I Forgot You Ever Existed

Everything changed the day my parents brought Daisy home.

My parents, my older brother, my fiancthe entire axis of my world tilted in her favor. I went from being the Huntington familys crown jewel to a pariah, unwanted and unseen.

Every scream, every tear, every desperate clawing for attention was just an attempt to reclaim a fraction of the love Id lost, but it was all futile.

Then, just as I decided to let go of everything, my mind shattered. I developed dissociative amnesia.

The doctor called it a defense mechanism; my brain simply chose to delete the people and memories that caused me pain.

At Daisys engagement party to my fianc, I looked at him and saw a stranger.

On my birthday, which I spent entirely alone, I forgot the brother who once swore to protect me forever.

And on the day my parents threatened to disown me for Daisys sake, I forgot I even had parents.

In the end, I left the city without a backward glance, unburdened and free.

And that was when they all began to regret.

01

"Blair, are you done making a scene yet?" Harrisons voice drifted up from the living room, dripping with disgust.

I stood at the top of the grand staircase, looking down at the tableau below.

My parents, Archer, and Harrison were all clustered around Daisy, seated on the plush velvet sofa. When they looked up at me, their eyes held nothing but estrangement and loathing.

It felt as though the marble steps beneath my feet had physically cleaved the world in two.

In their world, Daisy was the fragile princess, the celestial body around which they all orbited. I was the villain in her story, the malicious stepsister whose every breath was met with impatience and defensiveness.

But in my world, it felt like standing in a freezing, ceaseless downpour. I was running aimlessly, soaked to the bone, unable to find a single overhang to shelter me.

It wasnt always like this.

I forced my face into a mask of indifference, though my eyes betrayed a hollow confusion.

Before Daisy arrived, I was the cherished daughter. I was spoiled, yes, but I was loved.

My parents were busy, high-powered executives constantly flying between New York and London, but whenever my father came home, he would catch me as I launched myself into his arms, lifting me high into the air.

"Did my little Blair Bear miss her daddy?" hed ask, his voice thick with indulgence.

And if I screamed, "Yes!" he would laugh, rubbing his stubbled cheek against mine until I shrieked with giggles. The gifts they brought back would practically bury me.

Even when they were away, I was never lonely.

I had the best big brother in the world, and the gentlest boy next door.

Archer and Harrison filled the silence of the big house. Even though Archer was five years older, neither of them ever treated me like a nuisance. They played my childish games with infinite patience.

I basked in that golden glow until I was seventeen. That was the year my parents brought home a girl my age. Daisy.

And the lights went out.

Daisy was the daughter of my mothers college roommate, a woman named Florence. They had stayed in touch over the years, though Florence, proud and middle-class, refused to take handouts from the wealthy Huntingtons. Their friendship lived mostly in emails and holiday cards.

Then came the car accident that killed Daisys parents.

My mother, heartbroken for the girl and furious at relatives who were tossing Daisy around like a hot potato, decided to take her in.

"Blair," my mother had said, her hands on my shoulders, "Daisy is tragic and fragile. You need to yield to her. Make space."

I made space. And in doing so, I lost my place entirely.

02

Daisy and I were nothing alike. She was delicate, ethereal, with eyes that always seemed to be brimming with unshed tears. If anyone raised their voice a decibel above a whisper, she would crumble.

On the very first day, I made her cry.

All I did was call out "Mom."

The word apparently triggered Daisys grief for her deceased parents. I stood there, stunned, as my mother shot me a look of sharp reprimand, forcing me to take a stumbling step back.

In the first month, I was accused of pushing her into the lake.

Behind the Huntington estate lies a sprawling garden centered around a private lake. Near the water stands a treehouse my father commissioned for me when I was six. It was my sanctuary.

Daisy was always crying. Mom said she missed her parents.

Mom insisted I take Daisy to the treehouse. I refused.

The treehouse was mine. It was the repository of my secrets, the place where I watched the stars when I was sad, the place where Archer would always find me to wipe away my tears.

"Can't we go somewhere else?" I asked, reluctant.

"It's okay, Auntie," Daisy said, her voice thin and trembling. "If Blair doesn't like it, I won't go."

My mothers voice sharpened, leaving no room for argument. "Blair Huntington, is this how I raised you?"

Defeated, I led Daisy to the garden. Standing by the lake, looking at my sanctuary, I felt a sullen heaviness. But I swallowed it, ready to play the good hostess.

That was when Daisy stumbled. She collided with me, and we both toppled into the dark water.

By the time they found us, the cold had seeped into my bones, sapping my strength.

Through the hazy, waterlogged blur, I saw Archer swimming toward me. My heart screamed, Archer, save me, please save me.

But from the shore, my mothers voice pierced the air like a hammer, shattering my hope.

"Archer! Get Daisy first! Shes weak! If anything happens to her, how will I explain it to the dead?"

In my despair, I saw Archer hesitate. He looked at mea look of agonizing guiltand then turned his back on me, swimming toward Daisy.

I opened my mouth to scream his name, but the bitter lake water rushed in, filling me up like the grief that would soon drown my life.

I was eventually hauled out by security.

Daisy recovered quickly. I, however, had inhaled too much water and lay in a coma for three days.

When I woke up, the world had rewritten itself.

My mother looked at me with pure disgust. "I can't believe I raised such a vicious daughter."

My father shook his head, disappointment etched into his features. "Blair, we taught you to be kind."

Archer looked at me with a mix of guilt and confusion. "She wasn't a threat to you, Blair. Why did you try to drown her?"

Thats when I learned that Daisy had woken up three days prior.

She had spun a tale through her tears: I had pushed her. I had told her I would only be happy if she disappeared.

"That's not true!" I screamed, my throat raw. "I didn't push her! She fell into me!"

But truth is a currency, and I was bankrupt. The more I explained, the more guilty I looked.

From that day on, the pampered princess became the villain.

I couldn't do anything right. If I crossed paths with Daisy, I was accused of bullying her.

When my parents returned from business trips, they brought gifts only for Daisy. I was forgotten.

After six months, I finally exploded. "Mom, Dad, who is your actual daughter? This is cruel!"

I saw a flicker of guilt in my mothers eyes, but she quickly armored herself in self-righteousness. "Daisy has no one. We have to care for her more. Why are you so petty? Youre nothing like me."

My father sighed, reaching for his wallet. "Heres a card, Blair. Go buy yourself something nice, okay?"

But Daisy was crying again. That soft, inescapable sound.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, ensuring everyone heard. "It's my fault. I don't want the gifts. Give them to Blair."

My mothers face hardened. "Blair, look at yourself. We are so disappointed in you."

I watched Archer wipe Daisys tears and felt a chasm open up between us.

I was terrified. I was insecure. I was heartbroken.

But I only knew how to be proud. I bit my lip and shouted, "I don't want your charity!" before running to my room.

I refused to cry. Dad used to say, Blair is a princess, and a princesss tears are diamonds. You can't waste them.

I tossed and turned that night, agonizing over the why.

Was Daisy simply more lovable?

The acid of jealousy burned in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

But I wouldnt lose. My pride wouldn't let me bow.

I decided that if Daisy had stolen everything, I would simply steal it back.

03

From seventeen to twenty-three.

I spent six years learning a brutal lesson: The tighter you try to grasp sand, the faster it slips through your fingers.

I became a complete failure. Family, love, careerI had nothing.

All I possessed was my parents' irritation, Archers cold indifference, and Harrisons resentment.

I lifted my chin, mimicking the posture of the princesses in the stories Harrison used to read to me. A princess never bows her head.

"I'm done making scenes," I said, my voice steady.

I looked down at the group in the living roomthe people I once thought were my eternal safety net. My family.

My lips curved into a faint, ironic smile. "Youre all a happy family now. What reason do I have to cause trouble?"

Archer looked up at me. His finger twitched. He knew me best; he had watched me grow from a newborn into a woman.

Something in my tone made him flinch, a sudden, inexplicable panic rising in his chest.

But before he could grasp that feeling, Mom spoke, shattering the moment.

"Blair, I don't care what game you're playing. Tomorrow is Daisys engagement party, and you will be there."

Tomorrow. Daisy and Harrison.

It had taken me a month to process the reality of it. Or rather, to be forced to swallow it.

I tilted my head, my hand instinctively brushing the fresh bandage on my arm beneath my sleeve.

Mom must have forgotten. When I was seven, Harrison had stripped the thorns off a rose from his mothers garden with his clumsy little fingers and brought it to me.

"Blair," he had whispered, "when we grow up, can I marry you?"

Our parents and Archer had laughed at the two toddlers making life plans.

But Harrison hadnt laughed. He stood there, blushing and earnest.

"Harrison," my mom had teased, "do you know what marriage means?"

"It means protecting Blair forever," he had said solemnly. "Shes so delicate, Auntie. No one else will take care of her properly."

Every year on that day, he would ask the room, "Am I big enough yet? Can I marry Blair now?"

It wasn't until middle school that he realized how silly hed been, but he still took my hand that year and said, "Blair, I promise. Ill make you my wife one day."

The boy who promised to protect me forever was now standing in front of Daisy, looking at me with hatred, as if I were a monster about to strike.

I felt suddenly exhausted.

I had wasted my life in this house, tallying up moments of affection like a miser, comparing my share to Daisys.

If I got a scrap more, I was happy. If I got a scrap less, I crumbled.

Somewhere along the way, I had lost myself. And for what? To be branded the villain?

These people downstairs were my blood, my heart. If they didn't love me, who ever would?

I had tried. God, I had tried.

Maybe my childhood had been too happy, and now the universe was balancing the ledger. Since seventeen, I had been paying off a debt I didn't know I owed.

I nodded. "Understood. I'll be there."

I didn't have the energy to decipher their expressionsshock, relief, suspicionas I turned and walked back to my room.

04

The moment the door clicked shut, the steel rod in my spine dissolved.

I slid down the wood to the floor. My mind was a blur of everything and nothing, the world feeling distant, as if wrapped in gauze.

My fingers absently traced the scab on my arm.

I had used a razor blade a few days ago.

For the last year, the desire to leave this world had grown from a whisper to a roar.

With Daisy here, my death wouldn't leave a ripple in their lives.

Yet, I kept struggling to breathe.

Every time I held the blade, memories of childhood warmth would flood inunwanted, uninvitedweakening my grip.

I unlocked my phone. My contacts list was a wasteland.

Since Daisy arrived, I had been tethered to her. I got into an Ivy League school; Daisy didn't. Mom donated a new library wing to force her in.

After graduation, I joined the family business. Daisy was immediately placed in my department.

Thanks to her performance, everyone saw me as the high-handed, temperamental heiress. No one wanted to get close to me.

Daisy was the trembling victim, easily winning hearts and buying "friends" with Huntington money.

I had nowhere to vent.

Resentment, numbness, and agony bounced around inside my ribcage, threatening to tear me apart from the inside out.

I curled into a ball on the plush carpet.

After a long silence, a single tear escaped.

Dad, you lied. My tears aren't diamonds. No one cares if I cry.

I wanted to scream, to run downstairs and shake them. Tell me! What do you want me to do?

But instead, I pulled my knees tighter to my chest.

Sleep, Blair. Just sleep.

When you close your eyes, the day ends.

My sleep was jagged, eyes darting beneath lids, breathing shallow and fast.

But as dawn approached, a strange calm settled over me. My breathing steadied.

I woke to a pounding on the door.

I pushed my aching body off the floor and opened it.

Archer stood there, cold and impatient. "Why aren't you ready? It's Daisys engagement party. Don't tell me your princess syndrome is flaring up again?"

My head throbbed. I ignored his taunt.

Perhaps seeing how pale I was, his voice softened imperceptibly. "What's wrong with you?"

I took a step back. "Nothing."

He looked offended by my distance. "Blair, you used to be so sweet. You used to"

"I'm tired of hearing about what I used to be. Go be with your favorite sister. If you keep talking, I really will miss the party."

I shut the door in his shocked face.

As the warm water of the shower hit my skin, I frowned.

Engagement party?

Daisy and... who?

05

It wasn't until I was dressed, seated in the car, and arriving at the luxury hotel that I saw the photo outside.

I read the names on the welcome board. "Daisy... Harrison."

When I said the second name, a faint confusion floated in my voice.

Harrison.

It sounded familiar. But when I searched the archives of my mind, the file was missing.

I followed the guests into the banquet hall, moving like a ghost.

Everyone was terrified I would cause a scene, so I had been essentially banished to the foyer, mingling with distant acquaintances rather than family.

Cause a scene? Why would I do that?

"Well, well. If it isn't the difficult Miss Huntington." A shrill voice grated on my ears.

I looked over. Harper. Daisys attack dog.

For years, she had been Daisys loyal shadow, taking every opportunity to mock me. Usually, I would bite back.

I lifted my chin. "Still auditioning for the role of family servant? Being Daisys lackey isn't enough?"

Harper eyed my custom couture gown with envy before sneering. "Youve only got your mouth left. Everyone knows today is Daisy and Harrisons day. Even your parents can't stand you. Maybe you should reflect on why."

Usually, these words would sting. I would yell, causing a commotion.

But strangely, clarity washed over me.

To the outside world, I was pathetic. Why was I holding on?

"So?" I asked, my voice flat. "Even if you fight Daisys battles, my parents aren't going to adopt you too."

Harper blinked, surprised I hadn't taken the bait.

Usually, Daisy would swoop in about now, crying and hiding behind Archer until Mom scolded me.

"Harrison and Daisy are getting engaged," Harper pressed. "Theyre soulmates."

I nodded agreeably. "Sure. Soulmates."

"He doesn't love you anymore, Blair. Pretending to be calm won't bring him back."

With a sneer, she "accidentally" tipped her glass of red wine. The crimson liquid splashed across the front of my dress.

"Blair! What are you doing?!" she shrieked.

Heads turned.

The ceremony was about to begin. Harrison and Daisy were walking toward the stage.

Whispers crawled into my ears.

"That's the biological daughter. The black sheep."

"The Huntingtons prefer the adopted girl."

"Imagine being so toxic your own parents choose a stranger over you."

"She's lucky they haven't disowned her."

"Marrying the adopted daughter is the same for the business merger, anyway."

My hand clenched the fabric of my dress.

"Blair, not again!" Archer marched over, brows furrowed. "Sorry everyone, please continue."

I looked at him calmly. "Harper threw the wine on me."

Archer scoffed. "Always the victim. You just want to ruin this for Harrison, don't you? You need to grow up. Feelings change. Harrison loves Daisy. Why can't you accept that?"

His voice was drowned out by the officiant.

"Two hearts, one vow..."

I heard something snap in my mind. A clean, sharp break.

I looked at Archer. "Why can't I accept it?"

He sighed. "Blair, if Daisy hadn't insisted, you wouldn't even be allowed here. She treats you like a sister. She wanted you to witness her happiness. Just be good, okay?"

06

As Archer dragged me out of the banquet hall, I wondered: Was I really not good?

He stopped a few feet away from the doors. "Let go of your obsession with Harrison. The childhood stuff was just a joke. Don't take it seriously."

He shoved a credit card into my hand, dismissing me. "Go buy a new dress. Change. We have a family dinner tonight. Don't be rude."

I looked at him and finally asked the question that had plagued me all morning.

"Who is Harrison?"

Archers face contorted. "Blair, stop it." He rubbed his face in frustration. "Who am I?"

"Archer," I said lightly.

"And who am I to you?"

"My brother."

"See? You remember. Youre terrible at faking amnesia. I have a speech to give. If you cause one more problem, I really won't defend you anymore."

He glared at me. "It's been six years. Stop being selfish. Just be a sister to Daisy, alright?"

I didn't answer. I just held the card.

The heavy doors of the banquet hall swung shut, sealing my past inside.

I walked slowly out of the hotel.

The red wine stain looked like a gaping wound on my chest.

I used to panic if there was a single wrinkle in my clothes. Now, after years of emotional battering, I didn't care.

I walked until I reached the bridge overlooking the river.

I stood on my toes, peering over the railing at the dark water.

I heard that when you die, you get a next life.

Would my next parents love me?

Hope flickered in my chest. Maybe next time, Id get to be the happy one.

Without thinking, I reached out, struggling to hoist myself over the cold metal railing.

"Excuse me."

A deep, magnetic voice spoke from behind me.

07

A suit jacket, still warm from body heat, was wrapped around my waist. Strong hands gripped me, lifting me effortlessly back onto the pavement.

I turned around.

First impression: A man.

Second impression: Old money.

He was wearing a black shirt, buttoned all the way to the toprepressed, austere.

I couldn't guess his age, but his aura was terrifyingly calm. His eyes were like the deep ocean, steady and unreadable.

He stepped back politely.

"What are you doing?" I snapped. Old habits die hard; defensiveness was my armor.

He didn't frown. He just tilted his head. "You were flashing the traffic."

I almost laughed. I wanted to die, and he was worried about my modesty?

I thought he was going to give me a "life is worth living" speech.

I pursed my lips, the suicidal impulse fading. I wasn't that fragile.

"Thank you," I mumbled, looking down.

"Mr. Roman, it's 2:10," a man said, stepping out of a black Maybach parked nearby.

The manRomanlooked at me.

I moved to hand the jacket back.

"Keep it," he said, his voice cool. "Your dress is ruined."

He got in the car without another word.

I stood there holding the jacket, and found a business card in the pocket.

Roman.

I had heard Archer mention him. The head of one of the city's oldest dynasties. A shark in the business world, barely thirty but feared by men twice his age. Archer worshiped him.

On the back was a private number.

It was probably an accident. I didn't want to owe a man like that anything.

I tore the card into confetti and tossed it into the river.

Before I went home, I threw the jacket in a dumpster.

By the time I walked back to the villa, it was dark.

My parents and Archer were in the living room. Daisy was sobbing softly.

As soon as I entered, my mother stood up and swept a crystal fruit bowl off the coffee table.

Crash.

"Blair! You didn't come back to the dinner! Harrisons parents think you disapprove of the marriage! Theyre looking at Daisy differently now!"

My feet were bleeding from walking miles in heels, but no one looked down.

I looked at the scene I had lived a thousand times.

"Daisy," I asked, "aren't you tired of crying for six years?"

Daisy froze, then wailed louder. "I know you hate me, Blair! I'm sorry! I just wanted a family! I'm sorry I'm so greedy for Mom and Dad and Archer's love..."

Mom pulled her into a hug, glaring at me. "Blair, you have turned this house into a war zone. If you can't behave, I'm cutting you off."

I stood straight. It had never been about the money. It was about the love.

"Mom," I said, the word fragile on my tongue, "why does her need for a family mean destroying mine?"

08

For a second, my mother faltered.

But then Daisy whimpered, looking like a wilted white flower. "I shouldn't have come here. I'll leave so Blair isn't angry."

Mom's face hardened into stone. "Don't think a few pathetic words will fix this. Blair, until you genuinely accept Daisy as your sister, you don't get a dime."

I looked at my father. He looked away.

I looked at Archer. He was handing Daisy a tissue.

"Okay," I nodded. "I understand."

If I fought, I lost. If I surrendered, I lost.

"Since youre so stubborn," Mom said coldly, "don't bother sleeping here tonight. Pack your bags."

I stiffened, then nodded.

No one remembered that tomorrow was my birthday.

I went to my room, dragged out a suitcase, and threw in some clothes.

I sat in the dark, waiting for dawn.

Before Daisy, the night before my birthday was magical. I would go to sleep buzzing with excitement.

I would wake up to Archer waiting at my door to lead me to the "Gift Room."

He would spend the whole day with me. At midnight, he would give me a necklace. "Our little princess is a year older."

After Daisy arrived, she watched my birthday celebration and then swallowed a handful of sleeping pills.

After that, no one celebrated my birthday.

Only Archer would remember to buy a small cake.

I waited all day. Archer didn't come with a cake.

I dragged my suitcase to the front door just as Archer and Daisy walked in.

"Why are you still here?" Archer frowned. "Mom told you to leave."

I walked past him without a word.

I caught Daisys triumphant smirk in my peripheral vision.

I wasn't a princess. Princesses are brave. I just wanted to run and forget.

I couldn't beat Daisy. So I surrendered.

Walking out of the gates, I felt strangely light.

I had no money, just a suitcase, walking until the world spun.

Blackness took me.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital room.

A man was sitting there. The guy who got engaged to Daisy.

I searched the depths of my mind for his name.

"Harrison?"

It felt foreign on my tongue.

"What did you call me?" He looked angry.

Was that wrong? Maybe he preferred a title.

"Brother-in-law?" I tried.

Harrison looked agitated. "Call me what you used to call me. I'm just engaged to Daisy. Our feelings haven't changed."

I propped myself up. "Used to?"

"Did we know each other before?"

09

Harrison stood frozen, staring at me with horror. He slammed his hand on the nurse call button.

His fingers were trembling.

Weird. Isn't he Daisys fianc? Why is he panicking because I forgot him?

Doctors and nurses swarmed in.

"We need a psych consult," one said. "No head trauma. She fainted from exhaustion."

I thought about it. Why didn't I sleep?

I couldn't remember.

So I lay back. My parents kicked me out because of Daisy. I accepted that. But the years before that...

Huh?

The memories were foggy, chopped up, missing key frames.

The psychiatrist arrived.

"Dissociative Amnesia," he concluded. "The patient has undergone severe stress and has subconsciously chosen to block out painful memories. Recovery depends on her willingness to remember. There is no pill for this."

I smiled at the doctor. "Thank you. I don't need treatment. If the memories hurt, I'm better off without them."

Behind the doctor, a glass crashed to the floor.