The day after my divorce settlement, I got into a car accident and lost my memory. Later, my ex-husband, Liam, found me. He said we could get back together, if I stopped having my… episodes. I froze, the ice cream spoon halfway to my mouth. After a long moment, I managed to stammer, "No, thank you! I… I think I’m good with just the money." 1 I woke up to my best friend, Liane, staring at me with a worried frown. She told me not to be sad. She said my health was the most important thing, and that even though I was divorced, I had to live well. She said our children would be fine with Liam, that I didn't need to fight for custody anymore, especially since I couldn't win. I stared at her, completely lost. After a moment, I had to ask, "Who's Liam?" Liane froze, her expression blank. It took her a second to process before she was shouting for a doctor. The doctor said I had amnesia from the car accident. Liane, her voice tight with anxiety, asked me how old I thought I was. I thought for a moment. "Eighteen? Didn't I just finish my final exams yesterday?" Liane burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she had to squat down, clutching her stomach and pounding her fist on the bed. "Oh, Violet! This is perfect! The timing of this amnesia is just… perfect. Yes, you're eighteen. Eighteen is great! No Liam, no kids… just us." I was more confused than ever. 2 Liane took me home. Once she was sure my memory wasn't coming back anytime soon, she gave me the rundown. Me, Violet Lee. I'd fallen in love my freshman year of college with a poor kid named Liam Pierce. I was with him for ten years, from eighteen to twenty-eight. I helped him build his business from the ground up, lived on scraps with him, gave him children, and took care of his parents. And then, this year, he filed for divorce. "…What?!" I was horrified. It sounded like a tragic, melodramatic soap opera. My voice trembled. "So, you're telling me I was basically a servant for ten years, and then at twenty-eight, I was thrown out on the street?" Liane nodded. "That's about right. You also have two kids. A son, who's six, and a daughter, who's four. But because you were a stay-at-home mom with no income, and the kids both chose to stay with their dad, Liam got full custody." "…What?! I lost the children I raised?!" Even though I had no memory of any of this, it sounded terrifying. I was on the verge of tears. Then Liane grinned and patted my shoulder. "Don't be too sad. At least you have money." Tears welled in my eyes. "How much?" I asked tentatively. Liane sat up straight. "Violet, listen carefully. You got 20% of Liam's assets, 10% of the shares in three publicly traded companies, and two townhouses in the city. It's worth about one hundred and ninety million dollars." "..." Silence. Contemplation. Then, a hesitant question. "Liane, you're not messing with me, are you?" "If I'm lying, I'm a dog." That day, I stared out the window in a daze. I had lost ten years of my life. I had no idea how I had lived them. But Liane said I was rich, and when I was eighteen, the thing I loved most in the world was money. So, I figured, this wasn't so bad. 3 Liane took some time off work to help me with all the paperwork. I never saw the "Liam" she had told me about; he had his lawyers handle the entire asset division. After about a month of running around, Liane helped me list all my properties for rent. She did the math; the monthly rental income would be around one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. That day, I stared at the endless string of zeros on my bank statement, then at my reflection in the mirror—a twenty-eight-year-old woman, immaculately dressed and styled. I scratched my head. Not bad at all. 4 I didn't have much to do, but Liane had to work. So I spent my days at her place, playing video games. She'd order takeout for me when she ordered her own lunch. She always came home late, completely drained. She’d collapse onto the sofa, looking like she was at the end of her rope. I’d put down my game controller and give her a shoulder rub. It was like I had muscle memory for it; I was surprisingly good. Once she'd recovered a bit, she started ranting. "Liam is such a bastard. Right after you graduated, you were his free labor. His mom was sick, and you had to give her massages after work every day." "..." "And you," she said, turning to flick my forehead, "you're just a pushover, Violet. When I'm not around, you just let them walk all over you. They took advantage of you because you were an orphan with no one to stand up for you." I rubbed my head, feeling a little defensive. "I don't remember any of that! I only remember you." Liane stopped, then smiled. "That's right. You don't remember. It's better that way. As long as you remember me, that's enough. I won't bully you." I believed her. Liane and I had grown up together in an orphanage. When we were little, I was always trailing behind her. She'd fight for my snacks and help me with my laundry. When we got older, she'd tutor me. She was a year older than me, so when I was a senior in high school, she was a freshman in college. She called me every day, pushing me to study hard. She wanted me to go to the same college as her, but Liane was brilliant. She got into a top university. I studied until I thought my brain would explode, but I still couldn't get in. The day my results came back, I cried in her arms. Liane flicked my forehead. "What are you crying for? You got a great score. There's nothing to cry about." She stroked my head. "You did amazing." Later, I went to a different city for college, still in tears. 5 Liane always regretted it. "I never should have let you go there," she'd say. "If you hadn't gone to that city, you never would have met Liam. And if you hadn't met Liam…" "I wouldn't have one hundred and ninety million dollars," I finished for her. Liane put her hands on her hips. "What's more important, the money or those ten years of your life?" I tried to guess the right answer. "The money?" "You!" she said, exasperated. "You're more important. If you're not happy, all the money in the world doesn't matter. It's a good thing you lost your memory. What if you'd done something stupid? What good would the money have been then?" "Um… to buy a nice tombstone?" Liane laughed, exasperated. "Get out!" "..." Liane was always amazing. She was still amazing now, a general manager at a multinational corporation, earning around forty thousand a month. But she was busy, and she often had to travel for work. She was worried about leaving me alone, so she started taking me with her. Then she had a thought: since she was taking me everywhere anyway, why should she pay for it herself? So she hired me as her assistant. I knew this role! I'd spent the last few months binge-reading a dozen "billionaire CEO falls for his assistant" novels. On my first day, I showed up in a form-fitting pencil skirt, brimming with confidence. I made her coffee, organized her files, and ran around the office, looking incredibly busy. She watched me, amused, and finally told me to stop running around. She gave me a spreadsheet. "Let Amber show you the ropes. Work on this. Take your time, no rush." "You got it!" And just like that, I officially started my new job. 6 I went to work with Liane every day. I didn't have a lot to do, so I usually finished early. Liane, on the other hand, was swamped. I'd wait for her in the break room. One day, she saw me watching online courses on my phone and asked me seriously, "Violet, do you want to study?" "…I do." With my amnesia, I was starting from scratch at work. I felt dejected every time I couldn't do something right. Growing up, Liane had always been my role model, and she still was. I wanted to be like her, effortlessly competent and cool. So Liane signed me up for some classes. After work, I'd drive to my lessons. It was a comprehensive project management course, with a mix of different software applications. I filled two notebooks with notes before it finally started to click. After that course, Liane sent me to study accounting. I spent a year on it, and everything finally fell into place. I was getting the hang of my job. 7 After a year at the company, Liane started having me join Amber in client meetings. Amber was three years younger than me, a project manager with a wonderful personality. She was gentle and kind, and she always looked out for me. After one meeting, she bought herself a coffee and got me an ice cream. I was happily eating my ice cream when Amber laughed. "Liane said you're 29, but I never believe her. Violet, you're just a kid! A hardworking, obedient kid." I thought for a moment and told her gravely, "Actually, I have two kids." "Don't lie to me. We've been working together for over a year, and I've never even seen your husband." "We're divorced." "Violet, you look like a teenager." "Well… technically, I'm a young divorcee." Amber was stunned. She didn't believe me. I laughed; honestly, I didn't believe it either. I had just finished my final exams, how could I be twenty-nine? But I had been taking good care of myself for the past two years, so I did look young. Right after the divorce, I hadn't been in a good state. I was a wreck. But maybe money really is the best medicine. After I got out of the hospital, Liane took me for all sorts of spa treatments. She said I was too weak and signed me up for a fighting class. The eighteen-year-old me always followed Liane's lead. If she said east, I'd never go west. If she said fighting, I'd never sign up for taekwondo. We had a private chef at home, and with all the good food and care, I started to get better and better. With no memory of the past, no worries, plenty of money, and no job, I could eat and sleep as much as I wanted. In those few months, my hair even got thicker. The past year or so had been happy. I had forgotten the messy memories of the last decade. My eighteen-year-old mind was a clean slate, eagerly absorbing all sorts of new knowledge, with Liane always there to support and guide me. But maybe fate couldn't stand to see me so comfortable. One day, at a client meeting with Amber, I ran into a man. 8 Amber's meeting that day was confidential, so I couldn't go. She left me at a coffee shop downstairs with a book and some ice cream. I was halfway through my book when I felt someone staring at me. I looked up. A man in a sharp suit was watching me, his brow furrowed. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't place him. When Amber finished her meeting, I grabbed the coffee I'd bought for her and went to find her. As I passed the man, I heard him say, "Pretending you don't know me?" His comment was so out of the blue that I just glanced at him and kept walking. But he followed me out. "Violet Lee, not even a hello when you see me?" I turned around, and Amber turned with me. When Amber saw the man, she smiled. "Mr. Pierce! Long time no see." Liam ignored her, his eyes fixed on me. I looked at the man. Mr. Pierce? Could it be… Liam Pierce? I whispered to Amber, "Is that Liam Pierce?" "Yeah! The CEO of Pierce Corporation. You know him?" "…Um, I think he's my… ex-husband." Amber's jaw dropped. She looked at me, then at Liam, then back at me. Liam was still staring at me. I thought for a moment, then extended my hand. "Hello." Liam didn't take my hand. He looked at me with a condescending, mocking expression. "Violet Lee, I underestimated you. I actually thought you were a good mother. In court, you fought so hard for Leo and Maya, but as soon as you got the money, you didn't even come to see them once… It's a good thing I got custody. A person like you, you don't deserve to be a mother." A strange wave of sadness washed over me, but it faded as quickly as it came. I wracked my brain, but I couldn't remember what "Leo" and "Maya" looked like. "Violet Lee, this weekend, you'd better come back. Otherwise, you'll never see Leo and Maya again for the rest of your life." Liam left, leaving me with a bewildered Amber and a pensive me. 9 That night, for the first time, I heard about my two children from Liane. "They're both smart kids," she said. "But when Liam was starting his business, you were busy too. You went back to work right after giving birth. Their grandparents raised them, so they were never very close to you." "Violet, when you divorced, you could have gotten 50% of the marital assets. But you signed an agreement with Liam. You only took 20%, but he had to promise in writing not to remarry, and to leave all his assets to the children." She paused, then continued, "You carried them for nine months. You loved them more than anything. But it didn't matter. They didn't like you. The day I came to pick you up, I saw them yelling at you, saying you did nothing and still took 20% of Liam's money. They told you to give it back. You just stood there, silently. They got so angry they threw a glass at you…" Liane's voice trailed off. She sighed and hugged me. "Violet, please don't remember. Isn't it nice for us to just be happy like this?" I nodded seriously. "Okay. I don't want to remember either." "But if you want to see them this weekend, you should go. You can't avoid them forever. I'll go with you. No one will bully you." I looked up at Liane and nodded. It wouldn't have mattered if I didn't see them; I had truly forgotten. I only felt a pang of sadness when they were first mentioned, but now, I felt nothing. I was just a little curious. I wanted to see what they looked like. 10 Liane went with me. When Liam opened the door and saw her, he frowned. He clearly didn't like Liane, and Liane definitely didn't like him. Liam told me to come in, but tried to block Liane at the door. I panicked and ran back out to stand behind Liane. I was a little afraid of Liam. He was so tall, so imposing, and I didn't remember him at all. I clung to Liane. If she wasn't going in, neither was I. Liam's face instantly darkened. "Violet Lee, if you want to see the children today, you have to come in alone." "Then I won't see them." I shook my head like a rattle. I was terrified. What kind of person was this? I tried to pull Liane away, but Liam laughed, exasperated. "Violet Lee, what's wrong with you? Am I that scary?" Of course he was scary. He was almost six-foot-three, built like a brick wall. He could probably pin me to the wall with one punch and I wouldn't be able to get away. I was firm. "…I'm only going in with Liane." Liam's face was grim. Liane met his gaze with a blank expression. Finally, Liam stepped aside. "Come in!" The villa's living room was huge. In the center sat a boy of about seven or eight. He looked just like his father, and his expression wasn't friendly when he saw me. That must be Leo. Next to him was a little girl, who must be Maya. The little girl followed her brother's lead, looking at me with a hint of curiosity. "Are you Mommy?" I nodded. Maya tugged on her brother's sleeve. "Brother, Mommy is… so pretty now." The boy suddenly yelled, "Shut up! Don't call her Mommy! She's not our mommy anymore! She doesn't care about you or me! What kind of mommy is that?! And she won't let Daddy get married, so we can't have a new mommy! She's a bad person! She's crazy!" "..." Any anticipation I had felt vanished in an instant. I wasn't as sad as I thought I'd be. I still couldn't remember them. They looked familiar, but the memories were completely gone. It felt like two vaguely familiar children were yelling at me. I wasn't angry, just bored.
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