Chapter 441
Audrey’s POV
I opened my mouth to speak when a man’s voice blared from Astrid’s phone.
“Darling, if you don’t come down and open the door, I’m gonna ring the bell,” the voice said, false sweetness barely masking the threat.
Astrid’s face hardened as she glanced between me and her phone.
“Your parents will be so disappointed their daughter’s been engaged for years without introducing her fiancé,” the voice continued. “Pretty rude, don’t you think?”
Astrid exhaled sharply and gestured for me to wait as she moved to the window.
“Are you deaf?” she snapped, brows knitting together.
Ryan Quinn,” she said firmly, “I don’t care if we dated before or if I supposedly loved you. That’s history.”
Her knuckles whitened around the phone. “We’re done. I’m canceling whatever stupid engagement we had when I didn’t know better. Clear enough?”
*You say I’ve done enough things I hated for you,” she continued. “You even slapped me. Can we stop this ridiculous game? Just go!”
Curiosity got the better of me. I moved to the window to check out this Ryan’person. A black luxury car was parked down the driveway. Leaning against the hood was a man in all-black, phone pressed to his ear, trying way too hard to look cool.
I raised an eyebrow as I studied him. Despite his casual pose, something about him felt off dangerous in a genuinely threatening way.
“Baby, his voice drifted from the phone, lazy and entitled, “you promised you’d never leave me, that I was your only love…”
I believed you. You need to take responsibility.”
Astrid’s temper flared. “I’m not responsible for shit! Leave now or I’m calling the cops!”
“Astrid Wilson, Ryan’s voice hardened, dropping the act, “don’t push it.”
“It was one slap,” he said, irritation evident. “I apologized and told you I thought you were sneaking around with Henry Hartford. Now I know you were just visiting Evelyn Knox.”
“We’ve been together five years, he pushed. “Five years long-distance without a single fight. Now you’re running home to mommy and daddy over this little thing. Really?”
“Ryan Quinn, Astrid replied, ice coating every word, “we’re done. Period.”
“Stop this nonsense right now,” he warned before she ended the call.
I watched as he eventually got in his car and drove off.
“Astrid,” I asked, “do you actually remember being with this guy?”
She rubbed her temples with a grimace. “That’s the weird part.”
“I don’t get what’s happening,” she said. “At first, I only remembered our engagement. Now I’m suddenly getting more memories of him.”
“Like what?”
Chapter 441
“Running across campus. Knitting him a scarf during the first snowfall. Taking care of him when he got sick,” she listed.
Her brow furrowed. “The thing is, these should be sweet memories, right? But they feel…wrong. Like I’m watching some bad rom-com where I’m just a viewer, not actually there.”
‘Strange,’ she muttered.
‘Don’t these memories seem…unlike you?” I asked.
Astrid looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“Hold on,” I said, leaving briefly.
I returned with knitting needles and yarn, handing them over. “Show me how you knit.’
Astrid stared blankly at them. “I…”
“Exactly,” I said, sitting down. “I’ve known you for years. Even before you lost your memory, you never did crafts. Would you really knit a scarf for anyone?”
I glanced at her height. “And this guy’s maybe 5’11”. You’re standing on tiptoe to reach him? Anyone making you stretch would need to be at least 6’5″!”
Astrid froze, eyes widening.
“And taking care of a sick person? Really?” I pressed. “Remember when Rachel caught a cold? You tried to help and somehow both of you ended up with pneumonia. I had to take care of you both!”
*Plus your grades were always terrible,” I added. “Your parents sent you to Europe because you couldn’t get into any decent New York schools. Does that sound like someone stressing over academics?”
Astrid plopped down beside me with a sigh. “Mom said you were my best friend. Now I believe her.”
She leaned her head on my shoulder. “Only a true friend knows all my flaws and calls me out so brutally.”
Despite her words, her eyes sparkled with humor. “But couldn’t you mention something good about me? All I’m hearing are my failures. I’m getting bummed
out!”
I set my water down and faced her. “Since we met, you’ve been everyone’s mood-lifter. When people feel down, you know exactly how to cheer them up.”
“You understand emotions,” I said. “You’d never let stress build up without dealing with it.”
“That’s why these supposed memories with Ryan seem off. They don’t match the real you.”
I hesitated before asking, “Could someone have planted these memories in your head?”
The room fell silent.
Astrid stared at me. ‘Come on. This isn’t some sci-fi movie. I was in a car accident, not hypnotized…”
Her voice trailed off as something clicked.
She turned to me, eyes wide. “Wait – you don’t think I was actually hypnotized?”
I considered this carefully. “Besides Ryan Quinn, what else do you remember?”
Astrid thought for a moment. “Kate Peterson.”
“A classmate I barely knew,” she explained. “School beauty queen who later killed herself. Ryan called me by her name after he slapped me.”
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Chapter 441
She rubbed her head, then suddenly stopped. “Actually…Kate Peterson looked a lot like the ‘me’ in those memories with Ryan…”
We stared at each other as the implications sank in.
After a long silence, I texted Henry Hartford.
His first response was dismissive: “Memory loss? Hypnosis? Replaced memories? What is this, a sci-fi movie?”
After I explained everything, we waited half an hour before he replied: “Where are you now?”
Astrid and I were sharing a mango when the message came. I texted back: “Wilson mansion.”
Reading his response, my stomach dropped. “Astrid, Henry Hartford’s coming over.”
“No way!” Panic flashed across her face.
I quickly called him, putting the phone on speaker. “Mr. Hartford, maybe you shouldn’t come yet. Astrid’s still processing all this. She needs time to
“Too late,” his deep voice cut in. ‘I’m already on my way. Ten minutes.”
“Mrs. Knox,” he continued, “Ryan Quinn is my half-brother. He’s been after me for years, trying to get his hands on the Hartford fortune.”
“As Hartford Group’s grown more successful under me, he’s gotten more desperate. He’s even fantasizing about taking over the entire company.”
“He’s sent people to infiltrate my circle before. His attempts were always obvious, so I never bothered responding.”
“It’s been six months since his last try. I thought he’d given up, but he’s just changed tactics and targeted someone close to me.”
All I could say was, “Drive safe.”
After hanging up, I turned to Astrid. “Sorry, couldn’t stop him.”
Astrid buried her face in her hands, cheeks burning. “How am I supposed to face him? I had feelings for him before. I’ve liked him for years! But after losing my memory, I said all those cold things… He must think I’m completely nuts.”
