On Day 29, I Watched Her Choose Him

Chapter 3: The Name He Couldn't Forget

Adrian Kade arrived on a Tuesday.

Kael knew because the entire household changed the moment his car pulled through the gates. Miranda emerged from her room in a dress instead of her usual housecoat. Vivian reapplied her lipstick twice. Even the servants moved faster, as if a storm was approaching and they needed to batten down the hatches.

Seraphina stood at the front door, waiting.

She had not waited for Kael once in five years.

He watched from the kitchen window as a black luxury car rolled to a stop at the front steps. The door opened, and a man stepped out.

Adrian Kade was tall. Broad-shouldered. Dark hair slicked back, jaw sharp enough to cut glass. He wore a charcoal suit that probably cost more than everything Kael owned. His smile was easy and confident, the smile of a man who had never been told no.

He walked up the steps and took Seraphina's hand.

She did not pull away.

Kael's chest tightened.

She's your wife, he reminded himself. She chose you.

But had she? Their marriage had been arranged by her dying grandmother. Seraphina had never looked at him the way she was looking at Adrian now. She had never smiled at him like that. She had never touched his face with such gentleness.

Adrian leaned in and kissed her cheek.

Then he looked up.

Straight at the kitchen window.

Straight at Kael.

And smiled.

It was not a friendly smile. It was the smile of a man who knew something you didn't. A predator's smile. A winner's smile.

Kael stepped back from the window, his heart pounding.

Why does he look at me like that?

He didn't know Adrian. He had never met him. And yet, something about that face made his skin crawl. Made the fog in his brain pulse and ache.

Adrian.

The name echoed.

Adrian.

And then —

Pain.

Sharp, blinding pain behind his eyes. Kael grabbed the kitchen counter to keep from falling. Images flashed through his mind too fast to catch. A room he didn't recognize. A glass in his hand. A voice saying, Drink this. It will help you relax.

Then nothing.

The pain faded. The fog returned.

Kael gasped for breath, his knuckles white against the marble counter.

"What's wrong with you?"

Vivian stood in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed, watching him with cold amusement.

"Nothing," Kael said.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." She tilted her head. "Or maybe you've remembered something you shouldn't."

Kael's blood went cold. "What do you mean?"

Vivian smiled. It was not a kind smile. "Nothing. Just an observation." She turned to leave, then paused. "Stay out of the way today, storeroom boy. The adults are talking."

She left.

Kael stood alone in the kitchen, shaking.

Remembered something you shouldn't.

What did that mean? What did Vivian know? What did any of them know about the man he had been before?

He had questions. So many questions.

But there was no one to ask.

---

That evening, Kael was ordered to serve dinner.

Not cook it — serve it. Miranda wanted him visible, she said. Wanted Adrian to see exactly what kind of man Seraphina had been forced to marry.

Kael carried plates to the dining room, keeping his eyes down, his movements careful. The family sat around the long mahogany table: Miranda at the head, Vivian to her right, Seraphina to her left, and Adrian beside Seraphina.

In Kael's usual chair.

Not that he had ever sat there.

"Kael, is it?" Adrian said as Kael set a plate in front of him.

Kael nodded. "Yes, sir."

Adrian laughed. "Sir. I like that." He picked up his fork and examined it. "You know, I've heard a lot about you. The mysterious husband. The man with no past." He looked up, his eyes sharp. "Still no memory?"

Kael's throat tightened. "No."

"Fascinating." Adrian leaned back in his chair. "A man with no identity. No family. No history. Just... nothing." He smiled. "You must be very lonely."

Kael said nothing.

Miranda snorted. "He's not lonely. He's useless. We keep him out of pity."

"Is that right?" Adrian looked at Seraphina. "And what do you think, darling? Do you keep him out of pity?"

Seraphina's expression did not change. "I keep him because of a promise."

"A promise to a dead woman." Adrian reached over and took her hand. "But promises can be broken."

Kael's hands trembled around the serving platter.

He wanted to speak. To defend himself. To say something that would wipe that smug smile off Adrian's face.

But what could he say? He was nothing. No money. No name. No power. Just a man in a gray shirt standing in a dining room that was not his, serving food to people who despised him.

"Clear the plates," Seraphina said without looking at him.

Kael cleared the plates.

When he reached Adrian's side, the man grabbed his wrist. Hard.

"Stay away from Elara," Adrian whispered, his voice low and dangerous. "I know you talk to her. I know you meet in the mornings. Stop."

Kael's heart pounded. "She's just a friend."

"She's a liability." Adrian's grip tightened. "And so are you. One wrong move, Kael, and I'll make sure you disappear. Not just from this house. From everywhere. Do you understand?"

Kael understood.

He nodded.

Adrian released him and smiled again, loud enough for the table to hear. "Thank you, Kael. The food was wonderful."

Kael retreated to the kitchen.

His wrist ached where Adrian had grabbed him.

And deep in his mind, the fog pulsed again.

Adrian.

He knows something.

He knows who I am.

And he's afraid I'll remember.