Chapter 1

Five years after losing my memory, a stranger tracked me down, told me he was my husband, and asked if I'd come home with him.

When he saw the suspicion in my eyes, he even pulled out our marriage certificate.

At the time, I was dead last in my livestream sales rankings and two months behind on rent, about to get evicted.

I said yes on the spot.

Once I moved back in, I treated Charles Stone like a boss.

Whatever he said, I did. Whenever he came home late, I waited by the door.

He'd get cozy with other women and send me out to buy condoms, and I never complained.

Because I was so obedient, my savings kept growing.

I was curled up with my phone one night, happily counting the zeros in my bank balance, when the man who'd been gone for a week came crashing into my arms.

He cupped my face in his hands, and his eyes slowly turned red.

He said, "Sophie, you really don't love me anymore, do you?"

*****

Charles rarely lost his composure like this. His voice came out hoarse.

"I was in the hospital for a whole week. You didn't visit me once, and you didn't even bother to call!"

Those bloodshot eyes locked onto mine.

I shifted my gaze to the bruises on the back of his hand and faked a frown.

"Does it still hurt? Let me get you something to drink."

I pushed against him and tried to stand, but Charles only pulled me in tighter.

His voice trembled. "Sophie, you never used to be like this. You'd never leave me alone in a hospital.

"You used to warm my IV lines through the night. You'd stand guard outside the room so nobody from the company could disturb me..."

Charles couldn't understand why my personality had changed so drastically since the amnesia.

I curled quietly into his arms, hiding the disgust in my eyes.

This version of me was clueless and naive. No wonder she had spent five miserable years barely scraping by.

I thought about the balance in my bank account and filled my voice with guilt.

"I do worry about you, but I was scared of doing the wrong thing. So I called Ms. Grant ahead of time.

"She told me not to come bother you, so I..."

I hadn't meant to tattle.

It was just that on the day Charles brought me home, Lily Grant had blocked me and my suitcase right at the front door, her tone cutting.

"Ms. Summers, just toss whatever junk you've got in that suitcase. The Stone Manor isn't a thrift store."

Charles had simply given a slight nod at that.

Five years of scraping by had taught me how to read a room.

I didn't call out the murky relationship between Lily and Charles.

Instead, I kept everyone's dignity intact.

I gently patted Charles on the back, keeping my voice soft.

"I'll do my best to be a wife who doesn't cause you trouble. And from now on, I'll check with Ms. Grant before doing anything."

The moment those words left my mouth, Charles shot to his feet and yanked me up by the arm.

"Sophie!" His eyes burned with fury and despair.

"If I died in that hospital, would you ask Lily for permission before deciding whether to cry?"

I opened my mouth, ready to force out a hollow "of course not," but the tears welling up in his eyes made me swallow the words.

I didn't understand. If the woman he loved was the old me, then why had he let the amnesiac version of me fend for herself for five long years?

"Look at me, Sophie!" Charles pressed both hands on my shoulders and shook me, his voice dropping to a growl.

"You really don't love me? You really don't care about me at all?"

The shaking stung, and it snapped me back to reality.

Charles paid me in cash. I owed him the same value in emotional currency.

"Charles, how could I not love you? You're my husband..."

I'd rehearsed that line in front of the mirror more times than I could count.

Sure enough, a flash of desperate hope sparked in Charles' eyes.

He stared at me with raw longing.

"Sophie, you've just forgotten how much you used to love me. This brush with death made me realize I can't live without you."

Charles leaned in to kiss me, but the custom ringtone he'd set for Lily suddenly blared from his phone.

He froze. He pulled away on instinct and grabbed the phone.

I let out a quiet breath of relief, but then Charles held the phone out to me.

"Sophie, you decide whether to pick up."

I had no idea what game Charles was playing.

Maybe he was testing how obedient I was. Or maybe he wanted to make Lily jealous again.

The ringtone kept blaring. I let out a quiet sigh.

I didn't love Charles, not one bit.

I didn't doubt that sincerity existed, but Charles' version of it shifted like sand.

In the dead of night, while Charles lay half-asleep with his arms around me, that ringtone cut through the silence again.

He released me without thinking, rolled over, and picked up. "Lily?"