After giving her instructions, Juniper clutched her precious bottle, nced at the time, and strode out of theb. Two hours. Shanley must have been waiting for a while.


    "Grandmaster," Harold called out, hurrying after her. The sense of familiarity he felt around her was growing stronger with each encounter.


    Juniper stopped, her patience wearing thin. "What?"


    "I want to apologize for ourst abrupt meeting," Harold said, bowing his head slightly in a gesture of sincerity. "I only approached you because you seemed so familiar. I had no other intentions, I promise."


    He looked up, his eyes searching hers. "Are you absolutely sure we''ve never met?"


    "Is that so?" Juniper''s brow furrowed, her expression turning icy. "Thest person who asked me that..."


    Harold stared at her, waiting for the rest of the sentence.


    "Well, let''s just say he''s been pushing up daisies for a while now," Juniper finished, her voiceced with venom. "Harold, if you want to live a long life, I suggest you stay out of my business."


    Harold was left speechless, feeling a bit helpless. He truly meant no harm; he just couldn''t shake the feeling that he knew her from somewhere. A friend? A childhood ymate? Something else entirely?


    Unfortunately, a past head injury had wiped out all his earlier memories. He made a mental note to ask his father about his childhood. Perhaps he had met her before he lost his memory.


    Back in the car, Juniper slumped into the seat, lookingpletely drained.


    "Tired?" Shanley asked gently, massaging her temples. "Have some cake. It''ll help."


    "Okay," she mumbled, picking up a fork and taking a half-hearted bite. She had no appetite.


    Shanley watched her, a concerned frown on his face. Something was clearly bothering her. She wasn''t even interested in her favorite dessert.


    "Did Harold upset you?" he asked, his brow tightening. What had happened during those two hours? Juniper hadn''t even looked at him properly since she came out.


    "No," Juniper said, putting the fork down. She turned to face him, her expression serious. "Harold said I look familiar and asked if we knew each other from before."


    Shanley''s eyes darkened, and his entire body tensed. It was the oldest trick in the book.


    "What if he really does know me?" Juniper wondered aloud, fiddling with her fork.


    "He''s not your brother," Shanley said, forcing a small smile. "I looked him up while I was waiting. Haroldes from a family of doctors, a veryplete and stable family."


    "But what if it''s some other kind of rtionship?" Juniper persisted, biting her lip. After a few seconds of silence, she added, "Like, you know... childhood sweethearts?"


    Shanley froze.


    "The novels Dana gave me are full of stories like that," Juniper exined earnestly, "They meet as kids, get separated by some ident and then.. mean, I was about to gouge his eyes out, and he still had the nerve to say I looked familiar. It''s suspicious, right?"


    "Those novels ar


    are fiction. You''re not


    allowed to read them anymore," Shanley said, pushing the cake


    towards her. His voice was a l sweetheart can''t hold a cancel


    growl Besides, a childhood


    to the


    one who shows up and changes your world."


    Juniper paused, her fork halfway to her mouth, and looked at Shanley. He certainly


    had a point. He was quite the world-changer.


    When they got home, the first thing


    Shanley did was rece all of


    e


    Dana''s novels. The ''childhood sweethearts'' collection was swapped out for stories of ''love at first sight and slow-burn romance.'' childhood crushes were allowed in Juniper''s world. And he was definitely going to find out what Harold was really up to.