THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 394: You Can’t Marry Her!

"How do you know you’re in love?" Dolly’s voice wavered, sounding hoarse and fragile as if the words themselves pained her to speak.

Steffan leaned against the desk, his expression dreamy and unbothered. "I realized I can’t go another minute without her. She’s always on my mind, and when I don’t see her for even a day, I lose focus. She’s the last thing I think about when I go to bed and the first thing I think about when I wake up. What else could that be if not love?"

With every word Steffan spoke, the color drained from Dolly’s face until she was as pale as a sheet. She clutched the wall for support, feeling her legs threatening to buckle beneath her.

"And I’m pretty sure she feels the same way," Steffan continued, oblivious to Dolly’s distress. "We might even start planning our wedding soon."

Those words were the final blow. Dolly’s composure shattered, her emotions bubbling to the surface as her face twisted with a mixture of fury and desperation. She couldn’t hide her feelings any longer.

"You can’t marry her!" Dolly blurted out, her voice sharp and trembling.

"Excuse me?" Steffan asked, blinking in confusion.

"I mean... you can’t just jump into something as serious as marriage before you’ve regained your full memory!" Dolly’s voice was rising, barely controlled.

"It’s too risky, Steffan. There’s so much you don’t remember. What if... what if you had someone you loved deeply before all this? Someone you were planning to confess to before you lost your memory?"

Steffan stared at her, his brow furrowing. "What are you getting at, Dolly?"

Dolly took a shaky breath, her eyes burning with a blend of anger and unshed tears. "You’re making a huge mistake," she said mustered. "You’re basing everything on these feelings you have now, but they’re incomplete! You don’t even know your whole past, Steffan. How can you be so sure?"

Steffan’s gaze hardened. "I know what I feel," he said firmly. "And I’m not going to put my life on hold waiting for memories that might never come back. Lauren makes me happy now, and that’s enough for me."

Dolly’s hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms as she fought to keep her voice steady. "You’re throwing everything away for a fantasy! It’s reckless, Steffan!"

You know me Dolly. I’ve never been one to indulge in such. And there’s no way I would have loved someone. You can attest to that fact.

"Losing over five years of your memory is no small feat Steffan.... So much could have happened in the space of those years. Besides, if you could love now, what’s the possibility that you didn’t in the past five years?"

"So you’re saying..."

Dolly swallowed down the panic that threatened to overwhelm her and came closer, placing a hand over Steffan’s.

She exhaled deeply. "All I’m saying is that you should slow down a bit. I don’t want you to regret any rash decisions in the future when your memory eventually returns," Dolly pleaded while staring deep into a Steffan’s eyes.

Can’t he see the love she has for him? She was ready to do anything... anything for him. Can’t he see it? She’s been waiting for him all these years. What’s so special about that lousy barista that he couldn’t get her out of his mind even after such a devastating experience as losing his memory?

"See, Steffan, you know I care about you a lot and wouldn’t want you to do anything that will cause you pain later on."

"And what is it that will cause him pain?" Lauren’s mocking voice sounded from the door, startling the two people who were standing so close together that anyone could easily misinterpret the situation at first glance.

Both Steffan and Dolly were shocked to see her with a look on her face that like she’d had caught them cheating

"Y... you don’t ...understand..." Dolly began but was rudely cut off by Lauren.

"I understand enough to know that you’re coveting my man. You’ve been doing that from the first day I set eyes on you. And I just heard you confess to him. Or was that just a reassuring speech?"

"Why do you keep pretending? He clearly sees you as his fellow man but you wouldn’t admit that you’re lusting after him. How far are you ready to go in your deceit?" Lauren asked.

"You’re spewing nonsense."

"Am I?"

"Why were you just inches away from his face just now? Were you planning on giving him a sisterly kiss? Tell me," Lauren asked with a provocative tilt to her head

Dolly’s cheeks flushed with anger and at the same time embarrassed that Steffan might actually believe what Lauren had just revealed and stay away from her.

She tried to step back, but Steffan’s hand on her arm kept her in place, implying that she should stay calm which only stoked the fire in Lauren’s eyes.

"Lauren, it’s not what you think," Steffan began, his voice firm yet edged with a tinge of frustration as he glanced between the two women.

Lauren ignored him, her sharp gaze still fixed on Dolly. "Oh, I think I see exactly what’s going on. I leave you alone for a minute, and suddenly you’re allowing this conniving bitch, under the guise of a concerned friend, whisper doubts into your ears."

Her voice dripped with contempt, each word like a lash.

Dolly, still reeling from Lauren’s sudden appearance and insult, tried to compose herself. The last thing she wanted was to make Steffan get wary of her. She needed to clear the air immediately before it’s too late. "You’re wrong, Lauren. I’m just trying to protect Steffan..."

Lauren’s eyes flashed as she stepped closer. "Protect him? From what? From me?" She scoffed.

"The only thing Steffan needs protecting from is people who pretend to care while really just trying to pursue their own selfish agenda."

He still had a little hope for Dolly, though she had been acting strangely since he regained his memories.

He could still consider her as his buddy... there’s no way she would have fallen in love with him. Besides, he’s been seeing that she’s been spending more time in George’s company of recent though he wondered why they chose each other.

"Lauren..." Steffan’s voice held a low warning, but Lauren waved him off.

"No, Steffan, she needs to hear this. You’ve been hovering, always there with your little ’concerns,’ planting seeds of doubt. I see through you, Dolly. You’re not worried about him, you’re worried that you’ll finally miss your chances with him. I bet you’d been so happy when we couldn’t get married."

Dolly’s eyes flashed with panic. She opened her mouth to say something but her words stuck in her throat under Steffan’s piercing scrutiny.

After some seconds, she dared a glance at Steffan, hoping for some sign of trust no matter how infinitesimal, but he was unreadable, obviously caught between the intensity of Lauren’s accusations and her desperate attempts to plead her case.

She couldn’t just keep quiet so she finally shot back, her voice trembling with the strain of holding herself together. "Sh... she’s spewing nonsense Steffan. Don’t listen to her."

"Were you also aware that I was Lauren’s fiancée before I lost my memory!"