The expression on Miles' face froze for a moment. Then, he pulled me into a hug, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Cassie! Do you really remember now, Cassie? That's great! Do you know what's kept me going all these years? It was you and the research institute! The surgery is our last step to success. As long as you don't experience an immune rejection, we'd have succeeded.

"Claudia is talented, and this is all for the advancement of humanity. Besides, you have nothing to worry about. If you experience an immune rejection, I'll perform another surgery to have it removed. I told you, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life!"

His gaze on me was sincere as he repeated the words he'd said time and again, as though he was doing me a great favor for taking care of me after hurting me.

I looked at him with a mirthless smile on my lips. "You know my health condition. What if I die on the operating table?"

"Impossible! That's utterly impossible! We've got so many doctors in the institute, and this is just a simple renal transplant. You'll just sleep through the whole thing. Oh, go ahead and take the medicine already. Be good!"

I kept silent and merely turned away with my mouth tightly shut.

My noncompliance enraged Miles, and he was visibly upset. He smashed the glass of water on the ground, his gaze on me menacing.

"You're nothing but an invalid now, Cassidy. Without me, you'd be lying on your back, popping out kids for someone else. I don't care whether or not you've regained your memories, but you're taking the medicine!"

I clutched my wrist, now bleeding from being cut by a shard of glass. Had he not been worried that I wouldn't make it off the operating table due to my poor health, I had no doubt that the glass would have been hurled at me instead.

The sting from the gash was insignificant. But when I saw how hysterical Miles was, regret surged through me like a tide.

I had loved him so deeply that I lost myself. But to him, I was nothing but trash. Why should I be hurt so deeply just because I loved someone?

Seeing how I still refused to take the medicine, Miles walked out to get another glass of water.

Before I could lower my guard, Claudia came strutting in, having heard the commotion. She took one look at the scars on my body and sneered, then reached out to pat my cheek lightly.

"You should know your place. You're nothing but a worthless piece of trash."

Rage threatened to explode within me, but I couldn't even find the strength to get up and fight back.

"You're such a bitch, Claudia!"

"And you're such a joke!"

Claudia scoffed as she leaned toward me to look me in the eyes. There was no mistaking the smugness on her face.

"I'm a prodigy in the medical field now. Oh, and it just so happens that I'm Miles' fiancee too! And you? What about you? You can't be thinking that you're still the precious daughter of the Swanson family, can you? Or perhaps you think that you're still one of the institute's lead researchers?

"Pah! You're the bitch! A stray bitch who lost her memories! Who knows how many men you've slept with? Oh, and you're just a test subject for our research!"

Both her expression and her words stabbed at me like blades.

She had taken everything from me—my identity, whom others had once looked up to, the results of my tireless efforts, and even the man that I loved.

"Shut up!" I roared furiously.

"Oh? Struck a nerve, did I?" Claudia sneered condescendingly. "Too bad. There's nothing you can do now. Well, unless the Swanson family finds you and breaks in to take you away now, that is."

Miles came back with a new glass of water. He stroked Claudia's hair and said, "That's enough. Quit messing around. Just let her take her medicine, and we'll bring her to the lab."

"Got it, honey!" Claudia replied.

Miles took a step forward and gripped my jaw in a vise-like grip with one hand, locking me in place.

I struggled to break away from his grip, but to no avail. Soon, I was left gasping for breath, my body weak and powerless.

With his other hand, he took the medicine and forced it into my mouth. Then, he poured water in right after.

I sputtered and coughed.

"Swallow it!" he ordered.

Claudia watched everything impatiently with her arms crossed.

The moment the water was poured into my mouth, I stopped resisting, for the medicine had already slid into my stomach. I could feel the coldness of the water as it traveled down my throat, but at the same time, I felt a sharp, burning pain on my neck.

As I lay on the bed, the world before my eyes grew dark and hazy, like a veil had been draped over it. My consciousness started to fade.

I had no idea how much time had passed before a wave of searing pain swept through my entire body. I felt something restraining me, and there was something stuffed in my mouth.

Voices drifted in from outside.

"Just dump her here. No one usually comes around."

"She's such bad luck. I can't believe she gave out already! I was expecting her to hold out at least a little while longer. What a waste of my prototype. And all the medication too! Ugh. Let's just go, Miles."

My eyes stung with tears when I heard their conversation, but I couldn't even cry.

What had Miles said before? Didn't he say that I wouldn't die? That he'd take care of me for the rest of my life? And this was how things turned out? How ridiculous!

They had ruined me altogether, leaving me with only a battered life that was slowly slipping away.

I curled into myself, trying to keep warm. Tears fell silently onto my body. I didn't know where I was. And even if I did, I had no means of moving. All I could do was wait for death to claim me.

As the end neared, images from my past flashed through my mind. But I wasn't ready to die yet. Not like this, at least!

I hated them for spinning lies around me, for stealing my name and my work. If I had a chance at life again, I would never let them get away with it. I would make them pay.

Suddenly, a beam of light broke through. I realized the restraints binding me had been undone.

I closed my eyes, letting the sunlight wash over me, that faint warmth giving me a thread of comfort. When I opened them again, a familiar face filled my vision.

His eyes widened, and I could see a red tint gradually climbing into them. "Why are you here, Cassidy?"

With a piece of cloth still stuffed in my mouth, I was unable to speak, so I could only blink rapidly to show that it was really me.

He carefully removed the gag and loosened the bindings on me. When he held my hand, I could see that his red-rimmed eyes were now brimming with tears. "Thank goodness! I've finally found you!" he exclaimed.

I looked at the young man who was now crying tears of joy. I remembered him. He was Carter Jenkins, my neighbor.

"What happened to you?" he asked as he bent over to carry me out and set me down in an open space. He gently wiped away my tears. "Who was it? Who the hell did this?"

I wanted to answer him, but the slightest movement of my lips tugged at my wounds, and I hissed sharply. I could only cling tightly to his clothes.

"We've been searching for you for ages! Many claimed that you were already dead, but none of us believed them. Let's get you home now!"

Yes! Home! I wanted to go home!

Gripping the fabric of his shirt, I nodded hard.

I still had a chance. Once I got home, I'd make them pay for everything they'd done!