Chapter 3

Sienna clearly thought of that too.

She'd been freaking out earlier, but now that the dust had settled, she linked arms with Andre and gave me a once-over like she owned the place.

Her stare made me uncomfortable.

I took the agreement, flipped through it, and then asked, "Where are my ID and phone?"

"You want to leave?" Andre suddenly stepped forward, grabbing my wrist. "No way, I'm not letting you go."

I was totally dumbfounded.

It was not like we had anything between us in the first place.

He was using the whole "couple" thing to keep me locked up because I lost my memory. That was basically illegal detention.

Even if I were a maid, my boss couldn't tell me I couldn't quit.

But we were still legally married, so now wasn't the time to make a scene.

I let out a sigh. "The property transfer agreement is in effect, but it's for Angelina.

"I don't even remember anything. You can't just say I'm her and expect me to believe it, right? What if you're trying to avoid returning the favor and messing with me?"

"I wouldn't lie to you," Andre blurted out.

I barely held back a sarcastic smile.

I forced back a smirk. "I don't remember anything, so I'm not going to trust anyone. I only believe in real evidence."

Andre had no choice.

He had his assistant bring over my ID and phone.

The assistant had already tampered with my phone.

All the photos, videos, and chat logs that used to prove we were in love had been backed up somewhere and then wiped from the phone. Even Andre's name in my contacts went from "darling" to "boss."

To cover their tracks, they pretty much erased my whole contact list.

Aside from the Dillard family, everyone else left was just Andre's buddies. If I asked any of them, they'd repeat whatever Andre told them to say.

There wasn't a single chat left.

This was so obviously staged.

I kept my mouth shut.

I tucked my phone and ID away and slipped back under the covers.

"I'm doing this for your own good," Andre said.

The longer I stayed quiet, the more anxious Andre got.

"You don't remember anything. It's too easy for someone to take advantage of you out there. Just give me your things, and I promise you'll never have to worry about money for the rest of your life," he insisted.

I didn't want to deal with him.

But knowing how obsessive he was, I realized the more I ignored him, the more stubborn he'd get. So I had to say something. "You're my boss, not my husband.

"I'm not feeling well right now. Who knows if there are any other side effects besides losing my memory? If I don't have my ID or something to prove who I am, it freaks me out."

Andre looked a bit shaken. "Then let's go home so you can rest up."

"The hospital's way safer," I shot back. "For all I know, you're regretting handing over the property and want to get me out of the public eye so you can quietly get rid of me."

"Damn it," Andre snapped, finally losing his patience. He barked, "Someone, take Mrs. Dillard... Mrs. Dillard's best friend home."

The bodyguards flooded into the room.

I edged back, on guard, and quietly hit the emergency call button on my phone.

But before I could get through, Sienna, who'd been silent for ages, suddenly leaned in and whispered something to Andre.

Then she turned to me and said, "Angelina, you can stay in the hospital and get better, but in a few days, Andre and I are getting married. Will you be my bridesmaid?"

Being asked to be a bridesmaid hit me like a switch.

All I could think about was the baby I lost. Just two days after I found out I was pregnant, and it was gone in the worst way.

My chest tightened.

It wasn't really painful, but I couldn't just ignore it.

It was kind of like how I felt about Andre.

Sometimes it burned hot, other times it was barely a flicker.

Seven years was a long time, after all.

He kept hammering it into my head that we were madly in love, again and again.

Even if I'd lost all my memories, even if we were never really in love, my body couldn't help but trust him, like it was wired that way.

It was like drifting alone in the middle of the ocean and spotting a tiny boat that could keep one afloat. Grabbing on for dear life wasn't even a choice; it was instinct.

But he destroyed that trust.

Now I remembered everything, even if my body still craved that old sense of security, my heart felt nothing for him.

The debt had been paid.

The love was gone.

Now it was payback time.

"Okay," I said.

My eyes drifted to the ring on Sienna's finger.

It was the wedding ring Andre had a master jeweler custom-make for me. I wore it for two years.

Then, two weeks ago, Andre claimed there was some flaw in the ring and snatched it away without a second thought.

Now, it was flaunted on Sienna's finger, like she owned it all along.

Figured I'd just forget, anyway.

Andre didn't even bother to stop her.

There were plenty of other things like that.

If Sienna wanted something, Andre would take it from me and hand it over to her, no questions asked, even the keepsakes in our special memory room, the ones that were supposed to belong to the two of us.

It didn't matter what it was; he'd just make up some story and I'd believe it, since I'd forget everything every week anyway.

He never even considered what would happen if I ever remembered everything.

Funny enough, it actually made things easier for me.

"I will," I said with a faint smile. "I'll show up as your bridesmaid for your big day, right on time."

Over the next few days, Andre was obviously on edge, afraid I'd try to escape.

He was so paranoid that even when Sienna dragged him off for their honeymoon, he still made sure to assign a few bodyguards to keep an eye on me.

While I was getting my strength back, I logged into my phone's cloud, restored my contacts, and quietly got in touch with my lawyer and some media friends back in my home country.

Since they wanted me to show up and play my part, I'd make sure to give them a show they'd never forget.

As the maid and the bestie, I was going to make sure the whole place went wild.

I couldn't wait to see their faces on the wedding day when they realized my memory was back. The property transfer was locked in, and there was no way they'd ever get their money back.

But the day before the wedding, a message popped up from an unknown number. [You've got your memory back, right?]