A Permanent Memory Wipe

My fiancé is one of the country's top neurosurgeons.

One day, he discovers that his childhood sweetheart has been diagnosed with cancer and only has a month to live. He wants to spend this time with her, so he feeds me a newly developed memory-wiping drug to make me forget him for a month.

During that time, he throws his childhood sweetheart a wedding and goes on a honeymoon with her. As they stand amid an ocean of flowers, they vow to be together in another lifetime.

One month later, he kneels before me in the rain. Tears stream down his face as he says hoarsely, "The drug's effects were only supposed to last for a month. Why have you permanently forgotten me?"

Nathaniel Mercer's first love, Jolene Lanier, was back in the country.

He poured a cup of chamomile tea without thinking and passed it to me. "Jo has terminal cancer. She's got only a month to live, and wants me to stay with her until the very end."

His face was calm and unreadable.

I frowned. "Shouldn't she be with her family? Why you?"

Jolene was Nathaniel's childhood sweetheart, and even after they broke up, he always said they were still like family.

I'd been jealous of her more than once. And now, here we were, days away from our wedding.

Nathaniel ducked his head, his eyes skirting away from mine. "Mr. and Mrs. Lanier died in a car accident recently. Now she's all alone."

"You feel sorry for her," I said, catching the note in his voice.

"It's just a sad situation. That's all." He shrugged, then tapped my nose playfully. "Are you nervous? You're about to be my bride."

"Please." I rolled my eyes. "Not yet."

"Soon enough." He smiled, then turned earnest. "You'll be my only wife. I love you forever."

Nathaniel was quiet and reserved, never one to pour out romantic words. Even his love confession was understated. He shaped his EEG charts into a heart and showed it to me.

But now, out of nowhere, he promised to love me forever.

I leaned into him and asked if he'd help me pick our wedding welcome photo.

He pulled me in a little tighter and said, "You decide. The wedding's coming up, and I've got to hand off my work at the lab."

Nathaniel went to change his clothes. He'd always been careful about his appearance. I used to get lost just watching him.

But this time, when he walked out, his shirt was barely tucked in, and his socks didn't even match.

I pressed my lips together and kept quiet. I headed downstairs, flagged a cab, and trailed behind him at a distance.

His car sailed past the lab without slowing down, heading straight for the hospital.

I didn't follow him any further. He was probably going to see Jolene.