Amnesia's End: The Supreme Commander's Return

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On my wedding day, Silas crashed his car into my bridal limousine just to steal me away. He dragged me from the wreckage, and staring at my confused, amnesiac face, he buried his manic ecstasy and fed me a trembling lie. He claimed he was the love of my life.

For five years of marriage, he worshipped the ground I walked on. Until he got bored.

He smoothly slipped off his wedding band, his hands tenderly cradling the swollen belly of Peyton, the new civilian clerk on base. "Give me this child, and my life is yours," he murmured. "But the old rule stands. Celeste never finds out."

He had no idea his sweet little side piece recorded the whole thing. She texted it to me, gloating that it was time for the washed-up wife to step aside. But there was something else he did not know.

My memory was back.

Before Silas, my true obsessionmy actual fiancwas Evander, the Supreme Commander. Evander was drop-dead gorgeous, unhinged, and lethal when crossed. And we shared the exact same twisted nature.

Silas was a dead man walking.

Chapter 1

Silas hid his little mistress well. Too bad her ambition outgrew her brains. Peyton marched right up to my front door, flaunting her baby bump.

"Celeste, I'm carrying twins," she purred. "The doctor confirmed they are boys. Their daddy hates seeing me suffer. He massages my swollen feet every single night and waits until I fall asleep before he goes home to his old ball and chain. He just can't wait to meet his babies!"

My lips curved into a smile, masking the absolute ice sliding through my veins. "Did your baby's father ever actually tell you who I am?"

Silas was dying to see his kids. It was only polite for me to help him out. Thirty minutes later, an expedited package arrived at Silas's military base.

I sipped my tea, calmly pulling up the base security feed on my tablet.

The man received my box. The cold, hard lines of his face instantly melted into sickening tenderness. Then he ripped the tape.

His color drained.

Inside was an abortion clinic receipt. Right next to it rested two recognizable fetuses, suspended in a cold specimen jar.

An hour later, Silas burst through the front door. Peyton lay weeping hysterically on our guest bed.

"Silas, she killed them! She killed our babies!" she shrieked. "Kill this crazy bitch for me!"

Agony flashed through Silas's eyes. He lunged, his fingers clamping like an iron vise around my wrist. His voice shook with barely contained fury. "Celeste, she is just a junior clerk! Did you really have to go this far?"

Five years of marriage. This was the very first time he had ever raised his voice at me. And he did it for a homewrecker.

I whipped my phone out and slammed it against his chest. The screen glared with their leaked chat logs. Videos of Silas and Peyton making out in the supply closets and duty rooms. Texts where they mocked me, plotting how to kick me out of my own home.

"Your sweet little girl sent these to taunt me. As your wife, my feelings were hurt." I tilted my head. "Aren't I allowed to strike back?"

Silas froze. He shot a freezing glare at Peyton.

Then, his knees hit the floor. He knelt before me, his gaze instantly softening as his calloused hands wrapped around mine.

Chapter 2

"Celeste, you're overthinking this. I just didn't want to put your body through the trauma of childbirth. The plan was to let her have them, then bring them home for you to raise. I swear on my life, you're the only woman I'll ever love."

He meant it. I knew he did.

When we first talked about starting a family, he hooked himself up to one of those labor pain simulators. That was the first time I ever saw Silas cry. He crushed me against his chest. "Celeste, how could anything hurt that much? Let's forget about kids, okay? I can't bear the thought of you going through that."

So, to spare me the pain he knocked up another woman with twins?

I tilted my head, throwing a mocking glance at Peyton. Her eyes bulged, bloodshot with disbelief.

A soft, breathless laugh escaped me. "Silas, I have to hand it to you. That's ruthless. One sentence, and you managed to stab us both in the back. So, what is the move now? Whenever someone crossed me in the past, you didn't hesitate. You ruined their lives and ran them out of the state."

His trembling hands gave him away. Silence stretched before he finally spoke. "Celeste, I apologize on her behalf. What do I have to do to make this right? Tell me, so I can take her out of here."

Bile rose in my throat. A violent, destructive rage flared in my chest. He spun his pretty little lies and wore that cold mask, but ultimately, he was still protecting her!

My expression hardened into stone. I swept my arm across the console table, sending my antique porcelain crashing to the hardwood floor.

Silas didn't even blink. He kicked off his combat boots. He stepped right onto the jagged porcelain shards barefoot. Gathering Peyton in his arms, he walked out.

Crimson smeared across the pristine white shards. The sight made my eyelids twitch.

Silas was a psycho, but he was also the ultimate narcissist. Since the day I met him, I was the only person he had ever taken a bullet for. I was his only weakness.

My blood ran cold. Silas had no clue my memories had returned. And he definitely didn't know that I had actually started falling for him. There were moments I actually considered faking my amnesia forever, just to stay by his side.

But now

This rotten bastard and the homewrecker who thought she could steal my life. I would make them both pay.

After that day, Silas bombarded me with extravagant gifts. But his physical body practically lived in Peyton's barracks. Tonight's excuse? An emergency training drill. He told me he would be a few hours late.

The second his lie left his lips, Peyton's texts lit up my screen.

"Haha, regretting your life choices yet, old lady? So what if you killed my babies? It just made him obsessed with taking care of me. He cooks me special craving meals every single day now."

A video attachment loaded. A tall man in fatigues bustled around the tiny base kitchenette. Silas used to burn water. He took culinary classes just for me. And the dishes he was prepping for Peyton right now? All my personal favorites.

I stared at the food on the screen. The phantom scent of those dishes crawled up my nose. Acid churned in my gut. Damn him. He ruined my favorite meals.

Peyton's voice note played, dripping with venomous pride. "He also said he is giving me another baby tonight. As for you You're done, old lady."

The second the audio cut out, a heavy force slammed into the hood of my car.

Chapter 3

I looked up. Over a dozen ex-military guys in camo vests, their arms covered in heavy ink, boxed me in with baseball bats.

"You the one messing with my sister, Peyton?" Brock sneered.

I arched an eyebrow and calmly dialed Silas. Like always, he picked up on the first ring. "Silas. Peyton sent her veteran brother. They have me surrounded," I stated flatly.

A heavy, exasperated sigh hissed through the receiver. "Celeste, stop making things up, okay? She's just a civilian clerk. She doesn't have"

A dark smirk twisted my lips. I cut him right off. "I'm not going to fight back. Whatever they do to me is on you. Show up or don't."

I killed the call. The night air bit into my skin. I stared blankly at the changing traffic lights.

I only sat through three red lights before Silas materialized. He hit gridlock and literally abandoned his car to sprint here. He heaved for air, his chest violently rising and falling beneath his tight camo tactical shirt.

I studied him for a second and offered a soft smile. I totally lied to him.

The meatheads who had tried to lay their hands on me groaned on the asphalt, scattered like broken toys. My military academy combat training wasn't just for show.

Silas clenched his jaw, glaring holes into me. Then his wild eyes snagged on a fresh scratch running down my calf.

His anger shattered.

He dropped to his knees right in front of me, utterly defeated. His rough fingers curled around my ankle, shockingly gentle, as he pulled out an antiseptic wipe. The burning heat of his palm seared my bare skin. His ragged breathing washed over my leg.

"You just use my obsession against me!" he rasped. A thousand unspoken frustrations boiled in his blood, but this was the only way he dared to lash out.

In that split second, my chest tightened. A rare, stupid urge to explain myself clawed up my throat. "I didn't stage this. Peyton actually sent them."

Silas didn't even blink. "I already asked Peyton. She swore on her life it wasn't her. She is a simple, innocent girl. She isn't like"

The words choked in his throat. But the message slammed into me loud and clear.

She wasn't like me. Vicious. Calculated. Toxic.

A block of ice dropped into my stomach. The phantom warmth of his hand vanished. My expression hardened into stone.

I snatched my phone and dialed Delaney from the JAG office, staring straight into Silass eyes. "Draft my divorce papers. I'm coming to pick them up right now."

I shoved my boot against his shoulder, kicking him right out of the open car door, and slammed it shut. I cranked the engine.

He lunged. He planted himself dead center in front of my bumper. The night wind whipped through his dark hair. His eyes locked onto mineferal, defiant, and unhinged.

"Celeste!" he roared, the sound ripping raw from his throat. "You want a divorce? You're going to have to run me over to get it!"

The blinding headlights illuminated the absolute madness carving his features. I held his gaze. I slammed my foot on the gas.

Tires shrieked. The bumper halted mere inches from his kneecaps. Silas didn't flinch. Not a single millimeter. He just stared at me with that burning, psychotic hunger.

My teeth ground together. "Maniac," I hissed. I yanked the steering wheel and peeled out of there, feeling like I was the one running for my life.

A few days later, my phone buzzed with Peytons name. A total switch-up. She played the ultimate victim.

"Celeste, I want to apologize. I know how badly I messed up. I know I crossed the line. Please, just give me one chance to make it right?"

She dropped a pinned location, inviting me out to clear the air. Face to face.

I took the bait. I pulled up to a sprawling rose estate. One of Silas's private properties.

Peyton waited by the iron gates, dressed in a pure white sundress against a backdrop of violently red roses. She flashed a sickly-sweet smile. Acting like the lady of the house, she casually slid a key into the lock and pushed the gates open.

Then, my peripheral vision caught it. My entire body went rigid.

A massive, framed photograph stood right in front of the rose bushes.

Chapter 4

In the massive photograph, Peyton and Silas lay tangled in the blooming roses. Their fingers tightly interlaced. Their lips locked in a passionate kiss. A picture-perfect, sickeningly sweet moment.

The timestamp in the corner? Five years ago. Back before my amnesia even started.

Peytons sharp, manufactured giggle pierced my eardrums. "Celeste, I knew all about you way before you ever came into the picture. I even gave Silas tips on how to win you over."

It all clicked. She knew him long before I did.

He had recruited her straight out of some dead-end rural town. He had pulled her out of the dirt. She had nowhere to go, so he moved her right into his military-issued officer quarters.

Framed pictures plastered the entire hallway. Every single one captured her and Silas. This sprawling rose estate? He built it strictly for her.

She paraded me down the hall, narrating every single memory. A cold prickle crawled up my forearms.

The skin on my palms went completely numb.

Peytons gaze dropped to the diamond on my left hand. A smug grin stretched across her face. "Every single gift he ever gave you? I picked it out. Even that wedding ring. I told him I loved that cut, so he swiped his card."

She was lying. Or at least, twisting the truth.

Silas had curated dozens of custom designs and brought the velvet trays directly to me. I made the final choice.

It did not matter. The bile still rose hot and sour in the back of my throat.

I maintained an icy facade. I slid the diamond off my finger and flicked it straight into the thorny rose bushes.

A triumphant gleam flashed in Peyton's eyes. "Silas was so obsessed with you. It drove me insane. But it doesn't matter now. Guys always get bored eventually. I played the sweet, understanding girl. I told him I didn't need a title. I just begged for whatever leftover crumbs of affection you threw away. And guess what?"

She threw her head back, laughing like a maniac. "He dragged me into his bed! You were his perfect fantasy, but once he actually caught you, you just became yesterday's news. He's entirely sick of you. So do yourself a favor and get the hell out. Silas belongs to me now."

I stared at her. A slow, genuine smile curved my lips. "Since you're such a miserable bitch, I feel so much better."

Peyton blinked, her smug expression faltering into sudden confusion.

I arched an eyebrow. "Now, I don't have to feel a single drop of guilt."

While she stood there frozen, I kicked out. My heavy boot connected violently with the towering wine rack. Glass shattered. Gallons of vintage red wine bled across the pristine floorboards.

I pulled a metal lighter from my pocket. I flicked the wheel. The tiny, glowing flame illuminated the absolute terror crashing over Peytons face.

I dropped it.

The fire instantly exploded, swallowing the entire estate in roaring heat.

Silas arrived practically seconds later. He stared at the raging inferno trapping Peyton and me. The veins in his neck bulged, his eyes snapping wide with sheer panic.

"Silas, save me!" Peyton shrieked, her voice tearing her throat apart. "The fire is going to burn me alive! I just lost two babies for you!"

I tilted my head, studying Silas with dark amusement. I silently mouthed the words through the smoke. "Who do you save first?"

The violent orange glow exposed the brutal inner war tearing at his expression.

He made his choice.

He drenched his jacket in a bucket of water and charged straight toward Peyton. His desperate, frantic roar pierced through the cracking flames. "Celeste! I know your combat skills! You can make it out on your own, but Peyton can't!"

He scooped Peyton into his arms. Through the thick, swirling fire, Peyton tossed her head over his shoulder. She flashed me a sickening, victorious smirk.

I just smiled right back. I crossed my arms over my chest. I did not move a single muscle.

The flames roared higher, devouring everything.

Chapter 5

Silas caught me standing completely still. His jaw clenched tight.

He set Peyton down on the floor. He charged at me, throwing his soaking wet jacket over my head, and dragged me out of the inferno.

Disappointment curdled in my gut. What a shame. If he had just left me to burn, my divorce would be an absolute breeze. As for the other twisted feeling gnawing at my ribs? I shoved it down.

Only after I was safe did he turn back for Peyton. The second we cleared the doorway, the heavy oak trellis collapsed. It smashed right into Peyton's legs.

When Silas finally carried her out, her shrieks ripped through the night air. He was pissed. He shoved his shoulder hard against mine as he stalked past. "Escort my wife to the base hospital," he barked at the MPs.

Inside the sterile hospital room, thick gauze swallowed Peytons leg. She tugged at Silass sleeve, playing the ultimate angel. "Silas, please don't be mad. I'm fine. Don't blame Celeste for destroying the estate, and don't blame yourself for leaving me behind. It's all my fault"

Her eyes rimmed with red. She forced a brave, quivering smile, refusing to let the tears fall. The perfect, helpless victim.

Guilt and sickening affection drowned Silass eyes. He completely ignored my presence. He cupped her face, showering her with desperate, soothing kisses.

Then his gaze snapped to me, turning instantly lethal. "Celeste. You trespassed on restricted military property, committed arson, and nearly killed someone. You're going to apologize right now."

I flashed him a mocking grin. "No."

The lines on his forehead deepened. Peyton chimed in with her fake distress. "Silas, stop pushing her. Don't ruin your marriage over me!"

Then she shot me a lightning-fast, venomous smirk. Her thumbs flew across her phone screen.

A second later, a swarm of ruthless tabloid reporters barged right into the hospital room. Spencer shoved a microphone in my face. "Are you Major Silass wife? Rumor has it you set a junior clerk on fire out of pure jealousy. Care to comment?"

Dozens of camera lenses zoomed in on my face. Panic hijacked Silass features.

Five years ago, he moved heaven and earth to hide my amnesiac existence. He forged fake intel, sending Evanderthe man tearing the world apart to find meon a wild goose chase across the borders. He threatened every single media outlet to ensure my face never leaked to the press.

Now, he lunged toward me to block the cameras.

But Peyton conveniently stumbled into a reporter and collapsed. A theatrical scream left her lips. "Silas, my stomach! My stitches are ripping apart! Actually never mind. Go protect Celeste. I will crawl to the doctor myself. It's not like this is the first time you abandoned me for her."

A single, bitter tear slid down her cheek.

Silas froze. Through the chaotic sea of reporters and flashing bulbs, his eyes locked onto mine. "Again? You hired these reporters just to manipulate me? Celeste, I'm not falling for your gaslighting this time. Peyton is right. I spoiled you rotten for five years. It's time you learned a brutal lesson."

He scooped Peyton into his arms and spun around. "I'm so sorry, Peyton. I swear I'll never let her hurt you again."

Peering over his shoulder, Peyton tossed me a victorious, gloating look.

She won this round.

I grabbed my ribs. I choked on a hysterical laugh until tears stung my eyes.

Silas kept me locked away in the shadows for five years. All it took was one manipulative little clerk to completely shatter his fortress.

The hospital door slammed shut.

I turned directly to the blinding camera lenses. I slowly tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, smiling right down the barrel of the lens.

I knew he was watching.

If I dropped even a single breadcrumb, he would burn the world down to find me.

My real fianc, Evander.

Silass features contorted with crushing heartache. He clutched Peyton tighter against his chest. "Did you forget what I just promised you? For the rest of my life, I will never let Celeste hurt you again."

Dalton examined Peytons leg in the trauma bay. She sucked in sharp, dramatic breaths, trembling like a leaf.

Silas gripped her hand. A heavier wave of guilt swallowed his eyes. "Watch your hands!" he barked at Dalton. "Give her the top-shelf painkillers. Knock her out if you have to. I refuse to watch her suffer like this."

Silas practically owned this base hospital. Dalton nodded furiously, completely terrified.

Watching this, Peyton smiled. A silent, venomous victory. She had him entirely wrapped around her finger.

She fluttered her eyelashes, looking up at him with utter devotion. "Silas, please don't leave tonight. Stay right here with me?"

Silas stiffened.

Chapter 6

The image of Celeste's lifeless, empty eyes haunted his mind. A sharp spasm ripped through his chest.

Five years of marriage. He had never raised his voice at her once. But these past few days, he had barked at her over and over. A sudden urge to crawl back and beg for forgiveness clawed at his throat.

Right as he hesitated, Peyton stroked her flat stomach. A sickly, paper-white smile stretched her lips. "Forget it, Silas. Pretend I never asked. Go back to Celeste. I will be fine all by myself. It's just when I was suffocating in that fire, I swear I saw our little boys waiting for me in the smoke."

The muscles in Silass jaw snapped tight. He shook his head, burying his sudden guilt. He crouched down and gripped her fingers. "No. Celeste crossed the line this time. She needs the silent treatment. A brutal lesson. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you."

That night, the metal frame of Peytons hospital bed rattled relentlessly against the drywall. Her breathy, high-pitched moans echoed straight down the sterile hospital corridor. A completely deliberate performance.

Morning sunlight sliced through the blinds. Silas blinked through the haze of sleep. Sheer muscle memory took over. He blindly dragged the woman beside him hard against his bare chest. "Celeste, how did you sleep"

The words died in his throat. He stared at Peytons face. His entire body turned to stone.

Right. He hadn't gone home last night.

A violent wave of wrongness crashed over him. His skin crawled. A suffocating need to rush straight back to her side possessed him. He needed to see Celeste just to breathe normally again.

He forced a quick peck onto Peytons cheek. "Be good. I have business to handle. I'll catch you this afternoon."

He splashed cold water on his face. He grabbed his keys to leave. Then, his peripheral vision caught the morning news broadcasting on the wall-mounted TV.

His boots rooted to the floor as Celeste's face appeared in high definition, broadcasting directly on the national military channel.

Spencers voice boomed from the speakers. "Reports confirm the wife of Major Silas is under investigation for aggravated assault"

"Who authorized this footage?!" Silas roared, the sound ripping his vocal cords raw. "I gave strict orders! My wifes face never sees the light of day!"

Violent tremors hijacked his hands. He knew.

Evander had definitely seen the broadcast. Like an apex predator catching the scent of blood in the water. That maniac would burn the world to ash to come claim her.

"Silas" Peyton reached for his arm.

Silas shoved her backward.

He ripped the hospital door open and sprinted down the hall. He didn't even spare a single glance as her body slammed hard against the linoleum tiles.

Tires shrieked as his SUV tore down the highway. Silas gripped the steering wheel, his face a mask of absolute murder. He punched Tanners number.

Tanners terrified voice stammered through the Bluetooth speakers. "Major, I forced every network to pull the footage! I scrubbed the internal servers clean. I traced the origin. The order came straight from DoD Public Affairs. They assumed it was your direct command"

Silas's face darkened with a lethal rage.

Who else possessed the clearance and the deep-rooted military dynasty connections to bypass his authority? Only his wife.

A sickening, paralyzing realization seized his throat.

Did her memories return?

Chapter 7