Serena didn’t give Wilmer what he wanted.
She didn’t let him be with Brionne.
Using the fact that they were still legally married, Serena forced him back to her side.
Again and again, he tried to shake her off. And every time, she trapped him with one method or another.
A friend once asked her, completely unable to understand, “Why? No matter how much you loved him before, once he fell for someone else, you’d be the first to walk away. But now…”
Her friend looked at her, heartbroken.
“Serena… this isn’t you anymore.”
Why?
Serena’s thoughts drifted back seven years.
Wilmer wasn’t the powerful CEO he was now. Back then, they lived on the edge; danger was part of everyday life.
One day, his closest friend got into trouble. Wilmer rushed to save him, but he was too late. His buddy’s legs were already ruined.
And when the guy’s wife heard the news, she left without hesitation.
Maybe it hit too close to home. That night, Wilmer held Serena tightly, his voice hoarse.
“Serena… if something like that happened to me… would you leave me, too?”
“I won’t,” she said.
But his arms tightened even more.
“Promise me. Promise me that no matter what happens to me in the future, you’ll stay.”
His eyes were red.
“Serena… Without you, I’d die.”
Seeing the fear in his eyes, her heart completely softened.
So she made a promise.
And she kept it.
Because she had given him her word, even after he lost his memory and hurt her over and over again, she never once thought about giving up.
To make him stay, she crossed lines she never would have before. She did things she used to think she never could.
She told herself that it would be okay once he remembered.
There was no way one year could beat ten.
For that, she practically ran across the entire country, visiting every top neurology hospital she could find, doing everything she could to restore his memory.
Until yesterday. She overheard a conversation between Wilmer and one of his buddies outside the door.
“Hey, you already got your memory back a couple days ago. Why are you still hiding it from your wife?”
Wilmer answered casually. “Because the moment she finds out, she’ll make me choose between her and Brionne. And yeah, I won’t give up my wife… but I can’t let go of Brionne either.”
“Dude, that’s—”
“I know, it’s kinda shitty,” he cut in. “But people are greedy. Who doesn’t want both?”
“Then if you remember everything now, why not treat her a little better, dude?”
“Serena’s too sharp. When I didn’t remember her, I treated her like shit. If I suddenly change, she’ll notice. She’ll figure out I’ve been lying. And once she does, she’ll leave me.”
“So until I figure out a solution, I just keep things as they are.”
The room fell into a long, stunned silence.
Outside the door, Serena stood frozen like a statue.
Later, she wandered the streets with no destination.
The autumn rain was cold, but it wasn’t even a fraction of how cold she felt inside.
So it wasn’t that he hadn’t remembered. He just wanted both her and Brionne.
And he was the same man who once held her hand and said that all he wanted in this life was only her for a lifetime.
Her tears came hard but silently.
Only now did Serena realize how ridiculously insane she’d been, clinging to a promise like it was everything.
Ten years really did lose to one.
She slowly pressed her lips together, wiped the tears from her eyes, and turned her back on the fire behind her, walking toward the end of the dock without a single trace of hesitation.
When she got home, she started packing her things.
Green Garden Villa had been their home together. But now that she’d decided to divorce, she didn’t want to stay there anymore.
Halfway through packing, two men suddenly barged in and grabbed her, dragging her outside without a word.
Serena’s face changed. “What are you doing?!”
Right as she asked, she met Wilmer’s cold gaze at the door.
“You burned all of Brionne’s birthday gifts,” he said flatly. “I’m just returning the favor.”
Then he ordered his men to pour gasoline around the villa inside and out.
Without hesitation, he flicked his lighter into it.
With a whoosh, flames exploded instantly.
Serena’s pupils shrank as she stared at the fire raging in front of her.
Aside from the two years they’d been drifting, they had lived in this house for eight full years.
Everything inside held their most precious memories. And now, it was all turning to ash.
Her eyes turned red. But the next second, she laughed.
Wilmer frowned immediately.
He hadn’t expected that reaction.
He’d already been feeling a flicker of regret for setting the fire on impulse. But seeing her laugh now, something sharp and restless rose in his chest.
“What are you laughing at?” he asked coldly. “I remember you saying this place was our home for eight years.”
Isn’t a home supposed to mean everything to someone?
Serena’s laughter didn’t falter.
“Yeah. Exactly because it’s been eight years, there’s too much of us in there. I didn’t even know how to deal with it. “Honestly? You just made it easy for me.”
“Guess I should thank you,” she added casually.
Then she reached up, took off the pendant around her neck, and threw it straight into the flames.
Wilmer froze, shouting, “Hey! You—”
Serena didn’t respond.
She knew exactly why he reacted like that.
The thing she just threw away was a protection charm he had gotten for her after kneeling through three thousand steps, praying for three days straight in front of a temple.
And just like that, she let it burn.
