1

The engagement party that Lucas had meticulously prepared for a year became a complete laughingstock because of his fiancée’s childhood sweetheart, who had just returned to the country.

He was abandoned by Joanna right in front of everyone.

Worse, he was involved in a car accident while pathetically chasing after her and fell into a coma.

Everyone was waiting to see how the famously arrogant and reckless Lucas would deal with that uninvited guest once he woke up.

However, he seemed like a different person when he finally regained consciousness.

He didn't immediately ask about Joanna's whereabouts upon opening his eyes, didn't make relentless phone calls to her, and certainly didn't pick a fight with the man who ruined their engagement party.

He was so quiet that it was as if his soul had been replaced.

It wasn't until his condition improved that he announced a press conference.

The public opinion boiled over in an instant.

All the reporters aimed their cameras and microphones at him, holding the latest gossip magazines in their hands, their eyes filled with a playful desire to watch the show.

On the front pages were two photos: one of Lucas covered in blood after the accident, and another of Joanna kissing the back of Julian.

The contrast was stark.

"Mr. Landon, what are your thoughts on this story?"

The cameramen didn't even dare to blink, ready to press the shutter at any moment to capture his reaction.

Lucas lifted his eyelids, his gaze indifferent, and curled his lips into a faint smile:

"The photos are well-taken. They look like a loving couple."

He was completely devoid of the explosive temper everyone had anticipated.

The reporters were stunned; his highly unusual behavior rendered all their prepared scripts useless.

Who didn't know that Lucas, as the heir to the Landon Group, was short-tempered but incredibly powerful? He would do whatever it took to get what he wanted, and he would never let someone else have what he discarded, even if it meant throwing it away.

Women were no exception.

Three years ago, he fell in love with Joanna at first sight and pursued her for three years before successfully getting engaged.

No one believed that a man like him would give up so easily.

The reporters stepped forward, ready to press him with questions, when the microphones were blocked by a hand.

Joanna stood there in a white gown, her features exquisite and her air elegant.

Her bright eyes swept slowly across the reporters, making them all retreat a few steps obediently.

"You're quite composed this time."

She looked up at Lucas, her tone cool.

"Since you're ill, behave yourself and don't make a scene."

Then, she looked at the reporters and said coldly, "You all may leave."

The reporters looked reluctant, but they dared not defy Joanna.

Just as they were about to leave, Lucas let out a soft scoff and pushed aside the person blocking him.

"Excuse me, miss, would you mind moving?"

"Do you know that it's very rude to interrupt someone?"

The mockery in his eyes made Joanna’s body stiffen.

"Lucas, you don't need to play this 'we are strangers' trick on me. Since I agreed to marry you and be the next Mrs. Landon, I won't break my promise."

Her eyes held a smug sense of understanding.

At that moment, a gentle male voice also chimed in.

"Lucas, please don't misunderstand. Joanna and I broke up... a long time ago..."

"The day of the engagement, I lost my phone and could only remember her number, so I asked her to pick me up... Please, don't overthink it!"

Julian appeared from somewhere nearby, looking every bit the humble gentleman.

Lucas stared at them, examining them for a long time—so long that Joanna frowned and stood in front of Julian.

Only then did he suddenly speak:

"Who is 'Joanna'?"

He pointed at her, "Her?"

Before either of them could react, Lucas waved his hand dismissively and said, "Not important. If you know her, take her away immediately; don't interfere with my press conference."

Everyone was stunned.

He, however, leaned into the microphone on his own and said with a smile:

"I only want to declare two things at this press conference."

"First, I have amnesia, and my memories are stuck three years in the past."

"Second, I am canceling the engagement with... whatever her name is... Joanna. Oh, and remember to help me wish her and Mr. Julian a happy life and many children."

"That’s all. Thank you, everyone."

With that, he turned and left, heading back to his hospital room.

The reporters' eyes lit up, and they all buried their heads in frantic note-taking.

Joanna’s brows knit tightly together. Staring at Lucas’s retreating back, she jogged to catch up.

Julian followed behind her.

Just as Lucas was about to close the door, a pair of fair hands grabbed the doorframe.

Joanna pushed her way in.

"You'd better leave of your own accord before I kick you out."

He raised his right hand in a gesture for them to leave.

She frowned even deeper.

"Are you done making a scene?"

"I've said it before, my resolve to marry you will not waver; I will be the only Mrs. Landon."

Julian, who had just arrived, turned pale.

Lucas crossed his arms over his chest and said calmly:

"Joanna, is it? Was I not clear enough just now?"

"Or do you have a problem with your comprehension?"

Joanna choked on her words. She stared into his eyes, her voice cold:

"Lucas, this act of faking amnesia is pathetic."

"The engagement concerns both the Jiang and Landon families; it is not something you can mess with at your whim."

As soon as she finished speaking, Julian hurried to add:

"Lucas, you've really got it all wrong!"

He pulled a box from his pocket and handed it over.

"I originally intended to give this as an engagement gift for you and Joanna. I designed these rings myself."

It was only when this pair of rings appeared that Lucas’s previously calm, ripple-less eyes finally showed a tremor.

No one knew that the twenty-six-year-old Lucas had died in that car accident long ago.

Now, inside this body, was the soul of the thirty-six-year-old Lucas.

In those ten years of memory, he had exhausted every means to take revenge on Julian, who ruined his engagement, after he woke up.

But every time, he was stopped by Joanna.

She did marry him and became Mrs. Landon as he had wished, but she used that as a pretext to lock him in a mental hospital for ten years.

Julian came to mock him, telling him that Lucas’s parents had knelt on the ground to beg Joanna to let him go, even going so far as to offer the entire Landon Group on a silver platter.

Unfortunately, the two had bad luck; they were in a car accident on the way and both died.

Lucas had gone mad, his eyes red as he choked Julian, only to have Julian point out the ring on his finger.

He had laughed even harder: "Lucas, I heard you even went to get your bones shaved just to wear this ring, which was a size too small. You didn't know, did you? I designed this pair of rings, and the man's ring was designed to my size from the very beginning!"

Lucas was pulled away by the doctors who rushed in, and he jumped to his death that very night.

Opening his eyes again, he found his soul had traveled back ten years in time.

This time, he would never let history repeat itself.

As for this ring, Lucas withdrew his gaze and scoffed:

"Keep this cheap, trashy item for yourself."

After saying that, he didn't hesitate to dial the emergency line, gesturing for the two of them to leave.

"Please, out."

Joanna gave him a deep, long look before turning to leave, her cold voice echoing in the room.

"Lucas, you'd better hope your amnesia is real."

After locking the door with a "bang," he immediately dialed his mother’s number.

"Mom, I want to cancel the engagement with Joanna."

"Yes, I’m serious."

"I've already thought of a new candidate for the marriage alliance. Let's go with that real heiress the Clara family just found!"

2

The woman on the other end of the line was equally infuriated by Joanna's actions.

"Good, Lucas. Mom supports you.

"The cancellation of the engagement with the Jiang family and the alliance with the Clara family, leave it all to me!"

After hanging up, Lucas saw his calendar notifications popping up.

One week until the wedding dress fitting, half a month until picking up the custom rings, one month until the wedding photoshoot...

He deleted them one by one with a cold face.

Along with all the content on his phone related to Joanna, he swept it all into the trash.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and rest after finishing all this, his phone rang again.