Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On the day my mission failed, I stood below the stage and watched Barrett marry his childhood sweetheart.

There was a grand fireworks display and a rain of fresh rose petals. He gave her the most extravagant romance money could buy.

Meanwhile, as the ex-girlfriend who had built his empire from scratch alongside him, I was discarded at a high-end nightclub to pour drinks and entertain wealthy men.

As the penalty for failing the mission, the system erased my memories.

From that moment on, Barrett no longer existed in my eyes.

Yet the powerful, untouchable CEO of the Lockhart Group grabbed me like a madman.

"Joy, look at me! I don't believe you could ever forget me!"

I had no idea who this crazy stranger was. After all, everyone in the city knew Mr. Lockhart had already married the love of his life.

***

On the day Barrett took his company public, he announced his grand engagement to his childhood sweetheart.

As his girlfriend, I was treated like a complete nobody, standing in the crowd while watching him kiss Cynthia.

What a picture-perfect romance. A self-made billionaire achieving massive success, only to marry the girl of his dreams.

Everyone in high society swooned over their story.

"Mr. Lockhart and his bride are such a power couple! Childhood sweethearts, building an empire for true love―this is straight out of a romance novel!"

"Wait, didn't Mr. Lockhart have a long-term girlfriend who helped him build the business from the ground up? Isn't dumping her the moment he succeeded completely ruthless?"

"Stop spreading trash rumors! Mr. Lockhart explicitly stated that Cynthia has always been the only one. That nameless ex is just trying to latch onto his fame. The unloved one is always the homewrecker!"

Amid the sea of congratulations, a few voices took pity on me, only to be drowned out by insults.

Outsiders knew nothing about our past. They had no clue what sacrifices I had made for Barrett over the years.

All they saw was his deep affection and protective nature toward Cynthia, which meant all the blame fell on me.

"Joy Carter."

Just as I turned around to walk away, Barrett's sharp gaze swept over the crowd and locked firmly onto me.

The media cameras instantly pivoted toward me. The crowd parted down the middle, clearing a wide path for him.

Before I could process what was happening, Barrett walked down the stage, holding Cynthia's hand, and stopped right in front of me.

"I have decided to marry Cynthia," he said coldly. "The company no longer needs you. Report to the Noir Lounge tonight."

Noir was Barrett's newly opened private nightclub, a playground exclusively for wealthy corporate elites.

Sending a powerless woman to work in a place like that carried an obvious, degrading implication.

The entire hall gasped. Over the years, my face had appeared in business magazines alongside his.

At worst, the media had assumed I was his kept mistress.

Now that his true love had returned, even if he refused to share half the empire we built together, he had no right to trample me into the dirt.

Yet Barrett did it anyway. To the outside world, he might receive a few mild criticisms for being ungrateful, but his reputation remained untouched.

My chest throbbed with excruciating pain. Tears pooled in my eyes and spilled over.

For seven years, Barrett had maintained a reputation as an untouchable gentleman who stayed far away from casual flings.

People in high society had even gossiped about whether he was interested in women at all. Only I knew the truth.

The man who shared my bed every night held a childhood sweetheart deep in his heart―the one who had abandoned him years ago.

Taking the company public was simply his ultimate gift to her.

[Host, being banished to Noir and failing to marry Barrett constitutes mission failure. I must now wipe your memories.]

A mechanical voice echoed in my head. I instinctively looked up at Barrett.

Seven years at his side had been a constant battle of joy and torment.

Especially right now, the clash between my lingering love and the agony of rejection tore my heart to shreds.

If my memories were wiped, there would be no love left. There would be no hate, either.

And if there was no love, I would never feel pain again.

[Host, to help you adjust to this world, your memories will fade gradually rather than vanish all at once. Are you ready?]

The system's prompt rang out again. I clutched my aching chest as tears streamed down my face.

"I'm ready!"