Fiancé？Sorry, My Memory Was Wiped Chapter 10

Fiancé？Sorry, My Memory Was Wiped Chapter 10

Marcus stayed hidden in the shadows at the mouth of the alley.

His eyes never left her.

It was Shade.

No mistake.

But the lethal edge that once terrified her enemies was almost gone.

She wore a simple dress that softened every line of her body.

Marcus had never seen her like this.

She used to hate dresses.

Said they slowed her down when she drew a blade.

Marcus had just started toward her when a young man hurried over.

“Claire, sorry I’m late!”

His voice was warm and familiar.

Marcus’s heart clenched.

Even breathing became difficult.

Then Shade looked up at the man and smiled.

That hurt worse.

Marcus had never seen that smile directed at him.

Relaxed.

Gentle.

Free.

He crushed the urge to rush over and disappeared deeper into the darkness.

The next day, he ordered operatives to set up surveillance around the bookstore.

Anyone who tried to enter was stopped by one convenient accident after another.

Shade seemed to notice.

Her gaze drifted toward the street outside.

But she didn’t investigate.

She was still sharp.

Just calmer now.

By dusk, three years of unbearable longing finally shattered Marcus’s self-control.

He sent his operatives inside with explicit instructions.

“Shade, why haven’t you answered a single recall order from Mr. Hale all these years?”

“Do you have any idea what he did for you?”

“He wiped out the entire High Council.”

Marcus held his breath.

He waited for Shade to rage at him.

To accuse him.

To tell them how much she hated him.

Instead, she frowned slightly.

Her eyes held nothing but genuine confusion.

“Sorry. I erased all my memories.”

“Who’s Mr. Hale?”

The words pierced every last hope and shattered the facade he’d been holding together.

His knees nearly gave out.

So the memory-overwrite records he’d found three years ago had been real.

She hadn’t just left him.

She had erased him.

Marcus finally forced himself out of hiding.

He stepped from the shadows into the warm light.

Then stopped in front of her.

He searched her eyes desperately.

For anger.

Pain.

Recognition.

Anything.

There was nothing.

She looked at him exactly as she’d look at any unfamiliar customer.

Polite.

Distant.

“Sir, I’m sorry.”

“If I knew you before, I didn’t forget you intentionally.”

“My memories stop at eighteen.”

“Everything after that was erased.”

Marcus staggered backward.

His entire world collapsed.

Three years of longing died silently on his lips.

Pain twisted through his chest.

But what could he possibly do now?

Grab her and tell her everything?

Tell her about those blood-soaked years?

The love and hatred carved into both of them?

The pain and betrayal he’d inflicted on her with his own hands?

Shade reached beneath the counter and pulled out a book.

She held it toward him with a warm, sincere smile.

“Sir, there’s a lot of darkness around you.”

“Maybe this book can help you find some peace.”

She tilted her face up at him.

Her eyes were so clear.

Like they’d never seen darkness at all.

Marcus’s eyes instantly burned red.

His hand trembled as he accepted the book.

A hot tear fell onto the cover.

Then another.

Dark spots spread across the paper.

Shade paused.

She looked like she was about to ask what was wrong.

Then the door chime rang again.

“Claire, let’s close early today. I made dinner reservations!”

The young man walked in, his voice bright.

Shade immediately turned toward him.

That easy smile returned to her face.

Then she looked back at Marcus and his operatives.

“Sorry. We’re closing early tonight.”

Marcus stood outside and watched her lock the bookstore with practiced ease.

Then she climbed onto the back of the man’s electric moped.

Her arms slipped naturally around his waist.

The moped carried their laughter into the evening breeze.

Then disappeared around the street corner.

From beginning to end, Shade never looked back at Marcus.

Not even once.

Marcus stood there long after they were gone.

Motionless.

Like a statue someone had abandoned in the dark.

A voice inside him screamed.

Take her back.

Use whatever it takes.

Drag her home.

Keep her beside you.

But another image drowned it out.

Shade sitting on the back of that moped.

Smiling.

Free.

Without a single shadow in her eyes.

If Marcus stepped back into her life, he would bring the darkness with him.

And trapping her in that darkness again would hurt her far more than letting himself suffer now.

“Boss…”

One of the operatives lowered his voice.

“Do we move?”

Marcus closed his eyes.

Then slowly shook his head.

“Pull everyone out.”

His voice sounded broken.

“From now on…”

“Never disturb her life again.”

The operatives disappeared silently into the night.

They left that small island of warm light behind.

The street emptied.

Only Marcus remained.

His shadow stretched beneath the streetlights.

Long.

Lonely.

Like memories he could never touch again.

Clear.

Cold.

Coiling around him like a snake.

For the rest of his life.