The Night Forgot My Name

In order to coerce me into getting married, my grandpa dials my number 20 times in a row so that he can annoy me into flying back to the country. "There's a curse running in our family. If a family member doesn't get married by the time they turn 25, they will definitely suffer from a fate worse than death!" I can hear how anxious Grandpa is. Although it's another one of those excuses that I'm so sick of hearing, I still choose to yield to his wishes. I complete my master's thesis defense a month in advance just so I can surprise Grandpa with my presence. One week later, I fly back to my home country. Shockingly enough, a stranger stops me from entering my own home. "Unauthorized people aren't allowed entry. People like you have no right to meet Mr. Gardner Senior. Leave now, or else don't blame me for being rough with you!" I take off my sunglasses to make out the man's features. He turns out to be Jake Ferrell, Grandpa's bodyguard. The thing is, Jake should be loyal to me, so why is he threatening violence against me right now? Then, I watch as Jake opens the door of a limousine, which is parked outside the manor. He holds an umbrella with one hand as he bows slightly to the owner. "Please get out of the car, miss," he says respectfully. Through the car window, I can make out the features of the young woman sitting inside the car. She happens to be Rosalie Gardner, my best friend—the very same woman who has gotten expelled from college because of her laziness and has managed to land a job in Gardner Corporation thanks to my recommendation. Chapter 1 I braced my hand against the car door, preventing Rosalie Gardner from exiting the vehicle. Seeing that, Jake Ferrell immediately attacked me. There was no denying that the bodyguards Grandpa had sent for training overseas were indeed excellent, as Jake's every move was swift and aimed to take down his opponent quickly. Nonetheless, I hadn't been idle all these years abroad either. Although I couldn't win in a fight against him, at least my training allowed me to avoid all his moves. I threw my hands out and declared a temporary truce, at which point he snarled at me, "I'll definitely not forgive you if you harm Ms. Gardner!" His furious and flustered demeanor was rather amusing to me. Planting my hands on my hips, I mocked, "I already told you that I'm the heiress to the Gardner family, yet you refuse to believe me and insist on accepting a fake as your mistress. Could it be that I'm uglier than her?" Jake finally calmed down and eyed me. "Mr. Gardner Senior summoned me back from overseas to protect Ms. Gardner. At the time, his exact words to me were, quote, 'My granddaughter refuses to study or work hard and is a handful. I leave her safety in the future to you,' end quote. "Although I only stand guard outside the villa, I seriously doubt you're Ms. Gardner. After all, you look so nerdy and have zero personality. There's no way you're the real Ms. Gardner." At his words, I glanced down at the new and improved me, then at Rosalie, who looked exactly like the sort of person who doesn't work hard. It was then that I recalled I had once been a boisterous tomboy. When I was eight, Grandpa took in three boys for my sake. He said that if I liked them, he would keep them all by my side. If I didn't, he would groom them in whatever area their potential lay so they could be useful to me in the future. Among the three, the one I liked most was the oldest, a young man ten years older than me. He was incredibly refreshing to be around, and I eventually developed feelings for him. On my 18th birthday, I crawled into his bed, attempting to use my barely matured body to win his heart. However, when he woke up and realized what was going on, he shoved me out of his room. "Winona Gardner, take a good look at yourself right now! Do you look anything like the heiress to the Gardner family?" The furious, disdainful look in his eyes sent sheer humiliation crashing over me. Thoroughly ashamed and nursing a broken heart, I got the idea to run away, to escape from it all. By the time Grandpa realized that I was gone, I was already abroad. Despite the distance, he arranged everything for me and told me to work hard while I was overseas. Without him around to look after me, I had had no choice but to mature into a calm, steady woman. Hence, I was nothing like my past self, and when coupled with the fact that Jake had never seen me before, it was only normal that he couldn't recognize me. Nonetheless, I couldn't be bothered to waste more time explaining to him. With my hand still braced against the door frame, I spoke to the woman in the car, my tone demanding. "Rosalie Gardner, are you not going to clarify things?" Rosalie's pale, slender legs slipped from the car as she exited. Then, she shut the door and turned around, not even sparing me a glance. Jake hurried forward with an umbrella and apologized, "Ms. Gardner, that must have been rather frightening for you. I'll be sure to accept whatever punishment you deem fit later." I found his airheadedness rather funny and couldn't help but wonder where Grandpa had found such a clueless, dense young man to serve as a bodyguard. Rosalie started walking without a backward glance, so I held a hand out to block her. Jake frowned slightly, annoyed that I was in Rosalie's way. He lashed out with a sweeping kick, throwing my legs out from under me and causing me to crash to the ground. I yelped at the pain. Following that, Jake clapped his hands and called out loudly, "Men, since she insists on doing things the hard way, go ahead and beat her up!" "How ridiculous! Who would dare harm me right at the gates to the Gardner residence?" I shouted angrily. Since I was young, I had been the apple of Grandpa's eyes and treated like the most precious treasure in the world. No one in the entire Gardner family, including the staff, had ever dared to treat me so arrogantly. I glared fiercely at Rosalie. Right now, she was acting like a cold, aloof heiress, as though she were so much more superior to me. Subsequently, my gaze landed on the emerald bracelet on her wrist, and a wave of irony washed over me. Chapter 2 After Rosalie was expelled from university, she had come crying to me, begging me to take her in. I had handed her that emerald bracelet, which was a family heirloom, and a letter asking Grandpa to help arrange a job for her. Who would've known she would use the bracelet to impersonate me? I couldn't deny that she was a beautiful woman and indeed had the air and charisma of a wealthy heiress. When Rosalie scoffed, Jake instantly understood her meaning and stepped forward to threaten me. "Right here at the gates to the Gardner residence, what I say goes." It seemed like Grandpa had given him quite a lot of authority, allowing him to deal freely with anyone he found suspicious. If he had bothered paying a little more attention, he would have noticed the stark similarities between my features and Grandpa's. Then again, Jake was only responsible for guarding the outside of the residence, so he hardly ever got to see Grandpa. "What are you all waiting for? Don't tell me that you're genuinely cowed by her threat?" With that command, Jake's subordinates leaped into action. They were leagues behind Jake in terms of skill, but that didn't mean they were ordinary or weak. In no time at all, I found myself unable to fight back anymore. As I was pinned to the wall, Jake waited for me to beg for mercy. I could only glance at Rosalie from the corner of my eye. Rage bubbled in me, causing me to hiss, "Rosalie Gardner, did you ever think about the consequences of impersonating me?" Nevertheless, Rosalie ignored me, merely leaning over to say something to Jake with her hand covering her mouth. In the next moment, Jake pushed his subordinates aside and personally seized me. "You're here to assassinate Mr. Gardner Senior while he's weak, aren't you? What a wicked outlaw you are! With the Gardner family's extensive influence, no one will look into your death even if I kill you." He had me by the collar in a grip so tight that I could hardly breathe. I yanked the necklace around my neck free and shoved the pendant hanging from it in his face. The pendant was carved in the shape of the Gardner family's crest. Grandpa had personally put it on me at my coming-of-age ceremony, saying that the pendant was a family heirloom and that whoever held it was the heir to the family. I knew that Jake definitely recognized the pendant, as the first lesson he received after Grandpa took him in was how to recognize me using various items. As I expected, upon seeing the pendant, Jake stared at it in disbelief and muttered to himself, "The heir pendant?" He glanced at Rosalie, a hint of suspicion creeping into his gaze. Clenching her fists, Rosalie said coldly, "Jake, I've been coming and going in the Gardner family's car and staying in the Gardner residence to take care of Grandpa. If I weren't the heir, would I have received such treatment? You would rather believe in a fraud's pendant than what you've seen with your own eyes?" After a moment of thought, Jake chose to believe Rosalie. He twisted my arms behind my back before pinning me against the car door. Immediately, Rosalie came over to snatch the pendant from my grasp. She toyed with it idly, commenting, "I was wondering where I dropped the pendant. Turns out that you had it." Her words only confirmed Jake's belief that she was the true heiress. "Do you have any idea what the consequences of pissing me off are? You aren't afraid at all, huh?" His response was to slam me against the floor hard, the gravel leaving shallow cuts all over my face. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I managed to press the doorbell and shout for the butler, "Mr. Warren, there are some people causing trouble at the gates! Come quickly and save me!" Then, I said to the crowd around me, "Mr. Warren watched me grow up, so once he comes, the truth of who's the real heiress will come to light. He'll definitely recognize me at a glance." Rosalie visibly panicked at my words. Stuffing the pendant into her pocket, she instructed Jake, "Toss her onto the railway tracks." The men had hardly finished tying me up when a pair of slender legs appeared in my sight. "Hold it." I instantly recognized the voice as belonging to my boyfriend, Michael Liese, who had returned to the country ahead of me. Michael took out the strip of cloth gagging my mouth before tenderly stroking my cheek. In a gentle voice, he said, "You men are too rough. Don't you know how to treat a lady with care?" "Michael, you're finally here!" I cried out in relief. Michael was one of the three boys that Grandpa had adopted back then. Since we were similar in age, he had volunteered to go abroad two years ago to study with me. During our time there, he confessed his feelings to me, and we ended up becoming a couple. If nothing had gone wrong, he and I would be married now that we were both back in the country. "Michael, quick, tell them that I'm the real heiress to the Gardner family." To my shock, he quirked his lips into a smile, then moved to stand beside Rosalie. Bowing at her respectfully, he said, "Ms. Gardner, you must have had quite the scare." Immediately, I was thunderstruck. Why would he do this? Especially when we had still mutually expressed our love for each other right before I came back. "Michael, just what benefits did she offer you? Back when you were first brought into the Gardner family, you would cry day and night. I was the one who personally sewed you that tiny rabbit, allowing you to finally sleep peacefully every night. "Then there was that time you fell into an ice lake when we were abroad. I jumped in without a care to rescue you, only to fall into a coma. You wept as you told me not to leave you! "What about the couple rings we had custom-made for us?" However, when I looked at his hand, I saw that the ring on his finger was a completely different one from the one I had expected. Chapter 3 Michael watched me with an icy gaze as I spoke, and even when I finished, he appeared unmoved. "I think you're crazy and must have mistaken me for someone else." Rosalie was quick to put on a disdainful look as she said to me, "Just stop with the act already. The Gardner family isn't as easy to fool as you think. Jake, I'm leaving her to you to deal with." With that, Jake and his men lifted me above their heads before hurling me to the ground hard. "We'll throw her down hard enough to kill her, then make it look like she jumped off a building to end her life," Jake ordered. However, Rosalie cut in with an amused tone, saying, "As if we should let someone out to kill Grandpa off so easily. Why not break her arms and legs first, then cut off her legs? After that, toss her into some remote village to 'benefit' the local bachelors. This could count as a good deed for the Gardner family." Following that, she shot Jake a commanding stare, and he quickly jumped into action. Her words chilled me to the bone. I had done my best to give her a good life while abroad, yet this so-called best friend of mine turned out to be so wicked and cruel. "We're living in a society governed by law! How could the Gardner family do something like this?" I demanded. Jake instantly seized me by the throat and lifted me into the air. "A society governed by law? Then why don't you try calling the police? See if they believe you or Ms. Gardner." Since when could a daughter of the Gardner family disregard the law? Meanwhile, Michael wrapped an arm around Rosalie before using the other hand to gently cover her eyes. "Don't look, Rose. This isn't something you should see." Jake's little group of bodyguards stepped forward to seize my arms and break them. Despite the vice grip around my throat, I managed to squeeze out a strangled scream from the pain. "Jake Ferrell, I'm the one you're supposed to protect, not her! How can you treat me like this after everything that Grandpa's done for you?" However, Jake was unfazed. "You think you have the right to be my mistress? You? Mr. Gardner Senior's nurturing of my skills was precisely for me to protect Ms. Gardner and deal with frauds like you!" As I slowly ran out of air, my eyes rolled back, my face flushing red before gradually turning blue. Nonetheless, Jake seemed to feel that killing me just like that wasn't enough to quell his anger, so he suggested, "Men, it's been a tough day for us all, but there's money to be earned from this! This fraud has plenty of jewelry and accessories on her, so whatever you grab, you can keep." Every single item on me, from my jewelry to my clothing, was branded and worth quite a bit. A greedy gleam entered the eyes of the group of eight men. The moment Jake released me, I didn't even get a chance to take a deep gulp of air before I was thrown to the ground by the burly men. They stomped on me with such force that I couldn't even muster the energy to get up. They then agreed that whoever stomped on something first would get it. Two of my fingers on my left hand were immediately broken as a heavy boot came down on them, while my newly manicured nails were torn right off from the force. In a bid to snatch my crystal bracelet, another man stomped a little too hard on my left wrist, crushing the bracelet and causing shards to dig into my skin. At the same time, the bangle on my right wrist was roughly yanked off, the forceful motion practically crushing the bones of my hand. My ears weren't spared any mercy either, as someone forcefully ripped out the earrings. Blood immediately gushed forth relentlessly. I wailed at the pain and tried to seek help from Michael. "Michael, we grew up together! Are you really going to stand by and watch as they do this to me?" We had clearly been so sweet together overseas, and we had trusted each other so much! "I already said that we would marry once I returned to the country! Then Gardner Corporation would be yours and mine!" Michael took Rosalie's hand, and it was then that I noticed his ring and hers were obviously couple rings. Stroking the ring, he commented casually, "Why would I marry you? The woman I love has always been Rose." At that, I abruptly recalled that things had been rather fishy between them since a long time ago. Many times, while Michael and I were out dating late into the night, Rosalie would suddenly appear, seemingly unintentionally, before the two would disappear for some time. My best friend and my boyfriend, the two people I trusted the most, had always been playing me for a fool. In the end, I was stripped down to my underwear. Everything else had been taken from me. At that moment, the butler, Mr. Warren, hurried over. I instantly opened my mouth to shout for help, but Rosalie hastily slapped a hand over my lips. "Quick, surround her and hide her from sight. Don't let Mr. Warren see her." The crowd instantly formed a human wall around me, thoroughly blocking me from Mr. Warren's sight. Rosalie released me, but before I could make any sound, one of the bodyguards clamped his hand over my mouth. Utter despair welled in me, threatening to bring tears to my eyes. Then, Mr. Warren asked the questions I had been hoping he would. "Who pressed the doorbell earlier? Jake, Michael, what are you all doing by the gates? What happened?"