Cassi exhaled slowly. There was no going back now.
Rick stood frozen, jaw clenched, but it was her stepmother Rica who finally spoke.
"You can't be serious," she said sharply. "That arrangement was made over a decade ago. It was never real."
Randall's cool gaze flicked to her. "It was never voided, either."
Marlon shifted uneasily. "Father, maybe we should talk about this before-"
"No," Randall said with finality. "She remembers the engagement. That's all I need."
"She just woke up," Rica added with a shaky laugh. "Maybe we should wait and let her recover first."
Randall didn't answer. He was already dialing. Rick turned back to her, voice tight with panic.
"You're making a mistake, Cass. Ezekiel isn't the kind of man who'll play house just because your memory's fuzzy. He's not some knight in a fairytale. He's ruthless."
Cassi met his eyes coldly. "Good. That means he won't cheat on me."
His face went white.
Then Randall's voice cut through the room. "Ezekiel. It's Randall. I need a word with you."
Cassi's heart thundered as the silence stretched. She couldn't hear Ezekiel's voice on the other end. But whatever he said made her grandfather smile faintly.
"I need you in the country by tomorrow," Randall said calmly. "It's about your bride."
A pause. Then Randall gave a slow nod.
"Good. I knew you'd understand."
He ended the call and turned to them.
"He's coming."
Rick's fists clenched.
But it was Cassi who sat frozen, the weight of her own lie finally catching up.
"He agreed to come?" she asked, voice barely a whisper.
Randall nodded, walking over to kiss her forehead. "He always honors a deal. Especially with blood."
Then he turned to everyone in the room and said, "All of you, step out for now and let the doctor and nurse finish checking on my granddaughter."
He faced his son-in-law, Marlon, and added, "I'll stay with her. You, your second wife, and her daughter can head home."
Then he looked at Rick and said sharply, "My granddaughter doesn't remember you right now, so don't give her a headache. Leave."
Everyone's mouth fell open in shock, but no one dared to argue with Grandpa Randall.
The doctors began asking Cassi questions, and just as they finished checking on her, her father returned, entering alone this time, right in time to hear the doctor's assessment of her condition.
"Her vitals are stable now. Heart rate, blood pressure, and reflexes, all normal," The Doctor started.
Cassi stayed quiet, her gaze unfocused as if she hadn't really heard him. But every word sank into her chest like a slow, steady drum.
"We can begin light physical therapy in a day or two," the doctor continued. "Just to help her regain strength. But overall, she's physically sound. No signs of internal trauma or long-term damage."
He flipped a page on his clipboard and added carefully, "However, it appears she's experiencing selective retrograde amnesia. From what we can tell, she doesn't remember anything that happened in the past year."
Cassi's fingers curled slightly under the blanket. Bingo.
That was exactly what she wanted them to believe. The past year was when everything fell apart, when she met Rick, when she ignored her instincts, when she trusted the wrong people. If pretending to forget gave her room to breathe and plan her next move, then so be it.
The doctor gave her a soft smile. "It's not uncommon after a traumatic event. The mind sometimes protects itself by blocking out the most distressing memories. But with time, things may return naturally."
She gave him a faint nod. "I… I see."
Her voice trembled just enough to sell the act.
Marlon, her father, came to her side and gently held her hand and squeezed it. "It doesn't matter. It's just some lost memories. What matters is that you're back with us, Cassi."
Cassi kept her composure. She and her father were never particularly close—his company always came first.
That was why she had clung to Rica and Anne, believing their warmth was real. They gave her the care and attention her father never did. They made her feel wanted. Loved.
Or so she thought. Just how Anne had proven just how fake she truly was.
Now, Cassi couldn't help but be wary of Rica, too. Rica had always treated her kindly, much like Anne had… and look how that turned out. One betrayal was enough to teach her a lesson.
Surely, Rica was the same underneath it all. Cassi didn't want to judge people unfairly, but it was safer to keep her guard up. Trust wasn't something she could afford to give freely anymore.
A few hours passed. Her father had already left, but Grandpa Randall remained, quietly sitting by her bedside.
He was casually peeling an orange, the citrus scent faint in the air. Cassi glanced at him, her voice soft but steady.
"Grandpa, can we not rush the meeting?" Cassi asked, her voice low. "I mean… Rica was right. I just woke up. I'm not in the right state to meet Ezekiel yet."
Before Grandpa Randall could reply, a knock hit the door… sharp, deliberate. Then it opened.
A man stepped inside, and the entire room shifted.
He was tall, easily around six feet or over, with broad shoulders and a presence that sucked all the air from the space. His suit was black and perfectly tailored, fitting him like it was stitched onto his skin.
His dark hair was slicked back with not a strand out of place. His jaw was strong, his face striking, and his cold gray eyes locked onto her like she was something he was already trying to figure out and possibly break.
Cassi's breath hitched.
"Ezekiel?" Grandpa Randall said, startled.
Cassi gripped the edge of her blanket.
He was devastatingly handsome in the most dangerous way. Every step he took was calm, controlled, like a man who never rushed but always got what he wanted. But it wasn't his looks that made her heart race. It was the way he stared at her… unblinking, unreadable, like she was a puzzle he already planned to solve.
So this was the man she had just claimed to be engaged to.
The man with a reputation as cold as his stare. And now he was here. Real. Flesh and blood.
This was the first time she had ever seen Ezekiel Hastings.
And nothing… nothing… could have prepared her for him.
"Interesting," he murmured, his gaze fixed on hers. "You forgot your current fiance… but remembered being engaged to me."