?Chapter 1493:


    She had never experienced hypnosis before, so she was curious about her response.


    “You don’t see me as a threat, which helped. I could slip past your conscious defenses pretty easily. I asked a few questions while you were under. Your answers were… unexpected.”


    Ste leaned forward. “What questions?”


    “I asked who you trust. Right now, in your current state of mind—is there anyone?”


    Silence hung between them. Ste met his gaze, her voice barely above a whisper. “It used to be Marc.”


    She’d told Marc once that he treated her better than anyone else on earth. That she believed in himpletely. If not Marc, then who else could there possibly be?


    Jewell’s head moved slowly from side to side. “It wasn’t him.”


    Ste’s breath caught. “Did I say William?”


    Jewell couldn’t contain himself. Laughter burst from his chest. “If your subconscious trusted William most, we wouldn’t be sitting here. That would mean you’ve already started letting him back in, amnesia or not.”


    The implicationnded like a stone. She hadn’t named William either.


    Jewell responded, “You mentioned your two friends, one named Sharon and the other named Josie.”


    Ste trembled slightly, caught off guard yet somehow expecting it.


    She had always been close to Sharon and Josie, but after she began dating Marc, they had gradually drifted apart.


    With a two-year gap in her memory following her recent recovery of consciousness, she couldn’t recall any contact with them during that time, which made Jewell’s remark both surprising and strangely fitting.


    Jewell patted her shoulder gently. “Don’t stress too much. Recovering memories takes time; you can’t rush it.”


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    Ste nodded and walked him to the door.


    Just as they reached it, William entered.


    Her body went rigid in an instant, her voice evaporating as if her spirit had been snatched away—transforming her from a living person into a lifeless shell.


    Jewell started to speak but thought better of it, deciding to stay out of their private matters.


    William’s gaze flicked over both of them. After changing his shoes, he headed upstairs and said curtly to Jewell, “Come with me.”


    With no real choice, Jewell picked up his medicine chest and followed.


    Left alone in the living room, Ste sank into anxiety.


    She had passed the items to Sharon and Josie during theirst meeting, but she had no idea how Marc was faring now—or whether William had noticed anything amiss.


    These days, she lived in constant calction and dread, terrified he would uncover her secrets; the fear kept her awake at night, and she yearned for it all to end soon.


    Upstairs, William gestured for Jewell to sit on the sofa. “I saw Marc today.”


    Jewell tensed. “You didn’t go at him aggressively, did you?”


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