Chapter 2

Shannon's POV

The door swung open, and several sleazy-looking strangers stepped inside.

The last man locked the door behind him, their leering eyes roaming over me without restraint.

My face drained of color in sheer terror. Yanking the bedsheet tightly around myself, I cowered into the corner of the bed.

"What are you doing?"

I was trembling violently. "...Did he send you?"

Even as I asked, a desperate part of me still hoped I was wrong about him.

The leader grinned wickedly.

"The client said as long as we don't kill you, anything goes. If you know what's good for you, cooperate, and we'll make sure you enjoy it!"

The last shred of hope in my heart shattered completely.

Over the past three years, no matter how cold Alexander was to me, no matter how he humiliated me, I always told myself he had simply forgotten—that he didn't truly hate me deep down.

Now, I finally understood the depth of his hatred.

He hated me enough to destroy me with the foulest, most despicable means.

The men closed in, tearing away the protective sheet in seconds.

I thrashed with all my might, but my arms were pinned down hard, leaving me unable to move an inch.

"Get off me! Don't touch me! Help!"

I tried to scream for help, but a hand clamped over my mouth.

"The client told us you're quite a treat. We'll take real good care of you..."

Vile words assaulted my ears. Greasy hands crawled across my skin, sending waves of numbness through me, while their foul stench made me retch.

I couldn't move. I couldn't scream. Only one thought remained in my head:

If I can't escape, I'd rather die. I'll jump out the window and end it all.

Crash! A deafening sound echoed from the door.

A fire axe hacked through the lock, and Julian Vance burst in.

His eyes blazed with murderous rage as he sent the closest man flying with a vicious kick.

"You're dead meat!" Sensing danger, the rest covered their heads and scrambled out.

Julian stripped off his coat, wrapped it around me, and lifted me into his arms, striding out of the room.

Had he been a second later, I couldn't bear to imagine what would have happened.

I hid at my best friend Tara Brooks's apartment for a week.

I didn't return to work at Hayes Corporation, and I ignored every single call from the office.

I could hold myself together during the day, but every night brought nightmares.

My dreams were consumed by everything that had happened at the hospital—my dress being violently ripped apart by Alexander, his gaze icy and filled with loathing.

A pack of men closing in like wolves catching scent of blood, while I ran and ran, unable to escape.

Every time, I woke up screaming, drenched in sweat.

That night, I jolted awake from another nightmare.

Sitting up in bed, I gasped for air, my heart hammering as if it might burst.

Just then, my phone rang. The caller ID read: Alexander Hayes.

I stared at the screen, my finger hovering over the decline button, but in the end, I answered.

The background was loud and chaotic, music clashing with the clinking of glasses.

The man's tone was indifferent. "Shannon, Twilight Lounge. Come pick me up."

Without second thought, I threw on some clothes and headed for the door.

The noise woke Tara. Seeing me heading out, she immediately blocked the doorway.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Tara shook my shoulders, exasperated and furious.

"Did you forget how he treated you? What happened at the hospital was only a few days ago!"

"When has he ever lacked women around him? Why does it have to be you picking him up in the middle of the night?"

"Whether he lives or dies is none of your business! Why do you keep throwing yourself at him like a glutton for punishment?"

My face paled.

My best friend was right. Wasn't I just humiliating myself?

Yet I hung my head and quietly cut Tara off.

"You can call me pathetic, or shameless, or whatever you want. But I can't lie to myself. I can't let him go."

Whenever it was a message from Alexander, no matter how much my mind resisted, I simply couldn't ignore it.

It was a sickness carved into my bones, one I had no cure for.

Tara's anger deflated halfway, her voice softening as she tried to reason with me.

"Shannon, you know better than anyone. No matter how much you two loved each other before, the man he is now isn't the Alexander Hayes you once knew. Right now, he's scarier than a demon."

Tara was speaking the truth.

Four years ago, Alexander was diagnosed with a massive brain tumor. After the surgery, he lost all memories of the years we were in love.

His personality reverted to how he had been before he met me—ruthless, cold, and hardened after his first love's betrayal.

In what remained of his memory, every woman who approached him harbored hidden motives.

Naturally, in his eyes, I was no different.

In fact, because I had doggedly chased him for three years, I was even more repulsive than the rest!

"He's not like that,"

I defended him. "He just accidentally forgot me, that's all."

Tara choked on her frustration. "Even at this point, you're still defending him?"

I clenched my fists, my gaze settling into resolve instead.

"I can't give up yet. I haven't fulfilled my promise."

Four years ago, the night before the surgery, Alexander refused to sign the consent form, preferring death.

He said that if the price of living was forgetting me, he didn't want his life.

It was me who swore to him at his bedside: even if you forget me, I will pursue you all over again, confess my love a hundred times, and make you fall for me once more.

Only then did he relent and sign his name.

So no matter who he has become now, I must see this promise through.

Only then will I have honored the deep love Alexander once had for me.

Knowing she couldn't dissuade me, Tara let out a long sigh.

She turned, brought over a thick coat, and thrust it into my arms with a bitter smile. "It's cold outside. Put this on."

"Shannon, sometimes failure isn't the terrifying part. What's terrifying is refusing to believe that you've already failed."

I didn't argue, my eyes shining with desperate determination.

"You know that other than loving him, I have no other choice."

With that, I opened the door and stepped out into the night.