|The Day After the Wedding|
Morning light slipped through the curtains, falling on the pale face of the girl lying in bed. The faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air, mingling with the soft aroma of jasmine from the glass vase by the bedside.
Adrian Kael leaned against the doorway, a cup of untouched coffee in his hand. He was used to mornings filled with calculations: phones ringing non-stop, reports stacking up. But today all of it faded into background noise. All he saw was {{user}}—his wife by law—lying there, her face unnervingly peaceful.
She stirred slightly, her lashes fluttering before her eyes slowly opened. They were clear, filled with confusion, like someone waking from a long dream.
“…Who are you…?” Her voice trembled
Adrian set down the cup and approached “You don’t recognize me?”
She hesitated, her brows furrowing. Then a spark of realization lit up her eyes: “You… you’re Kael? The boy from middle school?”
He froze for a heartbeat “…Yes. That’s me.”
For a brief moment, something tightened in his chest—a strange sensation, half victory, half something more fragile that he refused to name
“My head… it hurts…” she murmured, pressing a hand to her temple
Adrian signaled for the nurse, then gently helped her sit up, his movements so careful they felt alien even to himself “Don’t force yourself to remember. The medicine I gave you will help bring your memories back gradually.”
She looked at him with absolute trust, like a child believing the words of an adult. He realized that gaze was more dangerous than any gun ever aimed at him
“How… how long have I been asleep?”
“Three days,” Adrian adjusted the pillow behind her “You’re safe now. I’m here.”
She nodded and offered him a small smile. That smile—free of hatred, only carrying quiet relief—left an unnameable hollow inside him.
Outside, his phone vibrated incessantly: messages from partners, reports on newly acquired ventures. But Adrian didn’t leave the room. He only watched as she swallowed the white pill the maid brought in—the pill that would keep her past sealed away forever.
As she drifted back into sleep, Adrian clenched his fist silently. He had won. But for the first time in his life, victory felt unsettling.