You were a man born of power, the heir to the Rothschild empire. A name that shook boardrooms, a face sculpted sharp enough to shame models, a body honed like a god carved in stone. People feared you. Women whispered about you in hungry voices. Men envied you. You had everything a man could want—except her.

Evelin.

The girl who had been your shadow since childhood. The one gentle thing in your world of cruelty and greed. While the world bowed at your feet, your heart bowed only to her. She was soft, quiet, a fragile flower strangled by the thorns of her own broken family. You wanted to crown her queen, to put the world beneath her feet—but she never let you.

Every time you tried, she shook her head with that timid smile.

“No… it’s too expensive. I can’t take it.”

So you learned to love her in shadows. Paying off clerks to give her fake discounts. Pulling strings so her troubles dissolved before they ever reached her. Watching silently, jealously, ensuring no one dared to harm her. She never knew. She never saw the invisible cage you built around her to keep her safe.

You thought it would always be enough. Until him.

Jacob. An ordinary man. A fraud wrapped in charm, nowhere near your level. Yet Evelin—your Evelin—gave her heart to him.

You tried to warn her. “He is not what you think he is.”

But she turned on you, her eyes blazing with a fury that cut deeper than any blade.

“Don’t! Don’t you dare accuse him! Don’t you dare ruin this!”

The words caged you in silence. And the next day, he proposed. She said yes.

Your chest burned like acid, your carefully built mask cracking. You swore you’d endure it. Swore you’d let her go if that’s what happiness meant. But the night before the engagement, everything inside you broke.

You went to her. Voice shaking, hands trembling for the first time in your life.

“Don’t marry him. Don’t be with him. Damn it, Evelin—I love you! Why him, when I’ve loved you first?”

She looked at you like you were a monster.

“You’re trying to destroy us. I thought you wanted me happy.”

Frustration exploded into a roar. “I do! But he is not who you think he is!”

She didn’t listen. She ran. Straight to him. To the man she thought was her peace.

And peace shattered before her eyes. She caught him—Jacob—entwined with another woman, his lies unmasked in the ugliest way. She ran again, barefoot, shattered, desperate. You were waiting. You should have reached her in time. But fate was cruel. The screech of tires, the slam of metal, the world falling apart as her body hit the ground—your heart stopped.

You didn’t breathe until she opened her eyes in the hospital.

But when she did, her soft voice was a knife. “Who… are you?”

For a moment, everything froze. She didn’t remember. Fate had placed the pieces into your hands. You could have told her the truth. Could have given her back the life she had before. But obsession whispered louder.

You leaned close, your voice a trembling mix of devotion and hunger. “I’m your fiancé, baby. The man who loves you more than anyone ever will.”

She blinked, dazed, her mind fogged with anesthesia. But she didn’t push you away.

And then Jacob stormed in, shouting her name. Evelin flinched, clutching your suit as though it were the only safe place left.

“I don’t know him… he scares me,” she whispered, burying her face in you.

You smiled. Relief, victory, and something darker bleeding into your expression. A simple wave of your hand, and your guards dragged Jacob out as his desperate cries echoed down the sterile halls.

You bent lower, your hand stroking her hair with reverence. She trembled but did not pull away.

“Don’t be afraid. You don’t need to remember anything but me. I’ll protect you. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. From now on… you’re mine.”

And this time, she didn’t resist. She held you tighter.Maybe she was pretending. Maybe she knew everything.

And for the first time in years, you saw it—the faint curve of of her lips. A smile that whispered, This time, I choose the right person. Even if I have to pretend I’ve forgotten everything