Page 154 of One of Those Amnesia Stories

The door clicked shut behind me.

Maybe you weren’t as bad as I thought.

It wasn’t forgiveness. It wasn’t a second chance. It was a crack of light in a door I thought was sealed forever. And for now, that was more than I had dared to hope for.

Chapter 26

“Alessia?” Cassian’s voice was pitched in an unconvincing register of surprise. “What a coincidence to see you here!”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Coincidence.

We were standing at the entrance of a paintball arena. The restaurant launch was consuming me. Every detail, every decision felt monumental. It wasn’t just another project; it was my case to Mrs. Garcia. My evidence that I was still worth her trust, her partnership, her second chance. The pressure had coiled so tightly in my chest that Naija had finally taken my laptop away yesterday and announced an intervention.

Hence, paintball.

Now, here we were. Me, Naija, Felicity.

And Cassian. And Liam. And—

My gaze slid past Cassian’s forced smile and landed on Rohan.

Rohan, who had been in my office yesterday to sign the contract for his second modeling shoot. Rohan, who had sat there quietly, pen in hand, while Naija and Felicity loudly confirmed the time and location for today.

Rohan, who was suddenly very, very interested in the safety waiver sign pinned to the wall. His neck was flushed a deep, guilty pink.

“Uh-huh,” I said to Cassian, my voice flat. My eyes stayed locked on Rohan, who was now examining his shoelaces. “What a coincidence.”

Cassian smiled at me, that unguarded, hopeful smile I was seeing more of lately. “Well, since we’re all here together… why don’t we just go inside and play together?”

I dragged my gaze to his. “And why would we do that?”

His smile widened, a glint in his eye. “You’d have more people to shoot.”

That… would be fun.

I glanced at Naija. Her expression had shifted from annoyed to calculating. She gave me a small, approving nod. Felicity, as always, was here for moral support and snacks.

“Are we doing teams?” Liam piped up. “Girls versus boys?”

“Absolutely not.” Cassian’s response was immediate, almost defensive. “I’m on Alessia’s team.” He caught my glance and added, too quickly, “What? I want to win.”

“So you’ve already chosen,” Liam said flatly. “Then I get to pick.”

“I didn’t choose anyone—”

“Rohan,” Liam announced, as if I hadn’t spoken at all.

“Fine.” I crossed my arms. “I choose Naija.”

Felicity’s head snapped toward me, wounded. “Sia!”

I winced. “I would’ve picked you, El, but… you know.” I gestured vaguely. “The shooting people thing.”

She sighed. “Fair enough.” She turned to Liam with a helpful, almost apologetic expression. “Just so you know, I’ve never actually played. I mean, I’ve been to paintball, but I usually just stand behind Naija or Alessia and let them handle the actual… shooting parts.”

Liam gave her a reassuring smile. “That’s fine. You can do the same here. Rohan and I will handle everything.”