THE BILLIONAIRE'S FORGOTTEN FIANCÉE

Episode 4

The next few days were a delicate dance.

I played the part of the loving, grateful fiancée. I laughed at his jokes, I let him hold me, I listened to his stories about our perfect life. And a part of me, a big part of me, wasn’t playing at all. I was genuinely, desperately in love with him. The love I felt for Adrian was the only real thing in my life, the only anchor I had in a sea of confusion.

But the doubts were like a poison, slowly seeping into the cracks of our perfect world.

I started noticing things. Small things. The way he would sometimes look at me when he thought I wasn’t watching, his eyes filled with a deep, heartbreaking sadness. The way he would change the subject whenever I asked about my childhood or my friends. The way he never let me out of his sight. He said it was because he was worried about me, because he wanted to take care of me. But it felt like something else. It felt like he was guarding me.

One afternoon, he decided I needed some fresh air. He took me to a small, private botanical garden, a quiet oasis of green and blooming flowers in the middle of the bustling city. It was beautiful and peaceful, and for a little while, I was able to forget my fears.

We walked hand in hand along the winding paths, the air filled with the sweet scent of roses and the soft sound of a trickling fountain. He pointed out different types of flowers, telling me their names, telling me which ones were my favorites. I didn’t remember any of them, but I nodded and smiled, pretending I did, just wanting to be the woman he wanted me to be.

We came to a small bench overlooking a tranquil pond, filled with bright orange koi fish. We sat down, and he took my hand in his.

“I have something for you,” he said, a shy, sweet smile on his face.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, flat box. He opened it, and inside, nestled on a bed of black velvet, was a beautiful, delicate silver locket.

“It’s not a diamond,” he said, his voice soft. “But I wanted you to have something… personal. Something to remind you that you’re always safe, that you’re always loved. That you’ll always have a piece of me with you, no matter what.”

My heart swelled with a love so intense it almost hurt. It was the sweetest, most thoughtful gift anyone had ever given me. He took the locket from the box and fastened it around my neck. It was cool against my skin, a small, comforting weight.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. “I love it. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said, his eyes shining. He leaned in and kissed me, a soft, sweet kiss that tasted of love and promises.

For the rest of the afternoon, I was happy. Truly, deeply happy. The doubts, the fears, the strange flashes of violence, they all faded away, replaced by the overwhelming, all-consuming love I felt for the man beside me.

As we were leaving the garden, walking through the crowded entrance, a man bumped into me. It was a hard, deliberate bump that sent me stumbling.

“Oops, my apologies,” he said, his voice a low, smooth growl that sent a shiver down my spine.

I looked up at him. He was tall and dark, with a cold, cruel face and eyes that were a flat, dead black. He wasn’t looking at me with apology. He was looking at me with a look of sharp, unnerving recognition, a look that made my blood run cold. His eyes scanned my face, my hair, the locket around my neck. It was a look of assessment, of ownership.

And then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd before I could say a word.

“Are you okay?” Adrian asked, his arm tightening around my waist, his body suddenly tense, his eyes scanning the crowd with a predator's focus.

“I… I think so,” I said, my heart pounding. “That man… he looked at me so strangely.”

“It’s a crowded city, my love,” Adrian said, his voice a little too casual. “People are rude. Don’t let it ruin our perfect day.”

But I couldn’t shake the feeling. The way the man had looked at me… it wasn’t the look of a stranger. It was the look of someone who knew me. Someone who was looking for me. And the look in Adrian's eyes... it wasn't the look of a man who was annoyed by a rude stranger. It was the look of a man who was scared.

That night, I lay in bed, my hand resting on the locket around my neck. It was supposed to make me feel safe, but it felt like a leash. A beautiful, silver leash.

I closed my eyes, trying to sleep, trying to forget the man’s cold, black eyes, trying to forget the look of fear on Adrian's face.

And then I heard it.

A voice. A whisper in the dark, right next to my ear. It wasn’t Adrian’s voice. It was a voice I didn’t recognize, a voice that was low and harsh and full of a dark, dangerous promise.

It spoke a single word.

A word in the same foreign language as the notebook.

A word that felt like a key turning in a lock in my mind.

“Kisa.”

My eyes flew open. I was alone in the room. Adrian was in the bathroom, the sound of the shower running.

But the voice… the voice had been so real. I could still feel the cold breath of it against my ear.

I sat up in bed, my whole body trembling. I didn’t know what the word meant. But I knew, with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, that it was my name.

Not Chloe.

My real name.