Chapter 782
Chapter 781:
What neither Manley nor Allan knew was that Cole had once suffered from Psychephrenia. It was a well-kept secret, hidden even from most of the Evans family. The information Allan and Manley had gathered wasn’t entirely accurate. Hailee frowned deeply, unsure of what to say.
The love Elliana and Cole had once shared had been real. Now, he was engaged to someone else and had no memory of Elliana. Meanwhile, Elliana was missing and possibly dead. It was tragic, and Hailee couldn’t do a thing about it.
Merlin glanced at her, reading her expression, then turned to Allan and Manley. “Shouldn’t we do something about this p>
Merlin’s words hung in the air, rendering both Allan and Manley momentarily silent.
“So what can we do?” Allan finally asked, his voice low.
“Exactly. What can we do?” Manley echoed with a weary sigh. “As much as we want to believe Elliana’s still alive, the truth is her car went off the Cadena cliff. No one survives that fall. That place is a graveyard cloaked in mist and myths. Miracles don’t happen there p>
He hesitated and then added more quietly, “And Cole… We all saw how deeply he once loved her. But now, he doesn’t even remember her anymore and is preparing to marry the Campbell heiress like nothing ever happened. Ruben’s even issued orders: Elliana’s name is not to be spoken in Cole’s presence. All we can do is wait and watch p>
The weight of those words crashed over Hailee like a tidal wave. Her chest tightened, her eyes brimming with tears. She turned away, but the tears still fell. Manley had said no one had ever survived that cliff. Maybe this really was the end. Elliana was gone. And the man who’d once held Elliana so close was smiling now, planning a future with someone else. How could that be fair?
As Hailee’s tears began to fall, Merlin turned away, jaw tight, throat heavy. He hated to admit it, but Manley was right. There was nothing left to do. Nothing at all.
Just then, the door to the private room swung open, and the air shifted. Cole stepped in. Conversation died instantly. Every mention of Elliana vanished mid-thought.
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Manley recovered first, plastering on a quick smile. “Cole. You’re here p>
Cole gave a brief nod, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on Hailee. He knew her—Merlin’s personal secretary. That much registered, but beneath that certainty was something murkier, a flicker of memory tugging at the edge of his mind, as if her presence scratched at an old scar he couldn’t place.
Allan, Merlin, and Manley exchanged looks—subtle but telling. They saw it too. Cole remembered Hailee, but not Elliana.
That was the strange part. Hailee had been one of Elliana’s closest friends. If anything, Hailee should’ve been a footnote in Cole’s memories. Yet, here he was, staring as if Hailee held the missing piece to a puzzle he didn’t know he’d lost. Of all the things to be forgotten, why Elliana?
Hailee, of course, also caught on to Cole’s look. Her rage bloomed quietly beneath her ribs, cold and sharp. “Jerk” was the only word she could think of to describe him.
Hailee’s stare turned glacial, her warmth stripped away by the tangled mess of emotions Cole stirred in her. Whatever civility she might have shown to someone else, she had no intention of offering it to him. She shot him a withering glare, then looked away, chin dipped low, shutting him out.
Cole, still watching her, tilted his head slightly. There was hostility in her glare, but something personal too. As if she knew a version of him he couldn’t remember. What did he do to piss her off? If she were anyone else, he might have called security to escort her out. But she was Merlin’s favorite. That was enough to keep him from making a scene. Without another word, he shrugged off the tension and sank onto the sofa.