Chapter Two:

Lucien's POV

"She doesn't remember you." The words hit me like a quiet gunshot. I don't turn around immediately. I stand at the edge of the balcony outside the boardroom, fingers gripping the cold railing, eyes fixed on the city below. The skyline looks steady. Predictable. Controlled.

Unlike my life. "She looked at you like you were a stranger," Evelyn repeats softly behind me. I close my eyes for one second. Just one. If I let it last longer, I might feel too much. "I know how she looked," I reply.

My voice sounds calm. It always does. That's the problem. People mistake calm for indifference. They don't see the war underneath.

Inside the boardroom, directors are already whispering. News spreads fast. The resurfaced video of Elara standing beside me at that private gala has exploded online. She wore white that night. She looked at me like I was her entire world.

Now she looks at me like I'm a threat.

"She confronted you?" Evelyn asks.

"Yes." "And?"

I laugh quietly. There's no humor in it. "She asked if I manipulated her." Evelyn stiffens. "Did you?" The question lingers longer than it should, "I protected her," I say finally. "That's not the same thing." I don't answer.

Because sometimes protection and control blur until you can't separate them. The first time I saw Elara again after all these years, I thought I was prepared. I had imagined it a thousand times. She would freeze. Her eyes would soften. Some part of her would recognize me.

Instead, she pulled her hand away when I touched her.

As if I burned her.

I told myself it was a shock. Confusion. But the truth is harsher; she truly doesn't remember. And that means the version of her that loved me is gone. The board meeting begins without me. I walk in late on purpose. Silence falls instantly. Serena Vale sits at the far end of the table, legs crossed, smile calm and elegant. Too calm. She looks like someone who already knows how this will end. "Lucien," she says smoothly. "We were just discussing the situation."

"I'm sure you were."

I take my seat at the head of the table. My seat. The position I bled for.

A director clears his throat. "The shareholders are concerned. The woman in that video." "Has a name," I cut in. "Elara Quinn." "And what is her relation to you?"

There it is.

Serena watches me carefully. She wants to see how I handle this.

I could deny it. Control the narrative. Say she was an old employee. A distant associate. But I'm tired of lying for survival. "She was my wife." Gasps echo around the room. Serena's smile flickers for half a second. Just enough. "Was?" she repeats lightly. "So the divorce is finalized?"

"Yes."

"Before or after her accident?" The question is sharp. Intentional. I meet her eyes. "Before."

"Interesting." She tilts her head slightly. "Because the documents circulating online suggest the divorce was filed the same day she was hospitalized." Whispers again, I keep my face unreadable, but inside, something twists. That detail was never supposed to surface, "It's a coincidence," I say. Serena's eyes shine. She enjoys this. "Coincidences are expensive in our world."

I lean back in my chair. "Careful, Serena."

"Careful of what?" "Of pushing too hard."

She holds my gaze, fearless. That's what people admire about her. They don't see the ambition underneath. "I'm thinking of the company," she says. "If the public believes you hid a marriage, erased your wife's identity, and now she conveniently 'forgets' you, it raises questions." I feel the board shifting. Doubt is contagious, "She forgot because she had a brain injury," I say coldly. "Of course," Serena murmurs. But perception matters, and perception is already turning against me.

After the meeting, I walk straight to my office. I don't slam the door, I don't shout, I sit, and I allow myself one moment of honesty.

I am afraid. Not to lose the company. Of losing her.

Because if Elara digs deeper, she will uncover everything.

The erased records. The financial transfers are in her name. The hidden assets she co-owned. She will discover how powerful she once was, and she will hate me for letting her forget. A knock interrupts my thoughts.

"Come in." Lino steps inside without waiting for permission.

My brother always had that habit. He never respects boundaries. He smiles like he belongs everywhere. "Quite a show in there," he says casually.

What do you want? He shrugs. "To help," I almost laugh.

"You don't help. You calculate." His smile widens slightly. And you don't lie well when you're emotional, I stiffen. Say what you came to say. He walks closer, lowering his voice. "She's starting to investigate."

My chest tightens. "How do you know?" "She visited the old medical facility this morning. Asked about her therapy." I stand immediately. "Who told her to go there?" "No one," he says lightly. "Maybe she's smarter than you think." Elara digging on her own is dangerous. She won't find anything, I say. Lino's eyes gleam. "Are you sure?" Something in his tone unsettles me. What did you do? I ask quietly. He chuckles. "Still so dramatic, Lucien. Not everything is about sabotage." "With you, it usually is." He steps closer until we're almost face-to-face. "You always believed you were protecting her. But maybe she needed protection from you." I feel anger rising, sharp and sudden.

"You're not innocent in this," I say.

"Neither are you."

For a second, there's no brotherhood between us. Just rivalry. Old resentment. Silent hatred. She doesn't remember, I say carefully. That's the only reason she's safe. Lino's expression changes. Just slightly.

"Safe?" he repeats.

"Yes."

He studies me like I just revealed a secret. You really believe that, don't you? What are you implying? He steps back, adjusting his cuffs. "Nothing. Just wondering how long you think this fragile illusion will last."

I don't respond because I don't know. Later that evening, I do something I shouldn't, I drive to Elara's apartment, and I tell myself it's to check on her. To make sure she's not being followed. To ensure the media hasn't harassed her.

But that's not the real reason. The real reason is simple.

I miss her. I park across the street and watch her window. The light is on. A shadow moves behind the curtains; she's home. My chest tightens with something painfully human. Jealousy. Because she lives a life without me now. She laughs without me. She breathes without remembering what we had. I step out of the car before I can stop myself. When I knock, my heart beats harder than it did during the board meeting.

She opens the door.

And for a moment, everything goes quiet. She looks tired. Conflicted. Stronger than she was earlier. "What are you doing here?" she asks.

Her voice is steady, but her eyes betray curiosity.

"I needed to see you."

"Why?"

Because I love you. Because I destroyed you. Because I don't know how to fix this. Instead, I say, "You're investigating." Her eyes narrow slightly. So you're watching me.

"I'm concerned." "Concerned," she repeats slowly. "Or controlling?"

The word hits.

"I'm not your enemy, Elara."

She folds her arms. Defensive. Then stop acting like I belong to you. The old Elara would never have said that. The new one does.

I don't think you belong to me, I say carefully, but you once chose me. Silence stretches between us. Her expression shifts, not soft, not angry, something else. You keep talking about the past like it's romantic, she says quietly. "What if it wasn't?"

That possibility punches deeper than any accusation. "What do you mean?" "What if I left you for a reason?" she whispers.

Fear crawls up my spine.

"Who told you that? "No one. I found something." My pulse spikes. "What?" She hesitates, and for the first time, I see something in her eyes that wasn't there before. Suspicion mixed with determination. "I found a copy of the divorce petition," she says. "The signature on it doesn't look forced." I feel the ground shift under me. "It looks deliberate," she continues. "Like I wanted out. You don't remember why, I say quickly.

"Exactly." She steps closer, searching my face. "So tell me, Lucien."

Her voice drops, steady but shaking underneath.

"Why did I divorce you the same day I ended up in the hospital?"