The estate didn't feel stable anymore.
Not physically.
But in the way silence kept collapsing into itself.
Shen Yichen stood where he had stopped earlier.
Still.
But not calm.
His breathing was controlled, yet uneven underneath it—like something inside him was trying to surface through resistance.
Lin Yue didn't move closer.
Not yet.
Lu Han watched both of them carefully, as if waiting for a specific moment to break.
Shen Yichen finally spoke.
"Say it again."
His voice was lower now.
Heavier.
Lu Han didn't pretend not to understand.
"You were engaged to her," he said again.
A pause.
"And you chose her over everything."
Shen Yichen's jaw tightened.
Not denial.
Pressure.
Like the words were pressing against something sealed inside him.
"You keep saying 'chose'," Shen Yichen said slowly.
His eyes sharpened.
"But I don't remember choosing anything."
Silence.
Then Lu Han replied:
"That's the problem."
A beat.
"You were never allowed to keep that memory."
Lin Yue stepped slightly forward.
"Lu Han," she said quietly.
He glanced at her.
Softened slightly.
"I'm not here to hurt you," he said.
Then his gaze returned to Shen Yichen.
"But you need to understand what was taken."
Shen Yichen didn't respond.
But his fingers curled subtly at his side.
Lu Han continued.
"The Shen family couldn't allow you to break the alliance they planned."
A pause.
"So they removed the variable."
Shen Yichen's expression changed.
A fraction.
"Removed?" he repeated.
Lu Han nodded.
"Not physically."
A pause.
"Mentally."
Silence dropped like weight.
Lin Yue felt it too—how the air changed when the truth started aligning too closely with fear.
Shen Yichen's voice lowered.
"You're saying I was erased."
Lu Han didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
That single word hit deeper than any accusation.
Shen Yichen exhaled slowly.
Like he was trying to keep control over something already slipping.
Then—
a sharp flicker hit again.
---
Rain.
Cold.
A rooftop edge.
Wind pushing hard against everything.
A girl standing in front of him.
Shaking.
Not stepping back.
"Don't go," her voice said.
Not begging.
Breaking.
Shen Yichen in the memory was frozen.
Behind him—voices.
Orders.
Pressure.
Family name.
Everything he was born into pulling him backward.
But in front of him—
her.
The only thing that felt like choice.
"I can't stay," his voice in the memory said.
But his hand reached for her anyway.
Halfway.
Hesitating.
Like he already knew he would regret either decision.
---
Snap.
Reality returned too fast.
Shen Yichen staggered back a step.
Lin Yue moved forward instantly.
This time he didn't stop her.
But he didn't look fully present either.
His eyes were unfocused for a second longer than before.
Then—
they locked onto her.
Lin Yue froze slightly.
Because something had changed.
Not fully formed.
But no longer empty.
Recognition trying to build structure inside him.
Shen Yichen's voice came out quieter.
"…It was you."
Not a question.
A fracture forming into words.
Lin Yue didn't answer immediately.
Because that wasn't stable memory yet.
It was dangerous half-memory.
Lu Han spoke carefully.
"You're starting to remember the wrong way."
Shen Yichen didn't look at him.
His eyes stayed on Lin Yue.
Longer now.
He stepped forward slowly.
Not aggressive.
But inevitable.
"I didn't forget you," he said quietly.
A pause.
"I was taken away from you."
Lin Yue's breath tightened slightly.
Because that wasn't what Lu Han said.
That was something Shen Yichen's mind was building on its own.
Lu Han noticed immediately.
"Don't reinforce it," he said sharply.
But it was too late.
Shen Yichen had already taken another step closer.
His voice dropped.
"…If I had stayed that night."
A pause.
"What would I have chosen?"
Silence.
Lin Yue couldn't answer that.
Because that version of him—
never got to exist.
And Lu Han realized something then.
The memory wasn't just returning.
It was rewriting itself.
And if it stabilized like this—
the truth might never survive the version Shen Yichen was building now.