The young Benjamin had always compared himself and Zack, and the biggest loss he had suffered was Teresa. He insisted on being with Teresa but had no genuine feelings of love that a man in a relationship should have.
But after meeting me and after Teresa got married, he somehow realized what love should be like.
It was just that I was with Zack at that time!
However, when Benjamin met me, he didn't know I was with Zack.
He said, "It was quite easy to get you on the hook. I think it took me no more than two months."
Two months... What happened between me and Zack at that time? What caused us to be separated?
Benjamin said that I got cold feet right after he was with me, and only then did he know that I was Zack's ex-girlfriend!
When he found out about it, he was very confused. He didn't know why Zack always had something to do with the woman he wanted to be with.
And he didn't expect that Zack, who had always been indifferent, noble, and reserved, would fall in love with someone.
At that time, Teresa began to be hostile to me and schemed against me. However, Benjamin knew that but could not stop her. So he had to protect me carefully all the time!
Benjamin said that he did not come to save me that day because he asked Zack to go to save me, but it was too late in the end!
I still jumped into the sea and disappeared.
I suddenly realized that the reason Benjamin hated Zack was that Zack could not save me. And the reason why Zack hated Benjamin was that Benjamin gave up on me for saving Teresa.
The credibility of Benjamin's one-sided story was low, but his words sounded reasonable. It seemed that there was no need for him to lie to me.
But why didn't Zack tell me this? And it was he who tried to save me back then. He must know that I had jumped into the sea and disappeared!
No, at that time, the conclusion should be that I was dead.
No one expected me to lose my memory but lived!
But why did Zack always pretend that he didn't know I jumped into the sea? What was his secret?
Even if I doubted him to this extent, I still believed in Zack. I believed that the cold and aloof man would not hurt me in the end!
Benjamin saw that I was lost in thought, so he whispered, "It's only because that I couldn't let go of my feelings for her, feelings that had been reduced to a pile of f*cking ashes by her in the past few days!"
"Benjamin, I still can't figure out about my relationship with Zack back then. I don't have any memory of him!"
Benjamin was stunned and said, "And that's the only part of your memory that you haven't gotten back yet?" There was a hint of jealousy in his tone.
I shook my head and said, "There are some other things, but I can't remember anything about Zack!"
I changed the topic and said, "You always have known who did this to me, but you've always been letting them go! You even chose to give up on me when Teresa asked you to return to her side." "I..." Benjamin suddenly fell silent. I remembered that he said he was only with Teresa because he promised her something. After fulfilling that promise, she would have nothing to do with her anymore.
"In fact, the Dunn family was a part of it too, right?"
Last night, I understood what Joel said. He said that the game the Shears family set up would involve the Dunns, the Channings, the Heaneys, and the Solanges.
That meant the Channing family was also a part of what had been done to be that year.
But what did the Channings do?
I couldn't figure it out for the time being, so I had to ask Zack later.
I stretched out my hand to rub my head and said, "Victoria talked to me about the match between two families and so did Zack. I knew that Teresa would have no way to escape from that fate. It's just that I can't understand how Teresa was the who to pull the trigger on this whole thing. Teresa did what the Dunn family did to her to me by introducing Steve to me!"
The marriage between Steve and me was just a matter of course! Reality back then made me numb and I had to accept it.
I married Steve even when I barely had any feelings towards him.
I kept telling myself and tried to convince myself that marriage was about living a steady life for the rest of my years.
Even if it had nothing to do with love!
"Do you really believe what you are saying?" Benjamin disagreed with my words. "It was you who chose to be with Steve, no one forced you to marry her."
Holding back my tears, I said with a trembling voice, "Yes, it was my choice! But what could I do? I had nothing at that time, and I was beaten and scolded by my mother all day long. I was so empty in my heart that I needed to rely on someone. But where were you at that time?"
"Although Steve had many shortcomings, he was at least there by my side. Was it wrong for me to choose to marry because I craved that warmth? Yes, he did betray me and hurt me, but he was there to hold me in his arms when I was down at the bottom!"
Benjamin's face darkened, and I said, "In fact, what's the difference between Steve and you now?"
"I have never betrayed you!" Benjamin rubbed my face that was beaten by Janse and said softly, "I have been looking for you for five years. I have never thought about giving up, and I have never been with other women! Do you know how afraid but also excited when I finally found you after five f*cking years?"
"I've been alone for five years, and I've been waiting for you!" Benjamin's eyes were red. "Zack told me that you're still alive, but he wouldn't tell me where you're, so kept looking! I know everything about what you said about the Dunn family!"
Benjamin rubbed my cheek with his palm and said, "And that's why I chose to leave the Dunn family to start from scratch so that I could get you home with me and no one could be there to say no!"
Zack said that the reason why Benjamin left the army without any resources and started from scratch was that he wanted to be with me.!
Victoria had also said that she had been there with Benjamin for five years!
Benjamin himself said that he used to be a loan shark, which got his career started.
In fact, it was not easy for him in the past five years!
"Benjamin, I'll believe whatever you've just said for now," I said tiredly, "but I don't want to talk to you about marriage now."
Zack took the fruit from her hand and moved aside. I went in and saw Bob playing games in the living room.
"What are you playing?" I asked with a smile.
"Nothing you would understand!" Bob laughed.
"Phew."
Zack took care of Teresa. I didn't want to see that woman so I went to Zack's study to read. My eyes inadvertently caught sight of Zack's safe. Bob told me that he kept his notebook in it.
Bob said that everything in there was about me.
But if that was the case, why has he never shown it to me?
I saw the password lock on it and tried his and my birthday.
I somehow felt that since he was in love with me, he would use my birthday as the password.
But I guessed wrong.
I was stunned for a long time, and then I tried ZGES, short for Zack Glover and Emma Shears.
I didn't expect it to work at all, but it just did!
With my hands shaking, I opened the safe and took out the notebook. I was so scared that I locked the door of the study room!
I leaned back against the door and opened the notebook. There was an entire mind map on the first page of all the persons relevant.
I skipped the first two pages that Bob had mentioned to me. The first sentence of Zack was...
"I saw Emma for the first time in winter."
"Em was a very beautiful girl. Compared with those girls that I knew, she was unique. But when I considered it, I found it funny. After all, there were few girls I knew!"
"So why was she unique?"
I don't know, maybe she's just... She just gives me the feeling that she's the one."
Just as I was about to read more, footsteps came from outside the door!
I was so scared that I immediately closed the notebook and put it in the original place. I was afraid that Zack would find out so I tried to remember as best as I could where it was placed.
As soon as I closed the safe, there was a knock on the door.
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