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# **Chapter 11: The Past That Shouldn't Return**
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It was a rare sunny morning in Sector 9, and Hana was humming to herself, flipping through her digital planner while sipping holo-coffee. Everything felt… calm.
Suspiciously calm.
And then Mira, the Wolter mansion's ever-helpful AI, chirped:
> "Alert: An unauthorized guest has entered the outer gates. Identified as *Cenric Vane*."
Hana froze.
The cup in her hand trembled slightly.
"Cenric…?" she whispered.
Klein, walking past, caught her expression. "Who's Cenric?"
Hana's lips thinned. "Someone I buried in my past. Apparently, the dead rise in the twenty-second century too."
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### The Man Who Almost Took Her
Cenric Vane.
The elite strategist's son. Rich. Smart. Possessive. And once — dangerously close to being Hana's arranged fiancé.
Before Sher.
Before the Wolter name claimed her.
Cenric wasn't cruel. No, he was worse — charming. Manipulative. The kind of man who made you believe it was your idea to obey him.
And now?
He stood in the Wolter drawing room, the same crooked smile on his lips.
"Hana," he said, voice like silk over a blade. "You look more stunning than ever. Marriage suits you."
Sher appeared behind her in a flash, hand slipping around her waist like a silent claim. "She looks like *mine*," he said coolly.
Cenric raised a brow. "So possessive already, Wolter?"
Hana's voice was firm. "Why are you here, Cenric?"
"I heard of your marriage. I came to congratulate you. And maybe… remind you that old promises don't vanish with paperwork."
Sher's jaw twitched. "If you came to talk about the past, let me correct your time coordinates — this is *my* present. And *our* future."
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### Sparks Fly in the Study
That night, Sher paced the study like a wolf caged too long.
Hana watched from the doorway, arms crossed.
"Are you angry?" she asked.
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer. "Sher?"
"He touched your hand."
"It was a handshake."
"He smirked at you."
"He smirks at potted plants."
He turned, grey eyes dark with something rare — insecurity.
"I don't want you thinking… maybe you were supposed to be with him."
Her heart broke a little.
Walking up, she cupped his face gently. "Cenric had control. You have *me*."
"But—"
She silenced him with a kiss.
"You didn't steal me, Sher. I chose you. Again and again. Even if I had to be reborn a thousand times, I'd still fight you in this hallway over dirty laundry and love you the same way."
He exhaled.
"You scare me sometimes, Hana."
"Because I'm unpredictable?"
"Because I'd burn planets if someone tried to take you from me."
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### The Secret Cenric Holds
But Cenric didn't come just to flirt or play.
Mira revealed it that night — the AI intercepted a message from him to an unknown contact.
> "She still doesn't know. If Sher hasn't told her yet, I will."
Hana replayed the words five times.
"Told me *what*?"
She rushed to Sher's quarters, where he was preparing for a strategy meeting.
"Sher," she demanded, "what is Cenric talking about?"
He stilled.
"Hana—"
"Don't Hana me. What haven't you told me?"
His silence was heavy. Guilty.
Finally, he spoke:
"Years ago, when the engagement between you and Cenric was being pushed… I made a deal."
Her blood ran cold.
"What kind of deal?"
"I offered a military pact. Wolter weapons to his father's border faction. In exchange, they backed out of the engagement."
She staggered. "So… you *bought* your way into marrying me?"
"No. I *fought* for it. You were never a transaction. But I wasn't going to lose you to a snake like him."
"You never told me."
"Because I didn't want you to question your choice."
She was silent for a long moment.
Then she whispered:
"I didn't choose you because you were convenient, Sher. I chose you because you were… you. And you *should've trusted me enough* to tell me."
He looked away.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
And then, because forgiveness didn't need long speeches between them, she reached for his hand.
"We deal with Cenric *together*, okay?"
He nodded.
"As long as we're not going back to the fake flirting plan," he muttered.
She grinned. "No promises."
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