The Memory Game

The year Alexander lost his memory, I followed Mrs. Sterling's instructions and lied to him: "Alex, I'm your girlfriend."

Alexander looked confused, but gently took my hand.

That grip lasted seven whole years.

I managed the household, took care of his daily needs, accompanied him to various social events, wasting my best years away in the Sterling family mansion. Until his memory returned, and he looked at me with bone-chilling coldness: "Liar."

From then on, my world was nothing but endless emotional abuse.

When I spoke, he never responded, as if I were invisible.

I carefully prepared Thanksgiving dinner, but he brought Charlotte home to dine with her, leaving me to clean up the mess alone in the kitchen.

The night I was in labor at the hospital, he was watching a musical with Charlotte and didn't even answer my call when my water broke.

The most painful moment came when our child fell critically ill and was fighting for his life. I frantically texted him, called him with trembling hands, begging him to come back, but he only replied with one line:

"This child should never have existed. If you hadn't lied to me, I would have had my own child with Charlotte."

In the end, I held our dead child's body and swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills.

When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn, back to the day he first lost his memory.

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew I was back at this starting point.

On the hospital bed, Alexander had white bandages wrapped around his head. He looked at me.

"Who are you?"

Last time, I cried and told him I was his girlfriend. Then began seven years of hell.

"I'm Madison Williams, your friend."

Mrs. Sterling, standing on the other side of the bed, froze instantly.

She frantically gestured at me, silently mouthing: "Girlfriend! Say you're his girlfriend!"

Mrs. Sterling couldn't sit still. She stood up with a stiff smile: "Madison, come with me to buy something."

The moment the hospital room door closed, Mrs. Sterling exploded.

"Didn't we already discuss this?" she whispered urgently, breaking into a sweat, "You were supposed to say you're his girlfriend! Alexander has amnesia now - this is such a perfect opportunity!"

"Mrs. Sterling, do you know how the skiing accident happened?"

"This... what does that matter?" She looked guilty.

"It matters very much," I said deliberately. "Alexander was injured trying to protect Charlotte. Charlotte said she wanted to go down the expert slope to prove his love, so Alexander followed her out of concern and crashed into a tree."

Mrs. Sterling's face went pale.

I turned to go back to the room.

Pushing open the door, I found Alexander staring at the diamond necklace on his bedside table.

It was the engagement gift he bought for Charlotte. The diamond sparkled in the sunlight, hurting my eyes.

"You said you're my friend," Alexander suddenly spoke.

I sat down in the chair: "That's right."

Alexander suddenly sat up and grabbed my wrist: "Last time in this room, you cried and said you were my girlfriend, and that you'd take care of me forever."

"This time your story is completely different. Madison, you were reborn too, weren't you?"

The room fell deathly silent.

All pretense became meaningless in that moment.

"Yes," I didn't deny it. "I was reborn too."

He smiled, that smile cold as ice: "Then you should know even better - my love for Charlotte will never change. I only see you as a friend, in this life too."

With that, he picked up the diamond necklace and left the room despite his head injury.

Mrs. Sterling had just entered when she saw Alexander rushing out, and hurried after him: "Alexander! The doctor said you can't get out of bed!"

We only saw his resolute figure disappear down the hallway.

She grabbed my arm: "What's going on?"

"He recovered his memory," I said calmly. "All of it."

Mrs. Sterling was too shocked to speak. After a long pause, she said painfully: "Bewitched by that influencer... Madison, let's go after him! You still have a chance..."

"Mrs. Sterling," I stood up. "I don't want to be with Alexander anymore."

She stared: "What?"

I took a deep breath and said the earth-shattering words:

"I want to marry Daniel."

Mrs. Sterling's eyes widened: "Daniel? But he works overseas year-round, rarely comes back, you two barely know each other!"

"We do." I remembered accidentally seeing Daniel's unsent email drafts in my past life, all written to me, each ending with the same signature: "My Beloved Madison."

Only then did I realize that someone had been silently loving me for so many years.

Last time, I loved the wrong person. This time, I want to give myself and Daniel, who loves me silently, a chance.

"Mrs. Sterling, could you email Daniel?" I turned to look at her. "Ask him if he'd be willing to marry me."

Mrs. Sterling was silent for a long time, then finally sighed: "Well, marrying Daniel is still marrying into the Sterling family. I'll contact him right away."

Back home, I threw away everything related to Alexander in my room. Photos, little gifts, diaries filled with his name.

A knock came at the door.

Mrs. Sterling rushed in excitedly: "Madison! Daniel replied to the email!"

I stood up nervously: "What did he say?"

She handed me her phone, showing a brief email on the screen:

"Yes."

Just one word.

But that one word was worth a thousand.

"He said he'll return home in two weeks," Mrs. Sterling beamed. "We can arrange the wedding then!"

Looking at that simple, direct reply, my eyes suddenly welled up.

This was my new beginning.

The next morning, Alexander returned to Sterling Manor with Charlotte.

He happily pushed open the door.

"Mom, you approve of Charlotte and me being together? Last time you were very opposed to Charlotte and me being together, weren't you?"

Mrs. Sterling looked up.

"Madison has her own life choices to make, and you can decide your own matters too."

Standing nearby, I forced a smile: "Congratulations, you finally got what you wanted."

I looked at Alexander. Hearing my congratulations, his expression seemed strange.

Even though Charlotte was holding his arm, even though everything was as he wished, his brow was deeply furrowed.