After I Became His Girlfriend

After a week in a coma caused by a car accident, Grace Miller's boyfriend, Leonard Stone, suddenly regained his memory.

During those seven endless days and nights, Grace had stayed by Leonard's bedside, barely eating or drinking.

Yet the first words Leonard spoke upon waking were not of gratitude, but a cold question.

"Why are you here? Where's Sylvia?"

He stared at Grace, whose face was pale and bruised from exhaustion, and said, "Everything that happened while I lost my memory wasn't what I truly wanted. From this moment on, you and I are done. Whatever we had—it doesn't count."

Grace trembled as though struck by lightning.

At that moment, friends who had heard about Leonard's recovery rushed into the ward, arms full of flowers that quickly crowded the room.

"Leonard, you're finally awake! Man, I thought you were a goner this time."

The one speaking was his childhood buddy, Julian Blake.

"Oh, stop it, you're such a pain." Sylvia Moore scolded in a sweet, coquettish tone, "Leonard finally woke up, and you're still making stupid jokes? Don't jinx it, seriously!"

She hurried over, dropping into a half squat before him.

Leonard reached out and gently touched her forehead. "I must have scared you. Sylvia, these past two years, I've made you angry so many times."

Sylvia's lips quivered, and her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Forget it, forget it. You've already been through a crash and ended up in the hospital—how could I still be mad? Just promise me you'll stay healthy, no more speeding, no more crazy stunts, and I'll thank my lucky stars."

Leonard gave her a faint, weary smile.

The atmosphere in the ward shifted instantly, like a glacier finally thawing—warm, light, and full of relief.

"Leonard, you don't even know—this hospital stay nearly scared Sylvia to death."

"Judging by the way you look, your memory's back, isn't it?"

"And Grace—"

The voice cut off abruptly.

By the time her name was spoken, Grace had already slipped quietly out of the ward.

During Leonard's coma, Grace had imagined countless possibilities. The only thing she had never considered was that the moment he opened his eyes, he would cast aside the two years they had shared—completely, as if they had never existed.

Just then, Grace heard someone speaking inside the ward.

"These past few days, Grace has worked herself to the bone—barely eating, barely sleeping, caring for you. She wiped your body, massaged your muscles. Without her, you wouldn't have recovered this fast. You owe her that much."

Grace's heart skipped a beat.

"Before the accident, you had even prepared for Grace—"

"That's enough. Don't say another word."

The voices in the ward were cut short.

Leonard's tone carried a trace of impatience. "I know I owe my recovery to Grace. From now on, I'll treat her well. As if she were my sister."

Grace felt as though her heart had been yanked high into the air, only to come crashing down.

Just a week ago, he had introduced her proudly, "This is Grace Miller, my fiancée."

And now, she had been reduced to nothing more than a "sister."

Grace forced a crooked, foolish smile.

She laughed at her own sorrow, and at her own naivety.

All this time, she had believed that two years of devotion could win his heart, only to realize that deep down, he still carried the woman who had once abandoned him.

Leonard and Sylvia had been childhood sweethearts, growing up side by side. Their marriage had seemed like a certainty, a future already written.