IRRY 13

plCotton has no memory of the past ten years. Despite this, she fell in love and celebrated a happy wedding. But the very next day after the ceremony, her husband’s demeanor changed completely. “Living with a lowly man must have stripped you of all your refinement.” She tried to resolve what seemed to be a misunderstanding, but all she received was cold indifference. Over the course of her marriage—a year that felt both fleeting and painfully long—Cotton withered like a dying flower. One day, perhaps because the gods took pity on her, a miracle occurred: her memories returned. She realized her true name was Renedia, and her husband, Rickton, was her former lover and fiancé. Even without her memories, she had fallen in love with the same man. Wasn’t that fate? But it seemed he wasn’t destined to be her soulmate. He abandoned her, crushed her, trampled on her, and tore her apart. She tried picking up the pieces of her heart countless times, but it was already in tatters, like a rag on the verge of being discarded. Her heart had been broken so many times, it no longer even felt the pain. All she could do was whisper one thing. I should never have remembered. Then I wouldn’t be drowning in this despair. “I regret remembering you.” Renedia finally let out the feelings she had bottled up until they festered and burst. Turning her back on him, she fled, believing she would never have to face him again.