Chapter 153
I was forced to lean back against Jonathan’s chest, practically half-dragged to stand before the mirror. He made me stare directly at my own reflection. My hair was a mess, dark strands falling everywhere. My eyes were red and puffy, tears clinging to their edges, refusing to fall. I looked pitiful and broken as I stared at him, and at myself in the mirror.
Suddenly, I let out a bitter laugh. “Are you happy now?” My voice caught in my throat. “Jonathan, is this what you wanted? Does seeing me like this satisfy you?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he spun me around to face him. We stood eye to eye. He forced my arms around his waist, then grabbed my face and turned it back toward the mirror. From this angle, I could see both of us reflected.
I was standing on his feet, collapsed against his chest. My shirt had been pulled halfway down, bunched loosely at my waist. My back was smooth and bare, except for one thing: a tattoo.
I froze, staring at the reflection, completely shocked. I had no memory of ever getting it. A black mandala flower, and just beneath it, a string of initials. I didn’t even need to look closely. I already knew—it was Jonathan’s name.
My mind went blank. Even though I’d heard endless stories about how madly in love I supposedly used to be, this still hit me like a slap—I’d actually tattooed Jonathan’s name on my body? How could I have done something like that?
Sure, I wasn’t close with my family; we barely spoke before I got married, but still… This body was something I was raised to take pride in. Something I’d always taken care of. I was no great beauty, but I’d been content with how I looked. Especially my skin; I’d always treated it carefully. Even the tiniest scar used to upset me.
So, how could I have done this? How could I have let Jonathan’s name be inked onto me forever? Was I out of my mind? I didn’t even want to blame it on being “lovestruck.” No, let’s call it what it was—plain stupidity. Nothing more.
Chapter 153
I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. “Let go.” Jonathan gripped me tighter, forcing me to keep looking at my reflection. “Elise, have you forgotten how much you used to love me?”
I tried to turn my head away, struggling against him. Not wanting to hurt me, he finally let go and looked down into my eyes. “Stop saying ridiculous things.”
I took another breath. “So what? You showed me this for what reason?”
“You forgot.” His voice was suddenly firm, steady. “Why did you forget?”
He stared straight at me, as if trying to pull the answer from my face. I immediately looked away, afraid he’d figure something out.
“I wanted to forget, okay? Everything from back then feels like a damn humiliation. So I chose to block it out, to never talk about it!”
Jonathan didn’t say a word. He just kept staring, his eyes sharp, as if dissecting me, trying to decide if I was telling the truth.
“Elise, what are you hiding from me?” he said after a long pause.
I knew it. I knew he’d notice something was off, but he hadn’t figured out I’d lost my memory—at least, not yet.
Still… I gave a bitter smile. If we had been a loving couple, if he had truly cared about me, even a little, he would’ve noticed by now that something was wrong. That I wasn’t the same. But the fact that he hadn’t said a word until now meant only one thing—he hadn’t been paying much attention to me at all. It wasn’t until I started acting differently and pushing back that he finally turned his gaze in my direction.