Chapter 1

"Here's 500 thousand dollars. You have one week to leave the country and stay away from my son forever," said Tessa Colbert, who sat across from Julia Thalman with overt disdain on her ageless face. Julia's past self would have teared up and claimed that she wasn't with Dylan Schneider for his wealth. But now, all she did was nod quietly. "Sure." Taken aback, Tessa paused for a moment before snickering. "I'm glad you know your place." She put a heavy emphasis on the words "know your place" as if to remind Julia about the disparity of social status between her and Dylan. With her head hung low, Julia accepted the check from Tessa and left. It was dark when she arrived at the villa, so spacious that she often lost her way there. The only familiar scene was the few photos on the coffee table. In the photos, Dylan held her waist and gazed at her with such warmth. Her fingers brushed across the photos. Memories from the rainy night three years ago resurfaced. That year, she stumbled upon Dylan at the entrance of an alley. He was stained with blood, and his eyes were unfocused. "Who are you?" she asked. "I… I forgot." He shook his head, looking lost. The rainwater, mixed with blood, dropped down his hair. That was how she brought home a man with memory loss. They shared the space in her 300-square-foot tiny apartment, where the walls were peeling and the pipes were leaking. In winter, one had to be wrapped up in layers of blankets for warmth. Yet, the purest love bloomed in the poorest place. They leaned on each other for support and became the most important people to each other. Whenever she worked overtime, he'd wait hours at her workplace just to walk her home. When she suffered from period pain, he'd stay up all night to give her belly rubs. He'd juggle five jobs behind her back just to buy an expensive necklace she had checked out thrice but never bought. The only thing that exhausted her was that he wanted intimacy every night. She'd blush and ask him to forget about it, but he'd nibble her ear and chuckle. "Babe, that's because I love you too much." At the height of their love, Dylan even brought her to a tattoo shop and got a tattoo of her name on his collarbone. The tattoo artist asked if he was averse to pain. He smiled at Julia. "Pain is good. That way, I will never forget the woman I love." Just when Julia thought they'd be in love for the rest of their lives, he regained his memories. She found out he was not a poor homeless guy on the streets, but the heir of the Schneider family from Havenport, who held power over half of the financial industry. He had only lost his memory in a car accident orchestrated by his business enemy. That was how he ended up on the streets. After Dylan reclaimed his identity, he brought Julia along to live in a villa that was 20,000 square feet. Even the bathroom was ten times the size of her old place. But Dylan had changed after that. He started wearing haute couture suits of brands she couldn't recognize. He strapped on expensive watches as he negotiated massive business deals. Sometimes, he would be out all night. Julia lied to herself, convincing herself that he was just busy. One day, the tabloids published headlines about some dating rumors between him and Kaitlyn Lynch, a young lady from the wealthy Lynch family. In the photos, Dylan was pictured opening the car door for Kaitlyn in his haute couture suit. They smiled at each other, a scene that was jarring to see. The online comments praised them as "a match made in heaven". Julia spent the night staring at the moon by the window. By the end of it, she came to a realization. The version of Dylan, who braved the elements to pick her up from work, worked hard to buy her a necklace and tattooed her name on his collarbone, had faded away on the day his memory recovered. Now, as the heir of the Schneider family, he was no longer from the same world as Julia. He stood atop the world, while she was just a commoner. She could never reach his height. A man like Dylan was destined to date and marry someone equally dazzling. If so, she saw no reason to humiliate herself. She'd rather let him go and go easy on herself. That night, Dylan did not come home. The villa was as empty as usual. Julia did not wait for him to come home. Instead, she went to bed early. When morning came, she visited the visa center and chose to expedite her application to receive both her visa and passport within one week. She left the center at noon and picked a random restaurant for lunch. However, she halted when she pushed the door open. While sitting at a corner table, Dylan gently dabbed Kaitlyn's lips with a napkin. He radiated so much tenderness, just like the time he smiled and kissed Julia at her rented apartment. Julia froze, and she felt her heart grow heavy. She wanted to turn around and leave, but she accidentally bumped into the potted plant by the door. Dylan spotted her when he heard the noise. His eyes turned frosty. He slowly made his way over and addressed her icily, "Did you stalk me?" Before Julia could speak, Dylan argued, "I've explained those photos to you. We were discussing business. Are you going to throw a tantrum again?" Julia opened her mouth, but no words came out. Tessa's words still rang in her mind. "Dylan and Kaitlyn's marriage had been arranged before this. He's also in love with her…" So, was the marriage part of their "business discussion"? "Dylan, be nice." Kaitlyn wandered over with a smile to ease the tension. "What a coincidence. Let's share the table!" She didn't give Julia a chance to turn down the offer. After dragging Julia to the table, she pressed Julia down on the chair. Julia found herself face-to-face with Dylan, who looked distant. "Ms. Thalman, what would you like?" Kaitlyn pushed the menu toward Julia. "They serve really authentic ethnic cuisine here." Julia stared at the unfamiliar dishes on the menu. Overwhelmed by bitterness, she pushed the menu back to Kaitlyn. "How about some soup?" Kaitlyn placed a bowl of seafood chowder in front of Julia. "It's super fresh." Julia's stomach cramped just from staring at the shrimps floating in the chowder. She wanted to turn down the offer because she was severely allergic to seafood. Dylan's phone rang at that moment. He got up to take the call, his wide and muscular back facing her. She had seen that suit in a magazine. He could have bought her old neighborhood with the price of that suit. "Have a taste." Kaitlyn suddenly lowered her voice, "I bet a woman of your social status rarely eats expensive food like this." Julia looked up immediately and saw Kaitlyn beaming at her. "Did you really think you'd marry into the Schneider family just because you dated him?" Kaitlyn gently tapped her fingertip on the rim of the cup. "A low-class woman like you doesn't even deserve to work for him, if he hadn't lost his memory." Julia clutched the napkin tightly until the fabric became wrinkled. She might be poor, but she wouldn't allow anyone to hurt her dignity. She spoke up. "Ms. Lynch, we don't know each other. You…" "Ouch!" Kaitlyn cut her off with a scream and knocked over the bowl of seafood chowder. The hot liquid spilled on the back of her hand, as well as on Julia's. Hearing the commotion, Dylan returned and grabbed Kaitlyn's hand. "What's wrong?" "It's nothing…" She grew teary. "It was all my fault. Ms. Thalman is your girlfriend. I understand her anger when she sees me dining out with you…" Dylan glared at Julia. "Julia, I've explained to you multiple times. Why did you have to do this?" "I didn't. It was her—" "Enough!" he interrupted her. "I saw it with my own eyes. It's true. Since when have you turned into an unreasonable woman?" With that, he put an arm around Kaitlyn and left without looking back. While resting her head on his shoulder, Kaitlyn slowly turned around to flash a victorious smile at Julia. Julia extended her hand, red and swollen from the burn. The blister had swelled, sending prickling pain through her hand. But all that mattered to Dylan was the small patch of red and swollen skin on Kaitlyn's hand. He left in such a hurry that he did not even take a look at Julia. Dylan once treasured her the most. Three years ago, he teared up when she was scalded while cooking. He ran to the pharmacy overnight to get her some cream. When he got home, he applied the cream to her hand, asking, "Jules, does it hurt?" She was the apple of his eye then, but now, he no longer wanted to see her.