Chapter 1Glitch in the System: The Erased Years

When I woke up in the hospital, I was facing a handsome stranger.

He babbled a whole bunch of things at me.

I didn't react at all.

When he mentioned that we couldn't get our marriage license for the time being, my brain finally started working again.

"What marriage license?" I blurted out instinctively.

"Our marriage license, Chloe. Did you hit your head and go stupid?"

He reached out to touch my forehead, his movements incredibly natural.

Is this a joke?

I'm a beautiful young girl who just finished her high school finals.

I'm not even of legal age to get married yet!

Where did this scammer come from?

* * *

"Doctor!" I shoved the guy away and stretched my neck, yelling, "Doctor, come quick! There's a bad guy here!"

The doctor arrived quickly, followed by two nurses.

They gave me a huge sense of security.

I hid behind the kind-looking older doctor and loudly tattled.

"I don't know this guy! He's trying to trick me into marrying him! He's a human trafficker!"

The handsome young man looked exasperated.

"I know you're mad. Getting the license is just delayed, not canceled. Mia didn't mean to hurt you either. Don't blame her—"

"Where's my phone?" I cut him off, looking at the doctor. "I need to call my parents."

"Your parents?" The guy frowned. "Your injury isn't serious. There's no need to alarm them. Seattle is far; it's not easy for them to make the trip."

I was dumbfounded: "We're not in Seattle?"

The handsome guy was also dumbfounded.

The doctor cleared his throat.

"I was just about to tell you. The fall wasn't too serious physically, but she hit her head. There's some bleeding causing a hematoma that's affecting her memory."

"Affecting my memory?" I muttered. "You mean, I have amnesia?"

The doctor nodded: "Yes. But don't worry, as the hematoma slowly dissipates, your memory will gradually return."

The handsome guy spoke up: "How long will that take?"

"It's hard to say. Could be a few months, could be a year or two."

I noticed the handsome guy visibly relaxed.

After the doctor left, he picked up a women's purse from the chair next to the bed, pulled out a phone, and handed it to me.

"Since you have amnesia, there's no rush for the license. But I really am your boyfriend. If you don't believe me, look at the photos on your phone."

Lighting up the screen, the first thing I saw was the time and date in the center.

2025!

But my memory was still stuck in the excitement of checking my scores after the finals.

Six years had passed!