Amnesia

"Who are you? You're the one who's crazy. I don't even know you. Why would I want to provoke you?" Lily retorted.

Royce's face darkened further. "You don't know me? Say that again."

Lily looked utterly bewildered. "Who are you? Why should I know you?"

"You..."

"Shut up," Edmond interjected, giving Royce a cold glance.

Once the room finally quieted down, Edmond looked down at Lily, who was holding him tightly.

He stood still, allowing her to embrace him, his deep eyes fixed on her.

"Who am I?"

"Edmond."

"How old am I?"

"Thirty-two. Don't you even know your own age?"

"You called me Darling. Are we married?"

"No, we're engaged. We're getting married after the New Year. Why are you asking such strange questions today?"

"Last question, who is Royce?"

"Royce? Who is Royce?"

The conversation ended, and a terrifying silence filled the room. Alistair was the first to break it with a click of his tongue. "Is this... memory confusion?"

Aria snapped out of her daze at his words, feeling a surge of joy. This might be a blessing in disguise! She cautiously asked, "Lily, do you really not remember Royce?"

Lily replied, "Why should I remember him? Who is he?"

Aria pointed at Royce. "Do you recognize him?"

Lily, still clinging to Edmond, turned to look at Royce, studied him for a moment, and then concluded, "I don't know him."

"Lily!" Royce was at his breaking point.

 "Stop pretending. This only makes me more disgusted. You were the one who wanted to break off the engagement. What is this now?"

He stepped forward to pry Lily's hands off Edmond's waist, but Edmond gave him a look that made his hand freeze in mid-air.

"Uncle Edmond, she's doing this to provoke me and is using you."

Edmond ignored him, his eyes returning to Lily, searching for any signs of deception.

"You fell down the stairs and hit your head. Should we have the doctor check you out?"

Lily blinked and nodded. "Okay."

Royce went to get the doctor, explaining the situation anxiously along the way.

"She's faking it, right? This can't be real. It's absurd."

The doctor replied, "What you're describing could indeed be memory confusion. Some patients do experience this. But of course, we need to run tests to be sure."

They conducted a full examination, including a brain CT scan, but Royce didn't get the answer he wanted.

The doctor said, "Everything is normal. She just needs rest. As for the memory confusion, it might be temporary. Don't worry, it won't affect her daily life."

Don't worry? Royce didn't love Lily anymore, but watching her call Uncle Edmond "husband" made him want to throw up. Husband? Lily wanted to marry Uncle Edmond? Not a chance! The doctor advised that Lily needed rest after waking up.

Lily looked pale and indeed very tired. Edmond and Alistair left first, saying they would return later. Royce pushed Nadia back to her own room, giving Lily a complex glare before leaving.

Aria stayed to take care of Lily.

Once everyone else had left, Aria ran over to close the door. When she returned, she could barely contain her excitement, her eyes sparkling as if she had won the lottery.

Lily remarked, "I must have damaged my brain. You seem very happy about it."

"Of course I am." Aria rubbed her hands together, her eyes narrowing in a smile.

"You actually forgot Royce. We should open a bottle of wine to celebrate."

"I haven't forgotten Royce."

"What?"

Aria had just sat down on a stool by the bed when she was taken aback by Lily's words.

"You haven't forgotten? Then what was all that?"

Lily replied, "I was acting."

Lily was quite pleased with her performance.

Even Aria didn't see through it, which meant her acting skills were pretty good.

"Edmond said I should resolve the awkwardness of having meals with Royce in the future. Now that I've forgotten Royce, isn't the problem solved?"

Aria took a moment to process this. "Are you sure it's really solved?"

Not really.

Lily might have forgotten, but everyone else hadn't.

During holidays and family gatherings, if someone brought it up, it would still be awkward, right?

How is this a solution? Lily responded confidently, "Of course it's solved. I forgot, so I'm not awkward anymore. It doesn't matter if others are."

In other words, as long as I'm happy, who cares about others?

Aria gave her a thumbs up. "You're amazing!"

Then she remembered something else. "So, what's the deal with you and Nadia? Did she jump to frame you, or did she push you and then jump herself?"

Anyway, Nadia was definitely the bad one.

Lily had actually woken up early and heard everything Royce and Nadia said when they entered the ward.

"Nadia jumped on her own. I fell on my own too."

Lily briefly recounted the events of the previous night, and Aria slapped her thigh in anger.

"I knew it was Nadia's doing. She chickened out and came up with such a sinister plan. By getting injured, she wouldn't have to perform on stage and could frame you, making herself look like the victim."