The doctors deliberated for a long time, examining me with various instruments, and finally reached a conclusion.
Alaric would stimulate me and worsen my condition, which wasn’t conducive to recovery.
Mrs. Everhart seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but my father panicked, arguing that it was impossible and insisting he needed to go in and talk to me.
Of course, the doctors blocked him, so he brought up how I saved Alaric when we were young, saying Alaric couldn’t just push me and then ignore me.
He said Alaric had ruined my whole life–if he didn’t take responsibility, who would want me?
Beckett snorted: “When she was smart, he found her disgusting. You think now that Selene’s stupid, he’d want her?”
The Everhart family’s faces darkened at Beckett’s words.
Alaric’s voice trembled, but for the first time he responded to my father’s days of pressure to marry me off.
He said hoarsely: “I’ll take responsibility… I’ll marry her. I want her.”
But Beckett got agitated: “She doesn’t even remember you! You think just because she has amnesia and became stupid, all the terrible things you did can be wiped clean?!”
Alaric shouted back: “It was you who kept bullying her! You guys!
Who was it that always made her write homework and run errands? Beckett, how dare you say that!”
Beckett was so angry he couldn’t think of a rebuttal and tried to get physical, but Cassian held him back.
Cassian sneered: “That’s right, we bullied her–but who isolated and excluded her? Wasn’t that you?”
“All four of us, who’s clean? Who didn’t bully her? But Alaric-
She was your friend. You were the one who tacitly allowed us to treat her that way. Everything she suffered these past three years was with your permission!”
Beckett: “Exactly! Do you dare tell Selene what you said to us?
You said Selene was clinging to you, that her family was annoying you! You said you liked someone like Delilah!”
Alaric’s chest heaved violently with anger, but he couldn’t say a word in defense.
He had given Selene the cold shoulder for four years. At first it was just a few months of cold war, but Selene had backbone–she never bowed her head or gave in to him.
Four years, and she never once came to him seeking reconciliation.
No–she came once, but what had he said then?
“What childhood sweetheart? She’s just a nanny.”
…After that, Selene never came looking for him again, never called him “Alaric” again.
Alaric fell silent.
They parted on bad terms.
The next day, during their group visit, I sat with bandages on my head, expressionlessly filling out a sudoku puzzle.
I had specifically asked the doctor for it, along with a high school physics and math olympiad paper.
10.99
for the Slinnor I Was Born for Queen’s Throne
55.6%
After half an hour, I put down my pen and pushed the papers toward them.
My father’s face went white–white with anger.
Mr. Everhart’s secretary and assistant checked the answers while exclaiming in disbelief.
“My God! Miss Vale is amazing, this is pure genius! She could definitely compete in competitions!”
Mrs. Everhart finally breathed a complete sigh of relief–her son wouldn’t have to marry me. Mr. Everhart was also very happy.
“This is a blessing in disguise, Ethan.” Mr. Everhart happily patted his shoulder. “You must be overjoyed, right? Your daughter is back to normal. I could tell from a young age she had this talent.”
“Don’t say anything more! We must get the child treated properly, then I’ll find a professional team to assess her areas of expertise and cultivate her properly. You’ll be blessed in the future with such an excellent daughter.”
Mr. Everhart made no mention of the marriage Alaric had agreed to earlier, instead praising me highly and promising to invest heavily in my development.
Beckett and Cassian stared at the perfect olympiad paper with their mouths agape. “Holy shit…”
Delilah also quietly breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at the olympiad paper and sudoku.
A flash of unwilling jealousy crossed her eyes before she put on a gentle smile.
“Alaric, this is wonderful. You can rest easy now–Selene is perfectly fine.”
“You’ve been keeping vigil at the hospital for many days. Go rest first.”
But Alaric didn’t move, staring intently at me.
“Selene, you still don’t remember?”
I turned the page of my sudoku and continued filling it out with my head down, completely ignoring his words.
