Chapter 4

After breakfast, Sebastian set a thick metal tin in front of me.

"You've been questioning what's between us," he said. "So — here. This is proof of everything."

I pried the lid open.

Inside was a stack of photographs and several thick notebooks.

"That's from our trip to Hawaii," he said quietly, pointing to each one. "That's our one-year anniversary. And that one… that's the day we tried on wedding dress."

I held a photo close to my face.

My vision was still blurry, but I could make out the shapes clearly enough.

It was me. Me and a man. We were hugging on a beach, kissing in a restaurant, laughing together in a bridal boutique.

The girl in the photos was smiling — genuinely, warmly.

There was no trace of anything forced.

"And this." He flipped open a notebook. "This is your love diary. You always said you had a bad memory, so you wanted to write down every day we spent together — something to read back when we're old."

I ran my fingers over the handwriting on the cover.

It really did look like mine. Even the way I connect the letters in certain words — exactly the same.

Inside, the diary recorded everything in detail. How we met. How we got to know each other. How we fell in love.

April 5, 2023. It rained today. He waited for me outside the office building with an umbrella. His shoes were completely soaked. In that moment, I suddenly thought — maybe getting married wouldn't be so bad.

August 10, 2024. He proposed. I cried like an idiot. I finally have a home.

Every single line was full of love.

I stared at all this "ironclad evidence," and my temples began to pound.

Had I really been wrong about him?

Had I really forgotten my own fiancé — the man I deeply loved — just because of the fire?

"Claire, don't force yourself to remember." Sebastian pulled me into a hug, his voice soft with concern. "It's okay that you forgot. We can start over. As long as you're still by my side."

His arms were warm. But I felt no sense of safety in them at all.