Chapter 3

After finally convincing Mary to leave, a friend brought me a message—the girl wanted to see me.

Camilla was the one who had taken Zane to the hospital that day. Now that she was pregnant, I was terrified that any meeting might result in her getting hurt or miscarrying, leaving me responsible. So I refused without a second thought. But my friend insisted that Camilla was determined—she was waiting at a café right now and wouldn't leave until she saw me.

Those two were truly the bane of my existence. Grumbling under my breath, I stormed into the café and immediately spotted Camilla by the window.

Thinking about it, Camilla and I didn't have any real enmity between us.

Some friends called her a homewrecker, but I believed the fault ultimately lay with Zane.

If anything, Camilla was the unlucky one. She had done a good deed by taking an injured man to the hospital, only to be relentlessly pursued by him afterward.

I knew exactly what Zane was capable of when he wanted a woman. His charm and resources were irresistible, and Camilla was just a young woman fresh out of college. No matter how strong-willed she was, Zane's sweet words and grand gestures would wear anyone down.

Camilla wore a pale sundress, her long curls glowing softly in the sunlight—though her complexion looked off.

"Cynthia, thank you for coming." Her voice was as gentle as her appearance.

Camilla and I were complete opposites. She was an art student—gentle, refined, and delicate, like the heroine of a romantic music video.

Before meeting Zane, I had been a botanist constantly trekking through forests. Because I became a team leader at a young age, my personality had grown assertive. Back then, Zane hadn't taken over Knowles Group yet—he was still a thrill-seeking playboy. He had paid a fortune to join our expedition team, only to be scolded by me countless times for his lack of survival skills.

When he first pursued me, I refused. I loved my adventurous life in the rainforests and mountains. Being a wealthy wife might be many people's dream, but not mine.

But Zane knew exactly how to manipulate people. He showed me something I had never had—the warmth of family. His parents were wonderful, truly treating me like their own. And he promised me that marriage wouldn't chain me down—that he would be my support.

Those were all lies. In the early days of our marriage, I didn't give up my career. It wasn't until he wanted to have his own children that I considered temporarily switching to lab work. Then, right as I was finalizing the transfer, the accident happened—and he lost his memory.

My marital vows wouldn't let me abandon him, so I took the lab position, continuing my research over the three years he kept demanding a divorce.

Now, I knew it was time to let go. I started missing the life I had before marriage.