Ryan looked directly at Rose.

There was no change in his expression.

No recognition.

Not even the slightest flicker of familiarity.

The room was crowded with people, most of whom already knew what had happened.

Everyone looked uneasy.

Rose pressed her lips together.

“You don’t remember?”

Ryan’s face was still pale.

He looked genuinely confused.

When he had opened his eyes, there had been several strangers standing around his bed, all staring at him as though they’d just witnessed something impossible.

He didn’t know any of them.

And yet they were looking at him with expressions that suggested they knew him very well.

Ryan’s eyes settled on Rose again.

“What am I supposed to remember?”

His voice was hoarse from the long period of unconsciousness.

The atmosphere in the room grew even heavier.

James stepped closer.

“Maybe it’s temporary.”

He looked at Rose.

“Don’t panic. His brain has just been through major surgery. His memory and orientation may improve as he recovers.”

Rose didn’t answer.

She had already considered almost every possible postoperative complication.

She had prepared herself for weakness.

For speech problems.

For vision problems.

For cognitive changes.

But she hadn’t expected Ryan to look directly at her and see a stranger.

After everything that had happened between them—

After they had finally begun to understand each other—

He had forgotten her completely.

Rose walked to the bedside.

She didn’t ask him anything else.

Instead, she reached for his wrist.

She checked his pulse.

Ryan watched her silently.

Her fingers rested against his wrist for only a few seconds.

But something strange happened.

His eyes flickered.

The woman standing so close to him was completely unfamiliar.

He couldn’t remember her.

He didn’t know her name.

He didn’t know why everyone was watching her.

And yet the moment she touched him, his body reacted before his mind could.

His heart rate suddenly climbed.

The monitor beside the bed began beeping faster.

Rose’s eyelashes fluttered.

She immediately noticed.

“Your heart rate is elevated.”

Ryan stared at her.

He couldn’t explain what was happening.

His chest felt tight.

There was an odd ache somewhere deep inside him.

Not exactly pain.

Something stranger.

Something that made him uncomfortable and restless at the same time.

His gaze remained fixed on Rose.

“What is our relationship?”

The question made everyone in the room freeze.

Oliver’s eyes widened.

Ryan had barely acknowledged anyone since waking up.

The doctors had spoken to him.

The nurses had introduced themselves.

James had tried talking to him.

Ryan had responded to almost none of them.

But he had spoken to Rose on his own.

James frowned.

Rose met Ryan’s eyes.

“Nothing.”

Ryan’s brows drew together.

He didn’t believe her.

Rose began to withdraw her hand.

Before she could, Ryan reached out and caught her wrist.

His grip wasn’t strong.

He was still weak.

But he held on.

His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed.

“Then why does my heart race when you come near me?”

Rose went still.

Ryan continued quietly.

“Why does it hurt when you try to leave?”

He didn’t understand it himself.

He only knew that he didn’t want her to go.

Something inside him resisted the thought of her walking away.

Rose looked down at his hand around her wrist.

Ryan stared at her.

There was no embarrassment in his expression.

No hesitation.

He simply wanted an answer.

“If we really don’t know each other…”

He paused.

His dark eyes remained fixed on hers.

“Then I think I’ve fallen in love with you at first sight.”

Silence.

Complete silence.

James’s face darkened.

Oliver stared at Ryan.

Charlotte’s mouth fell open for half a second.

No one knew what to say.

Finally—

“Ryan.”

James’s voice was dangerously calm.

“Do you have any shame?”

He took a step forward, clearly intending to pull Ryan’s hand away from Rose.

Oliver immediately intercepted him.

“Hey, what’s your problem?”

James glared at him.

“What’s my problem?”

“He’s just telling her how he feels.”

“He’s been awake for five minutes.”

James gritted his teeth.

“And he’s already taking advantage of his condition.”

Oliver shrugged.

“At least he’s honest.”

“Honest?”

James looked like he wanted to strangle him.

Charlotte had been holding herself back for long enough.

She finally crossed her arms.

“Ryan, I knew there was something suspicious about you.”

Everyone turned toward her.

Charlotte gave him a cool look.

“I knew it.”

She nodded toward Rose.

“Even after losing your memory, you somehow managed to find your wife.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Wife?”

His fingers tightened around Rose’s wrist.

A faint spark appeared in his eyes.

He looked at Rose again.

“You’re my wife?”

Rose slowly turned toward Charlotte.

Charlotte lifted her chin.

“Yes.”

“Charlotte.”

Rose’s voice carried a warning.

Charlotte shrugged.

“I’m telling the truth.”

Rose stared at her.

Charlotte didn’t look even slightly guilty.

In fact, she seemed almost amused.

When Ryan was himself, he had always been distant with her.

Even when she tried to talk to him, he barely gave her a second glance.

Now he’d lost his memory.

And the moment he saw Rose, he’d decided he was in love with her.

It was irritating.

Deeply irritating.

But at the same time…

Charlotte understood what it meant.

Perhaps Ryan’s feelings for Rose had been buried so deeply beneath everything else that even losing his memories hadn’t erased them.

His mind had forgotten.

His instincts hadn’t.

And apparently, his heart hadn’t either.

Charlotte looked at Rose.

She suddenly felt a little less angry about everything that had happened between them.

There had clearly been too many misunderstandings.

Too many things neither of them had known how to say.

If Ryan’s first instinct after losing his memories was still to hold on to Rose, then perhaps some things had never depended on memory in the first place.

Rose rubbed her forehead.

She had a headache.

A very serious headache.

When she turned back, she was met by a pair of dark eyes.

Ryan was watching her.

His face was still pale from his illness.

He looked weaker than she had ever seen him.

And yet the way he looked at her was almost unbearably intense.

“Let go of me first.”

Rose tried to reason with him.

Ryan loosened his grip slightly.

Then tightened it again.

His lips pressed together.

“Why won’t you admit you’re my wife?”

Rose stared at him.

Ryan’s voice became quieter.

“Don’t you like me anymore?”

Rose was speechless.

This man had just woken from a major brain operation.

He had no idea who she was.

He didn’t remember their marriage.

He didn’t remember their divorce.

He didn’t remember their daughter.

He didn’t remember anything.

And somehow, he had still managed to identify the most important question in the room.

James couldn’t take it anymore.

He stepped forward.

“Are you sure you’ve actually lost your memory?”

Ryan ignored him.

His eyes never left Rose.

He wanted an answer.

Rose was genuinely at a loss.

She had spent nearly two weeks terrified that Ryan might never wake up.

When he finally did, she had been overwhelmed with relief.

Now she had no idea what to do with the situation in front of her.

She didn’t answer Ryan.

Instead, she turned toward James and the others.

“I’ll do a full postoperative assessment first.”

Her voice was calm.

“You should all go outside. He just woke up. Too much information at once could overstimulate him.”

Oliver immediately grabbed James by the arm.

“Come on.”

James resisted for a moment.

Then he let himself be dragged outside.

Charlotte followed without saying anything.

Ryan had survived.

That was what mattered.

They couldn’t afford to become careless simply because he had opened his eyes.

Rose tried several times to free her wrist.

Ryan refused to let go.

Finally, she stopped trying.

“Robert.”

She called him.

A few minutes later, Robert hurried in.

He had clearly been waiting for exactly this moment.

“I’ll examine him.”

Robert approached the bed.

Ryan’s expression immediately changed.

The warmth that had appeared when he looked at Rose disappeared.

His eyes became cold and guarded.

When Robert reached for him, Ryan moved his arm away.

The rejection was instinctive.

Sharp.

Almost hostile.

Robert stopped.

He had known Ryan for years.

But apparently, that relationship meant nothing to the man in front of him now.

He sighed and tried again.

“I’m Robert.”

Ryan stared at him.

“I’m your doctor.”

A long silence followed.

Ryan still didn’t recognize him.

He instinctively disliked having strangers touch him.

Rose watched him for a moment.

Then she spoke calmly.

“If you want to know what’s happening to you, you need to cooperate with the examination.”

Ryan looked at her.

Rose continued.

“So let Robert examine you.”

She paused.

“Or let go of me.”