Chapter 2

Seraphina's POV

As I drove away from the Sterling estate, my phone rang again.

It was a voice memo from my mother.

I clicked play, and her shrill, piercing voice filled the car.

"I heard you signed the shares over to that bitch! Have you lost your mind? That was Serene's legacy! It belongs to our family!"

"Go back there right now! I don't care if you have to beg Julian on your knees or throw a fit—get those shares back! Otherwise, your father and I are disowning you!"

I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat, my knuckles turning white against the steering wheel. I felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion.

I had fought before.

The first time Julian demanded the shares, I threw a massive fit. I broke a vase in the living room, and we ended the night screaming at each other.

But halfway through my drive back then, remembering the sweet times we used to share, I had turned my car around, wanting to swallow my pride and talk to him rationally.

But when I reached his study, I overheard him talking to his assistant.

"Mr. Sterling, are you sure about this? Under state law, Mrs. Sterling is entitled to a portion of the marital assets. Transferring all her shares to Ms. Mercer might cause a massive PR backlash..."

Julian cut him off coldly. "And?"

The assistant went quiet for a few seconds before speaking in a low voice. "I just feel like... Mrs. Sterling is being treated unfairly. You know she wasn't the one who spiked your drink four years ago. Her parents set her up because they were desperate to secure the Sterling alliance. She's been carrying the blame for years. It's quite tragic."

A long, suffocating silence filled the study.

Just when I thought he wouldn't answer, Julian's voice rang out, devoid of any warmth.

"So what?"

"The Vance family dared to scheme against me. Whether she knew about the drug or not makes no difference."

"A woman who let her own parents use her as a pawn to climb into my bed doesn't deserve my respect, let alone my love."

He paused, and his next words pierced my heart like a dagger.

"The only woman I ever cared about was Serene. As for anyone else—"

"I don't give a damn."

He had known all along.

He knew I wasn't the one who drugged him.

He knew my parents had tricked me into bringing him that spiked drink.

He knew I was just a pawn sacrificed by my own family to secure a business alliance.

But he didn't care.

Even though he knew I was innocent, he let me take the fall for four years, allowing the world to spit on me and call me a shameless seductress.

I drove straight to my lawyer's office to submit the divorce papers. The clerk informed me that there would be a mandatory waiting period before the divorce was finalized.

As soon as I stepped out of the office, I received an email from the school board.

[Your application for the transfer to the rural school in Wyoming has been approved. It's a three-year contract, starting next month. We know you want to leave, but the living conditions there are incredibly harsh. Please think it over before you make your final decision.]

My eyes grew dim. Without a shred of hesitation, I replied: [Thank you. I have made up my mind.]

The day I learned the truth was the day I applied for the transfer to Wyoming.

I wanted to run as far away from this city as possible.

Everyone believed I was a shameless woman who seduced her dead sister's husband.

The leaked love letter was just the final nail in my coffin, cementing my status as a predator who had coveted Julian for years.

But they didn't know...

The first person Julian had ever loved was me.

He was the one who once promised to protect me forever and never let me shed a single tear.

I went back to my apartment, collapsed onto my bed, and fell into a deep, feverish sleep.

In my dreams, I relived my past with Julian.

It was seven years ago.

At seventeen, I fell in love with Julian Sterling at first sight.

He was the golden boy of our high school—wealthy, brilliant, the star athlete, chased by every girl in town.

But I wasn't intimidated. I was bold, and when I wanted something, I went after it.

Soon, the whole school knew that sophomore Seraphina Vance was aggressively pursuing senior Julian Sterling.

At first, Julian ignored me. Then he tried to avoid me. But eventually, he fell for me.

Those were the happiest days of my life.

But the summer after graduation, Julian asked me to meet him at the observatory to watch a meteor shower. I waited all night, but he never showed up.

Until his best friend ran up to me, eyes red. "Julian got into a horrible car crash on the way here..."

He survived, but he fell into a deep coma.

It was a long, excruciating wait. Even his own family began to lose hope, but I stayed by his side, believing he would wake up.

Five months later, Julian finally opened his eyes.

But the first thing he said to me was:

"Who are you?"

My world shattered in an instant.

The doctors said it was selective amnesia. He remembered everyone—except me.

I couldn't accept it. I brought him all our photos, trying to prove we were in love.

But every time I tried to make him remember, he would suffer from agonizing migraines. Once, he even went into shock.

The doctor gave a stern warning: no more triggers.

His mother fell to her knees, begging me, "Seraphina, I know you're hurting, but Julian can't take this anymore. Just pretend you two broke up, please?"

My heart broke. I nodded through my tears and vanished from his life.

But three years later, at my sister Serene’s engagement party, I saw her fiancé.

It was Julian Sterling—the man who had completely forgotten me.