The voice on the other end stayed calm, offering Ed quiet reassurance.


    "I ran tests on her before. Her brain trauma was severe, and the death of that person caused deep emotional damage. Subconsciously, she''s been rejecting anything connected to him. For at least the next six months, her memory will be a mess."


    Ed finally started to calm down and leaned against the tree beside him. He was tall, and the streetmp threw his shadow long across the pavement. It stretched until it nearly covered the road.


    He had the kind of build that turned heads without even trying. Sure enough, a woman stumbled by, clearly drunk, and her eyes lit up the second she spotted him. She slurred the words, "Hey, handsome. Do you want toe home with me? I''ll pay you real good."


    The woman, Melissa Horton, was dressed head to toe in luxury, including expensive heels and designer perfume. Every inch of her screamed money. She stared at Ed, utterly entranced, then reached up to touch his face without hesitation.


    The next second, a white-hot bolt of pain shot through her wrist. There was a sickening snap, and she screamed.


    Ed''s expression had shifted in an instant. What was nk before had turned terrifying.


    "What are you offering to have your fun with me?" he asked, his voice low and his eyes dead. "Your life?"


    The pain snapped her right out of her fantasy. She staggered back several feet while clutching her wrist, gasping. If she could''ve run straight through the wall and back to her ce, she would''ve.


    The next morning, Grace stepped into the elevator after washing up. When it stopped on a lower floor, two women stepped in-one with a bandaged wrist. The other woman nced at it immediately. "What happened to your hand?"


    The injured woman, Melissa, groaned, looking rough from a hangover. "Ugh, don''t even ask. I went drinking with friendsst night. On my way back, I ran into this total psycho outside the building."


    She winced, rubbing her temple.


    "I mean, I''m not ugly, right? So, I flirted a little and asked if he wanted toe upstairs.


    Next thing I knew, he grabbed my wrist and snapped it. Just like that. No warning."


    Her voice dropped into something lower-half stunned, half dramatic.


    "Then, he looks me dead in the eye and goes, ''What are you offering to have your fun with me? Your life?'' I swear, for a second, I thought I was about to meet the Grim Reaper."


    Her friend gasped. "He broke your wrist? What the hell is wrong with him? Is he insane? Who does that to a woman just for flirting?"


    The bandaged woman sighed, exhausted and still a little dazed.


    "Just my luck, right? But honestly, even drunk, I remember that face. God, he was hot-like ridiculously hot. Probably the best-looking guy I''ve ever seen. And that body? Unreal." She shook her head, halfughing.


    "If he didn''t have such a messed-up temper, I swear I''d pay him to be my boyfriend for a few days."


    Grace heard the conversation, and for just a moment there, she thought Melissa was talking about Ed. But Ed would never do something like that. He was shy, almost insecure. He was just a server. He was quiet and average-looking.


    He wasn''t the kind of man who snapped a woman''s wrist for hitting on him, right?


    Grace stepped out of the elevator right as the doors opened, but the women''s voices kept echoing behind her, loud and careless as if they hadn''t just described something terrifying.


    "But I swear," Melissa added, rubbing her temples. "There''s something about that guy''s face it felt weirdly familiar."


    Her friend waved it off.


    ???


    "Your family''s loaded. You''ve probably crossed paths with someone like him before. Maybe he''s just some rich woman''s boy toy. Let''s be real-yourst exes? Including the one before that? They were all celebrities. And you''re still impressed? This guy must be next-level hot."


    The bandaged woman snorted. "All I''m saying is, yeah, he broke my wrist. But if


    he showed up today and asked me out, I''d still say yes. Hell, I''d date him with one hand in a cast."


    Grace had been quiet up until that point, but thatst line cracked her. She let out a shortugh before she could stop herself.


    Melissa turned instantly, her face flushing red.


    "You think I''m kidding? I''m rich. The ce I live in? My cousin gave it to me. She married into the Yule family. Simon Yule, you know who that is? He''s my cousin''s husband. And he''s not bad-looking either."


    Grace''s brow lifted slightly. Simon? That was a name she had heard before. Back in the day, he had


    fought tooth and nail against hien et


    own arranged marriage. He even left the country entirely to avoid it. Only recently had hee back, supposedly to finally cut ties with his wife.


    And if the gossip was true, he''d been pretty open about trying to rece her too. He had been spotted with some mystery woman more than once kiss marks and all. And when people brought up his wife? All he showed was amusement


    Sure, it was all just a game to him. But it looked like a game he was starting to enjoy a little too much.


    Everyone who heard about it couldn''t help but pity Melissa, who was left behind. Still, no matter how wild Simon acted in public, that wife of his had never once shown her face.


    Grace had to admit that she showed impressive restraint,


    She gave Melissa a once-over, then asked with a faint smile, "So, the guy you sawst night... looks better than your cousin''s husband?"


    Melissa hesitated, clearly not expecting the question.


    Simon was considered one of the most striking men in all of Druville. And saying someone could outshine him narrowed the possibilities down to almost no one.