Chapter 1

I feigned amnesia and deliberately teased my husband and son. "Who are you?"

My husband fell silent for a moment, then said to me, "My son and I came to see my wife. Sorry, we got the wrong room."

After hearing that, my son immediately pulled my husband toward the next room. "Goodbye, ma'am. Dad and I are going to see Mom now."

And the room next door belonged to my husband's precious first love.

*****

I tumbled down the stairs and ended up in the hospital.

My husband, Cameron Austin, stood in the doorway holding a fruit basket, with my son, Ezekiel Austin, beside him.

I suddenly remembered something Ezekiel once griped about me. 'Mom, why are you always so serious? You're no fun at all.'

And then I recalled why I'd fallen in the first place. Ezekiel had been messing around and scattered a handful of marbles on the landing.

So I put on a dazed look and asked, "Who are you?"

I expected to see panic or concern flash across their faces. What I got instead was something I never saw coming.

Cameron paused for a beat, then said to me, "My son and I came to see my wife. Sorry, we got the wrong room."

I shifted my gaze to Ezekiel. He was young, and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, I could still catch a flicker of pure glee in his expression.

I froze.

Ezekiel tugged at Cameron's sleeve and motioned for him to lean down. He whispered something into Cameron's ear.

His voice was barely a murmur, but I'd studied lip reading once. I could see every word he said to Cameron.

'Dad, if Mom really forgot everything, does that mean you can trick her into signing the divorce papers and then marry Bella? I like Bella so much. I want Bella to be my new mom.'

My heart plunged into an abyss of ice, and I started shivering uncontrollably.

I could not believe that the child I nearly died bringing into this world was now coaching his father to leave me.

I knew Ezekiel's temperament. This was no joke. Ezekiel meant every single word.

Before Cameron could even respond, Ezekiel was already out of patience.

He pulled Cameron toward the next room and said, "Goodbye, ma'am. Dad and I are going to see Mom now."

Fighting through a searing pain, I crept to the doorway of the adjacent room and peered through the gap. I watched everything unfold inside.

Ezekiel was holding the hand of the woman in the bed. Cameron had his arms wrapped around both of them.

Two identical faces were etched with nothing but concern for her.

When I finally got a clear look at the woman's face, it felt like I'd been struck by a bolt of lightning. My entire body went rigid.

The woman was Cameron's precious first love. Bella Simpson.

I watched the two of them pull out all the stops to cheer Bella up and coax her into taking her medicine.

They looked so utterly devoted and shameless. I would never have guessed these were the business titan and the prodigy.

Ezekiel said to Bella, "Bella, you have no idea. My mom just lies in bed like a sack of meat. It's so gross just looking at her.

"When can you be my mom for real? Then you could go to my school meetings."

Ezekiel's little mouth was running a mile a minute, honeyed words dripping like syrup. But my heart felt like it was being carved up with a dull knife, bleeding and raw.

I never imagined the two people I treasured most would hold me in such contempt.

I couldn't bear to watch their cozy little family scene any longer. I shuffled back to my room, numb all over.

A nurse spotted me and hurried over with a worried look on her face. She took my arm and said, "You just woke up. You really need to rest. The doctor said you have a mild concussion."

She efficiently set up my IV drip and added, "I swear, I don't even know what to say about that family next door.

"The woman gets a tiny paper cut on her finger, and those two act like it's a national emergency. They practically wanted to tear the hospital apart.

"You'd think a cut on her finger might somehow hurt the baby she's carrying or something."

The nurse's words slammed into me like a tidal wave.

After finishing with the drip, the nurse asked gently, "Where are your family members? Your condition is fairly serious. You really should have someone here to look after you."

I forced the corner of my mouth into a weak smile and said, "I don't have any family. My husband and my son are both dead."

I checked myself out of the hospital that same day. I couldn't stand lying around there any longer.

I insisted to the doctor that my husband and son were dead.

I told him I didn't know Cameron or Ezekiel at all, though I remembered everything and everyone else just fine.

The doctor explained to Cameron that I was likely suffering from short term amnesia caused by the concussion.

He said my memory might never come back, or it could all come rushing back as soon as tomorrow.

Cameron and Ezekiel both looked completely at ease. They seemed absolutely thrilled with the situation.

After that one brief appearance in my room, they set up camp in Bella's room and never left her side.

The day I was discharged, that kindhearted young nurse walked me out. She looked really worried about me.