"Harley, are you sure about becoming an undercover officer?"
"Yes."
"You're the last surviving member of the Lupones. Think carefully. Come back in a month if you're still certain."
Undercover work meant being prepared to sacrifice everything, even her life. Harley had already made up her mind. In a month, she would erase her identity, wipe her name from existence, and leave her past behind.
Stepping out of the police station, she hailed a cab home. The car stopped suddenly. She glanced out of the window. A giant billboard lit up the city skyline, displaying breaking news: Hensford's richest man, James Franklin, has just spent an astronomical sum to purchase a private island—all to win a smile from his beloved girlfriend, Quincy Lawrence. He plans to build a luxurious villa as their future home.
Harley's lips curled into a bitter smile. Everyone knew Quincy was James' girlfriend, but no one knew that Harley was his wife. She had been married to James for three years. It wasn't a loveless marriage, but James had forgotten her.
She thought back to the past. They had been in love. He had even proposed, but fate was cruel. Her father's undercover mission was exposed. Her entire family of five was slaughtered overnight. At the time, she was in college. She only wanted to save her family and didn't want to drag James down, so she broke up with him. When she got home, she saw her mother and brother tortured beyond recognition. Her mother was tied to a chair. When she saw her, tears streamed down her face, and she mouthed, "Run!"
Then, her mother lunged at the drug dealers. An explosion instantly erupted, and Harley watched her family perish in the flames. The blast threw her across the room, leaving her with life-threatening injuries. In the hospital, she didn't dare close her eyes. As soon as she did, the horrific deaths of her family and the overwhelming hatred filled her mind.
Then she saw James being rushed into the hospital, barely alive. They said he had a car accident on the way to win his girlfriend back. Later, James suffered severe head trauma and massive blood loss. Without an immediate blood transfusion, he wouldn't survive. She heard James say, "Why do you treat me like this? What did I do wrong?"
He had done nothing wrong. His only mistake was falling in love with an undercover officer's daughter. Harley's heart ached, but there was nothing she could do. Then, Harley remembered that she and James had the same blood type. So, she could only ask the doctor to give him her blood.
Despite already losing too much blood herself, the doctors refused to let her donate. She threatened to take her own life if they didn't comply, and only then did the doctor agree. She survived, but her body was left with irreversible aftereffects. The worst was that James completely forgot her.
Their marriage had been destined from the start. It was an arrangement, a joke played by fate. She was the adopted daughter of the Jackmans. Meanwhile, he was the heir to the Franklin empire. An engagement bound them, and neither had a choice. James had only agreed to marry her because of his grandmother's threats. From that day forward, he saw her as the woman he hated most.
Maybe forgetting was for the best. Remembering it only brought pain. Harley had always known they weren't meant to last. It was also because he forgot that she was selfish for once and listened to her adoptive mother marrying him.
