Asher's POV
The garden would not leave my mind.
Three days had passed since the coffee shop. Three days since Selene had walked out crying. Three days since I held that photograph and felt something crack open inside me.
I pulled into my studio that morning with only one intention: work. Paint. Stop thinking about a woman who wanted nothing to do with me.
But when I opened my sketchbook, the first page was not blank.
I did not remember drawing it.
A garden. Walled. Private. A fountain in the center. Roses climbing stone walls. A bench beneath an old oak tree.
The same garden from the photograph.
I stared at the sketch. My style. My hand. But no memory of creating it.
I flipped through more pages. More sketches. The same garden from different angles. Different light. Morning. Afternoon. Twilight.
Page after page.
And on the last page, a woman.
Just her back. Her silhouette against the fountain. Long hair. Slender shoulders. Reaching toward the water.
I did not need to see her face.
I knew who it was.
Selene.
Selene's POV
The boxes were almost packed.
Three days of avoiding Asher. Three days of ignoring his check. Three days of Lucien's texts arriving like clockwork.
Still here?
Still alone?
Good girl.
I hated him. Hated that he controlled everything.
If I stayed near Asher, Lucien would hurt him. Maybe kill him.
If I left, Asher would never know the truth. Never know about us. Never know about the baby.
Either way, I lost.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I almost did not answer. But my thumb moved before I could stop it.
I found something. Your garden. My sketches. Pages of them. I don't remember drawing them. But I know they're yours.
Please. Just coffee. Just answers.
I'll be at the cafe until noon.
I looked at the time. 11:47.
I grabbed my keys.
Asher's POV
She walked in at 11:59.
Breathless. Dark circles under her eyes that matched my own.
She slid into the chair across from me and said nothing.
"Thank you for coming," I said.
"I shouldn't be here." Her voice was raw. "It's not safe."
"Because of Mark? The landlord?"
She flinched. "Yes."
"He's not your landlord, is he?"
She did not answer.
I reached into my bag, pulled out my sketchbook, placed it between us. "I found these. I don't remember drawing them. Tell me what they mean."
Selene opened the book slowly. Her fingers trembled as she touched each sketch.
The garden. The fountain. The roses. The bench.
And finally, the woman.
"You drew this," she whispered. "Years ago."
"When? Why?"
She closed the book. "I can't do this."
"Selene."
"I can't." She stood. "Forget the garden. Forget me."
She turned to leave.
I caught her wrist. Gently. The way that felt natural even though I did not know why.
"Please," I said. "I have nothing. No past. No memories. You're the only thing that feels real."
She went still.
"I know you're lying," I said. "I don't know why. But I want the truth. Whoever I was to you. I want to know."
Selene turned back. Her eyes were wet.
"The truth could kill you," she whispered.
"Then let it."
She sat back down.
"His name isn't Mark," she said quietly. "It's Lucien. Lucien Ardent. He controls everything. Including me. Including you."
"Why?"
"Because your past threatens him."
"What past?"
She reached into her bag. Pulled out an old iron key.
"The garden. It's on my family's estate. Empty now. But I kept a key."
"Take me there."
"If I do, things will change. You might not like what you find."
"I don't like not knowing."
She slid the key across the table.
"Tomorrow. 8am. The address I text you. Don't tell anyone."
I took the key. It was warm from her hand.
She stood. Paused. Looked down at me.
"Asher." Her voice broke. "Whatever you remember. Know that I loved you. I never stopped."
Before I could respond, she was gone.
Selene's POV
I made it to my car before the sobs came.
I had given him the key. The key to everything.
Lucien would kill me if he found out.
But worse. Asher would remember. He would remember loving me. And then he would remember why he left.
The garden held our wedding. Our promises.
It also held the truth about my family. About what they did to his.
My phone buzzed.
Lucien.
Heard you visited the cafe again. Last warning.
Stay away. Or I'll make him stay away permanently.
I threw the phone into the passenger seat.
Tomorrow, Asher would go to the garden.
Tomorrow, he might remember.
And Lucien would be watching.
Asher's POV
I sat in the cafe long after she left.
The key was heavy in my palm. The sketches spread across the table.
I looked at the last page again. The woman at the fountain. Her back to me. Reaching for something I could not see.
And in the back of my mind, a whisper.
A woman's voice. Laughing.
Catch me if you can.
Another voice. Mine. Younger.
I'll always catch you. Always.
I closed my eyes. Tried to hold onto the sound.
But it was gone.
I looked at the key.
Tomorrow, I would find her garden.
Tomorrow, I would find myself.