HIS FORGOTTEN VOWS

Chapter 2

DIANA’S POV

Three months. Three months of living with a man who didn’t know me, didn’t trust me, and looked at me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t solve….or worse, a con artist running an elaborate scam.

“The doctor said that’s normal,” I offered. “After a traumatic brain injury….”

“Dr. David says a lot of things.” Cassian’s tone was sharp. “Most of them feel like lies.”

My heart stuttered. “What do you mean?”

He turned to face me, and I saw it then….the suspicion that had been building for weeks, crystallizing into something harder. More dangerous. “How well do you know Dr. David, Diana?”

“He’s your neurosurgeon. He operated on you after the accident….”

“He’s your mother’s neurosurgeon,” Cassian corrected. “Lauren recommended him. Personally. Insisted he be the one to treat me.”

I stood from the piano bench, wrapping my cardigan tighter around my body. The penthouse was always cold in the mornings. Or maybe it was just me. Maybe I’d been cold since the day Cassian woke up and didn’t know my name. “My mother was trying to help. She wanted you to have the best care….”

“Did she.” It wasn’t a question. Cassian’s eyes were hard, calculating. This was the version of him I hated most….the businessman, the tactician, the man who saw threats and liabilities instead of his wife. “Strange, considering our families have been at war for years. It’s strange that she will suddenly care about me.”

“The marriage changed things. That was the whole point….”

“The contract changed things,” he interrupted. “A very convenient contract that locks me into a marriage I can’t remember agreeing to. Tell me, Diana. If I try to leave you, what happens?”

I’d explained this before. Twice. But his memory reset each time, and we were back to square one, having the same painful conversation on an endless loop. “You forfeit your inheritance. Your shares in Kane Industries. Everything.”

“And if you leave me?”

“Same thing. We both signed it.” I moved toward him, desperate to make him understand. “Cassian, we did this together. To protect ourselves, to end the fighting between our families. We loved each other….”

“So you keep saying.” He didn’t move away, but he didn’t move closer either. The distance between us felt oceanic. “But I don’t remember loving you. I don’t remember proposing, or the wedding, or any of the things you claim we shared. For all I know, you’re a very talented liar who saw an opportunity and took it.”

The words hit like a physical blow. I’d heard variations of this accusation before….every time his memory reset, we went through this dance….but it never stopped hurting. Never stopped feeling like my chest was being cracked open.

The words hit like a physical blow.

“I have photos,” I whispered. “Videos. Text messages. I can show you….”

“Photos can be faked. So can messages.” But something flickered in his expression. Uncertainty. Pain. “Sometimes I feel something when I see you. A feeling I don’t recognize. One so unfamiliar to me. But then all of a sudden it’s gone.”

I felt hope on hearing those words. This was how it always started . The thawing. The slow process of him gradually remembering me until he forgot all about it again.

“You’re not imagining it,” I said, taking a careful step closer. “What we had was real, Cassian. I know you can’t remember, but I remember enough for both of us.”“That feeling. That feeling is real Cas. Please,” I drew closer to him and reached for his hand but he backed away. My heart hurt. He looked like a scared puppy, the uncertainty in his eyes as he drew back not knowing whether to come closer or stay away.

I sighed. This must be hard for me too. I wanted him to close the distance between us and let himself believe.

But then the shrill ringing tone of his phone cut through the air and ruined the moment.

He took it out of his pocket, looked at the screen, and his expression changed. “I need to take this.”

He walked away, and I stood alone by the piano, listening to him murmur into the phone in his study. I caught fragments….“Yes, I saw them” and “We need to talk about the discrepancies”….before the door clicked shut.

My phone buzzed. A text from Rose: How is he today?

I stared at the message, trying to decide how to answer. How was Cassian? Suspicious. Cold. Convinced I was running some elaborate con. The same as yesterday, and the day before, and every day since the last reset.

The same, I typed back.

Three dots appeared, then: I’m sorry, Sis. Do you want me to come over?

Yes. God, yes. I wanted my sister here, wanted someone who believed me, who knew the truth about Cassian and me. But Rose had her own life, her own problems. I couldn’t keep dragging her into my disaster of a marriage.

I’m fine, I lied. Talk later.

I set the phone down and returned my hands to the keys. Started the Nocturne again, rushing the third measure just like always.

Behind me, I heard Cassian’s study door open. Heard his footsteps approach, then stop.

“Diana.”

I didn’t turn around. Couldn’t bear to see that suspicious look in his eyes again. “Yes?”

“I have a meeting at the office. I’ll be gone most of the day.”

“Okay.”

A pause. Then: “I’m sorry. For being… difficult. I know this isn’t easy for you either.”

I said nothing. Did not even look at him. Just focused ahead.

He left.

This was the fourth reset in three months.

I didn’t know how many more I could survive.