Serena thought of something else and lost control, grabbing the collar of a passing servant. "Tell me, what did the doctor say when Julian woke up last time?"
The servant looked at Serena's dark expression and couldn't help but shudder, carefully answering. "The doctor said the first young master suffered severe head trauma, causing traumatic memory loss. He forgot part of his memories."
The more Serena listened, the paler she became. She clenched her jaw tightly as she argued. "How is that possible? If he lost his memory, how could he still remember other people? What kind of scheme is Julian playing now?"
The servant looked at Serena with even more fear. "Miss Ashford, when the first young master woke up, he only forgot you. Didn't you know?"
Something in Serena's head exploded with a buzz, leaving her limbs numb.
Julian had only forgotten her. Did that mean he not only forgot her, but also didn't love her anymore? Was that why he chose to marry someone else?
Ignoring the strange looks from those around her, Serena slowly crouched down, clutching her hair in anguish. A feeling rose in her chest called guilt and unease. She thought she must truly be going crazy. The person she loved deeply should have been Dominic. Why was she losing control and getting so agitated over Julian's affairs?
Suddenly, Serena thought of something and stumbled back to the trash can in the bedroom. The journal she had once discarded like a rag was no longer there. Only then did Serena remember. It seemed to have disappeared the day Julian burned her clothes. After the burning, it was gone. But at that time, her mind had been entirely on Dominic, and she hadn't cared about this at all.
In her dazed panic, Serena found herself at the backyard. In the metal bin, only a pile of ashes remained. Serena stared at the ashes inside, staring for a very, very long time, before her eyes suddenly filled with the image of Julian burning things that day. In the firelight, that delicate face had shown no extra expression. Those eyes that used to light up like stars whenever they saw her were now cold to the bone.
Serena suppressed the sharp pain in her heart and was finally forced to admit a truth. He had truly forgotten her. That was why he could destroy his love for her without blinking.
Just then, Serena was suddenly embraced from behind. She heard Dominic's shy voice. "Serena."
Being suddenly touched intimately by the person she had liked for so long, Serena's instinctive reaction was rejection and disgust. She quickly turned and pulled Dominic away, lowering her eyes, speaking in an unprecedentedly cold and distant tone. "Young Master Dominic, please maintain some propriety."
Dominic's cheeks flushed red, clearly still caught up in his excitement, naturally not noticing anything unusual about Serena. "Serena, so you're the eldest princess of the Ashford family. I just found out about this. I never knew you loved me so deeply all along. Actually—" Dominic shyly lowered his head again. "I've liked you for a long time too. It's just that because Julian was around before, I didn't dare express my feelings. So, would you be willing to—"
"Young Master Dominic Langford, if I were just a bodyguard, would you still like me?"
Before Dominic could finish his confession, Serena coldly cut him off. The woman's dark eyes were like an abyss. The moment Dominic faced those cold eyes, he suddenly felt an inexplicable chill. He struggled to maintain his perfect smile.
"Of course. The reason I never expressed my feelings was because I was worried you wouldn't accept me. I just never expected we were so fated, Serena." Dominic affectionately took Serena's hand. "Since we feel the same way about each other, how about we discuss marriage with both our families?"
The man before her still had that beautiful smile, the look she had loved for so many years. But at this moment, Serena felt no joy whatsoever, because she had heard clearly. Dominic actually looked down on her bodyguard status.
But Serena still remembered the promise from that cave years ago. So even though she now felt some disgust toward Dominic, she couldn't break her word. Serena withdrew her hand without expression, feeling somewhat restless as she spoke. "Let's talk about it later."
With that, without waiting for Dominic to hold her back, she quickly left.
The moment she returned to the Ashford estate, a teacup shattered at Serena's feet.
"Kneel!"
Serena looked at her father's gloomy face and furious eyes, hesitated for a moment, then chose to kneel. But she remained resolute. "Father, I know you don't like Dominic, but I must marry him. Your refusal is useless. I've already announced the news publicly."
Hearing this, Mr. Ashford nearly choked with anger. Serena stubbornly continued. "Years ago, I was in danger in the wilderness. A volunteer rescue team found me. I ended up trapped in a cave with him. Because my injuries were so severe at the time, compressing my nerves, I was temporarily blind and unable to move. Everyone else gave up, but he stayed with me through that time and kept me alive."
After speaking, Serena closed her eyes in anguish. "So even if I no longer love him from now on, I still have to marry him. But you don't need to worry about me delaying the wedding."
The most urgent matter — Serena still wanted to go find Julian. She had to save him from that crippled woman. Consider it compensation and atonement for his love.
Hearing this, Mr. Ashford immediately couldn't help but laugh coldly. He picked up a stack of documents and threw them hard at Serena.
"Serena Ashford. I used to think you were my smartest child. Now it seems you're just as foolish. Do you know why I don't like Dominic? His mother was a mistress and he's an illegitimate child who can't be acknowledged. You want to marry an illegitimate child? You've completely humiliated me. And another thing, look carefully at whether the person from back then was really Dominic."
Looking at the documents falling from the folder, the color drained from Serena's face bit by bit. The blood in her body seemed to freeze.
First was a set of photographs. In the group photo of the rescue team from that year, inside was a boy smiling brightly at the camera. It was Julian. And Dominic was nowhere in the team.
Serena muttered, "Impossible," while frantically flipping through all the documents, but reality slapped her hard across the face. Dominic and Julian were not born from the same mother at all. Dominic had lived with his mistress mother in another city since he was young. When Julian was risking his life to save Serena, Dominic hadn't even arrived in this place yet.
Serena crumpled the documents in her hand and began to recall the situation back then. After she was taken to the hospital, she had been separated from her life-saving benefactor. She only knew the person's surname was Langford, the son of the wealthy Langford patriarch and Mrs. Langford. After recovering, Serena investigated everywhere. And finally, in front of Mrs. Langford's grave, she saw Dominic in a white dress shirt paying his respects.
At that time, Dominic looked innocent and kind, like an angel. Serena had naturally assumed at first glance that Dominic was the person she was looking for. Adding to that, the information she gathered everywhere said the eldest young master of the Langford family, Julian, was arrogant and domineering, while the second young master, Dominic, was gentle and kind.
Who would have thought she had thanked the wrong person and was marrying the wrong man?
Thinking of everything she had done to Julian, pushing away his passionate love time and time again, even abandoning him in his most desperate and painful moments, remembering every single thing from the past, her heart felt squeezed by an invisible hand, barely able to breathe.
Seeing Serena in such anguish, Mr. Ashford's voice softened slightly. "It's too late for regrets now. You should think about how to break off the engagement with Dominic."
"No. No need to break it off."
Serena gripped the documents tightly and slowly stood up. She clenched her teeth, strength surging through her entire body, her dark pupils like a silent abyss, terrifying.
"I will marry Dominic. This is what I deserve. This is my punishment."
As she spoke, Serena hurried toward the door. Mr. Ashford's eyelid twitched as he chased after her. "Where are you going?"
Serena's voice was resolute. "I have to go see Julian."
Mr. Ashford was so angry he nearly choked. "The Sinclair family in Harbor City isn't easy to provoke. Besides, you know very well the current situation of the Ashford family. So many people are eyeing the position of power. You were always the most capable among all my children. Are you going to give that up too?"
Serena didn't slow her steps, leaving only one sentence. "I have to see him."