I drag my suitcase out of the airport and walk straight into a massive billboard.

"Welcome back, Jennifer Palmer, the great love of Ivan Olsen's life."

The entire Internet praises him for having waited faithfully for ten years.

A star-struck reporter shoves a microphone in my face and asks, "Ms. Palmer, are you moved that Mr. Olsen has remained celibate for you all this time?"

I blink in confusion at her question. "Who's Ivan?"

When the airport announcement rang from above, it hit me that I had really come home. After seven years of studying abroad and spending what felt like an eternity working on my doctorate, I had graduated with honors.

However, I was stunned when I exited the international arrivals gate.

The massive electronic screen in the arrivals hall was plastered with an image of me that I didn't even remember when I'd taken. Along with the image were the words, "Welcome back, Jennifer Palmer, the great love of Ivan Olsen's life. After a decade of yearning, his true love returns."

"What's going on?" My fingers instinctively tightened around my suitcase's handle.

Before I could process what was happening, a dozen reporters charged at me with cameras flickering and microphones blaring.

"Ms. Palmer, how do you feel about Mr. Olsen's welcome ceremony?"

"Do you know Mr. Olsen is the most eligible bachelor in the city? It's nearly impossible to find a man this devoted these days!"

"Ms. Palmer, are you moved that Mr. Olsen has remained celibate for you all this time?"

The sudden flood of questions left me utterly bewildered, and I instinctively stepped back. However, the reporters grew more frenzied and shoved the microphone close to my face.

I had no choice but to speak.

"Hold on. You must've mistaken me for someone else. I don't know who Mr. Olsen is."

The crowd fell silent at my words before erupting into even greater chaos.

"Ms. Palmer, are you joking? Mr. Olsen declared that you're the only woman he's ever loved!"

"Don't you remember Ivan, who always silently protected you in high school?"

"Ms. Palmer, it's a little heartless of you to forget him when he's been waiting for you all these years."

My frown deepened at their words.

I honestly didn't remember anyone like that from high school. My life then had only consisted of studying and preparing for the overseas exams, and I had barely made any male friends too. Not to mention, there was no way I would have zero memory of someone crushing on me.

The reporters' relentless questions irritated me so badly that my voice turned cold. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about or who Ivan is. Also, I have the right to take legal action against all of you for storming me with cameras and questions without my consent."

At my words, the reporters finally quieted down and exchanged nervous glances. Some, however, were already drafting new headlines.

"Breaking news! The woman that Olsen Group's CEO waited ten years for claims she doesn't even know him! Where will this tragic love story go from now on?"

While the reporters were processing this new information, I snuck away and slid into my best friend's car outside.

I didn't notice the man standing in the corner of the hall. He was ready to charge in like a knight in shining armor when my cold words had stopped him.

Beside him was a petite woman who looked somewhat like me. He squeezed her hand so hard she winced, but he didn't seem to care.

I sat in my best friend, Tara Lane's, car. I was still traumatized by the airport incident.

Tara shoved a water bottle into my hand and enthusiastically exclaimed, "Oh my god, Ivan really went all out for you!

"Look! The drones are spelling out your name in the sky!"

I choked on the water and coughed as I stared at the flashing lights outside.

In my opinion, it looked less like a romantic display and more like the red dots of surveillance cameras.

"What kind of spell did you cast on Ivan back then? He takes the main seat at every reunion, and the moment he gets drunk, he starts shouting your name.

"His current girlfriend looks strikingly like you too. You should see how her face clouds over whenever he calls your name!"

I caught an important detail from her words. "Wait. Reunion? You mean he was in my class?"

Tara slammed on the brakes at a red light and turned to look at me, her expression somewhere between confusion and disbelief. "Does Classroom 7 from senior year ring a bell? Ivan sat just behind you, a little off to the side. He was such a quiet kid then.

"I never realized you were so sharp at spotting potential! You didn't even tell me you two had been dating all that time!

"And now look at him—a big shot. He even showed off your token of love at the school anniversary. It was a physics notebook, and the first page had your signatures with little red hearts doodled all around."

Her teasing sounded far too specific to be made up. A scowl crept on my forehead as I racked my head.

Suddenly, I remembered my notebook that had gone missing before a physics competition during senior year. I had searched everywhere and panicked to the point that it nearly cost me the championship.

"I was searching for that notebook for a long time because I needed it for a competition," my voice came out hoarse.

Tara's eyes widened as the memories struck her too. "That was the same notebook? I remember you were in tears looking for it!

"Hold on, are you telling me you really don't remember Ivan?"

I helplessly nodded. "I've told you a hundred times already! If I'd had a boyfriend in high school, don't you think someone would've noticed?"

As the light turned green, Tara stepped on the accelerator, and the car slowly moved forward. "So, you really don't remember him, huh? But why did the people in our class group chat…" She paused and hesitated before continuing, "They said you dumped him before you went abroad."

"What?" I shouted.

Tara nearly jumped out of her seat at my loud voice.

"What a classic tale! The brilliant beauty leaves behind the poor nobody, telling him not to wait while she goes abroad. The rejection drives him forward, and heartbreak becomes his fuel.

"In the end, he rises to become the CEO of Olsen Group, with a girlfriend eerily similar to the woman who once broke his heart."

She continued to ramble, but I lost focus on what she was saying.

News of Ivan's pursuit of his true love was so widely reported that even my parents knew about it.

The moment I walked through the door, I overheard them talking about how cruel I was to have dumped him back then. Not to mention, they were worried about what he might do now that he was powerful.

But after the day's events, I could barely explain anything to them. I merely said, "Mom, Dad, all you need to know is that I would never dump anyone casually like that. But there are things I need confirmation of."

Once in my room, I quickly searched for Ivan's interviews, and a flood of results instantly popped up. Almost every headline included my name.

I clicked one at random, and a handsome man appeared on the screen. His expression carried a hint of longing.

"In my hardest times, thoughts of her kept me going."

The camera cut to the host's moved expression after hearing his words.

The video ended with Ivan sighing and saying, "Even though she once told me we could never be together."

At the end of the video, the top liked comment glared back at me. "His true love must regret leaving him now. I can't wait to see her crawl back to him!"

When I was done watching the video, I dug out my old graduation photobook from the corner of the house. I flipped it over and checked the names one by one.

At the very edge of the picture, I finally found Ivan. He stood in the corner, almost swallowed by shadows.

His overgrown bangs hid his eyes, making his face hard to see, and his uniform collar was crooked and loose. He stood out starkly against his classmates, who were smiling brightly.

He looked nothing like the confident man who now spoke eloquently on financial news.

Yet, no matter how many times I replayed his words from those interviews, I still had no memory of him.

…

I hadn't anticipated how unsettling Ivan's fixation would become. My apartment rent had mysteriously been covered for three years, and every time I tried to work in a café, a piece of cake would show up at my table without me ordering it.

The whole thing made me feel a fear I had never known before. It was like I was being watched. But in addition to the fear was fury.

I had come home to spend time with my family and contribute my knowledge to the country. I didn't come back for romance.

After sending in a job application, I received a notice to attend the interview. But the moment I handed my résumé to the receptionist, her eyes widened. "Are you Mr. Olsen's…"

My heart skipped a beat, and I cut her off sharply, "I'm Jennifer Palmer, and I'm here to apply for the Principal Investigator position."

The interview went unbelievably smoothly, and the questions were comically easy.

At the end of the interview, the HR manager adjusted his glasses with a sheepish smile, saying, "To be honest, Ms. Palmer, you didn't need to go through the interview process. Olsen Group is our major partner, and Mr. Olsen has told me about you."

I could feel my hands trembling with anger at the mention of Ivan.

"I graduated from one of the world's top three universities, and I have four first-author papers published in top-tier journals and two patent projects under my name. You're telling me none of that compares to some ridiculous connection?" I stressed each syllable as fury boiled inside of me.

In an instant, the conference room went dead silent.

The HR manager's round face turned stiff and awkward. "That's not what I meant. It's just that Mr. Olsen has instructed…"

I stood up before he could finish his sentence and emphasized, saying, "Please tell Mr. Olsen that his intervention has already affected my life. If he tries to interfere with my career choices again, I'll file a report with the authorities for workplace discrimination and abuse of power.

"Besides, your behavior has made me doubt whether or not I'd have room to grow here. Hence, I don't think I would fit your company's culture, so please hire someone else."

When I walked out of the building, I immediately called Tara. "Are there any class reunions happening soon?"

"I was just about to tell you that Ivan booked out Paramount Restaurant for the day after tomorrow…"

"I'll be there," I cut her off. "I want to ask him why he's spreading those lies about me."

Perhaps Tara sensed I was upset, so she quickly hung up after muttering a few words.