Chapter 2

I stood in the center of the living room, covering my stinging face and looking around.

All the memories that belonged to Vivian and me had been completely erased. The furnishings had all changed.

Even the eternal flowers on the cabinet—symbols of Vivian's and my love—had been removed and replaced with an object covered in red cloth.

I was lost in a daze.

Maybe Georgina really wasn't my Vivian.

Because Vivian had promised me that only when the eternal flowers withered would she stop loving me.

But eternal flowers never wither, and Vivian would never stop loving me.

I turned to leave in dejection. In the midst of cheers, Julian slipped the ring on Georgina's finger and kissed her.

My heart ached unbearably, heat rising in my back.

Before leaving, I couldn't help but look back one more time.

At that exact moment, Georgina made a gesture in the dining room, and my pupils shook violently.

I was convinced Georgina was my Vivian!

Excited, I rushed over, grabbed the wedding ring on her ring finger, yanked it off, and threw it hard on the floor.

I gripped Georgina's hands tightly and said earnestly.

"Georgina, listen to me. You really are my Vivian!"

"When I used to cook this dish for you, I would always add a tiny bit of minced ginger—so small no one could see it. No one would pick it out directly. Only Vivian would know these little details. This proves you're my Vivian!"

Georgina tried to pull her hands from mine. I wouldn't let her.

After several failed attempts, she flushed with indignation, raised her hand, and slapped me.

"Get lost!"

I wasn't angry. Instead, I smiled.

Nothing in this world could be more joyful than someone you deeply loved, who had died, coming back to life!

I pulled Georgina toward the exit. Julian rushed over again and grabbed her back.

He picked up the ring and held it in front of my face.

"Williams, I already told you—Georgina isn't your dead wife. She's my fiancée."

"It's perfectly natural for her to wear my ring. What right do you have to break it?"

I said, "How much do you want in compensation?"

Julian jabbed his index finger at my chest.

"This ring cost three hundred thousand dollars. It's limited edition. There's only one in the entire country."

"It took me half a year to get it. You need to compensate me—at least a million dollars!"

I stood there and took Georgina's hand, heading for the door.

"Money's no problem, but I don't have that much on hand right now. Let me go home and I'll transfer it to you immediately."

"Forget a million—I could afford ten million."

"Now get out of my way. I'm taking Vivian with me!"

Julian lifted his foot and kicked me.

"Williams, you really think I'm stupid?"

"Three years ago when you were a boss, you didn't even have a million in cash. Now you're an ex-con and suddenly you do?"

I was kicked into the corner. The object covered in red cloth above my head swayed precariously.

Several burly men with dragon tattoos on their shoulders stood up from the sofa, cracked their knuckles, and surrounded me.

I got up and said earnestly.

"Julian, I'm the son of billionaire Johnson. Let me take Georgina for a DNA test first, and I'll get you a million dollars immediately after."

I wasn't lying to them.

The billionaire really was my father.

Only people in the highest echelons of society knew this secret.

My relationship with my father had been extremely strained since childhood.

I didn't like anything he arranged for me. Unable to bear it any longer, I ran away from home as a teenager.

When I was in prison, he used reducing my ten-year sentence to three as leverage to make me come home and take over the business.

But after my release, I didn't fulfill my promise to come home and take over. So he froze all my bank accounts.