Dear Immortal Tyrant

There was nothing money couldn't buy. People used to say money couldn't buy happiness or love. The same people saying that would rather cry in a sports car than on a bike. 

Happiness was a luxury that couldn't be afforded, by the rich or the poor. Love wasn't something that could feed the stomach or cure disease. What was the point of chasing happiness if it was only momentary? Money was forever.

"Someone call this police, this man is a child kidnapper!" Lina cried out, but to no avail.

All the nurses and doctors glanced away at her protests. Her voice was hoarse from screaming, but there were no visible injuries on her body. In fact, the heiress was dressed in designer clothes so expensive that the brand wasn't imprinted on the materials. 

"C-Chairman DeHaven!"

When the hospital chairman heard who was in the building, he rushed out of bed and ran there, barely dressed in a suit and tie. He was huffing and puffing from racing down the hallways in hope of appeasing one of the most frightening and mysterious families in all of Ritan.

House DeHaven controlled Ritan from behind the scenes. They were an immovable force whose technology could rule the world if they wished. They swept through the business industry with their market cap and shares. Their names were seldom mentioned in the creator of apps, but everyone recognized who owned the largest and most-utilized platforms in the world.

In an era of technology, no one was wealthier than the ones who controlled it.

"Call my grandfather here right this instant!" Lina shouted at the strange man in a messy tie and unironed suit. Struggling against the handcuffs to the bed, she tried to convince every person in the room. No one was listening to her. Why weren't they listening? 

Lina was a kidnapped victim!

"What is the meaning of your shitty doctors?" Kaden calmly asked, seated in the hospital chair. With his ankle crossed over his knee, he resembled a King on his high throne. A dark expression flashed on his face when the hospital owner's expression paled.

"W-we hire only the highest performing students from world-renowned medical schools. All the doctors that arrived to examine your wife are leaders in their field, prodigies that not even money can buy," the hospital chairman attempted to explain, but his voice trembled before the man who could squash his family like bugs.

"You must've hired fools over prodigies," Kaden sneered, his lips curling in disgust.

"Chairman—"

"Get out."

The hospital chairman didn't dare to deny him. He quickly ran out of the room with his tail tucked between his legs. He didn't need to be told twice. Everyone fled from this room like it was on fire. 

Lina could do nothing, but watch them all disappear. Her eyes trembled with the realization that nothing would be changed. No one was going to help her. She was going to help herself. For a young girl like her, she knew that'd be an impossible task. But the world had never been kind to her, and all her life, she had been controlled.

"You're telling me she gained amnesia overnight?" Sebastian muttered under his breath, pacing back and forth in disbelief. He nibbled on his nails and glanced at the woman in bed.

Lina was handcuffed to the bed frames. The hospital room was large and wide, with couches, locked windows, and modern furniture. All of it was nothing, but a pretty cage. 

"I don't have amnesia, you two are crazy and once I get out, I'm going to have you hanged!" Lina hissed.

"That's definitely my wife right there," Kaden muttered under his breath, leaning back in his chair. He released an irritated sigh, not because of her, but because of how incompetent everyone was being.

Kaden pressed his lips together when their eyes met. She glared furiously at him. If she believed in a god, she'd pray to it that he'd drop dead on the spot. Too bad for her, there was no god to help the two of them. He crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze.

Lina rejected his kindness. She rejected his adoration. He hadn't necessarily given up. He had simply given her a break. He'd overwhelm her with his love later. She was behaving like a wounded animal licking its own injury. He'd give her the space she wanted if that's what she wished for. All stray and unhesitant pets needed time to cool off before they warmed up.

"What about the wedding?" Sebastian whispered, so only the two could hear.

"We'll give it a month."

Sebastian swallowed. Lina and Kaden were going to have the biggest political marriage of the century. The entire world would be tuning in. Everyone would want to have a view of the two, but it'd be impossible. Paparazzi were off-limits and cameras weren't allowed inside. Not even unreliable photographers would be hired.

"Kaden, was it?"

Kaden's attention snapped to her. He made no indication of responding, but he also didn't ignore her. Instead, he observed her like a science experiment. She befuddled him. Right when he thought he had her, she slipped right through his fingers. Who's fault was it? His and only his.

Kaden couldn't maintain his frustration. He couldn't remain angry at her. He was furious at himself, but never her. If he had just listened, if he didn't let his emotions overtake him… if he wasn't so greedy…

"You'll get your ransom," Lina stubbornly said. "As much as I dislike it, I am a Yang and we look out for each other. If you contact my grandfather, he'll surely pay you a ransom as handsome as you and give—"

"She sounds like your wife," Sebastian commented to Kaden.

Kaden snorted in response, rolling his eyes. Give it to Lina to call her "kidnapper" handsome. She'd charm a shoe if she could. And he bet she would, if given the chance. But he was no shoe, nor a normal man, and right now, her charms were as good as nothing. 

"You mean the grandfather that groomed you into becoming a chairwoman and only loves you for your achievements? Yeah, sure," Kaden dryly commented.

Lina clamped her mouth shut. She glared at the blankets because as forgetful as she was, she knew he was telling the truth. 

"How old do you think you are?" Kaden finally asked. If she didn't remember him, then she was either stupid or young in the head. Neither was favorable circumstances.

"What do you mean how old do I think I am? How can my age be anything, but what I say it is?" Lina retorted.

"Answer the question, dove."

"Would you stop calling me a pigeon!"

"A dove is not a flying rat," Kaden deadpanned.

Sebastian blinked. Pigeons were flying rats now? He thought about the idea. It could be true, honestly. Pigeons carry as many diseases as rats. Whilst rats polluted the sewers, pigeons polluted the sky.

"It's a horrible nickname and you need some creativity lessons," Lina snapped at him.

"Oh yeah, you definitely think you're a teeenager," Kaden dryly remarked.

"That's because I am," Lina hissed at him. "I'm sixteen, you crazy—"

"Your birth certificate and every file on record say you're twenty-two."

"W-what—"

"She's lost five years of memories," Kaden muttered to Sebastian. Without another word, he rose to his feet and deeply frowned. If those damn MRI scans wouldn't come, he'd get it himself.

"Shall we try hypnotherapy, Boss?" Sebastian whispered as they approached the door.

Sebastian eyed the woman like she had rabies. She curled her lips and glared at him. If she wasn't cuffed to the bed, he was certain she'd jump them. Maybe she'd even bite him. It was a good thing the cuff was stronger than the ones that police use. How did they manage to acquire such a thing? It was best to not ask.

"No," Kaden instantly said. "She needs to heal on her own. And it's best not to subject her to more trauma than she already has."

Sebastian nodded in agreement. He instructed the bodyguards to keep a close watch over her. He called for more reinforcements. 

"I hope the door hits you on your way out!" Lina shouted at them.

"Wouldn't keep your hopes up," Kaden responded over his shoulder, slamming the door shut.

Sebastian quickly followed his Boss out of the heavily guarded room. The room's defence was impenetrable and no one else, but the two of them would ever know who was inside. All of the doctors and nurses that set foot into the room were forced to sign NDAs.

No matter the walls they set up, holes were always bound to appear—holes that let in nosy little rats.