?Chapter 658:

    Elliana observed his internal struggle and continued with growing seriousness, “If it’s merely partial memory loss, it’s not entirely catastrophic. You’d still remain essentially yourself, just missing fragments of your life. But if all your memories vanish or bepletely reorganized, you’ll develop new thoughts, new perceptions, new habits, and new preferences. You might not be the original you at all.”

    Elliana’s tone grew increasingly grave as she contemted the worst possibility. “To be brutally honest, the most devastating oue is that the original Cole would die from Psychephrenia, and an entirely new Cole would take his ce within the same body.”

    “So you’re saying…” Before Ruben or Jarrett could jump in, Cole spoke first, his voice rough and deep. “The version of me that survives might not remember you at all?”

    Elliana held his gaze, knowing exactly where his mind had gone. “Cole, that’s the worst-case scenario.”

    In other words, there could be better oues. But it wasn’t enough to soothe Cole. His face darkened, the light in his eyes dimming by degrees. Then, abruptly, he turned away. “I’m not taking it.”

    The words struck the air like a gavel, final and hard. Without waiting for a reply, he strode toward the house, each footstep hammering out the anger simmering beneath his skin.

    He wasn’t angry at anyone but his own condition. Why him? Why this disease? He could live with the pain—but not at the cost of forgetting Elliana. To forget her would be to erase the only part of his twenty-seven years that had ever meant anything.

    Elliana watched him go, her chest tightening. She turned back to Ruben and Jarrett, whose expressions had grown increasingly grave.

    Ruben and Jarrett had watched Cole grow up. They knew him better than anyone. Once Cole set his mind against something, no one could force him otherwise. The best medicine in the world wouldn’t work without the patient’s will to use it.

    As Cole disappeared through the door, Ruben let out a low sigh and said to Jarrett, “He’s your mirror image, you know. A hopeless romantic through and through.”

    Jarrett gave a small, resigned smile. “He is. That’s why I get it. If the cure meant forgetting the woman I loved…” He then looked at Elliana, his eyes kind but heavy. “He doesn’t want to forget you. If that’s the price, he’d rather battle this disease every day. That’s how much he loves you.”

    Elliana nodded, her heart torn between joy and sorrow. It was a beautiful thing—to be loved like that. And a devastating thing too, knowing that love might cost him his life.

    Ruben asked quietly, “Elliana, is there any better alternative?”

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    She shook her head. “The best solution is to wait until I perfect the Elysian Elixirpletely. But I don’t know how long that will take, and during this time, Cole…

    Could have a devastating episode at any moment… So, essentially, there is no better solution within our reach.”

    Elliana looked up at Ruben, her expression both sorrowful and desperately serious. “Ruben, Cole respects you more than anyone else. Please try to persuade him. I’d rather he forget mepletely and never have me in his life again than watch him suffer a potentially fatal episode. As long as he can be cured, I can endure any pain imaginable.”

    Ruben opened his mouth, but before he could respond, Jarrett chimed in, “There were plenty of people who once told me to stop looking for my wife. They said it was pointless and told me to move on, remarry, and start fresh. I didn’t listen. I couldn’t. Because she wasn’t just a memory—she was my wife, the woman I loved.” He gave a dry chuckle. “Cole’s just like me. We love hard, and we don’t let go. He won’t choose a cure that demands he forget you.”

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