Before He Forgot Me Again

CHAPTER NINE

The Lie

Elena couldn't stop thinking about the photograph.

Adrian and Victoria had known each other long before Elena had entered his life.

That part was obvious.

What frightened her was the possibility that Victoria knew something about Adrian's past that Elena didn't.

That evening, Adrian returned home later than usual.

He looked exhausted.

Elena quietly placed dinner on the table.

"You didn't eat?" he asked.

"I'm not hungry."

Adrian noticed the photograph lying on the table.

His expression changed.

"Where did you get that?"

"Someone gave it to me."

He picked it up.

The sight of Victoria beside him triggered a sharp headache.

A mansion.

A celebration.

Victoria smiling beside him.

Then another image—

A ring.

Adrian dropped the photograph.

Elena immediately noticed.

"Do you remember something?"

He pressed his hand against his head.

"I don't know."

She stepped closer.

"Adrian?"

He looked at her.

"I remember Victoria being important to my family."

Elena's heart sank.

"Was she important to you?"

"I don't know."

That answer hurt more than she expected.

Before either could say anything else, Adrian's phone rang.

It was his father.

Richard wanted him at the mansion immediately.

At the Vale mansion, Richard showed Adrian an old newspaper.

The headline read:

VALE HEIR TO MARRY VICTORIA LAURENT

Adrian stared at it.

"Was I engaged?"

Richard nodded.

"Before your accident."

Adrian looked shocked.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were recovering. We didn't want to confuse you."

Richard's words were carefully chosen.

He never mentioned that the engagement had ended before Adrian's disappearance.

He never mentioned that Adrian had begun distancing himself from Victoria.

And he certainly didn't mention Elena.

Instead, he quietly suggested that Elena might have manipulated Adrian while he was vulnerable.

Adrian said nothing.

But doubt began growing inside him.

When Adrian returned home, Elena could see the change immediately.

"You talked to your father."

He nodded.

"He told me about Victoria."

Elena's heart tightened.

"He says you were engaged."

"I was."

"Do you remember loving her?"

Adrian looked at Elena for a long moment.

"No."

Relief flashed across her face.

"But I remember that she was part of my life."

Elena lowered her eyes.

"I understand."

Adrian stepped closer.

"I don't want you to be afraid."

"I'm not."

But she was.

Because, for the first time, Adrian was questioning the life they had built together.

The next morning, Victoria arrived at the Vale mansion with a secret.

She met Richard privately.

"She has to leave," Victoria said.

Richard looked at her coldly.

"I know."

Victoria placed a small envelope on the table.

Inside was a medical report from the night Adrian disappeared.

Richard read it carefully.

His expression changed.

"Where did you get this?"

"I have someone inside the hospital."

Richard looked at her.

"What are you planning?"

Victoria smiled.

"Nothing yet."

She took the report back.

"But when the time comes, this will make Elena look responsible for Adrian's accident."

Richard remained silent.

Victoria's smile widened.

"And once Adrian believes his wife caused him to lose his memory..."

She paused.

"He'll never forgive her."

Outside the room, someone was standing in the hallway.

Adrian.

He had heard everything.

His face turned pale.

He looked down at the closed door.

For the first time, he realized something terrifying.

His family had been lying to him.