Chapter 1

After a car crash, I lost my memory. A voice told me I got into the accident on my way to my wedding, and in the hospital room, a cold, gorgeous woman was staring at me.

I struggled to sit up, threw myself into her arms, and clung to her like an innocent baby boy.

"Honey, I missed you so much. Hug me."

Her whole body went stiff, and her gaze turned so deep it could drown someone.

*****

My head hurt like ten thousand woodpeckers were going at it all at once. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was blinding white, and the sharp smell of disinfectant hit my nose hard enough to make me frown.

"You're awake?"

A woman's cool voice rang out beside me, cold as the dead of winter. I turned my head with effort and saw a woman sitting by my bed, legs crossed, a file resting in her hand.

She wore a perfectly tailored black skirt suit. Her long hair was pinned neatly back, revealing a smooth forehead and graceful neck; she was beautiful in a sharp, intimidating way that made people afraid to look too long.

Her flawless features gave off a strong keep-your-distance chill. Right now, those beautiful eyes were fixed on me without a trace of warmth, holding only scrutiny and... disgust?

Who was I? Where was I? Who was she? My mind was completely blank, like someone had scrubbed it clean with an eraser.

[Ding! Heart Redemption Program successfully bound.]

[Host Alexander Grant, congratulations. You activated this program at the brink of death.]

A mechanical voice exploded in my head.

A program?

Before I could even process that, the voice kept going.

[After analysis, Host suffered brain trauma from the car crash, resulting in retrograde amnesia.]

[Don't be afraid. This program will provide memory fragments to help you get your life back on track.]

[Memory Fragment One: You were deeply in love with your wife, Charlotte Summers. On your way to your wedding, you were unfortunately involved in a car accident.]

[The woman in front of you is Charlotte Summers, the love you risked your life to get to.]

My wife? The wedding? I snapped my head toward the icy beauty. Charlotte Summers? My... wife?

So I loved her that much—so much I didn't even care about my life? A huge wave of heartbreak and love filled my chest, like it was instinct carved straight into my soul.

Looking at her cold face made my heart ache. She had to be devastated; her husband crashed on their wedding day, and she must have felt terribly helpless all alone.

She was being this cold because she was still angry with me, angry that I hadn't made it to the wedding on time.

Yeah, that had to be it.

I struggled to sit up in bed. It felt like every bone in my body had come apart, and every little movement hurt like hell, but Charlotte finally set the file down and looked at me with a slight frown.

"Don't move around. The doctor said you need rest."

Her voice was still cold, but I could hear a trace of... concern?

It had to be concern.

I threw off the blanket, ignored everything else, and practically rolled off the bed. With a thud, I dropped to my knees in front of her and wrapped both arms around her leg.

"Honey!"

I bawled my eyes out. Tears and snot got all over her in seconds.

"Honey, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be late! I love you!"

Charlotte's body went stiff as stone. I could feel every muscle in her body tense up, and a chill spread off her so hard it almost froze me where I knelt.

She looked down at me, this giant leg-clinging accessory hanging off her, and her beautiful brows twisted into a knot. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

Only that look in her eyes—deep as a bottomless well, full of emotions I couldn't make sense of.

I didn't care about any of that. The program said she was my wife, and I loved her. So the only thing I could do now was use all my passion to melt this iceberg.

I looked up and rubbed my tear-streaked face against her skirt, my voice thick and pitiful.

"Honey, my head hurts so bad. Can you hold me?"