: Forgetting Potion
After my fiancé fed me a Potion of Oblivion, I discovered I still remembered him.
"She's already forgotten me! We're going to get our marriage license this afternoon!"
Watching Julian Gideon, who was right beside me whispering to his mistress, I'd never felt my memory of him be so clear.
'What a crappy Potion of Oblivion. Obviously some fake junk he got from who-knows-where.'
But my family was pressuring me, and out of desperation, I had to just grab a random man off the street to marry.
I thought Leo Sutton and I were a match made in heaven, love at first sight.
Until someone at my wedding recognized him.
"Elara Sinclair, isn't that your first love, the one you were head over heels for?!"
1
The day I ran into Leo Sutton was the day I was kicked out by Julian Gideon.
Thinking I had lost my memory, he looked at me with disgust.
"We've already broken up. Don't even think about freeloading at my place anymore!"
Julian Gideon decisively slammed the door shut and quickly dialed Jessica Thorne's number.
"Don't worry, I've already thrown her out!"
Three years of my life together, and it all ended with me being homeless.
Dragging my suitcase, I wandered aimlessly down the street.
My phone rang at the worst possible moment. My father's furious voice blared through the receiver.
"What is wrong with you? You can't even keep a man?"
My mother took the phone, trying to smooth things over.
"I heard today that Julian Gideon is getting engaged to Miss Thorne. What's going on? Isn't Julian your boyfriend?"
I wanted to explain, but the words wouldn't come out.
"I don't care what your situation is! If you don't get married soon, don't even think about coming home again!"
My family had given me a three-year deadline. Now, with the three years almost up, I still couldn't get married.
The moment the call ended, a downpour began.
I scrambled to find an awning to shelter from the rain. Not paying attention, I turned and bumped into a white car.
'Today is the absolute worst.'
I kept my head down, miserably gathering the clothes that had scattered all over the ground, letting my tears mix with the rain.
The next second, a pair of black leather shoes appeared in my line of sight.
A handsome man—tall, about 6'3", with broad shoulders and a narrow waist—was standing right beside me.
"Elara, do you need help?"
I stared up at him, stunned.
"How do you know my name?"
"You don't recognize me?"
I shook my head, frantically wiping the tears from my face.
The handsome man sighed, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and gently wiped my face.
"I don't know what kind of act you're putting on, but I am the one who hit you today."
"So tell me, how do you want me to compensate you?"
My father's voice, pressuring me to get married, rang in my head once again.
"Um... how about you marry me?"
Of course, I hadn't forgotten Julian Gideon.
Everyone in Bayside knew I loved Julian Gideon more than life itself.
During the three years we dated, I did just about every stupid thing imaginable for him.
I would cancel a business partnership on the spot for him. I would go out in a downpour to a bun shop six miles away just because he said he was craving it.
When I was twenty-three, I went to Southpeak Temple and spent half a year copying scriptures. I copied until my fingers bled, just to get him an Amulet personally consecrated by the abbot.
But Julian just glanced at it before casually tossing it to the housemaid.
His friends all laughed at me, calling me a pathetic lapdog. Some even urged him to marry me quickly, just to tie me down for life.
"No need to tie her down. She'll naturally stay by my side for the rest of her life."
Those were Julian's exact words.
If he hadn't genuinely fallen in love and decided to marry Jessica Thorne, I might have really stayed by his side forever.
As for that Potion of Oblivion, I have no idea why I still remember Julian Gideon.
'Maybe it's because I was never genuinely in love with him in the first place.'
Leo Sutton dangled the marriage certificate in front of my eyes.
"What are you thinking about?"
I stared at the two red booklets in front of me, feeling like it was all a dream.
To be honest, I regretted proposing marriage the moment the words left my mouth.
I'll admit, Leo Sutton is definitely my ideal type, but proposing to a complete stranger right off the bat... no matter how I thought about it, it felt wrong.
But Leo just paused for a moment, then pulled me into his car.
"You're the one who said it. Don't you regret it."
After confirming several times that I really didn't recognize him, Leo pulled out his "personal resume."
Orphaned since childhood, a PhD who returned from overseas, scholarship winner every year, now a university professor, broad shoulders, narrow waist, eight-pack abs...
"Um... can I see the abs?"
No matter how you looked at it, I was the one who'd hit the jackpot.
I continued looking through his life story and discovered that we had actually attended the same schools from elementary all the way through high school.
"So you asked if I recognized you because we went to the same schools?" I scratched my head. "Too bad we were two grades apart. I don't really have any memory of you."
Leo Sutton's expression became unreadable.
"It's fine if you don't remember. It's not too late to get to know each other now."
And just like that, in a complete daze, I married a man I'd only just met.
Leo carefully put the marriage certificates away and took my hand.
"Let's go."
I looked up, a little confused.
"We're going to the engagement party."
