0 It was late at night, and I had just put my daughter to sleep. I was leaning against the headboard, scrolling through my phone when a news alert popped up. “On February 17th at 9 PM, Jason Stewart, CEO of Zenith Corp, was involved in a car accident in Los Angeles. He has been rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. Sources say Jason suffered severe head trauma and is currently in a coma. Stay tuned for updates…” The accompanying image showed a nearly totaled Bugatti Chiron. Jason was being lifted onto a stretcher, his head covered in blood, eyes closed, brows furrowed even in unconsciousness. I felt a sudden wave of disorientation. It had been three years since I’d last seen him. Those memories of intimate moments, of heartbreaking pain – things I once thought I’d never forget – now felt like a lifetime ago, blurred by the passage of just a thousand days and nights. I lowered my gaze, about to put down my phone and go to sleep, when suddenly there was a violent knocking at the door! Worried the noise would wake Emma, I quickly slipped on my slippers and went to the living room. But when I looked through the peephole, I froze. Jason stood there, his head still wrapped in bandages that were starting to bleed through. His face was contorted with frustration. “Jane, open up!” he shouted. “I know you’re in there, I asked the doorman!” I was at a loss, my mind a jumble as I opened the door. “Weren’t you just in a car accident a few days ago? How did you-” Jason barged in as if he owned the place, barely sparing a glance at the men’s slippers by the door. “It’s freezing out there,” he complained, tossing his coat at me. “Why the hell are you living in this dump? What happened to that villa I bought you?” I was stunned by his familiar tone, momentarily at a loss for words. When we broke up three years ago, it had been ugly. Jason’s face had been so dark with anger, I thought he might actually kill me. He had said: “Jane, you and your new boy toy better stay the hell away from me.” “Or I can’t guarantee his safety.” Now he was acting as if nothing had happened, casually dropping onto the sofa and patting his thigh, raising an eyebrow at me: “Come here.” The dim lamplight cast shadows across his face, his eyes still holding that sharp, slightly cruel glint I remembered. But with his handsome features, that cruelty became a kind of rebellious charm. I took a step back, frowning. “What are you doing here? We broke up, remember?” Jason scoffed. “Oh please, I know you too well.” “You’ve probably been crying at home these past few days, haven’t you?” “Come on,” he beckoned impatiently. “So I went to the hospital with Olivia, big deal. Do you have to be so petty about it?” When I still didn’t approach, Jason stood up with a sigh and pulled me close, placing his hand on my stomach with unexpected gentleness. “I get it, you’re pregnant so your emotions are all over the place, right?” “If you really want this baby so badly, then let’s keep it. I’ve even picked out names – if it’s a boy, we’ll call him James. If it’s a girl-” I finally realized what was wrong. The Jason in front of me was talking about events from three years ago. I grabbed his wrist, my voice catching in my throat. “Jason, did you lose your memory?” He paused, then shrugged it off. “They all keep saying I hit my head and lost my memory. What a load of crap. My mind’s a bit fuzzy, but it’s no big deal. Nothing important anyway. You can fill me in on the details.” He pulled me close, tilting his head back to look at me with eyes full of love, as if we had never been apart these past three years. I pushed him away, struggling to keep my voice steady. “Jason, we broke up. I-” He quickly cut me off, the warmth vanishing from his smile. “Jane, that’s enough.” “You really expect me to believe that?” His thin lips curled into an arrogant smirk. “After all these years by my side, if you wanted to leave, you would’ve done it long ago.” “You can’t live without me.” Just then, the sound of a doorknob turning came from the hallway. I shoved Jason away hard. My daughter came out rubbing her eyes, clutching her favorite stuffed rabbit. “Mommy.” She frowned at Jason. “Who’s that?” 0
My breakup with Jason had been far from amicable. I was Jason’s childhood friend. His parents had taken me in when we were kids, basically giving him a playmate. From day one, everyone told me I had to look after Jason, to take care of him. I was three years older than Jason, so I naturally fell into a big sister role. Jason was spoiled rotten as a child, with a nasty temper. When I first arrived, he often tormented me. He’d put snakes in my bed, gather his friends to mock my background, drag me out of bed in the middle of the night to snarl at me: “Jane, don’t you dare think you’re really my sister.” “You’re just a stray dog my family took in, got it?” I knew I had no right to argue with Jason. The truth was, I was grateful to Jason’s parents. They had taken me out of foster care. If not for them, I probably would have ended up trafficked by my crooked caseworker. But kids’ tempers come and go quickly. Under my constant care, Jason soon softened. He became affectionate towards me, not letting others bully me. When he couldn’t sleep, he’d come to my room. He started calling me “sis”. I always thought I’d play the role of his sister forever. Until Jason fell in love at 19. With Olivia. The Stewarts and Olivia’s family were equally wealthy. Like Jason, Olivia was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She was a dazzling, beautiful girl who became the campus sweetheart in her freshman year, catching Jason’s eye. They naturally got together, but both being spoiled, Jason and Olivia had explosive tempers. They fought often. During one of their fights, to make Olivia jealous, Jason kissed me right in front of her. Our relationship changed irrevocably in that moment. Jason and Olivia quickly made up, but Jason never explained that kiss to me. We both tacitly agreed to never mention it again, but we both knew we could never go back to how things were before. Jason and Olivia were together for three years before finally breaking up after a big fight. Heartbroken, Olivia left the country. And Jason, in a drunken stupor one night, crawled into my bed. I still remember that chaotic night. His breath heavy with alcohol as he nuzzled my neck, pinning my hands above my head: “Don’t reject me,” he slurred, his actions forceful but his voice pleading. “Don’t reject me.” I lay frozen, finally managing to ask in a trembling voice: “Jason, do you know who I am?” He answered with a kiss. Much later, when I was nearly asleep, I vaguely heard him sigh in my ear. “You’re Jane.” … And just like that, we were together. No confession, no ceremony, not even a word of affection exchanged. I still played the role of his caretaker, looking after Jason’s daily needs. He was just more intimate with me now. We’d walk on the beach at sunset, cuddle up to watch movies in the dark of night, hold each other close as thunder rumbled outside. For a while, I felt truly happy. I’m not sure when I fell in love with him, but I knew I did. So when Olivia came back looking for Jason, I endured it. When he stood me up on my birthday to have dinner with her, I endured that too. I loved Jason. I knew he still had a lot of growing up to do, so I was willing to give him chances to make mistakes and correct them. Until I found out I was pregnant. I sent Jason the test results. It took him a long time to call me back. His voice sounded distorted over the phone, irritated: “Jane, I don’t want a kid right now.” “I’m not ready to be a father, I still want to have fun. Don’t keep it.” Half an hour later, a friend doing her residency at the hospital sent me a photo. It was Jason and Olivia. He was supporting her carefully, his movements as gentle as if handling a priceless treasure. My friend sent a voice message: “Why is Jason here at the OB-GYN with some other girl? She looks pregnant. Who is she?” That’s when I understood. It wasn’t that Jason didn’t want children. He just didn’t want my child. From the very beginning, he had never forgotten Olivia. This girl who first taught him about love was the one that got away, someone he could never let go of. Now that she was back, I was just a substitute to be discarded. Along with my child, tossed aside like garbage. After that, I broke up with Jason. But Jason kept dragging his feet, refusing to agree. With no other choice, I enlisted an old classmate to help me stage a scene of reuniting with an ex. I’ll never forget Jason’s eyes that day. He stared at me as if he wanted to burn me alive with his gaze. “Jane, you and your new boy toy better stay the hell away from me.” “Or I can’t guarantee his safety.” His final words dripped with contempt: “You’re nothing but a dog I kept around.” “Remember this – I’m the one dumping you, not the other way around!” After that day, I never saw Jason again. He soon went abroad to expand the business. I heard he got engaged to Olivia. Both families were thrilled – it was a perfect match. Their engagement made the front page news. And now, he’d been in an accident, his memory reset to three years ago. In the silent living room, even the sound of traffic was muffled by the night. A heavy silence settled over us. I picked up my daughter, speaking softly as Jason stared at me in shock: “Jason, we’ve been broken up for three years.” “I’m… married now. With a child.” 0
It took Jason a moment to react. He opened and closed his mouth, disbelief and confusion warring on his face as he reached out to grab me. “That’s impossible,” he said, seemingly trying to convince himself as much as me. “Jane, how could you possibly be married to someone else?” “Don’t you love me?” His gaze shifted to the child in my arms. He forced a smile, “I lost my memory, so… this child is mine, right?” “Did you keep that baby from back then without telling me?” I stepped back. “Jason, stop this madness!” “This isn’t your child!” The light in Jason’s eyes was gradually consumed by darkness. “Not mine? Then whose child is it?” he snarled, grabbing my arm. “Jane, who the hell did you have a kid with?!” “With me.” Just as I was starting to panic, the door opened and Mark walked in, taking our daughter from my arms. The night air clung to his black suit, making it slightly damp, but his powerful presence made him seem anything but disheveled. He regarded Jason with mild interest. “We have a guest? You should have told me,” he said, handing me a package and completely ignoring Jason’s increasingly dark expression. “That cake you like – I almost didn’t get there in time to buy it.” Jason looked Mark up and down, his fists clenching. “Jane, when the hell did you get mixed up with him?” Before I could answer, Mark laughed. It was a cold, mocking sound devoid of any warmth. “When?” he echoed. “To be precise, we got together three years ago, had our daughter two years ago, and got married this year. Which ‘when’ are you asking about, Mr. Stewart?” In the quiet living room, the two tall men faced off. Rage blazed in Jason’s eyes while Mark regarded him with the condescending air of an adult humoring a child, emanating the confidence of a victor. I sighed, pulling Mark back as I addressed Jason: “What he said is true.” “Jason, we’ve been apart for a long time now. We both have our own lives – you’re about to marry Olivia, and I’m married with a child.” “You just lost your memory in the accident and can’t remember clearly right now. We stopped…” I paused before continuing, “We stopped being part of each other’s lives a long time ago.” “Part of each other’s lives?” Jason took a step back, his expression suddenly turning bitter. “Jane, we lived together for over a decade.” “And now you’re telling me we’re just ‘part of each other’s lives’?” I lowered my gaze, speaking softly: “You’ve grown up. We both need to have our own lives now.” Mark leaned against me, holding our daughter in one arm and taking my hand with the other, silently asserting his claim. The three of us stood together, physically not far from Jason but separated by an invisible, impassable line. After a long moment, Jason laughed. He stared at me, his voice cold. “Fine, Jane.” “You win.” 0
After Jason left, Mark didn’t say anything, but I could tell his jealous side was acting up again. He was so distracted, he barely kissed Emma when she asked for a goodnight kiss. His whole body radiated an aura of: “I’m angry, explain yourself now.” I sighed and went to hug him. “I didn’t know he was coming. He just showed up at the door, having lost his memory. I explained everything to him.” “It won’t happen again, okay?” Mark yanked off his tie and tossed it on the floor, saying nothing as he sprawled his long legs out on the couch. After a while, seeming to have calmed himself down, he finally spoke: “When I heard he’d lost his memory and immediately flew back, I had a bad feeling. I rushed back as fast as I could, but he still got in.” He looked utterly disgusted, swearing for the first time I could remember: “Damn it, why couldn’t that crash have killed him?!” I nearly laughed at his reaction. Mark always seemed so cool and composed, like nothing in the world could ruffle him. But when it came to Jason, he turned into such a jealous mess. Back when Jason first went abroad, Mark had practically thrown a party to send him off, hoping he’d never come back. Now that we’d just gotten married and Jason was back to stir things up, of course he was upset. It took a lot of coaxing and swearing I’d never get entangled with Jason again before he finally calmed down. But he still took out his frustrations on me after Emma went to sleep, leaving me sore all over. The next morning, I dragged my aching body out of bed, silently cursing Mark. What happened to men losing their drive after 25? If anything, he seemed to be getting more intense! Just then, my phone rang. It was an unknown number. Thinking it might be a delivery, I answered, but before I could speak, a familiar female voice came through. Even over the phone, I could hear the contempt in Olivia’s tone. “Jane, let’s meet up.” I frowned. “What for?” “I think we need to talk about Jason. Don’t you agree?” I rubbed my temples in frustration, cutting straight to the point: “I have nothing to do with Jason. I didn’t cause his accident or his memory loss. Whatever issues you two have, work it out between yourselves. It has nothing to do with me.”
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