: Forgetting Potion

After my fiancé fed me a Potion of Oblivion, I discovered I still remembered him.

"She's already forgotten me! We're going to get our marriage license this afternoon!"

Watching Julian Gideon, who was right beside me whispering to his mistress, I'd never felt my memory of him be so clear.

'What a crappy Potion of Oblivion. Obviously some fake junk he got from who-knows-where.'

But my family was pressuring me, and out of desperation, I had to just grab a random man off the street to marry.

I thought Leo Sutton and I were a match made in heaven, love at first sight.

Until someone at my wedding recognized him.

"Elara Sinclair, isn't that your first love, the one you were head over heels for?!"

1

The day I ran into Leo Sutton was the day I was kicked out by Julian Gideon.

Thinking I had lost my memory, he looked at me with disgust.

"We've already broken up. Don't even think about freeloading at my place anymore!"

Julian Gideon decisively slammed the door shut and quickly dialed Jessica Thorne's number.

"Don't worry, I've already thrown her out!"

Three years of my life together, and it all ended with me being homeless.

Dragging my suitcase, I wandered aimlessly down the street.

My phone rang at the worst possible moment. My father's furious voice blared through the receiver.

"What is wrong with you? You can't even keep a man?"

My mother took the phone, trying to smooth things over.

"I heard today that Julian Gideon is getting engaged to Miss Thorne. What's going on? Isn't Julian your boyfriend?"

I wanted to explain, but the words wouldn't come out.

"I don't care what your situation is! If you don't get married soon, don't even think about coming home again!"

My family had given me a three-year deadline. Now, with the three years almost up, I still couldn't get married.

The moment the call ended, a downpour began.

I scrambled to find an awning to shelter from the rain. Not paying attention, I turned and bumped into a white car.

'Today is the absolute worst.'

I kept my head down, miserably gathering the clothes that had scattered all over the ground, letting my tears mix with the rain.

The next second, a pair of black leather shoes appeared in my line of sight.

A handsome man—tall, about 6'3", with broad shoulders and a narrow waist—was standing right beside me.

"Elara, do you need help?"

I stared up at him, stunned.

"How do you know my name?"

"You don't recognize me?"

I shook my head, frantically wiping the tears from my face.

The handsome man sighed, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and gently wiped my face.

"I don't know what kind of act you're putting on, but I am the one who hit you today."

"So tell me, how do you want me to compensate you?"

My father's voice, pressuring me to get married, rang in my head once again.

"Um... how about you marry me?"

Of course, I hadn't forgotten Julian Gideon.

Everyone in Bayside knew I loved Julian Gideon more than life itself.

During the three years we dated, I did just about every stupid thing imaginable for him.

I would cancel a business partnership on the spot for him. I would go out in a downpour to a bun shop six miles away just because he said he was craving it.

When I was twenty-three, I went to Southpeak Temple and spent half a year copying scriptures. I copied until my fingers bled, just to get him an Amulet personally consecrated by the abbot.

But Julian just glanced at it before casually tossing it to the housemaid.

His friends all laughed at me, calling me a pathetic lapdog. Some even urged him to marry me quickly, just to tie me down for life.

"No need to tie her down. She'll naturally stay by my side for the rest of her life."

Those were Julian's exact words.

If he hadn't genuinely fallen in love and decided to marry Jessica Thorne, I might have really stayed by his side forever.

As for that Potion of Oblivion, I have no idea why I still remember Julian Gideon.

'Maybe it's because I was never genuinely in love with him in the first place.'

Leo Sutton dangled the marriage certificate in front of my eyes.

"What are you thinking about?"

I stared at the two red booklets in front of me, feeling like it was all a dream.

To be honest, I regretted proposing marriage the moment the words left my mouth.

I'll admit, Leo Sutton is definitely my ideal type, but proposing to a complete stranger right off the bat... no matter how I thought about it, it felt wrong.

But Leo just paused for a moment, then pulled me into his car.

"You're the one who said it. Don't you regret it."

After confirming several times that I really didn't recognize him, Leo pulled out his "personal resume."

Orphaned since childhood, a PhD who returned from overseas, scholarship winner every year, now a university professor, broad shoulders, narrow waist, eight-pack abs...

"Um... can I see the abs?"

No matter how you looked at it, I was the one who'd hit the jackpot.

I continued looking through his life story and discovered that we had actually attended the same schools from elementary all the way through high school.

"So you asked if I recognized you because we went to the same schools?" I scratched my head. "Too bad we were two grades apart. I don't really have any memory of you."

Leo Sutton's expression became unreadable.

"It's fine if you don't remember. It's not too late to get to know each other now."

And just like that, in a complete daze, I married a man I'd only just met.

Leo carefully put the marriage certificates away and took my hand.

"Let's go."

I looked up, a little confused.

"We're going to the engagement party."

It was only then that I realized Leo Sutton was being a little too enthusiastic about our marriage.

I had been about to tell him it was a fake marriage, but I was rendered speechless when I met his excited eyes as he was picking out a wedding venue.

'Oh, well. I'll let him be happy for a few more days.'

Leo Sutton had found out an auspicious date from who-knows-where and was excitedly about to go pay the deposit.

I took a closer look and saw it was only two weeks away.

"Um," I said, tugging on his sleeve, "shouldn't we notify our relatives and everyone first...?"

Before the words were even out of my mouth, the man before me visibly deflated.

"I'm just too eager. I want to make things official with you sooner," Leo Sutton said, looking up at me with his innocent puppy-dog eyes. "Or... do you not want to have a wedding reception with me at all?"

'His good looks were making me lose all sense of reason.'

I pulled out my black card without a second thought.

"Book it. And-and make it a big one."

Leo Sutton gleefully went off to set the date with the staff, while I wandered around by myself.

Perhaps it's true that you're bound to run into your rivals, because I walked right into Julian Gideon and Jessica Thorne, who were also here booking their wedding.

"What are you doing here?"

"What else would one do here besides get married?" I said, not forgetting my "amnesiac" persona. "And who are you?"

Jessica Thorne seemed annoyed by Julian Gideon's curiosity about me, so she stepped forward and stood between us.

"Look, have you really forgotten him?"

She glanced around me, her eyes filled with disdain.

"Coming here all by yourself to book a wedding? Yeah, right. Who'd believe that!" With that, Jessica Thorne proudly linked her arm through Julian Gideon's. "I know Julian is an excellent man, but he already has me."

With Leo Sutton not back yet, I really had no way to defend myself.

But when it came to dealing with a spoiled trophy wife like Jessica Thorne, I had a few tricks up my sleeve.

"It's true, I don't know this handsome man," I said, channeling a lifetime of acting talent as I pretended to gaze at Julian Gideon with adoration. "But just a moment ago, I fell in love with him at first sight."

To make it seem more real, I even got a little handsy with Julian Gideon.

A woman like Jessica Thorne is terrified of people looking down on her husband, but if you actually show interest in him, she's the first to get upset.

Sure enough, my tactic worked. Jessica Thorne was quickly infuriated.

"Don't you have amnesia?! How can you fall for him!"

Just then, a staff member came over to hand me a contract, and Jessica Thorne snatched it away.

"April 20th? How did you book the same date as us!"

'Looks like Leo Sutton wasn't kidding. He really did pick a prime date.'

"Same groom, same day, of course," I said with a raised eyebrow. As I left, I made sure to blow a wolf-whistle at Julian Gideon. "I'll be waiting for you~"

Jessica Thorne was fuming, tugging on Julian Gideon's arm and roaring.

"What is the meaning of this! Didn't you say she had completely forgotten you?!"

"Come clean! Have you two been in contact behind my back?!"

I was in a fantastic mood, singing to myself as I walked out, only to run right into Leo Sutton, who had just finished his arrangements.

His eyes were forlorn, and for some reason, he reminded me of an abandoned stray dog.

"So, the only reason you're marrying me is because you've forgotten Julian Gideon."

"You're marrying Julian Gideon?" Lulu Sinclair's voice came through the phone. "What's going on? Didn't you say you already registered your marriage with someone else?"

"I just said that to piss off Jessica Thorne. How did that rumor already get to you?"

"Oh, for goodness' sake. You know what Jessica Thorne is like, don't you?"

Lulu Sinclair sent me a screenshot of Jessica Thorne's social media page.

She and Julian Gideon had deliberately booked the reception hall right next to mine and Leo's, and she had even made a point of mentioning me.

Something about how she'd "coincidentally" run into me and only then found out I was getting married, and what a "happy accident" that it was on the very same day. It was simply "an act of fate."

: 3

She even mentioned at the end that she hoped our mutual friends could drop by my engagement party after attending her wedding.

It made me sound like the freebie in a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

"Well, that's just great. Now everyone knows you're getting engaged on the same day as her. A lot of people are saying you're still hung up on Julian Gideon and are trying to provoke Jessica Thorne!"

For some reason, I suddenly remembered the dejected look on Leo Sutton's face.

'So, did he misunderstand, too?'

We hadn't been in touch since the day he took me home.

I opened our empty chat window, typing and deleting over and over before finally sending a single sentence.

"What are you up to?"

My phone rang a moment later. I answered it in a hurry, only to find it wasn't Leo Sutton on the other end.

"Elara Sinclair, come downstairs."

For some insane reason, Julian Gideon was standing downstairs from my apartment, holding a huge bouquet of roses.

"Uh, you've got the wrong building," I said, pointing to the one behind it. "Jessica Thorne lives over there."

"I came here for you."

Julian Gideon placed the flowers in my arms.

"I went home and did a lot of thinking today. Even though you've forgotten, we still had a lot of wonderful memories when we were together."

"But, you know... Jessica was spoiled growing up, so she can be a bit headstrong..."

Seeing the confused look on my face, Julian Gideon quickly tried to explain.

"Don't worry. Even though I'm marrying Jessica, I'll be sure to treat you both equally! I won't play favorites."

It finally dawned on me.

'So Julian Gideon actually thought I was desperate to be his mistress?'

"Are you out of your mind?"

I threw the flowers right in his face.

"I know you're getting a raw deal with this marriage thing, but don't worry! I'll make it up to you with a honeymoon trip too." Julian Gideon, thinking I was just jealous, put on a patronizing air. "You and Jessica will be the only two women in my life!"

I suddenly felt sorry for Jessica Thorne.

She thought she'd won by beating me, but she had no idea that Julian Gideon's philandering was her greatest enemy.

"Come here."

I beckoned with my finger, and Julian Gideon eagerly leaned his face in.

SLAP.

The next second, a resounding slap echoed as it landed on his face.

"Don't you have a mirror? If not, then look at your reflection in your own piss! Where in the world do you get off being so confident?"

One slap wasn't enough, so I gave him a few hard kicks for good measure.

"You want me to be your mistress? Pfft! In your dreams!"

My sudden hostility scared Julian Gideon so much that he took off running, but not before trying to brainwash me one last time.

"Just think about it! I know you can't accept this right away because of your amnesia, but I'll wait for you!"

I stood at the door, panting. On my way back in, I bent down and picked up the roses from the ground.

'The flowers are innocent, at least. I'll take them back and have Mrs. Chambers put them in a vase for a few days.'

But as soon as I turned around, I saw Leo Sutton, who was also holding a bouquet of roses.

'I'm so screwed.'

Leo Sutton, who had come rushing over with flowers after a single text from me, was now staring at me holding roses from my ex-boyfriend.

"Let me explain—!"

Before I could catch up, Leo Sutton got in his car and drove off.

Over the next few days, he was a no-show for everything, from the menu tasting to the wedding dress fitting.

Then, just a few days before the wedding reception, I got a call from one of the vendors.

"Hello, Miss Sinclair? Your fiancé just called to cancel the wedding reception. We just wanted to confirm that with you."

'That damn, scheming bastard!'

Honestly, I had no idea if Leo Sutton would even show up.

I'd sent him several selfies in my wedding dress today, but he hadn't replied to a single one.

But since it had come to this, I just told the wedding planner to proceed as scheduled.