?Chapter 3017:


    “That’s me.” Elissa blinked in wonder, confirming the woman in the photo was indeed her.


    Ernest opened his photo album and scrolled through it slowly, revealing more images—one after another—including several of the two of them together.


    He had never been one for taking photographs, so their collection together was painfully small.


    “These were all taken when we were together,” Ernest exined softly, desperate to prove who he was. “I’m your husband. I would never hurt you. You don’t need to be afraid of me.”


    “Then…” Elissa pressed her lips together, confusion deepening. “Why aren’t we… together?”


    She recalled her mother’s words clearly.


    “Husbands and wives… are supposed… to stay… together,” Elissa murmured.


    “Yes, we should be together.” Ernest’s eyes clouded with something dark and painful.


    “Some misunderstandings came between us, and after your ident, your mother thought you’d be safer with her,” he said carefully, glossing over the painfulplexity of their past.


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    Ernest suspected Elissa remembered none of what had truly transpired.


    His beloved had forgotten even the pain she’d endured. Perhaps that erasure was a small mercy.


    He forced down the storm of emotions threatening to overwhelm him.


    “So we were separated… but only temporarily. Now I’m here, aren’t I?”


    He gazed at her pale, innocent face and felt his throat constrict painfully. “I’m sorry it took me so long to find you.”


    Elissa’s brow furrowed as she struggled to absorb and process everything he’d told her.


    Ernest realized with a pang that Elissa’s mind now resembled that of a child—innocent, vulnerable, and struggling toprehend the adultplexities surrounding her.


    He didn’t rush her. Instead, he waited with quiet patience.


    His gaze swept across her face, lingering on her still-red eyes.


    The tears hadn’t driedpletely.


    Right—she had been crying earlier.


    “Elissa,” Ernest said, his voice steady and calm, “can you tell me why you were crying? Were you ufortable? Unhappy? Or was something weighing on you?”


    “No…” Elissa cut off her own thoughts and shook her head firmly. “I can’t tell you.”


    She couldn’t tell him?


    Ernest wondered if Savannah’s instructions had something to do with it.


    “Alright. I won’t push you, then.”


    Ernest fell silent. He couldn’t bring himself to make things difficult for her.


    He shifted to another subject, his tone softening even more. “Elissa, I’ve missed you terribly. Every single day we’ve been apart, you’ve been on my mind.”


    Elissa’s breath caught. The confession startled her.


    But this time, the surprise felt different—warmer somehow.


    Her face flushed instantly, blooming into a vivid, telling red.


    Her lips parted, and she stammered through the words, “Then, you… you…”


    “Yes?”


    Ernest caught it immediately—the way her speech still stuttered and caught, most likely a lingering effect from the sea ident.


    He wasn’t in any hurry. “What about me? Take all the time you need.”


    “You, are you…”


    Elissa looked deeply troubled, her face darkening to an even deeper shade of red.


    Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.


    The caretaker’s voice drifted through the wood. “Miss Brown, are you awake? May I step in?”


    This time, Elissa was genuinely startled. She whipped her head toward Ernest, eyes wide and urgent.


    “Don’t panic!”


    Ernest retreated in a sh, vaulting back through the window and catching himself on the exterior wall once more. He shot her onest meaningful look. “Don’t breathe a word about this to anyone!”


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