Chapter 1: The Day She Forgot Me
The music was soft. Polished. The kind of sound that floated through crystal chandeliers and million-dollar conversations. Every detail of the engagement party was perfect. The ice sculpture, the imported wine, the smiles glued on for the cameras.
And right in the center of it all—
Selena Hayes.
Hair pinned like a red carpet actress. A crimson gown that made the lights bend toward her. Laughter rehearsed. Posture royal.
She looked untouched by pain.
Unaware that the ghost of her past had just walked in through the front doors.
I stood by the bar, hands in my pockets, watching. No one turned. No one flinched. Because to them, I was just another stranger in a sharp black suit. To her, I was no one at all.
And that was the point.
"Name, sir?" the valet had asked at the entrance.
I gave him the name I built in silence.
"Daniel Knight."
Not Adrian Wolfe. Not the man who once stood outside a courtroom waiting for a woman who never came.
Tonight, that man was dead.
A waiter passed with champagne. I took one, not to drink—just to blend. The scent of money and lies filled the air. It was funny how familiar it all felt. Like muscle memory. Like stepping into the same fire you once burned in.
And there he was.
Julian Ward. The soon-to-be husband. Tall, expensive smile, arrogance pressed into every button of his tuxedo. He had his hand on Selena's waist like he owned her. Maybe he did.
He kissed her cheek as cameras flashed. She smiled like the betrayal never existed.
I let them perform. Let the applause rise. Let the speeches start.
Then I moved.
Not toward them. Just close enough to be seen. To be felt.
Selena's eyes passed over me once. Then again. Slower. Like her brain was flickering. Searching.
She tilted her head slightly, brows narrowing just for a second.
Then her fiancé whispered something, and she turned back, laughing.
She didn't recognize me.
Of course she didn't.
It's easy to forget the people you left bleeding.
I stayed calm. Cold. That's the thing about returning from the dead—you don't come back for closure.
You come back for control.
Julian finally stepped off the stage after his speech. I walked toward him like a man who belonged.
"Mr. Ward," I said, voice smooth, accent slightly different than four years ago.
He paused. Scanned me. "Do I know you?"
I smiled. "Not yet. But you will."
He raised a brow, but before he could respond, someone else distracted him. Selena was still behind him, sipping champagne, caught in another conversation.
I stepped away.
No dramatic exit. No scene.
Just silence.
Because slow revenge doesn't need noise. It needs patience.
I walked past the velvet curtains and into the night, leaving behind the perfect couple in their perfect illusion.
But I knew the cracks would show.
Because tonight was not the war.
It was just the first knock on the door.
End of Chapter 1.
[To Be Continued...]