Chapter 1
I woke up from my slumber.
The first thing I saw was my so-called devoted fiancé, Alex Stone, standing there with his pitiful childhood sweetheart, Olivia Lane.
A quiet laugh slipped from my lips.
Without thinking twice, I turned and buried myself against the chest of Ethan Lewis—tall, sharp, and probably the man who hated me most in this room.
"Hubby, they're ganging up on me," I whispered, my voice soft and strained.
Ethan stiffened against me, then slowly looked down. His cold wedding ring pressed against my skin as he pulled me closer.
"Easy, sweetheart. Don't be scared. Let's get you home," he murmured.
I was pretending to have amnesia to get back at the cheating Alex—yet Ethan played along, turning my charade into something real.
But as we kept up the act, I couldn't help feeling like the lines between pretending and reality were starting to blur.
*****
The sharp scent of disinfectant pierced through my aching head.
My vision swam, then cleared, settling on the two figures standing before my hospital bed.
My fiancé, Alex, and his ever-understanding "sweet little friend," Olivia.
Olivia's eyes were teary and red as she clung to Alex's arm, delicate tears tracing down her cheeks.
"Alex, please don't blame Grace. She didn't mean to push me. It's really my fault—I just lost my balance..." Olivia sniffled.
Alex wrapped his arm around her, looking all worried, but when he turned to me, his face twisted into a scowl.
"Grace, are you done with your drama? Look at Olivia. Would it kill you to just apologize?"
I watched them—a picture of devoted affection, so touching it could almost be believed. Almost.
If I hadn't clearly heard Olivia's whisper in my ear the second before I fell down the stairs.
"Grace, drop dead. Alex and everything that belongs to the Jennings family will be mine."
If I hadn't caught that fleeting look of cold indifference and silent consent in Alex's eyes before I blacked out.
Maybe I really would have believed their lies.
But now, a piercing chill drove straight into my chest, sharp as an icicle, stealing the air from my lungs.
Hatred seeped from my bones, slow and searing.
Why should I even bother apologizing?
What I really should do was send them straight to hell.
I blinked slowly, my eyes drifting past the two of them to the man who stood out from the crowd like he owned the place—not just tall, but impossible to ignore.
Ethan—My dad's archrival in business—and mine since we were kids.
He was the kind of guy one just couldn't ignore, even if he did nothing but stand there.
He stood leaning against the wall, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, his posture straight and his presence icy. His hands were tucked into his pockets, and those eyes were fixed intently on me, holding something I couldn't decipher.
I didn't understand why Ethan was here.
However, no time to dwell on it.
A reckless idea flashed through my mind, wild and sudden.
Pushing the hospital blanket aside, I slipped out of bed barefoot and ran straight toward Ethan, ignoring Alex and Olivia's stunned expressions.
And then I threw myself against his chest.
It was solid, unyielding, carrying a faint scent of clean sandalwood that made my nose sting. But I didn't care.
Clutching the fabric of his suit, I buried my face against him and forced my voice to shake with every bit of feigned fear I could muster.
"Hubby!" I cried out.
The whole hospital room went dead silent.
I could feel the man I was clinging to go completely rigid in an instant.
Alex's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. He rushed forward, reaching for my arm. "Grace! Have you lost your mind? What did you call him?"
I flinched, curling deeper into Ethan's embrace, and let my cries grow louder. "Hubby, I'm scared... Who is this man? He's so mean, he's yelling at me!"
As I cried, I furtively glanced at Ethan, watching him out of the corner of my eye to see how he'd react.
Would he expose me right here? Shove me away?
After all, our families were rivals. We'd been at each other's throats since childhood.
What I was doing was basically poking a bear in its den.
But I had no other choice. This was the quickest, most savage way I could think of to make Alex and Olivia suffer.
Time ticked by, every second feeling like my sanity was being shredded, bit by bit.
Just when I thought I couldn't hold out any longer, a soft, magnetic laugh sounded above me.
A large, warm hand settled gently on the back of my head, fingers smoothing through my hair.
Then Ethan's cool, clear voice cut through the quiet. "Mr. Stone, show some respect," he said.
He took my hand, lowered his head, and brushed a kiss over the back of my cold hand.
A cold metal band pressed against my skin, sending a chill straight to my heart.
As I looked down, my breath caught.
At some point, a simple platinum ring had appeared on my ring finger.
And on Ethan's left ring finger was a matching men's band.
Where did those wedding rings come from?
Ethan looked up, his gaze sweeping over my stunned face before settling on Alex, who was pale as a sheet. A cool, faint smile touched Ethan's lips.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Grace's husband, Ethan Lewis.
"We were married last night, so she's still... a bit disoriented," he said, each word deliberate."
He leaned close, his lips nearly brushing my ear as he added softly, "Isn't that right, dear?"
The warmth of his breath sent a shiver down my spine.
As I watched Alex's face go from pale to ashen, then gloomy, all I could think was that Ethan was a total lunatic because he was actually joining me in this madness.