Third Person's POV

The man who loved Starlet Bennett more than anything was caught in a car accident and unfortunately lost his memories.

This was the same man who once promised her the stars just because her name had one in it. The man who gave up the most important contract of his career and flew halfway across the world just to surprise her on her birthday.

For ten years, everyone knew them as the perfect couple—inseparable, deeply in love.

But after he lost his memories, Starlet decided to walk away and disappear from his world forever.

——

The night of their wedding, Starlet's boyfriend, Aldrich Young, woke up with amnesia. He remembered everyone except her.

Desperate to make him remember, she tried everything. And when she heard that a specialist in Finland had a reputation for treating memory loss, she boarded the first flight out to tell Aldrich about it.

But just as she reached the private lounge where he was, familiar voices from inside made her freeze.

“Aldrich, I’ve gotta hand it to you. Pretending to have amnesia? That’s genius. Starlet has no idea she’s been played like a fool.”

“Seriously, though,” another voice chimed in, “how long are you planning to keep this up before telling her the truth?”

Laughter echoed through the room.

On the other hand, Starlet’s heart stopped as she inwardly realized, 'He's just… faking it?'

Then what about everything she’d been through? The sleepless nights, the tears, the desperate search for a cure—what did any of it mean?

A chilling numbness spread through her limbs. Her hands curled into fists, nails digging deep into her palms, but she felt nothing. She could only stand there, listening as Aldrich spoke in a lazy, amused tone.

“Let’s keep it up for another two weeks. After that, I’ll go back to Starlet and be the perfect, devoted man she thinks I am.”

Gasps of disbelief filled the room.

“No way—two weeks? You could have way more fun than that! Sure, you’ve already had your fair share of fun lately, but are you really willing to give up all these other women for just one?”

“Exactly. You’ve been with her for ten years, man. Now that you’re finally cutting loose, why go through all this trouble pretending to have amnesia?”

“Honestly, just dump her. She’s got no background, no power, and on top of that, her face is ruined. She might’ve been fun for a while, but a wife? You need someone who actually matches your status—”

“Shut up!” Aldrich roared, and the laughter died instantly.

His smirk faded as he swept a cold gaze across the room.

“None of you have the right to talk about Starlet like that,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “Let me make one thing clear—no matter what happens, I will never leave her. She’s the love of my life. If she weren’t so innocent—so shy in bed—I wouldn’t have had to go this far.”

He swirled the wine in his glass, eyes dark with something unreadable.

“This time, I’ll just chalk it up to a man making a mistake. In two weeks, I’ll throw her the grandest wedding imaginable. I’ll make her the happiest woman alive. She’ll never know a thing.”

Then, he changed the topic, adding, “That being said, you all know how Starlet is—she doesn’t tolerate deception. So if anyone dares to let this slip… well, you can imagine the consequences.”

A tense silence filled the room before someone muttered, “We wouldn’t say anything, obviously. But if she finds out on her own… with her personality—”

“She won’t,” Aldrich cut in smoothly.

He downed his drink in one gulp, then smirked.

“No matter what happens, she’ll always be mine. As long as she’s Starlet—as long as she’s breathing—she will never escape me. Not in this life, not in the next.”

'Never escape… for eternity?' Starlet bitterly scoffed to herself.

She then turned and walked away, unsteady but determined, disappearing into the night.

Third Person's POV

The gentle snowfall had turned into a blizzard and the howling wind blurred everything ahead. But Starlet kept walking, aimless, lost—like a deer that had strayed too far from home. As she wandered, her mind drifted back to the past, to memories she had buried long ago.

She met Aldrich during the darkest year of her high school life.

She was the school’s top student—brilliant but poor, while he was the wealthy, charming golden boy. The kind of person who belonged in a world far from hers. Clearly, they should have never crossed paths. But fate had other plans.

The day their lives intertwined, she had been beaten so badly by bullies that she could barely stand. Then, out of nowhere, he appeared.

Like a hero descending from the heavens, Aldrich pulled her from the fists and kicks, carrying her away on his back. Her leg had been broken, her body battered, but he never once hesitated. He carried her for miles.

That day, the snow was heavy. But for the first time, it felt warm.

What came after felt natural. She became his girlfriend.

He never once looked down on her for the scars she bore from years of bullying. Instead, he cherished her, adored her, and turned her into the most envied girl in school. He celebrated every special occasion with her, always surprising her with something thoughtful, something grand.

And those who had tormented her? He made sure they paid. He exposed their cruelty, ruined their reputations, and left them with no choice but to transfer schools.

Their love lasted ten years. From the innocence of youth to the harsh reality of adulthood, Aldrich’s devotion never faded. If anything, it only grew stronger.

On their fifth anniversary, after he had become a CEO, he bought five asteroids and named them after her—"Starlet"—because he wanted her to be the brightest star in everyone’s eyes.

On their ninth anniversary, he set up a global livestream to capture him kneeling before her with the Angel Heart Ring, making a lifelong promise to her, and asking her to become his wife.

Everyone said she was the luckiest woman in the world.

And she had believed it, too.

Then, two months before their wedding, his plane suddenly crashed overseas. Fortunately, he survived. But when he woke up, he had forgotten only one person.

Her.

The news shattered her and she collapsed on the spot.

When she came to, she made a choice. She would do whatever it took to bring his memories back.

She begged anyone who might help. She swallowed her pride, even seeking out the very people who had once tormented her. They humiliated her, made her kneel, threw every insult they could think of—but she endured it all. For him. For their love.

But in the end, it had all been a lie. A twisted, cruel game of deceit.

The sharp ring of her phone yanked her out of her haze. Barely thinking, she answered.

“Miss Bennett, your sister’s condition has worsened. She doesn’t have much time left.”

“How long?”

“Half a month.”

The words echoed in her mind and a dull ache settled in her chest. Everything from earlier—the lies, the betrayal—flashed through her mind. Her already pale face turned even colder, but her voice was steady when she spoke.

“Dr. Erickson, I need a favor.”

After a pause, Travis Erickson replied, “What is it?”

“In half a month, instead of Talia..." She exhaled slowly and continued, "Make it appear that I'm the one who died."

Dragging her exhausted, frozen body home, she stripped off her damp clothes and slipped into the bathtub. She curled up inside, letting the warmth of the water wash over her.

Memories then surfaced, as relentless as the waves.

Ever since their parents’ divorce, she and her sister, Talia Bennett, had been nothing more than a burden to them.

Especially Talia, who was born weak, and constantly sick, living her life between hospital rooms and medication. She never even had the chance to go to school.

Their parents had long since abandoned them. Only their grandmother had stayed. Only she had loved them unconditionally, working herself to the bone just to raise them.

But later, she was gone, too.

And so, Starlet learned to survive.

Third Person's POV

Talia hated the sterile smell of hospitals, so Starlet moved her to a private care facility.

Talia also didn’t like being around people, so even after ten years of being with Aldrich, Starlet never once mentioned her.

That’s why, when she heard her sister didn’t have much time left, the idea of taking her place became her escape plan.

Emerging from the water, she stood in front of the mirror. Slowly, her own pale face blurred, merging with her sister’s.

A soft, almost peaceful smile spread across her lips. Once she was gone, it wouldn’t matter where she went or what she did—Aldrich would never be able to find her again.

She would disappear from his life forever.

That night, after booking a flight overseas for two weeks later, she slept more soundly than she had in months.

The next morning, after breakfast, she began clearing out everything that reminded her of Aldrich.

The gifts he had given her, the surprises he had planned, the photo albums filled with memories. Seven or eight full boxes of love and nostalgia, all of it thrown away, one piece at a time, until nothing was left.

Just as she was hauling the last box outside, a sleek, limited-edition Tesla pulled up to the curb.

Hearing the sound, Starlet instinctively turned around—only to lock eyes with Aldrich. His usual sharp, arrogant gaze met hers, but he wasn’t alone.

A woman draped herself over his arm, her makeup flawless, her outfit seductive. They stood together in the open, making no effort to hide. Even after seeing her, neither of them flinched.

Starlet knew exactly what Aldrich was thinking.

He assumed that because she loved him, she would forgive everything he did while he was "lost" in his amnesia.

But no matter how deep a love ran, it would run dry eventually.

And Starlet had never been the kind of person to tolerate betrayal. Deception, infidelity—those were the things she despised most in life.

Especially when the woman in his arms was the one person she hated more than anyone.

Her grip on the box tightened as she stared at Eileen Malone, the ringleader of her high school tormentors.

From the moment she stepped onto campus, Eileen and her group had made her their target. Every cruel trick, every vicious prank—they had all been inflicted on her.

For years, her body was never free of bruises. She had tried to fight back once, but it only made things worse.

The final straw came when a classmate casually complimented her looks. That was all it took for Eileen to snap. She and her lackeys cornered Starlet in the bathroom, holding scissors and a lighter, ready to burn her hair and scar her face forever.

Panicked, she had no choice but to jump out the window.

Luckily, she survived, but the price was a deep, jagged scar on her right cheek.

Eileen’s wealthy family had thrown a hundred thousand bucks at her to keep her quiet. And for Talia’s sake, she took it. But when she watched her abuser walk away unscathed, boarding a plane to study abroad, she had never felt so much hate.

And Aldrich knew all of this. He knew Eileen was her nightmare. He knew she still woke up screaming from those memories.

Yet here he was—parading around with her like it was nothing.

The weight of all the lies and betrayal crashed down on her, filling her with disgust.

She didn’t want to waste another second on these two. Without hesitation, she lifted the last box and threw it into the trash.

Out of the corner of his eye, Aldrich saw what she was throwing away. His expression darkened, and in an instant, he stepped forward, his voice tense.

“Why are you throwing all of this away? Don’t you remember—I gave you all of this—”

Starlet cut him off with a smirk, her tone laced with mockery.

“I thought you lost your memory? How do you still remember these things?”

The moment the words left her lips, Aldrich’s heart sank.

For the first time, he realized his mistake.

His throat went dry, and he quickly cleared it, forcing a smirk in an attempt to mask his slip-up.