The Nineteen-Year-Old Him

Liam lost his memory. He's stuck at nineteen—the year he was the biggest jerk I knew.
When I went to see him, he looked at me like I was a complete stranger, his eyes cold and distant.
“Wife? You’ve gotta be kidding me. No way I'm married!”
Seeing how much he resisted the idea, I figured it was best to leave for now. But after that one meeting, he started showing up everywhere I went, a dozen times a day, always claiming it was a coincidence.
A month later, he was proudly showing my number to his friends.
They were floored. “Wait, dude… you’ve been busting your ass for a month just to get your own wife’s phone number?”

1
The moment I heard about Liam’s car accident, I booked the first flight back.
When I got to the hospital, he was already asleep. The doctor said it was nothing life-threatening, just a concussion that had triggered a temporary amnesia. As for how temporary… it could be a month, a year or two, or even longer.
His memory was frozen at nineteen.
Back when he was an absolute nightmare.
His friends warned me that he had no memory of our marriage and that it would take time for him to accept it. I was prepared for that. After all, he hadn’t exactly been thrilled when he first found out he had to marry me. He wasn't as hostile as he was now, but he was still ice-cold.
Forcing a nineteen-year-old mind to accept the reality of a wife was, admittedly, a tall order.
I took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll come back tomorrow. Just give me a call when he wakes up.”
“You got it, Mia.”
The next day, the call didn’t come from Chris or the guys. It came from the hospital.
“Ms. Evans? We were wondering if you could contact your husband. We’ve searched the entire hospital, but we can’t find him. The security cameras in the hallways didn’t catch him leaving, either.” There was a pause. “We think he might have climbed out the window.”
My breath caught in my throat.
It was hard to imagine the composed man I’d been married to for years doing something so reckless. I’d heard stories that the twenty-nine-year-old Liam was a world away from his nineteen-year-old self, but I never imagined the difference was this stark.
After leaving my office, I called Chris. He told me that after his great escape, Liam had gone straight to a private lounge to meet them.
When I arrived, they were all in a private room, with Liam forcing drinks on them.
“Liam, man, I really can’t drink anymore.”
“Me neither, dude. I quit drinking years ago.”
“You should slow down too, Liam. Mia’s gonna have our heads for this.”
“Yeah, seriously. It’s been a day. She’s probably worried sick.”
…
Liam just raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. “Mia this, Mia that. Nice try, guys. Just another excuse to get out of drinking with me.”
Chris looked like he was about to cry. “Liam, do you really not remember you have a wife?”
“Cut the crap. Marriage is for suckers. Why would I ever give up my freedom like that? Besides, guys who are whipped have no spine!”
In Liam’s mind, Chris was still the rich kid who’d pull pranks on him, so of course, he didn't believe a word.
The sound of the door opening was lost in the thumping bass of the music.
Chris was the first to see me standing in the doorway. A chill ran down his spine, and he shot up straight. “Liam, dude, you gotta stop talking.”
Just then, I walked into the room and picked up a bottle from the table. Everyone, except Liam, sat bolt upright.
Liam leaned back against the sofa, looking up at me with annoyance. “Don’t the servers here know how to knock?”
His words trailed off the second he saw my face.
Our eyes met, and suddenly he was fumbling with his tie and shirt, first buttoning the top two buttons of his collar, then deciding against it and unbuttoning them again. He even tugged the collar down a bit, just enough to hint at the lean muscle of his chest.
Nineteen-year-old Liam was quite the show-off.
Chris and the others, unable to watch him dig his own grave any deeper, were about to say something, but a single glare from me silenced them.
As I turned to leave, I heard a collective sigh of relief from inside the room.
“Dude, why is your face so red?”
Liam sounded personally offended. “Me? Red? No way!”
Luke, ever the dense one, immediately turned on his phone’s front-facing camera. “It is, man! It’s super red. Don’t tell me you know she’s—”
“Ahem.”
Chris cut him off with a sharp cough. They were all more scared of me than they were of Liam.
“Must be something in this booze,” Liam grumbled, picking up his glass only to slam it back down. “I’m done. Going home.”

2
Of course, the “home” Liam was talking about wasn’t the one we shared.
He went back to his parents’ old estate and, unable to get the door open, hopped the fence to get in. He was nearly mistaken for a burglar.
Luckily, the security guard had good eyes. Liam was unharmed, but he did manage to wake up his two parents, both well into their sixties.
“You little brat! What are you doing here in the middle of the night? Trying to dig up your ancestors’ graves?”
“Oh, honey, you’re forgetting. Our son is supposed to be in the hospital. He had an accident, lost his memory. He probably doesn’t even remember his own home.”
“Ah, right you are. You little punk! Forgetting Mia, of all people. You’ve got some nerve!”
Liam’s father snatched a feather duster from a nearby vase and went straight for his son’s behind. The twenty-nine-year-old Liam probably would have taken the hit.
But the nineteen-year-old Liam knew exactly how to dodge his father’s wrath.
He scrambled up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door shut.
“Mia, Lia, whatever! Are you trying to set me up with another engagement? You tried to sell me off to some heiress when I was nineteen, remember? I can’t believe you’re still trying to pull this crap now that I’m twenty-nine!”
His father roared from the bottom of the stairs, “You ungrateful, irresponsible punk! I wish you’d just stay away from Mia and stop wasting her time!”
Liam just scoffed. “Fine by me.”
That night, my best friend Sophia came over to keep me company and, more importantly, to rage on my behalf.
“You should just tell him the truth, you know? For all we know, the little jerk is faking this whole amnesia thing!” she declared. “Or better yet, let’s go over to his parents’ place right now, stuff him in a sack, and beat some sense into him!”
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t angry. My perfectly good husband was out all night, insisting he was single and acting like marrying me was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.
“But seriously,” Sophia said, her tone softening, “what if he never gets his memory back? Are you two just going to stay like this forever?”
“If he really never remembers,” I said darkly, “then I’ll just have to stuff him in a sack and lock him in the house.”

3
Work was slow the next day, so I agreed to help Sophia out at her newly opened bakery.
I’d just arrived when Liam’s mom called.
“Mia, sweetie, there’s something I think you should know,” she said, her voice a hushed whisper. “This morning, I saw Liam leaving the house dressed… well, exceptionally flashy. He even used hair gel and cologne. I’m worried he’s—”
The door creaked open, and in walked Liam.
It was the grand opening, and the bakery was crowded, but he stood out immediately. It was impossible to miss him.
He was wearing baggy jeans with about five too many pockets, a loose black t-shirt, and a thick silver chain around his neck. He was dressed like he’d just stepped out of a ‘90s music video.
“It’s okay, Mom,” I said into the phone. “I’ve got this.”
He lost his memory, not me. I remembered everything.
I picked up a tray of samples and walked right past him, deliberately offering them to every customer around him. Just as he finally reached for the last piece on the tray, Sophia swooped in and snatched it.
“Delicious!” she said, chewing dramatically. “I really am a genius.”
She then turned to Liam with wide, innocent eyes. “Oh, I am so sorry! I didn't realize you wanted to try one. But hey, we have plenty of new items you could buy to take home.”
A muscle twitched in Liam’s jaw.
Sophia pressed on. “Or… were you just here to mooch free samples?”
And just like that, Liam slapped down his card, bought a $2,000 membership, and stalked out with five pineapple buns and a face like thunder.
Sophia waved the receipt from her first big sale. “Thanks, girl. Best opening gift ever.”

4
Liam sat in the private lounge, staring mournfully at the five pineapple buns on the table.
“Hey, isn’t this from Sophia’s new bakery?” Chris asked, taking a bite of a bun before Liam grabbed him and pulled him down onto the sofa.
“What do you think of this outfit?” Liam demanded.
Chris answered honestly. “Very… nineteen-year-old you.”
Liam frowned. “Am I old now?”
Luke’s eyes were wide with admiration. “No way, man! You’re the best of all of us at staying handsome. You’re, like, ruggedly hot.”
“But I’m twenty-nine now,” Liam lamented. “That’s basically thirty. A thirty-year-old guy is already past his prime. Wait a minute—she doesn’t know how old I am, does she?”
The pineapple bun dropped from Chris’s hand. “She? Liam, don’t tell me this ‘she’ is a woman.”
Liam gave a nonchalant hum. “Yeah. She’s pretty good at playing hard to get.”
“Holy crap! Someone tell Mia! Liam’s got a crush on someone else!”
“I’m on it, I’m on it! Texting her now.”
“What does she look like, man? You can’t just go around doing this!”
“You guys saw her at the lounge yesterday,” Liam said, oblivious. “And it’s not a crush. I’m never getting married! But… I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as her. Her face is so small, smaller than my hand, and she seems so gentle…”
Owen, who was in the middle of typing a frantic message, froze. His fingers hovered over the screen as he stared at Liam in disbelief. Then, he quickly deleted everything in the chat box.
“The girl from the lounge yesterday? That was—!”
The alarm bells stopped ringing.
Chris and Luke exchanged a look. “So, do you know her name?” Chris asked.
Liam shook his head.
“You guys know her?”
The three of them engaged in a silent, frantic conversation with their eyes before pushing the unluckiest of the bunch, Luke, forward.
Luke’s face was stretched into a pained smile. “Yeah, uh, her name is Mia Evans. We know the bakery owner, Sophia, and Mia is her best friend.”
Liam let out a soft “Ah.” “So that’s it.”
He hummed a little tune as he left. “These buns are pretty good. I’ll bring you guys some more over the next few days.”
The remaining friends looked at each other, horrified.
“You guys think when Liam gets his memory back, he’s going to throw us all in a river to feed the fish?”
“Nah, we’re good. Mia told us not to say anything. As long as she’s got our backs, Liam won’t do anything to us.”
“Good point.”

5
The next day, Liam didn’t just show up at the bakery himself; he brought Chris, Luke, and Owen with him.
Each of them bought a $2,000 gift card, instantly becoming the bakery’s top VVIPs.
Sophia’s grin was so wide it threatened to split her face. “Well, look what the cat dragged in! If it isn’t my favorite cash cows. Come on over, have a seat.”
But Liam was distracted, his eyes constantly darting toward the kitchen in the back. When he didn’t see the person he was looking for, his shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“Don’t you know the owner?” he asked Luke.
Luke, mid-chew, looked up with a blank expression. “Huh?”
“It’s been a while, right? Don’t you need to catch up?”
Chris burst out laughing and shoved Luke out of his seat. Luke scratched his head, vaguely understanding, and walked over to Sophia.
Chris and the others mouthed frantically behind him: “Ask about her!!!”
Luke nodded.
“Hey, how come Mia isn’t here today?”
“Her? Oh, she’s at work.”
Luke nodded again, then turned back to Liam. “Hey, man. Mia’s not here today.”
Liam stared at him. “...I didn’t ask about her.”
With that, he got up and walked out.
Sophia was speechless. “Seriously? How on earth did he manage to win Mia over?”
The others just shook their heads in unison. “We have no idea.”

6
For the next week, Liam made a habit of “passing by” my office building.
An early morning jog, a casual stroll. He’d see me, then quickly look away, pretending he didn’t know me. An evening run, another pass by the front of my building. This time, he managed a quick greeting. “Fancy seeing you here.”
It was the rainy season, a miserable stretch of wind and downpours. I thought that would surely deter him.
But no. The next rainy day, there he was, jogging in a full-on rain slicker. Don’t ask. It was his “passion for fitness.”
This went on for days, and I never once initiated a conversation.
Back in their usual lounge, Liam sat with Chris. The table wasn’t covered in empty bottles anymore.
It was covered in bags of pastries.
Chris unwrapped a napoleon and took a bite. “Hey, this new napoleon is pretty good.”
“Yeah, yeah. You said the same thing when Sophia gave you the burnt scraps.”
“It’s called being low-maintenance! Hey, Liam, want a piece? It’s really good.”
Liam wasn’t in the mood.
Chris found it strange. For days, Liam had been dragging them to the lounge only to sit in moody silence. But it was obvious something was eating at him.
“You’ve been acting weird lately, man,” Chris ventured. “Is it because of Mia?”
Liam didn’t answer directly. He just unwrapped a pastry and asked casually, “Since you guys know Sophia, you must know a little about Mia, right?”
“I guess.”
Luke glanced at Liam. “A little. We’re closer with her husband.”
Liam was stunned. “She’s married?”
Chris mumbled through a mouthful of pastry, “Yep. Though he’s probably about to be her ex-husband.”
Liam looked as though his world had just ended.
But within a minute, he’d already rationalized it.
“Two people who aren’t in love shouldn’t be forced to stay together. That’s fair. I support her divorce.”
Owen, munching on a taro tart, started rambling, “Mia likes guys who are handsome, don’t smoke or drink, and are, you know, mature and stable.”
“Totally!”
…
The more they talked, the more annoyed Liam became. “I didn’t ask you guys.”
They all exchanged a look. They honestly had no idea how they ever put up with him back when they were nineteen.

7
After lunch, my assistant mentioned that Liam was downstairs.
No one at the office knew about his amnesia; they just assumed we’d had a fight. When I went down, I saw him pacing back and forth in front of the entrance, trying his best to look like a casual passerby.
“I heard you were looking for me?”
I walked toward him just as a breeze lifted my hair and sent my skirt swirling in a perfect arc. A faint blush crept up Liam’s ears.
He quickly looked away. “No, I wasn’t.”
He didn’t even realize he had started walking with his arm and leg on the same side moving in unison.
I smiled. “Oh.”
“I work here, and you just happen to be… taking a walk? What a coincidence.”
His ears turned a deeper shade of red.
I never thought I’d see the day the twenty-nine-year-old Liam, the king of dirty talk in bed, would blush like a schoolboy.
“I hope my being here isn’t causing you any trouble. The people in your office saw me.”
“Why would it be trouble? They all know you.”
A single leaf drifted down and landed on his shoulder. I reached up to brush it away.
Liam ducked his head, looking like a flustered boy who’d just been teased. “This isn’t right,” he muttered, yet he didn’t move an inch away from my touch.
“What’s not right about it?”
I leaned in closer, my breath ghosting over his earlobe. “Aren’t you trying to win me over?”
His entire body went rigid, and he stumbled back a step.
“You knew?”
I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Of course. You want to pursue me. But you have to give me some time to think about it, right?”
Liam clenched his fists. “Okay.”

8
I met Liam when he was twenty-seven. The young, accomplished, and impossibly poised CEO of a public company.
We were set up.
I had actually seen him once before our date. He was arguing with his parents about the very setup they were planning. He didn't want to get married. His father insisted that at twenty-seven, he was running out of time. He even pointed out that he and Liam’s mother had gotten married right after college, unlike their son, who apparently no woman wanted.
That was the first time I had ever seen the unflappable Liam lose his composure.
He couldn't win against his family, so he met with me. His attitude was cool and detached. But the very next day, his father showed up at my family’s door with a bride price.
After we got married, Liam rarely showed his emotions. We were like respectful roommates, except for when we were… fulfilling our marital duties. But that was fine. A relationship could be built slowly.
Dating the nineteen-year-old version of Liam felt like a chance to make up for the romance we’d missed by getting married so quickly.
And this stage—the flirting, the uncertainty—was always the most intoxicating part.

9
“What’s got you in such a good mood, man? You’re glowing. You even bought us dinner.”
Liam casually angled his phone so the screen was visible. My picture was his wallpaper. “I got her number on messaging.”
Chris glanced at it, and his vision went black for a second. “Dude… haha… congratulations.”
Just then, two new messages popped up on Liam’s screen. A slow smile spread across his face. He stood up. “I’ve got to go. The bill’s paid. You guys take your time.”
After he left, the room was silent.
“Are you kidding me?” Luke finally burst out. “He’s been moping around and sneaking out for days… all to get his own legal wife’s contact info?”
“...”
Liam started showing up at my office constantly, asking me to lunch, asking if I had plans after work. But his nineteen-year-old idea of dating was stuck at dinner and a movie. Anything beyond that… he was clueless.
During a movie, I gently brushed the back of his hand with mine. He instantly snatched his hand back and shoved it in his pocket. When he was driving me home, I asked him to buckle my seatbelt. He did it with his body held ramrod straight, managing not to touch me once.
This couldn’t go on.
“Liam,” I said one evening, “I have a husband. You know that, right?”
He looked down, the corners of his eyes turning red. His voice was barely a whisper. “Could you please stop toying with me?”
I took his hand. “Actually—”
Before I could finish, his phone rang. It was his college-aged cousin.
“Liam! You said you were gonna bring my sister-in-law to visit. When are you guys coming? I’ve been waiting forever!”
The muscles in Liam’s face froze. “Sister-in-law?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong? Bro, I heard you were in an accident. Don’t tell me you actually scrambled your brains. What’s up with you? I know they say you and her aren’t super close, but you can’t have forgotten something as big as your own marriage, right?”
Until that moment, it had never once crossed Liam’s mind that he might actually have a wife.
His entire world came crashing down.
He ripped his hand from mine.
“I’m so sorry!”

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