Celine Evans stared at the summary of her life laid out in black and white, a strange tightness gripping her chest.

But as she read on, her eyes widened in disbelief. She flicked her gaze from the documents to the attached photographs, her breath hitching. She met Dante Williams’s eyes, her voice trembling with shock.

"Is this... is this a mistake? This isn't me, is it?"

She couldn't wrap her head around it. How could she have been married to the man across from her, and divorced so recently?

Dante took a sip of his coffee, gesturing to the file. "Keep reading. There's more. Tell me if it's you after you finish."

Celine continued. When she reached the section about her sponsors, a dull ache began to throb in her chest. She set the papers down, pressing a hand over her heart, feeling short of breath as a headache bloomed.

"You..." Dante hadn't expected such a strong reaction. A flicker of concern crossed his face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine... Who are these people who sponsored me?" Her voice shook as she held up a photograph.

"My parents. They passed away in a car accident ten years ago," Dante answered, knowing the question was inevitable.

"So... so I married you to..."

A sudden, painful clarity washed over Celine. She understood her own motivation now.

Only she knew the depth of her gratitude toward the people who had pulled her from despair.

"And... the accident..."

She wanted to ask if it was truly an accident or something more sinister, but the words felt too cruel to voice to their son.

"Unknown. The vehicle was too badly damaged. No evidence of foul play was found, so it was ruled an accident."

After they were gone, he had been consumed by grief and suspicion. But he was young and powerless. If it was murder, he'd have been silenced before he could uncover anything. His grandfather had stepped in, quelling the public inquiry and raising him, all while investigating quietly in the background for years.

Celine looked again at the faces in the photo. Such kind people... to have met such an end.

"Why are you showing me all this?" she asked, confused.

Surely he didn't want to reconcile? Their past clearly held no great love.

Dante found himself at a loss for words. Initially, he'd just wanted her to remember. But to what end? A reunion? Impossible. He had finally waited for Isabella Lopez to return.

"You want me to investigate the truth, don't you?" Celine guessed. If the Williams family had hit a wall, perhaps an outsider could probe without raising alarms.

Seeing her misunderstanding, Dante chose not to correct it. Let her believe it. It served his purpose just as well.

Celine fidgeted in the heavy silence until a server arrived with their food, breaking the tension. Soon the table was laden with dishes. Dante urged her to eat.

"This, you used to like," he said, pushing a plate of calamari with aioli toward her.

Celine shook her head. She never ate that...

"Just try it. I promise you'll like it."

Dante cut off her protest. Hesitantly, she picked up a small piece and tasted it. She'd been sure she wouldn't like it... but it was actually delicious.

Dante watched her expression, amused. He knew about her fondness for it from a business dinner long ago, where he'd coldly watched her use it to chase down glass after glass of wine she was drinking on his behalf, indifferent to the toll it took on her.

"I don't need you to investigate my parents' accident. You probably wouldn't find anything anyway," Dante said after a moment, deciding on honesty. "I told you this so you'd know your own story. And... you should be careful around Archer Reynolds. He's not as simple as you think."

After parting ways with Dante, Celine couldn't stop turning his words over in her mind. Why be wary of Archer? Should she try to regain her memories?

But perhaps it didn't matter. She knew who he was now, and who her benefactors were. The thought sent another pang through her heart. She decided she would try to investigate. If she found something, it would honor the couple's memory. If not, she could accept it as a tragic accident. But it must be difficult; otherwise, Dante's grandfather would have uncovered the truth years ago.

She sighed. To finally find her saviors, only to learn they had died right before her eyes... she must have been utterly devastated.

...

"Sir, aren't you afraid Mrs. Evans will hate you if she ever regains her memory?"

Dante's assistant ventured the question on the drive home. Dante had given Celine the file but omitted the years of pain and humiliation she had endured in their marriage. He was even leveraging her gratitude toward his parents to enlist her help with the investigation.

"If there really was something wrong with that accident, she won't hate me for using her."