Tina hadn’t forgotten the address. It had been burned into her memory from the holiday courier run last Christmas.

Luke Lawson’s penthouse. The glass tower’s crown. A fortress built of arrogance and wealth.

Her fists clenched. Her pulse quickened.

Tonight, she wouldn’t beg for understanding.

She was going to burn the last bridge herself.

The rain started halfway to Midtown, slashing sideways across the windshield of her car. Wipers fought it. The sky pulsed with distant thunder.

Tina drove like a possessed beast, paying no attention as the tires screamed on the road. Her heart was pounding heavily as she drove, but it wasn't from fear anymore. She was no longer afraid of Luke Lawson… her heart was pounding from the storm of rage boiling inside her.

The gates of the Lawson Estate came into view and she scowled at the structure, it looked cold and unwelcoming, just like its owner. She didn’t wait for permission, and the guard barely had time to open the gates before she zoomed past in a cloud of dust.

She stepped out of the car, and slammed the door behind her with a force that echoed across the estate. She didn’t pause to organize herself as she would have done before meeting Luke, there was nothing to organize anymore… All her emotions were finally erupting like a caged volcano let loose… grief, pain, fury.

This was it… She had nothing left to lose.

The door opened before she could knock, and Luke stood there in a night robe with a glass in his hand. Probably drinking some expensive stuff and chilling in front of the TV she thought bitterly.

“Tina?” His voice was low and cautious. “You do realize it’s nearly midnight?”

She ignored the cold arrogance in his tone. “I don’t care.”

He closed the door and stepped out fully, cocking a brow. “Did someone die, or are you here to hand-deliver another list of excuses?”

That was it… the trigger.

“Excuses?” she hissed, stepping past him and forcing her way in without invitation. “You think that’s why I’m here? God, you really are as blind as you are heartless.”

Visibly caught off guard, he followed her inside and shut the door again. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on,” she repeated, laughing bitterly. “I’ll tell you what's going Luke Lawson. For years, I’ve run around like a puppet in that office, trying to make sure everything runs perfectly. I stayed late, skipped lunch, barely slept… all just to keep your precious academy afloat.”

Luke face twisted into a frown. “You were hired to do a job…”

“And I did it!” she exploded. “I did everything! Even when I was sick, even when you humiliated me in front of everyone. I kept going because I believed in what you built, because I looked up to you Luke… I thought, maybe if I just worked hard enough, you’d see that I was good enough to become a junior tutor one day. I only wanted to be like you.”

He scoffed. “Then why are you here throwing a tantrum like a spoilt child?”

She grinned darkly, then squared her shoulders. “Because I’m done! Done being your emotional punching bag… Done being the name you throw around when something goes wrong. You are selfish, cold, and utterly incapable of seeing the people around you as human beings.”

He didn't seem moved, instead he crossed his arms. “I pay you more than fairly…”

“You pay more in insults than you do in money!” she yelled at him, her voice was finally breaking. “You think your money makes up for the way you treat people? For the way you treated me?”

Her hand shook as she pulled a folded envelope from her pocket, and threw it at him. “Here’s my resignation Luke Lawson, effective immediately.”

Luke caught the envelope mid-air, he looked genuinely stunned.

“I gave everything I had to that academy,” she whispered, as tears poured down her face. “And you took all of it… You sucked the life out of me like I was nothing, like I didn’t matter. And I hate you, Luke Lawson. I hate you for every time you made me feel small, for every time you made me question my worth.”

She turned and stormed back toward the door. “I hope your empire burns to the ground, and that you reap every evil you've earned.”

“Tina…” he started.

But she was already gone.

Luke ran after her into the night, and grabbed her hand just before she reached her car, but her response left him stunned.

Out of the blues, Tina had struck out and given him a resounding slap… a slap so hot and unexpected that he stumbled back in shock.

“Don't you ever lay your filthy hands on me!” She hissed at him, then got into the car and zoomed off.

Luke stood there frozen, first she had been audacious enough to rant at him, and now she had even gone as far as slapping him. The shock slowly gave way to rage… how dare she, a fucking nobody… she was going to pay for this, she was definitely going to fucking pay for being so bold.

He went back inside and poured himself another glass, but the anger refused to subside… his cheek still stung, but his ego stung more. He was going to wait till the morning, but it would have been too late, something could have calmed him down before then. He needed to act now, he needed to take advantage of this anger immediately… she had to know she just messed with the wrong person.

He was Luke Lawson, and very few people could speak to him like that without being sent into exile.

He threw off the robe and dressed up hurriedly, nursing his burning cheek to remind himself of her insolence. He was going to destroy her, he was going to make her life so miserable she'd regret the day she ever met him. Key in hand, Luke stormed out into the night, started his car and sped off in the direction to her house.

The flew by, and the speedometer climbed rapidly… 50. 60. 70. 80

Luke didn't care, he was too pissed to care about anything… all the wanted was a piece of that bitch.

90. 120… and then it happened.

A flash of headlights suddenly burst out in the distance… an approaching truck coming out of nowhere.

Luke’s eyes widened in horror.

He quickly swerved to the right, but he swerved too hard.

The tires screamed as he desperately applied the brakes.

The world turned.

Metal clashed.

And then total silence…

Tina got home satisfied at her confrontation. She was now at peace. She laughed at her own audacity and wondered what demon had possessed her to slap Luke. But, she didn’t regret it. Worst thing was for him to sack her and she already quit. That was that. She decided to compile a bucket list of things she would do before her life ends; in three months.

It was nearly midnight when her phone rang.

She was still seated on her bed, too tired to sleep, her mind going over the tumultuous events of the day.

Unknown number.

She stared at the screen for a long moment before answering.

“Miss Matthews?” a calm voice asked. “This is Dr. Ramirez from City General. You’re listed as the emergency contact for Mr. Luke Lawson.”

She sat bolt upright. “I’m what?”

“You’re the only name he listed. He was in an accident tonight. Single-vehicle crash. He’s stable now, but we need his guardian.”

Tina gripped the phone tighter. “Is he alive?”

“He’s stable. We’d like someone here to decide on his behalf.”

She almost refused.

But something in her wouldn’t let her hang up.

“I’ll come,” she whispered.

City General Hospital was dim and sterile; the kind of place where time had no weight.

The nurse at the front desk directed Tina to ICU. Third floor. Room 314.

Tina stepped in.

Luke was unconscious, draped in white sheets and wrapped in gauze. His face was bruised. A cut ran across his brow. An IV dripped steadily beside him.

The titan of Lawson Academy looked like a man knocked off a pedestal he built too high.

He looked so different.

So small.

So human.

A doctor entered quietly behind her.

“Miss Matthews?” he asked gently.

She turned. “Yes.”

“I’m Dr. Ramirez. Thank you for coming.”

“What happened?”

“Several broken ribs, mild internal bleeding. But the biggest concern is cognitive. He suffered a concussion and—”

The pause felt longer than it should’ve been.

“He has retrograde amnesia,” Dr. Ramirez said softly. “No personal memory. He knows how to speak, read, function… but he doesn’t know who he is. Or who anyone else is.”

Tina’s breath caught.

“He doesn’t remember me?”

“He asked if he was married. If he had children. He doesn't remember his workplace. His name. Nothing.”

Tina kept quiet, her mouth firmly shut as the wheel in head began to turn. Still, she asked.

“Will it come back?”

“It’s hard to say. Some patients recover fragments. Others never do.”

Tina turned to Luke’s sleeping form, her heart racing.

The man who tormented her.

Who never saw her pain.

Who pushed her until she broke.

Now, he didn’t even know his own name.

The doctor’s voice lowered. “He has no listed family. No one else. You were the only contact.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

The doctor stepped out, leaving her alone.

Tina stared at him.

She stepped closer to the bed.

Luke's breathing was steady. His brow furrowed, like he was dreaming of something just out of reach.

Tina stared at him.

No power. No arrogance. No memory.

A blank slate.

Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths.

And then…

A spark.

Not sympathy.

Not pity.

Something darker.

The corners of her mouth curved upward, ever so slightly.

“You don’t remember me now,” she whispered.

“But you will.”

She leaned down closer, her voice like velvet over steel.

“Only this time… I will be the one in control.”