Chapter 1

My overly possessive yandere childhood sweetheart, Emily, lost her memory. The doctor said she was now a blank slate, pure and innocent.

As I looked at Emily, lying on the hospital bed and giving me that shy, almost impossibly pure smile, a wicked plan I'd been plotting for ages surfaced in my mind.

I lied to her, "I'm your fiancé. You're head over heels for me, so much that you'd do anything I ask."

From that moment, the yandere became a total sweetheart, sticking to me like glue and calling me "hubby" every day. Life couldn't have been more blissful.

But whenever I watched her peel an apple, the fruit knife twirling between her fingers so fast it left afterimages, I couldn't help but feel like I was the one being raised as her pet prey.

*****

"Alex, Emily's awake," Mom said on the phone. Her call yanked me out of a five-game losing streak at the internet café, almost like dragging me back to reality by force.

I pulled off my headphones, but my teammate's "friendly" greeting still rang in my head: "WTF, you troll."

"So what if she's awake? It's not like I was the one who hit her," I snapped, annoyed.

There was a pause on the other end, then Mom's voice became cautious: "The doctor said... she doesn't seem to remember anything."

"What?" The mouse dropped from my hand and smacked onto the desk.

Emily lost her memory?

Emily Carter was my childhood friend. On the surface, she was the picture-perfect prom queen, but underneath, she was obsessively possessive like a total psycho.

Her one and only rule: Alex Bennett belongs to me, and even the air he breathes has to pass my inspection.

I couldn't have any female contacts in my phone, not even my own mom. She made me save her as "Alex's Mom #1."

If I played basketball with my buddies, she'd camp out nearby all afternoon with a towel and water, glaring darkly at every living thing that dared get within ten feet of me.

For the first eighteen years of my life, I lived like a prisoner under 24/7 surveillance.

And now, this she-devil had actually lost her memory?

A rush of wild happiness exploded inside me, shooting from my toes all the way to my head.

I hung up, grabbed a last-minute ticket that night, and practically flew onto the train, heading straight for the hospital back home.

When I walked into the hospital room, Emily was sitting quietly on the bed in that classic blue-and-white striped hospital gown.

Sunlight poured over her face, making her long lashes flutter. The moment she saw me, she recoiled, her big, clear eyes full of innocence like a startled deer.

My mom and hers were off to the side, wiping away tears.

The doctor, holding up the CT scan, looked grim as he spoke to my dad. "There's a blood clot in her brain, pressing on the part that controls memory. In this condition... she's basically a blank slate. Her cognitive abilities might also... take some time to slowly recover."

A blank slate?

I looked at Emily's confused and frightened face, and my heart betrayed me, thundering wildly in my chest.

What is this? The thought hit me. This is a blessing from above, and my moment to throw off her chains and finally sing my own song!

I cleared my throat, walked up to the bed, and tried to look as caring and lovestruck as possible. "Em, do you remember me?" I asked, keeping my voice soft and gentle.

She shook her head, staring at me with wide, teary eyes like a frightened little bunny.

I took a deep breath, gathered my emotions, and reached out to grab her hand, my voice gentle but tinged with sorrow.

"I'm Alex, your fiancé," I said, trying to sound as heartfelt as possible.

The whole room instantly fell silent.

My parents, her parents, the doctor, and the nurses all stared at me like I was totally nuts.

Despite the immense pressure, I kept going with my performance. "It's fine if you don't remember. I'll help you piece it all together. You used to be head over heels for me and couldn't go a day without sticking to my side, always saying you'd never marry anyone but me," "You only got into that accident because you were trying to save me. You really are such a silly girl."

As I spoke, I watched Emily closely, trying to catch every little reaction.

Her eyes kept getting bigger, her mouth slightly open, clearly stunned by the flood of information I was throwing at her.

After a moment, she tentatively called out, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"H-Hubby?"

Boom!

Those two words felt better than any pentakill sound effect in my gaming life. I felt like I'd leveled up in real life. All eighteen years were totally worth it.

I nodded hard, tears brimming in my eyes. "Hey, wifey, I'm right here."

My dad tried to kick me in the butt from behind, but Mom stopped him in time.

I knew from today on, my days of bliss were finally here.