"W-what?" Zhao Lifei blinked and shook her head, attempting to wrap her brain around this astounding fact. She always felt as if his face was familiar, but his touch wasn't. There was a hole in her heart and she always sought for something that wasn't here. A part of her yearned for something, but she couldn't place a finger on what it was.

Jiang Zihui's throat constricted when her eyes darkened to be the color of her hair. He wondered what she was thinking and what her eyes were searching for, bouncing around the room, traveling over his features. What was she looking for? He received his answer when her slender fingers touched upon the ring dangling on her necklace and a flash of understanding passed through him.

"Why did you lie to me?" She didn't sound particularly mad or confused, rather, she didn't sound like anything at all. There was neither accusation nor understanding to her tone. It was just blank, like that of a soulless human.

Jiang Zihui also wondered why he lied to her. He could've easily blamed it on Jiang Yinan's blabbering big mouth, but he couldn't deny a part of him wanted to be selfish. He wanted to keep her here. He wanted to love her. He wanted her to spare him the brilliant smile and gentle laughter she gave to other men, but never to him. He wanted to see her eyes light up like the stars and the adorable dip of her dimples. He wanted to see it all, what it would be like if she viewed him in a better light. Once upon a time, she did look at him like that and once he had a taste of the poison, he couldn't go back.

His love for her was profound and couldn't be expressed through words. At some point, it became an unhealthy obsession. He wanted to know why she abruptly left without a word. And in the process of seeking her, he lost himself. He shattered the foundation that his life was built on and tossed away all rationality. Hell, if she wanted him to jump off a building, he would respond with, "Should I do a flip for you?"

Her eyes sparkled like a pair of polished, golden topaz. Clear and captivating, it trapped his eyes and held his soul, just like how her hands were firmly grasped onto his heart. She could break or destroy him but didn't know she had the power to do so.

Zhao Lifei's eyebrows furrowed together when she saw a mixture of emotions travel across his face. He looked as if he was fighting his own battles and struggles, where his greatest nemesis was himself and only himself. Why did he look like that? Why did he look so heartbroken, as if she had stolen the only good thing in his life? He looked at her like his world was shattering, that his picture-perfect life was destroyed because of her.

She realized they must've had a history together, whether it was good or bad, it must've deeply affected him. He mentioned he was a General. This would explain the military memory where he yanked off her hair-tie and threatened her. She didn't like that one bit. In her memories, he was intimidating and behaved like he could kill her with one finger. So why is it, that standing before her right now, the wind could knock him down? "We had a history together, didn't we?" She whispered, her fingers balling the blankets, waiting in anticipation for him to speak up.

"Yes." He finally said, clearing his throat when a lump formed. He breathed in deeply to clear his thoughts, but one glance at her glistening eyes and he felt himself break all over again.

"I can assume it's not a pleasant one?"

"It was pleasant until we ran into misunderstandings after misunderstandings. You had lost all form of respect towards me and I had lost respect towards my own goals and ambitions." Jiang Zihui ran a hand through his hair, clutching the ends and meeting her eyes. Why did she have to look at him like that? Brows knitted together in worry, hindering the glow of her eyes and her tiny frown pricking his heart.

"I never seemed to have forgiven you for it." Zhao Lifei concluded, the storm long forgotten. Speaking of which, it settled down now and was just a small drizzle of rain. She had gone to bed early today, a quarter before nine. She didn't realize the chaotic storm that fell onto a city, one hundred miles away, so far in the distance, but so close to her heart.

"No, you haven't." Jiang Zihui curtly agreed with her. He would prefer if she didn't forgive him. It was out of her character to do so. And he didn't want the reassurance that her forgiveness would give him. He wanted to torment himself a little longer for socializing with a person like his previous second-in-command.

"I don't think I ever will." She told him, her fingers wrapping around the ring. Even though it was exposed to the outside air, the ring felt oddly warm to the touch. It reassured her that everything in this world was going to be alright, that she would be safe and sound. "Who gave me this ring?"

The momentary warmth on his face shriveled up like the flowers of spring transitioning into autumn chilliness. "A man I prefer not to talk about."

"Why?"

'Because I'm not strong enough to admit that someone had successfully stolen your heart.' He didn't tell her that. He opted to play the distant card by taking a step back, his hands clenched into fists. "You're better off not knowing who gave it to you."

Zhao Lifei sharply narrowed her eyes, "That's not for you to decide."

"No, but it's the best choice for you." Jiang Zihui concluded for her, stepping closer to her at which she stood her ground and continued to glower at him.

"Says who?" She demanded, her nose flaring like her threatening glare.

"Me."

She should've slapped him right then and there. Perhaps that was her intention in stepping off the bed as if she wanted to do something to him.

Jiang Zihui could feel the anger rolling off her like waves on a windy day, plundering everything it touched. The fire in her eyes left no one unscathed and he found himself lowering his face to her as if allowing her to do something to him. She kept his respect by not impulsively acting on her emotions.

"What are you keeping from me? Why are you like this?" She grabbed his collar, yanking him to her so that they were at proximity and she could read his face better. For the slightest second, she was blown away by his beauty like that of a misunderstood man in heartbreaking romance movies.

"Why do you behave like this? Why did you offer me protection and shelter? Who exactly are you to me? What do you feel towards me? What made you like this? Why...Why do you look at me like I ruined your life." Zhao Lifei was on the verge of losing her patience, her hands shaking.

"Who exactly...am I?"

"Someone is out for your life and he's related to the person who gave you this ring." He gently placed a hand over hers, then wiped away the angry tears that slipped out of her eyes. "Don't cry. Please don't cry. I'll do anything, just, don't cry. Okay?" He hoarsely told her, unable to withstand any more pain.

Zhao Lifei didn't even know she was crying until he pointed it out and wiped her tears away. She pushed his hands away and roughly cleaned it up herself. Molten hot tears of frustration continued to pour and she couldn't deal with it anymore. She felt embarrassed to cry in front of a stranger and decided to turn her back to him. "I don't want to be here. I want to go home."

"And where exactly is home?"

His question struck her and she was left speechless. She didn't have an answer to his pressing question. She should have one, but she didn't. "Who is after me?"

"I will take you to wherever you call 'home' when you finally regain all of your memories. Only then will you be safe." The contract was still in Jiang Zihui's drawers, left untouched with a business card attached to the top of it. He didn't think anything of the contract and even contemplated the idea of shredding it, but luckily decided against it. This contract will be the key weakness to bring down a Monarch that should've died a long time ago.

"Safe from what? Stop talking in circles just to sound mysterious. It's annoying." Zhao Lifei bit out. Her words made him chuckle, "I heard mysterious guys are more charming."

"You want to know what else is charming? Telling the truth."

"You're not ready for the truth."

"You either tell me the truth or I will find it myself." Zhao Lifei swiveled around with a clean and dry face, all traces of her tears dispersing.

"Good luck doing that when you don't even know what you're searching for, my dear."

My dear. My love. Her eyes widened a man broke through the foggy clearing known of her memories. And then it all came back to her.