted me to ditch my books, form cliques, and fight against his little gang.

Vance couldn't talk sense into me.

On the night after the college entrance exam, Vance was supposed to meet me to discuss our college applications. But I'd already made plans to throw down with Liam.

We'd agreed—three years of rivalry, tonight we settle it once and for all!

And the result?

The result was a joke.

Seven years after high school graduation, we'd ended up on a marriage certificate.

And I'd lost seven years of memories. I had no idea where Vance was.

Suddenly the door swung open. A woman walked in—her features looked familiar. She hesitated, then asked, "All set, Liam?"

Liam frowned and said impatiently, "Give it time."

I looked at him, then at her, and blurted out, "Weren't you my little sidekick back then?!"

3

Chloe used to be my follower. She came from a poor family, wasn't great at school, and was timid as a mouse.

When a group of real bullies picked on her, I saved her. After that, she stuck with me.

When Vance tutored me, she'd sit in too.

When Liam and I brawled, she'd cheer us on.

That little girl who used to hide behind me was now looking at me with cold distance and hostility. Her eyes held a hint of awkwardness and shame as she shot me a chilly glance and pressed her lips together.

"Holy crap, you're not his mistress, are you?"

It just slipped out.

A song that felt oddly familiar started playing in my head. *Then you became someone else's mistress…*

Ahem.

I couldn't help putting down the divorce agreement and clapping. *Soap opera. What a freaking soap opera.*

Even though I didn't remember marrying Liam or anything from the past few years, my brain still worked.

I put down the agreement. "I'm not signing this."

4

Liam stood there dumbfounded, then exploded. "SIENNA!!!"

He'd finally talked me into agreeing to the divorce. This was even our second trip to the courthouse after the mandatory waiting period.

I savored the frustration and defeat on his face, feeling like I was back in my senior year, ruling the school.

Chloe cut in. "Liam, take it slow with her. I believe she still loves you. She—"

I pointed at the cash amount on the agreement. "NONONO. Not enough."

"Too low."

I smacked my lips, ran my tongue over my back teeth, and looked at them. "You think I'd sign this garbage? Math was my best subject back then. Add a zero, and I'll sign."

"What do you take me for? Some pushover?"

"Hurry up. It's getting dark. The print shop's about to close."

5

An hour later, I clutched the revised divorce agreement, still warm from the printer, and smacked my lips in satisfaction.

What did Vance used to say?

He said if I didn't study hard, I'd never make money and end up as a housewife. But with my temper, I couldn't be a housewife. If I ended up with someone with a bad temper, I'd probably get beaten.

Ha! He probably never imagined I'd make this much money just by taking a nap…

I was so happy I wanted to jump.

I touched the fresh stitches on my head, hissed at the sting, and looked at the two people beside me with their green faces. Only then did I force my smile down.

"Oh, you know what they say—money can be earned again, but true love is hard to find. True love is hard to find."

"Sienna, did you really lose your memory?"

At that moment, something flickered in Liam's eyes as he looked at me slowly.

I finally settled down emotionally. When I met his gaze, maybe it was the lingering ghost of lost memories, but I pressed my lips together and felt a pang of sadness rise in my chest.

"Trust the doctors. Trust science."

"If I hadn't lost my memory, I'd be heartbroken. Losing it and agreeing to the divorce so easily—it's better for all three of us."

I looked up and smiled at Liam. "Shouldn't you feel relieved? Why do you look so unhappy?"

6

Just kidding.

With my memory loss came back not just my brains, but my emotional intelligence too.

Three people in this scene. If I believed Liam and Chloe's separation from me was completely innocent—that they were just a seamless transition—I'd eat my shoe.

So in my old self's eyes, these two were my enemies.

Even if I'd lost my memory, I wasn't going to let them off easy.

Sure enough.

Liam's face changed instantly.

Chloe quickly grabbed his arm and said flatly, "Sienna's right. It really is a relief for all three of us. Sienna, take care of yourself. That money should be enough to see you through. I hope you won't contact Liam about this anymore."

Oh.

Back then, he was my loser.

He couldn't beat me in a fight. He even lost to me in karate rankings. Had she forgotten that too?

How did I ever get interested in someone like this!

And he cheated.

I didn't bother hiding my disdain. I rolled my eyes at her, swallowed the harsh words, and asked, "I'll call Vance to pick me up from the hospital. Who needs you two?"

"Oh, and where's my phone? Is he in this city?"

"Sienna, you…" Chloe's face went pale, like she was finally accepting that I'd really lost my memory.

"What?" A bad feeling crept into my heart. I looked at them seriously.

Liam stared at me coldly and suddenly spoke. "You hurt Vance pretty badly. He went abroad for six years. I think he just came back last month."

Me?

Hurt Vance?

How? Did I hit him??

A sudden ache spread through my chest. I looked away from Liam and frowned. "Why don't I have his number saved?"

Back in high school, I always saved him as "Little Warden Gu." But now, no matter how much I scrolled, I couldn't find it.

Liam and Chloe exchanged a strange look, then ignored me and walked out.

My heart started racing.

I sent a message to the class group chat:

"Can someone give me Vance's contact info? Urgent! My little warden's gone missing. Help me find him~~"

People had been chatting in the group just a moment ago.

They'd been sharing videos of girls dancing.

Now it was dead silent.

After who knows how long.

In the midst of the silence, Vance's QQ account—which hadn't lit up in years—flickered and sent a single, cold word: "Ha."

7

I froze too.

The next second, I couldn't hold back my overwhelming energy. "Little Vancey, where are you? I'm in the hospital. Come pick me up."

"Funny story, hahaha. Classmates, I married Liam, and then we got divorced today."

I sent a string of laughing emojis.

Gotta say.

These emojis from years later were pretty nice.

More dead silence.

Then one classmate sent a string of dots, and the whole class followed suit.

What's with that?

"We were classmates! Show me some human decency, okay? Whatever happened before, your Queen Xi is back, haha…"

I looked at my body—much more polished than before—but inside, I felt exactly like a high schooler.

That wild, crazy energy right after the college entrance exam.

And I suddenly had all this money, ehehe…

After who knows how long.

My lovely classmates finally stopped spamming "66666."

Vance's avatar flickered again. "Which hospital?"

The class went silent for a second, then a flood of question marks.

A flood of exclamation points.

Great.

Internet culture these days was terrifying.

"W City, Third People's Hospital, Surgery Ward 712," I replied.

"Little Vancey, I want pan-fried buns."

Back in the day, I bossed Vance around like this without a second thought. Years later, it was muscle memory. After I sent it, I suddenly remembered to ask if Vance was married or had a girlfriend.

But the deed was done.

Luckily.

A moment later, in the silence, Vance's avatar moved and sent two simple words:

"Wait for me."

The group chat exploded with emojis, everyone giving Vance a thumbs-up.

I was confused.

But relieved. Looked like he didn't have a girlfriend.

I felt amazing.

Suddenly, my phone rang. An unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

Chloe's voice came through after a slow breath. "Sienna, I need to warn you. You and Vance are on really bad terms. You don't even talk to each other. I'll arrange a nurse for you. I'm worried that if he comes, it might trigger you, and you won't be able to handle it."

She meant Vance would get back at me?

How many times had she warned me about this?

I looked at the number. I hadn't even saved it.

"Chloe."

"Yeah." Her voice was tense.

I smiled. "I've always been closer to Vance and Liam than you have. What gives you the right to guess about my relationship with them? You're a lot braver now than you used to be. I'm happy for you."

"But—"

My smile turned bitter. "I really didn't see this coming from you."

8

Feeling humiliated, Chloe let out a cold laugh after a long pause. She deliberately turned to Liam and said, "Don't bother cleaning up. There's plenty of time to help me move in. I know Sienna used to hate me coming here, even made a scene about it. But from now on, it's perfectly legitimate."

"…It's fine." Liam's distant voice came through.

"She called Vance. How ridiculous… I'm afraid he'll go over there and yell at her."

"Oh?"

Liam's voice perked up, hesitant.

"Don't worry. I asked my aunt to arrange a nurse. She'll be at Sienna's place within an hour at most."

"…You handle it. Chloe, you don't have to be so kind."

I really hadn't given her too much credit.

I laughed coldly. "You don't have to show off your love story to me. I wish you two a long and happy life together. Say whatever you want about me. But Vance? If Vance comes over and yells at me, I'll do a handstand and bark like a dog—"

The door suddenly swung open.

A pale, elegant hand with smooth muscle definition appeared before me. Vance had sweat on his forehead, his expression tight. White shirt, gray trousers, looking slightly disheveled—like he'd come in a rush. He looked at me and walked over.

I was stunned by his devastatingly handsome face, then held my breath nervously.

…He wasn't really going to yell at me, was he?

9

"…Sienna?"

Seeming shocked that my attitude toward him had done a complete 180 after regaining consciousness, and realizing Chloe hadn't hung up, Liam's voice was pained and shocked, like he wanted to grab the phone and say something.

Chloe sounded nervous. "I forgot I didn't hang up. But you're divorced now, Liam. Don't fight with her…"

I couldn't be bothered listening to them blabber. Just as I was about to hang up, the man in front of me looked at my phone and smiled coldly—

"I won't yell at her."

"She's lost her memory. She needs someone to take care of her. If I don't come, who will?"

10

Perfect.

I stared blankly at the man in front of me.

I didn't know why—maybe the amnesia, or something else—but it felt like I hadn't seen Vance in a very, very long time.

His slender fingers reached out. He curled his lips in a faint, mocking smile and hung up the phone for me.

Vance touched my head, his voice hoarse like it was wrapped in sand. "There are no pan-fried buns downstairs, and you can't eat them anyway. These are steamed buns with mushroom filling… You really did lose your memory. Still craving those buns from the shop near school."

It was really Little Vance.

He'd come.

How could I have believed those two idiots, Liam and Chloe?

I was so happy I jumped up and hugged him, telling him all about my amnesia—my headache, my heartbreak. How I, Sienna, the 16th-generation grandmaster of W City's karate dojo, now had a marriage on my record, and I'd lost it because someone stole my man.

I heard Vance had been abroad for six years.

No wonder I'd been doing so badly without him.

"But I didn't let them off easy either."

I said stubbornly, "Look, I squeezed this huge pile of money out of them…" When I saw the money, I really couldn't stay sad.

Actually, as I said this, I was hugging Vance's neck. When he felt me come close, his cool, handsome face flushed at first, then his ears turned completely red. After a moment of silence, he reached up and hugged me back.

Maybe it was because my chest was bigger now?

Anyway, as I blushed and tried to push him away, I got dizzy and fell against him instead.

Vance's face tightened with worry as he pressed the call button.

It was true—being sick really brought people closer. He was hugging me like family, jotting down all the doctor's instructions, even offering to get me a bedpan… I was having none of it.

After I refused repeatedly, Vance paused. "I was afraid you'd be too embarrassed to ask."

I wasn't embarrassed at all.

They said I'd hurt him, and I still had the nerve to message him in the group chat. Why would I be embarrassed?

"Eating, sleeping, hugging—all fine. Bedpan? NONONO." I said seriously.

Vance smiled faintly. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, then reached out and touched my head.

"Sienna. Don't be scared."

I froze.

So he could tell.

That day after the college entrance exam was really a turning point for me and them. I'd gotten a piece of news, and then I got a call from Liam.

Liam had found out something terrible that day.

His proud, wealthy family was already falling apart. His father couldn't even wait for the day to end before bringing his mistress and two-year-old illegitimate son to dinner, calling Liam to join them.

His mother, who'd endured for years, was finally humiliated in public that day.

And Liam—who never cared about grades, who fought and skipped school like he was invincible—got into a brutal fight with his father that day.

He won, but he lost everything.

His 16-years-younger brother was crying his eyes out nearby. His father got up, ignoring his own dignity, worried only about scaring that child.

I'd gone to find Liam to fight that day.

In the end, I found him kneeling in front of a trash can, sobbing. I didn't know if he was crying for the three years he'd wasted, or for his mother, or for this messed-up world.

And me—his sworn enemy, who'd come to duel him—

In the end, I held him as he sobbed uncontrollably. My heart ached, my eyes welled up, and I said,

"I don't know how to comfort you. My parents have a great relationship, so let me tell you something sad that happened to me… Ah, it hurts so much. I like Vance. I confessed to him. Guess what he said?"

The man in my arms stopped shaking.

I laughed bitterly, my voice trembling as I said, "He told me he'd always seen himself as someone who takes care of me—like a parent with a child. When I suddenly said I liked him, he found it disgusting. Like incest. I could handle him not liking me back. But calling my feelings disgusting?"

"I'll never like anyone the way I liked him."

"I'm too proud for that. It won't happen again."

So that day was really the end of a secret crush and the beginning of a very public one.

I had no idea why my memory had suddenly jumped back to that day.

But seeing Liam and Chloe made me think—

Maybe I felt that day, I'd made the completely wrong choice.

11

Yeah.

I'd always been stubborn.

So even though Vance seemed to be showing his true feelings now, I turned away and said, "Who's scared?"

"Have you ever seen a rich lady this scared?"

"I'm scared now, yeah. Scared of dying with no one to inherit my massive fortune."

Vance didn't call me out on it.

He came over and hugged me.

His hands were so warm.

They looked like pianist's hands—long-fingered, elegant, strong. He stroked my back gently, but it couldn't calm the chaos in my heart.

Because right now, I'd forgotten those seven years with Liam, but I remembered my feelings for Vance.

And judging by how he was acting now, he bore no grudge. He was still taking care of me like before.

But I was the Sienna from seven years ago.

I couldn't just act like nothing was wrong.

"Tell me about those seven years?"

Vance paused. "What if I don't want to?"

What, did he want to go back to seven years ago too? Did his career fail? Did he get dumped?

I laughed internally, imagining all the ways he might have been unlucky these past seven years. Then he got a call—clearly an international number—and answered in fluent English that sounded like an IELTS 8 score.

I heard the word "PhD."

I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.

Die, you nerd.

He said he went abroad because I made him so angry. But he'd been getting a PhD! A PhD!!

If he wouldn't tell me, I could find out myself.

I checked our chat history. Empty.

Chloe's was full of passive-aggressive nonsense. I could almost picture how she'd wormed her way into someone else's relationship using her victim act.

And mine with Liam?

Unreadable.

"Not coming home tonight? Are you with Chloe?"

"Does she have no one else to call but you? Whose boyfriend are you?"

"You honestly believe her? You think I did that? Is that who I am to you, Liam?"

I couldn't read anymore.

My chest felt tight.

I got out of bed to go to the bathroom. I couldn't walk fast because of my head injury. When I opened the door, I found a naked man. Vance was wearing nothing but a watch. When he saw me, he froze for more than a second.

I stumbled backward, trying to close the door. My foot got caught, and I had to protect my head. I could only watch as the door creaked slowly shut in front of me.

…Then slowly creaked open again.

"VANCE! Why didn't you lock the door when you were showering?!"

"…I didn't expect a patient to be so quick on her feet."

"You owe me new eyes!" I was losing it.

"…Fine."

Pervert!!

I was so mad. I finally turned around slowly, covering my face. My heart felt bitter and raw. How could he not have liked me back then, but be so good to me now?

Had I been so mentally tortured by him that I went running to Liam?

12

During my hospital stay, I asked a few close friends about the major events in my life over the past few years.

Just a few things.

Liam and I had founded WenSong Tech Media.

Chloe was actually someone I'd introduced as an employee later.

Vance had scored really high on the college entrance exam but ended up at a second-tier university in a provincial capital. The school valued him and gave him a guaranteed spot in their graduate program.

But in his sophomore year, he got injured during a provincial basketball final—a severe Achilles tendon tear. He had to take a year off to recover, and his future depended on how well he healed.

Later, he just dropped out and went abroad.

As for me, even though I scored about 50 points higher than Liam, I still went to the same school as him. And Chloe.

Fate had started to diverge from that night after the college entrance exam.

13

When I knocked on Liam's door, it was opened by him—someone I hadn't seen in half a month.

I hadn't even texted him. I didn't expect anyone to be home. I figured, as the owner, I could just get the building management to let me in.

When Liam saw me, he froze.

Then he stumbled over and wrapped his arms around me tightly.

He breathed heavily into my ear, his voice hoarse and bitter. "…How could you not send me a single message for so long?"

"You were hurt. Even if we're divorced, I'd still take care of you."

"…How could you bear to let go?"

This guy was weird.

He was the one who pushed for the divorce. Maybe he was used to me chasing after him, unable to let go. But now that I'd suddenly changed, he couldn't handle it?

"Because I don't remember. I don't remember how good we were, or how bad you were to me. I don't feel anything for you anymore." I was afraid of getting hurt, so I didn't struggle. My head was more important than my pride.

I turned my head and looked at him coldly. "Didn't you know? I lost my memory on the way to get divorced."

Liam's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, like he'd been dealt a fatal blow.

"…You don't remember anything? Not even a little?"

"Yeah. My memory stops after the college entrance exam." I answered honestly, squinting. "Are you going to let go or not?"

"After the exam?"

Liam seemed to remember something too. He looked through me, thinking of that night, of what I'd said to him. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth, pressed me against the wall, and kissed me violently.

"You can't…"

"Sienna, you can't go back to that day!"

"You can't choose him. You're mine…"

I was genuinely terrified. When a man uses brute force, I was completely panicked. Even with all my strength, I couldn't break free.

"You promised me! You said you'd never contact him again, never make me doubt you again! Sienna, come back!!" Liam had lost it. He couldn't accept this. His lips landed on mine frantically, like he wanted to devour me and reshape me into someone else.

A force suddenly yanked him backward. Then a warm, solid chest caught me. A single punch separated us.

I was terrified.

Instinctively, I clung to this person.

Vance's eyes burned with fury, but his hands trembled as he carefully held me, smoothing down my disheveled hair.

He didn't say a word to Liam. He just checked if I was okay.

Liam got up after being punched, swaying like he was still drunk from the night before. He stared at Vance like he was facing a mortal enemy. Suddenly, his anger turned into a bitter laugh.

"Don't you have any self-respect, Vance? Sienna said such awful things to you, and you still come back to take care of her? Do you have no backbone as a man?

"Your athletic career was ruined because of her. But she told you not to hold a grudge, not to pursue the person who did it, and you listened. Years later, she calls, and you come crawling back like a dog.

"She's slept with me. I know every single one of her sensitive spots. Do you still want her after that?"

14

Those words hit me like a bomb.

Even with my amnesia, my head was spinning.

He was supposed to be the person closest to me. He'd emotionally cheated, pushed me into divorce, kept Vance away from me, and now he was humiliating my best friend with words like this.

Vance grabbed my clenched fist.

He took a deep breath. Instead of getting angry, he smiled faintly, like he was making peace with all the absurd years behind him.

He'd always known I was good at fighting.

He used to pick me up after my karate classes and make sure I didn't drink soda. For as many years as I'd trained, he'd bought me electrolyte drinks.

I thought he must have liked me at least a little.

But after I sent him that note through someone, he never showed up. Instead, Chloe brought back a note in his handwriting: "Sienna, don't make me sick of you. Don't ever say things like that to me again. Otherwise, we can't even be friends."

How could this be?

What went wrong?

Vance stroked my hair and let out a relieved breath. Seeing that I'd already heard everything and couldn't be shielded anymore, he smiled.

"Have you ever seen me fight, Sienna?"

No.

I'd only seen him play basketball.

That cool, reserved academic superstar was actually on the provincial basketball team. He'd worked his way up from the youth league. Once, the provincial team chose our school's court for a game, and the whole school saw Vance take off his uniform and put on his basketball jersey.

Sweating, scoring all over the court, dazzling.

How could an athlete not know how to fight? He set me down in a safe spot, then stormed over and grabbed Liam by the collar.

Hatred burned in both their eyes.

By the time I reacted, the furniture I'd found so annoying was practically destroyed.

I called the police. When they arrived, I ran straight to Vance.

When Chloe showed up, her face was awful.

She saw our intertwined fingers and froze for a long time. Then she looked at Liam and went to help him. But he shook her off.

Chloe: "…"

Liam came to his senses.

He covered his face and said hoarsely, "Sorry… I've been so focused on your feelings these past few days that I didn't go see Sienna. It's been eating at me. Chloe, she was with me for so many years. I can't help feeling bad."

Chloe's lips twitched. Smart as she was, she didn't say a word. Her voice trembled. "I know. Oh, I went to the hospital today. The baby's doing great."

Liam froze.

He looked at Chloe's smiling face, then at her belly, and finally turned to me with a dead expression.

I had nothing to say.

What could I say?

While they were fighting, my head had been pounding. Maybe it was the shock of Liam's words, but I finally remembered some things.

A few days ago, when Vance went back to extend his leave, the traffic police had come to see me.

They said that after reviewing the accident footage, my driving pattern was strange.

That day, I should have been on my way to the courthouse. But I got a call, turned around, and the footage showed me suddenly losing control. I hit the accelerator, the wheel wouldn't obey, and I crashed into the barrier.

I'd been learning to drive from my dad since sophomore year. I'd hauled cargo, driven fearlessly.

Crashing my own car into a barrier? I never thought that would happen to me.

I remembered some fragments. Chloe calling Liam away in the middle of the night.

Me working my ass off at the company while Liam made excuses to leave and canoodle with her.

Chloe crying about her grandmother having a breakdown because someone said to her face, "Your granddaughter's someone's mistress." She was sobbing pitifully, and I'd never even been to her hometown.

And most importantly—

The call I got on the day of the accident.

It was from Chloe.

15

The police finished taking our statements. Since no one was seriously hurt and no one wanted to press charges, they let us go.

I was holding Vance's arm.

But he pulled away to check my injuries first, then draped his jacket over one shoulder and wrapped his other arm around me.

As we passed Liam, who looked like a ghost, Vance turned his head.

"Whether I have self-respect or not, does it matter? She's more important than my pride."

But Liam seemed to remember something and sneered at him. "She has stress-induced amnesia, Vance. Sienna will remember everything."

My heart skipped a beat. I'd looked it up myself.

Unless there was a psychological reason that needed intervention, amnesia from a head injury usually resolved within a month to six months.

"So what?"

Vance smiled carelessly and pulled me closer. "I can afford to lose."

Liam seemed to break.

His face went blank. He couldn't say a word.

Vance was about to lead me away when I stopped. My heart was pounding so hard. It felt like that night after the college entrance exam—hot, suffocating, panicked. As soon as I left the exam hall, I ran to our meeting spot. I waited until dark, my parents' texts bombing my phone.

He never came.

My pride, my fierce reputation as the queen of Mingshan—I couldn't admit I'd been rejected.

And I swore I'd never confess again.

I suddenly turned to Chloe. "Chloe, back then, I asked you to tell Vance to meet me. Did you tell him? And that note he wrote me—did he really write it?"

Chloe was frozen in place.

With the real person right there, she couldn't lie. She could only stare at Vance, unable to get a word out.

"Say it."

I suddenly felt nervous, but also tense and urgent. My heart was calm, yet on the verge of a storm. I asked, word by word.

"I confessed to him. Did he really say I was disgusting?"

Vance frowned and grabbed my hand. His voice was cold. "…What confession?"

16

I didn't need to hear Chloe's answer anymore.

The moment I heard Vance's reply, my head went blank. I couldn't hear anything else.

The whole world shrank to Chloe's moving lips and nervous face, Liam awkwardly turning away, and Vance's patient, worried questions.

It was all fake.

My confession to Vance.

He never knew.

Those words weren't from him. Even the handwriting was forged by someone with ill intent.

A tidal wave of fury and regret crashed over me. I lowered my head to fight the dizziness and grabbed Vance's hand as he reached out worriedly to touch my forehead. "After the college entrance exam, I wanted to confess to you. I asked her to tell you. I waited for you in the school grove for three hours. You never came. Then you called me. I was so hurt, I didn't answer."

It wasn't that I didn't want to look up. My memory was stuck in that moment, and my face was burning hot enough to cook an egg.

Maybe amnesia was like being reborn. It made me feel like I had to seize the chance to clear things up, or I'd regret it forever.

Vance was more shocked than I was.

After a long moment, his slender hand landed on my shoulder. He looked at Chloe.

She looked like a drowned chicken, completely defeated. Trying to save face, she forced a cold smile and said to me, "I wasn't the only one who knew. I told Liam too. We discussed it. Guess what? He suggested I not tell you."

She wanted to drag Liam down with her.

She could see Liam's lingering feelings for me and wanted to destroy whatever was left between us.

I understood. I looked up and smiled brightly. "You're saying Liam liked me before the college entrance exam, so you two worked together?"

Chloe was completely defeated.

17

Afraid we'd start another fight, the police separated us into two pairs and told us to leave separately.

Vance had driven. They had to take a police car.

As I watched them leave, Vance stood there, cold and distant. He refused to get in the car, staring at them like he was trying to process some intense emotion.

The wind blew. He looked so lonely.

…And so handsome.

I couldn't comfort him. I was a mess myself.

Vance seemed to snap out of it. He leaned into the car and saw I hadn't buckled my seatbelt. He leaned over me, and I flinched, meeting his eyes up close.

"…Neither of us knows what to say."

"Scared to sit here? Want to sit in the back?"

"I'm not scared. I remember you drive safely."

These days, "drive" had another meaning online. When he heard that, he held his composure for a few seconds, then his breathing started to quicken. His thin lips seemed to be inviting me.

"…Sienna, I really didn't know."

I was so embarrassed.

"Let's talk later."

Besides the house I'd shared with Liam, I didn't have any other property. All my money was tied up in the company. I hadn't even bought myself a home, luxury goods, or investments.

In the end, I walked away with a big chunk of cash and 20% of WenSong's shares. Nothing else.

Vance worked in another city, but somehow he'd managed to take this much time off. He quickly found us a rental.

Since I couldn't do much with my head injury, Vance moved everything himself. His arms and back were soaked with sweat, his clothes clinging to him. It was incredibly sexy.

Maybe I was staring too hard.

He finally put down what he was carrying.

"Maybe you should lie down for a bit? If you keep looking at me like that, I'll lose all my strength soon."

I exploded. "What do you mean? Is it that obvious? I grew up with you taking care of me. Is it so crazy that I'd fall for you? Look in the mirror! Aren't you handsome? Is my taste that bad? Are you rejecting me again? For the second time? Haven't I suffered enough…"

We'd cleared up the misunderstanding.

But he still hadn't responded to my teenage crush.

There was still a chance he'd say no.

His lips met mine—cool with autumn's chill, but burning underneath. I was caught off guard as Vance wrapped his arms around me.

Like he was trying to erase the marks Liam had left, he kissed me hard and steady.

I melted in seconds.

I tried to speak.

He kissed me again.

We tugged at each other's clothes, like a never-ending battle.

That afternoon, Vance strode forward, picked me up like a little chick, and kissed me until I was dizzy. I learned for the first time that even a nerd could kiss with such fierce, hungry passion.

Afraid of pressing me against the wall and hurting my wound, he pulled me tightly against him.

My heart was racing like crazy.

In the end, we were both desperate, like we were trying to make up for a dream from our youth.

After we settled in, we started sleeping in separate rooms. Vance had been away from work for too long, so he was out early and home late a few days a week. But someone always came by to check on me.

I called my family to say I was fine but didn't go home. I didn't want them to know about the divorce, and especially not about my injury.

One day, after getting everything sorted, I hailed a taxi.

I'd tried to get Liam to give me the divorce certificate several times, but he wouldn't come. So I had to go myself.

I gave the driver the company's address. Chloe called again.

She sounded frantic.

"…Sienna, because of that huge payout to you, the company's cash flow has dried up. We can't cover the upfront costs, and we can't execute the orders. Please, have mercy. Save Liam, okay?"

18

Honestly, if this had happened before, I would have lent them the money at market interest.

But now that I knew Chloe had sabotaged me with Vance, and the things Liam had said about things I didn't know, that was off the table.

"I'll come take a look. I'm almost there."

Over the past few days, fragments of memory had been coming back. My college studies, my work experience—some of it was returning.

The closer I got to WenSong's building, the stronger the memories felt. Surprisingly, I didn't feel much pain or resentment toward the company.

I bumped into someone at the entrance. He looked at me with familiarity.

"Little Xi?"

I squ