Chapter 154 What Am I To You?

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: What Am I To You?

The next morning arrived with clear, bright sunlight.

After letting Rebecca know they were heading out, Derrick walked down to the front entrance where Cassie was already waiting.

She wore a soft pink turtleneck sweater paired with fitted white pants. Her short blonde hair framed her face nicely, and her sharp black eyes gave the cute outfit a striking, stylish contrast.

Derrick looked at her for a moment. "You look great, Cass."

Cassie’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she quickly turned her head away. "Don’t state the obvious. Let’s just go."

Their first stop was a local movie theater downtown. Since most people preferred watching movies at home these days, the auditorium was almost empty.

The moment the lights went out, Cassie didn’t care about the screen at all.

’It really is just the two of us,’ Cassie thought, her heart beating fast.

She slid closer to Derrick, grabbing his arm and pulling it around her waist.

She rested her head on his broad shoulder, her fingers lightly tracing his leg in the dark.

She took full advantage of the empty room to stay glued to his side.

After the movie, they went to a pool hall inside a nearby arcade.

They grabbed a table in the back and played a few rounds. Cassie laughed genuinely for the first time in days whenever she made a good shot, her usual playful self coming back out.

But even while having fun, a sudden, cold fear kept creeping back into her mind.

’It feels so nice... just like old times,’ Cassie thought, watching Derrick easily sink a ball into the corner pocket. ’But what if he’s just doing this to make me feel better? What if I really end up losing him to Beth?’

The thought made her throat tight, making her chest ache with a quiet dread.

Once they had played enough, Derrick took her to a quiet, cozy cafe down the street. He picked an empty corner booth tucked away from the other tables.

They ordered their drinks, and as the waiter walked away, a heavy silence settled over them.

Cassie sat across from him, her hands tightly holding her glass. The cheerful mood from earlier was completely gone, replaced by a deep, complicated look in her black eyes as she stared down at the table.

Derrick saw right through her expression, reading the fear and hesitation flickering in her dark eyes like an open book. But he didn’t press her right away.

Instead, he acted as if he noticed nothing at all, maintaining his smooth, effortless demeanor.

"So, what do you want to eat and drink?" Derrick asked casually, leaning back against the plush booth seating as he opened the menu in front of him. "They have those chocolate tarts you used to order all the time."

Cassie blinked, pulled out of her dark spiral by his calm voice.

She looked up at his handsome face, her hands relaxing their tight grip on the water glass.

"I’ll have a chilled iced coffee with cream ... and the chocolate tart," Cassie said softly, her voice losing its sharp edge.

’He still remembers...’ Cassie thought, a soft wave of warmth melting some of the cold anxiety in her chest. ’Even after everything, he still knows what I like. No, wait...’

Suddenly her eyes went wide as she looked at Derrick in shock.

"Derrick..." Cassie gasped softly, her eyes wide as she stared at him in utter shock. "How... how do you know I like chocolate tarts?"

Her breath hitched, her fingers trembling against the smooth glass.

"Ever since you lost your memories... I never told you about this!" Cassie’s voice cracked, a sudden wave of hot tears blurring her black eyes as a crazy, terrifying hope surged through her heart. "Did you... did you regain your memories? Do you remember us?!"

Derrick remained completely calm. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he quietly circulated his enhanced energy, shaping an invisible barrier around their corner booth. The faint hum of the cafe ambient noise vanished, sealing their conversation inside a private bubble where no outside ear could listen in.

Outside the window, dark clouds rolled in fast, and heavy drops of rain suddenly began pouring down against the glass, blurring the world outside.

"Calm down, Cass," Derrick said, his deep voice smooth and steady.

He leaned forward, placing his hand over her trembling ones and giving them a reassuring squeeze. His black eyes held her gaze, serious and completely unreadable.

"Before you go jump to any conclusions," Derrick warned softly, the rain tapping hard against the pane beside them, "you need to sit still and listen to everything I have to say first."

Cassie bit her trembling lower lip, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs as she stared at his face, terrified of what he might say next.

"I got them back a long time ago, Cass," Derrick said softly.

Cassie gasped, her eyes widening as tears spilled over her cheeks. "You... you remember everything? Then why didn’t you say anything?! Why did you keep acting like a stranger?!"

"Because I knew if I told you, you and Rebecca would look at me and expect the old Derrick," Derrick explained calmly, his grip on her hands firm and steady. "And he’s gone."

Cassie froze, staring at him through a blur of tears. "What do you mean gone? You’re right here!"

"I have all the memories of growing up with you, every single detail," Derrick said, his tone heavy and truthful without revealing his past life.

"But when I woke up, something inside me changed completely."

"The memories came back like scenes from a movie I watched, not something I lived through. The old emotional attachments... they are not mine. So even though I am Derrick, I am not the same."

Cassie’s chest tightened, she could not help but stare at the table in silence as tears streamed down her face.

"Then... what am I to you?" she whispered, her voice cracking as fresh tears streamed down her face. "Was everything we built just... meaningless to you now?"