When enraged, Cole was a creature to fear. Still, he clung to control. Instead of exploding, his mouth contorted into a brittle smile. “Were you and your ex-boyfriend… close?”

“Extremely,” Elliana replied, letting her candor cut like a blade. “He had looks, money, and a gentle nature. He adored me, spoiled me endlessly, and would have thrown himself into danger for my sake. He was the embodiment of every romantic fantasy a woman could have.”

“So you once loved him deeply?” Cole asked, his expression blackening with each word that left her lips.

With calm detachment, Elliana nodded. “Yes. I loved him deeply.”

Darkness rolled off him in suffocating waves, and his stare was sharp enough to wound. So it was true—she and her ex had shared a love that ran deep. “If you were so madly in love, why didn’t it last? Why settle for me?” he retorted, sarcasm curling in his tone.

Casting him a careless glance, Elliana let out a light laugh. “Oh, he left me. Chose another woman to marry instead. Heartless, wasn’t he?”

So she had been cast aside. That meant he was nothing more than her next choice after rejection—a rebound, plain and cruel. He, Cole, who had never loved anyone before, was merely a substitute. A pitiful stand-in. That thought broke him. He ripped the car door wide and shoved her roughly off his lap.

Taken off guard, Elliana tumbled forward, her body aimed straight for the hard pavement. Anyone slower would have crashed face-first, but her sharp reflexes saved her.

Her palms hit the ground first, breaking the fall. With one smooth motion, she pushed off and landed lightly back on her feet.

Regaining her balance, she pivoted to face the man still seething inside the car. His eyes blazed with fury, yet beneath the rage lay bitterness and raw hurt—the gaze of a man who believed himself completely betrayed.

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A laugh, sharp and unexpected, bubbled up inside her chest. The entire moment played out with uncanny familiarity.

Her memory drifted back to when Cole had chased her so persistently. After she had rejected him, he had tossed her from his car in nearly the same rage. Even then, though he was at fault, he had worn this same wounded expression, shouting again and again that she was a heartbreaker.

Elliana was lost in her thoughts when Cole suddenly blurted out, “Heartbreaker!” Instead of being offended, Elliana found it rather amusing. Back then, Cole had used that same word because he couldn’t win her over. Now, he threw it out again, this time because he’d learned she had an ex. He called her a heartbreaker, as though he hadn’t unwittingly hurt her feelings before. His sulky face only added to her amusement.

She hadn’t forgotten how, during that one month on the island, he had whispered all sorts of dirty talk during their intimate encounters. Calling him a rogue was not an insult but the truth. To watch him getting upset over her claim of having an ex, like some smitten schoolboy, was more than laughable.

“Cole,” Elliana said with a soft laugh, brushing her finger against her nose. “Why are you allowed an ex but I’m not? You can’t have double standards. It’s unfair.”

“I never loved Wanda, and nothing ever happened between her and me! We didn’t even hold hands!” Cole’s face darkened as he responded. “But you and your ex loved each other. Don’t tell me the two of you didn’t cross any intimate lines.”

Elliana’s fingers grazed her nose again, her amusement deepening. Of course, she couldn’t deny it. With her ex, intimacy had been constant. They had even frequently engaged in intimacy to have a child. Too bad Cole didn’t realize that the man she called her ex was him due to his memory loss. She resolved to let him stew in his jealousy. He deserved it for remembering everything except her.

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