Another year passed quietly, like a long breath from heaven to earth. The hot summer faded into a gentle autumn, then melted into the cold fingers of winter once more.
And just like that… he forgot her completely.
But he was healed.
His mind, once scattered and tangled in layers of pain, identity, and memory, had slowly restructured itself. Sebastian Carter was back. No longer Ray. No longer Gray. No longer Alexander.
Just Sebastian.
Strong. Composed. Sharp-eyed. Cold again.
But… different.
When he returned to the old Carter Mansion, something felt off. The servants too careful with their words. The rooms too quiet, as if every wall was holding a secret.
He had only been back a few days when someone quietly told him—
"…Grandma Bria passed away three years ago."
The words felt unreal in his ears. He stood in the hallway where her expensive perfume once lingered, where her voice used to echo—bossy, powerful, sometimes annoying. Now… silence.
She was gone.
***
