Chapter 20
After getting Thea’s address, Ryan rushed over immediately.
But he only knew the residential complex, not the specific building.
He had no choice but to use the most basic method-waiting at the entrance.
He waited from midnight until dawn.
Every second felt like an eternity.
Suddenly, Ryan’s whole body trembled. The person he was waiting for had appeared.
Thea wore loose lounge-wear, no makeup, crouched down with a sweet smile as she fed a stray cat.
Ryan stared without blinking, his heart hammering violently in his chest.
The heart that had been dead for three years felt like it was coming back to life.
He hadn’t been wrong. He couldn’t have mistaken her.
It was Thea.
She… was alive!
Tears welled up in Ryan’s eyes as he walked toward her.
“Thea.”
Thea instinctively looked up and stood.
Her vision went dark, and Ryan caught her just in time. “Low blood sugar again? Have some candy first.”
He pulled out Thea’s favorite fruit candy from his pocket.
Thea didn’t like eating breakfast and often had low blood sugar episodes. He’d gotten used to carrying a couple of fruit candies whenever he went out. He’d kept doing it for three years, even though he’d never had the chance to use them.
Thea didn’t take the candy. Instead, she pulled out identical fruit candy from her own pocket and popped it in her mouth.
After feeling a bit better, Thea pulled her hand back and stepped away.
“Thanks, but… do we know each other?”
Ryan was stunned. Thea’s expression was distant and unfamiliar-curious and confused, but nothing more.
The words hit him like a physical blow. His entire body went cold.
“Thea, I know I was wrong. Please don’t joke like this, okay? I can’t handle it.”
He reached for Thea, but she dodged away.
“I think you have me confused with someone else.”
“Thea, you forgot me?”
Ryan still couldn’t believe it. “We were together for seven years. How could you forget?”
Seven years?
Thea was a bit surprised. Seven years was exactly the span of her lost memories.
“Honey, look at me. I’m Ryan You have to remember.” Ryan’s eyes were bloodshot, his voice shaking.
She pressed her lips together. Images seemed to flash through her mind, followed by a suffocating heaviness that felt deeply unpleasant.
“Do you remember now?”
Ryan’s face was full of hope. “We went to the same college, started dating senior year. After graduation, we lived together in a tiny basement while I was building my business. Cup noodles were like a feast to us.”
“Our first house was in the Riverside District. You planted roses and hydrangeas on the balcony…”
“On weekends we’d go camping. The farthest place we camped was…”
The images in her mind gradually became clearer.
But along with those sweet memories came a deep-rooted feeling of disgust.
With that, Thea’s expression also turned cold.
“Thea…” Ryan panicked, reaching for her just as Marcus’s voice rang out.
“Honey.”
Thea’s face lit up with a smile that cut through Ryan like a knife.
He spun around and threw a punch at Marcus.
ར།
He didn’t know why Thea had lost her memory or what had happened in the past three years. The only thing he knew for certain was that Marcus was behind all of it.
Caught off guard by the first blow, Marcus stumbled but immediately fought back.
Both men were vicious, going for blood.
When Marcus left himself open, Ryan seized the chance and landed a brutal punch.
Thea snapped out of her daze and rushed forward without hesitation, shielding Marcus.
“Stop it! What do you think you’re doing?”
She checked Marcus over, even though Ryan was clearly more injured.
“Sir, if you lay another hand on him, I’m calling the police.”She turned to Ryan with voice cold.
All color drained from Ryan’s face. The woman who once had eyes only for him wouldn’t even spare him a glance now.
On her ring finger-once his-she now wore a wedding band connecting her to another man.
Had Thea really fallen in love with Marcus?
