Rebecca stared at the phone in her hand.
Her brows creased as she keyed in another set of numbers.
Wrong password.
"Again!" She groaned, sighing.
For the past twenty minutes, she had been trying to unlock her phone, but all efforts proved futile. And the fingerprint wasn't even set up, neither was the face ID.
"Seriously." She exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair.
She tried again.
Another error.
"What sort of life did I live that I can't even unlock my phone?" She asked herself, shaking her head.
"I can't return to the mansion now. I don't remember the way. And I sent the driver away." She slapped her forehead. "Way to go, Becca."
"I should take a walk then."
She wandered around the street. She had no destination in mind, but her feet guided her to a modest coffee shop.
Her gaze lingered on the shop, and she fell into deep thoughts. She didn't know why... but she found the shop to be familiar.
This was the first sense of familiarity she felt ever since she woke up yesterday.
"Rebecca?"
Her attention turned as her gaze landed on a familiar person.
"Audrey?" She called out hesitantly.
"What are you doing here?"
Rebecca didn't notice the hostile tone as she rushed to her.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." She said excitedly as she pulled Audrey's hand into hers.
Audrey was taken aback. She tried to break free, but Rebecca's grip was surprisingly strong.
"We are not friends. Why are you being so friendly to me?" Her eyes narrowed. "What are you planning to do this time?"
Rebecca blinked, surprise taking over her. "W-what do... what do you mean by that? Why do you sound like Anderson?"
She took a good look at Audrey, and she realises that she had also changed. Her brows furrowed. It felt like her best friend... detested her.
"Rebecca Parker, I underestimated your shamelessness." Audrey spat, breaking Rebecca's thoughts.
"Why did you say that?"
Audrey scoffed. "Weren't you the one who broke our friendship in this same coffee shop?" She folded her arms, giving Rebecca the side eye.
Rebecca, on the other hand, pointed at herself in disbelief. "I? Broke our friendship?"
"Yes. And for a piece of trash. You broke our friendship because of Carl." Audrey spat. If someone listened closer, they could hear the hurt in her voice.
Rebecca's expression changed. "You know Carl?"
Audrey's eyes narrowed. "Yes?"
Rebecca took a deep breath. "If I tell you that my memories end when we were in high school, would you believe me?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"It means I remember nothing. Not my marriage, not my children… and definitely not Carl."
Audrey's lips parted slightly… For a brief moment, the hostility in her eyes wavered.
She knew it was a big mistake to believe Rebecca's words. But... a gut feeling kept pushing her to trust Rebecca.
She knew that whenever Rebecca was frustrated, she would always run her hands through her hair, and she was doing it now.
Was her best friend back to her... senses?
"Let's talk in the coffee shop." Audrey suggested, and Rebecca let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you."
Finally, the knot was about to be untied. The empty spaces were about to be filled.
-------------------
The bell above the door chimed softly as they stepped into the coffee shop.
A strange sense of familiarity washed over Rebecca again, but she couldn't grasp it. It slipped through her grasp before she could even understand what it was.
Audrey walked ahead without looking back. "Sit."
Rebecca obediently took the seat opposite her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence stretched. The atmosphere was heavy and uncomfortable.
Rebecca clasped her hands together, her fingers fidgeting slightly. "You said… I changed." She started.
Audrey let out a short, humorless laugh. "Changed?" She leaned back in her chair, her gaze sharp. "That's a mild way to put it."
Rebecca swallowed.
"You became someone I didn't recognize," Audrey continued. "You became cold, distant and calculating."
Rebecca's brows knitted together. "That doesn't sound like me."
"No," Audrey said flatly. "It doesn't. But that's exactly why it hurt."
Her words landed heavier than Rebecca expected.
Rebecca lowered her gaze. "Tell me about Carl," she said quietly.
The moment his name came up, Audrey's expression darkened.
"So you really don't remember anything," she muttered.
"I don't." Rebecca shook her head. "Everyone keeps mentioning him, but I have no idea who he is."
Audrey studied her for a long moment, as if trying to find a crack in her expression.
"You met him a few years ago," she finally said. "And after that… everything started going downhill."
Rebecca's fingers tightened around each other.
"What do you mean?"
"You started prioritizing him over everything." Audrey's voice sharpened. "Over your friends and your family."
A faint ringing filled Rebecca's ears.
Family.
Her mind flickered—
A blurred image. A tall figure standing by a window. A cold voice.
"Rebecca, this isn't right."
She blinked, and it was gone.
Rebecca inhaled sharply, pressing her fingers to her temple.
"Hey." Audrey's tone softened slightly. "Are you okay?"
"I…" Rebecca shook her head. "I just saw something. But it disappeared."
Audrey's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't press further.
"You even cut me off," she said instead, her voice quieter now. "Right here. In this café."
Rebecca's head snapped up. "I really did that?"
Audrey scoffed. "You told me I was 'holding you back.'" A bitter smile tugged at her lips. "That I wouldn't understand your choices."
Guilt twisted in Rebecca's chest.
Even though she couldn't remember it… it still hurt.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Audrey froze.
That was new. Rebecca Parker never apologized.
"Don't," Audrey said after a pause, looking away. "If this is another one of your acts, I'm not falling for it."
"It's not," Rebecca said immediately. "I really don't remember anything."
Audrey tapped her fingers lightly against the table, conflicted. Then she sighed.
"You were obsessed with him," she admitted. "Carl."
Rebecca frowned. "Obsessed?"
"Yes." Audrey met her gaze again. "To the point where you were willing to destroy your own marriage."
Rebecca went rigid.
"Marriage?"
Audrey's brows furrowed. "Don't tell me you forgot that too."
"I did. I just came to terms with it." Rebecca said slowly. "I also don't remember how it got that bad."
Audrey hesitated.
For the first time since they sat down, uncertainty crept into her eyes.
"Anderson…" she started, then paused. "He used to care about you a lot."
Used to.
The phrase lingered.
.
Rebecca's chest tightened.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
Audrey leaned back again, exhaling.
"That," she said, "is something you should find out yourself."
Rebecca blinked.
Before she could ask more, Audrey added, "but I'll tell you this…"
Her gaze sharpened. "If you're really back to who you used to be—" She leaned forward slightly. "—then stay away from Carl."
She paused. "Because the Rebecca I knew… lost everything the moment he appeared."