Chapter 3 We've already known each other thousands of times.
"Do you know who paid for all of this?" Millie's father whispered to Jonny.
Jonny shook his head. "I've asked the cashier several times. They don't know either. All they know is that it was a man."
"Hah. How am I supposed to pay him back?" His father sighed. To him, this was a debt of gratitude he had no way to repay.
Joanna bit her lip. She had been wondering the same thing since last night. Unfortunately, she couldn't access any of Millie's memories.
A notification suddenly chimed on her phone. Her eyes immediately dropped to the message she'd been waiting for.
"Dad, Mom, Jonny. I'd like to meet a friend at the hospital café. Just for a little while."
The entire family stopped and stared at her.
"A friend?" Jonny frowned. "Since when do you have a friend?"
Does Millie not have any friends at all?
"We lost contact a long time ago. I just found out she's here."
Millie's mother looked hesitant. "You're still weak."
"I'll be in a wheelchair, Mom. The café is close."
After a moment, her father nodded. "All right. We'll wait here."
"Don't be long," Jonny added.
Joanna nodded and wheeled herself out of the room.
Once she was gone, her father glanced at his wife and son.
"Do either of you feel like Millie seems different?"
Silence.
"You're imagining things," her mother replied. Even though she felt the same way.
The hospital café was quiet. The scent of strong coffee mixed with toasted bread.
The moment Joanna arrived, she spotted a woman she would have recognized anywhere.
A smile tugged at her lips. "How's the coffee?"
Liana looked up.
Then froze.
Her eyes traveled from Joanna's pale face to the bandage on her wrist. She looked as though she were staring at a ghost.
Which wasn't entirely wrong.
"Are you really Joanna?" she asked softly.
The girl before her looked nothing like Joanna Arden. Joanna had once been confident, intimidating, impossible to overlook.
This girl was thin, pale, and fragile.
"Still not convinced?" Joanna folded her arms. "When was the last time we had dinner together?"
"Three months ago."
"You ordered pasta and didn't touch it because you'd just broken up with..."
"Stop."
Liana raised a hand. Her eyes were already wet. "I believe you."
A small smile appeared on Joanna's lips.
Yet Liana continued staring.
"How is this even possible?"
"Let's just say God didn't want me."
Liana nodded slowly.
Then she pointed at Joanna's wrist. "What's that?"
"I'm not talking about it."
"You tried to kill yourself?"
Joanna sighed. "Let's just say this isn't my body, and the original owner did something stupid."
"Yeah. That definitely sounds like you."
Joanna ignored the comment.
"I need an update."
Liana immediately sat up straighter.
"Right. About that. The succession meeting has been postponed."
Joanna blinked.
"Postponed?"
"Yep."
Liana pulled out Joanna's laptop and her tablet.
"A company suddenly requested a partnership. They want negotiations immediately, so the succession meeting got pushed back two weeks."
Joanna looked at the document on the screen.
Vance Global Enterprise.
"Vance?" she asked. "We've never worked with them before."
"I know."
Liana shrugged.
"The weird part is that their CEO personally showed up."
"The CEO?"
"Alarich Vance."
Liana leaned forward.
"He walked into the boardroom and announced he wanted a partnership. No explanation. No small talk. Everyone just sat there in shock."
Joanna went silent.
"Exactly." Liana pointed at her. "That's the same face everyone made."
Alarich Vance.
The name felt unfamiliar. Yet something about it bothered her.
"Give me my laptop."
Liana handed it over.
Joanna opened a browser and searched his name. Only a handful of articles appeared. No scandals. No interviews. Almost no photographs.
After digging deeper, she finally found a blurry image from what looked like a corporate event. The quality was poor. But the face was recognizable.
Joanna froze.
The dark suit. The sharp features. The posture.
Him. The man from the elevator.
"That's him."
"Who?"
Liana leaned closer.
"The man who paid my hospital bill."
Liana nearly jumped from her seat.
"What? Him? Are you serious?"
"I think so."
"Why would someone like him pay a stranger's hospital bill?"
Joanna closed the laptop.
"I don't know."
Liana frowned.
"Do you think he knew Millie?"
The crease between Joanna's brows deepened.
Could Alarich know Millie?
But what about the partnership?
Why did it feel less like coincidence and more like deliberate intervention?
"I don't believe in coincidences."
Joanna looked at Liana. "Attend every meeting involving Vance. I need to know everything they're discussing."
Liana nodded.
"Leave it to me."
"Good."
Joanna turned her wheelchair.
"I need to learn more about this girl's life." And Millie's home was the best place to start.
"I'll wait for your call," Liana said.
Joanna nodded and wheeled herself away. Then suddenly stopped.
Someone was standing directly in front of her. Her eyes widened.
"You?"
It was him.
The man she'd been trying to find.
"Always in such a hurry to find me." Alarich smiled as he approached. "You don't have to. I'll come to you myself."
Joanna stared. There was something unsettling about his gaze. Sharp. Deep. Familiar. Without realizing it, she found herself trapped beneath it. Alarich stopped beside her wheelchair and rested both hands on its armrests.
"Do you like my gift?" His smile curved into something dangerously charming.
"W-What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
Understanding flashed across her face.
"The hospital bill?"
Alarich said nothing.
Joanna frowned.
"Who are you? Why are you helping me?"
His gaze softened.
"If I told you I'd always help you, would you believe me?"
He gently lifted her chin and their eyes met.
"But why?" Joanna asked.
"Are you helping me, or..."
She nearly revealed too much.
Alarich simply smiled.
"Get some rest. Don't think too much about me."
His eyes lingered on her face.
"You'll learn everything eventually."
He straightened.
"Go back. Your family is waiting."
Then he turned away.
"We'll see each other again."
"Hey!"
Joanna's voice rose in frustration.
"Don't leave! I don't even know you!"
Alarich stopped. For a moment, he remained silent.
Then, without turning around, he said:
"But in my memories, we've already known each other thousands of times.”
