Chapter 2

"Which hospital?"

That shout jolted me awake.

In the moonlight, a rare panic spread across Charles' face. He jumped out of bed and threw on his clothes.

The words "be careful out there" were still stuck in my throat when the door slammed shut behind him.

I collapsed back into bed, groggily wondering what had happened to Lily this time.

Whatever. It wasn't the first time. Charles always found a way to handle it.

*****

The next morning, I found out the details.

Lily couldn't stand the hospital food or the nurses there, so Charles had shipped every housekeeper from the mansion to wait on her at the hospital.

That left only a young part-time girl at the house, staring helplessly at the stove.

I walked over and whipped up the prepped ingredients sitting on the counter.

"Hey, are you one of the part-time help too? I heard Mrs. Stone was hospitalized. Mr. Stone rushed the best doctors in Capital City over to her overnight.

"Who knew rich people actually had real love, right?"

My hand froze mid-stir. A bitter smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth.

I tossed in a few extra chili peppers. Spicy food always helped the meal go down easier.

After eating, I took a cab to the hospital.

Charles had mentioned he'd booked me a physical exam.

"Sophie, you keep getting thinner. Let's try for a baby by the end of the year."

I wasn't sure Charles would still want me around by then, but only an idiot would turn down a six-figure checkup on someone else's dime.

While I was there, I brought my brain CT scans to a doctor, just to be safe.

"Ms. Summers, your memory loss was caused by an extreme emotional shock that overwhelmed your brain. Forcing the memories back could cause secondary damage."

I wandered through the hospital in a daze, clutching the CT films.

In truth, fragments of unfamiliar scenes had surfaced during those five lost years.

A man's tan, muscular back flashed through my mind, covered in scratch marks.

A woman with chestnut curls straddled him, her breathy moans filling the air.

The room reeked of cedarwood and sex, a smell that turned my stomach.

Every time I was about to meet the woman's eyes, a piercing ringing in my ears would yank me back to reality.

Then Charles found me and brought me back.

The cedarwood scent clinging to him matched the one in my fractured memories perfectly.

I knew the reason for our divorce was far more than the little tantrum he'd described.

But part of me was fighting the truth too.

I'd been a complete disaster on my own, and I'd nearly been trafficked to other country because of a loophole in a contract.

Charles had paid a staggering penalty to get me out of that mess.

I told myself that life was hard enough. A little willful ignorance never hurt anyone.

By leaning on those lost memories, I could enjoy everything Charles gave me without a guilty conscience.

Why would I choose to wake up and let myself hurt all over again?

On my way out, I spotted one of the housekeepers from Stone Manor.

So Lily was at this hospital too.

"Mrs. Stone, could you bring these to the patient room? I still need to run back to the old house and grab the pajamas for Ms. Grant."

She called me ma'am politely enough, but her tone was anything but respectful. She shoved a stack of bowls into my arms without a second thought.

While I waited for the elevator, I sneaked a glance at my bank balance.

Enough for a small apartment. Maybe I should find a way to push Charles over the edge, so I'd have a legitimate reason to walk out.

A heated argument erupted from the VIP ward.

I turned on instinct, wanting to stay out of it, but Lily Grant's shrill voice stopped me cold.

"Mr. Stone, you gave me your word back then! You said you'd let Sophie be humiliated, and now after just five years, you've gone soft?"