Chapter 1

I stared at the tall man standing in the doorway. He was dressed in a sharp black suit, his face cold and strikingly handsome. I couldn’t look away.

My heart pounded with confusion.

He watched me with complicated eyes, as if carrying emotions he couldn’t quite say out loud. Then he started walking toward me, each step feeling heavy on my chest.

I grew strangely nervous.

“Sorry… I just woke up and my head’s still fuzzy. I don’t recognize people right now. Um… are you my husband?”

The man’s deep voice came out low and slightly hoarse.

“Aurora Quinn, what kind of game are you playing?”

I instinctively shrank back against the pillows. My brain desperately searched for any memory of him, but everything was blank.

He continued, sounding frustrated, “I know I’m partly responsible for how you ended up like this. But you don’t have to mess with me like this.”

When I stayed silent, his annoyance grew.

I quickly waved my hands and explained, “I’m serious! I really don’t remember you!”

“Would you believe me if I said my memories stopped at eighteen years old?”

He paused, clearly surprised.

At that moment, the door opened again. A woman rushed in and hurried straight to my bedside.

“Rory! You’re finally awake!” she exclaimed. “We thought you might never wake up. It’s been five whole years!”

Who was she?

Noticing my confused look, she added gently, “You don’t remember me? I’m Chloe Kane.”

“You have no idea how much Damien and I have been hoping you’d wake up.”

As she spoke, she casually grabbed Damien’s arm.

Something uncomfortable twisted in my chest.

I had seen the name on the patient chart earlier. Damien Sterling was listed as my husband.

So why was he letting another woman hold onto him like that?

I pressed my lips together and stayed quiet.

Chloe kept talking. “If only you had woken up sooner, then things between you and Damien wouldn’t have dragged on for so many years…”

“Enough,” Damien cut her off sharply.

He tossed a bag of daily necessities onto my bed, his voice impatient.

“The doctor said you still need rehabilitation. I brought some of your things from home. Once you’re better, you can come back by yourself.”

“I’ll be very busy these next few days.”

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked out.

Chloe gave me a fake smile and quickly followed him.

I stared at the bag in my hands, still feeling completely lost.

Suddenly, my phone lit up.

That’s when I noticed the lock screen.

It was a photo of Damien.

He had sent me a message with an address, saying it was our home.

My heart skipped a beat. I typed back:

[Can you pick me up on the day I’m discharged?]

[No time.]

[Why don’t you care about me at all? Aren’t I your wife?]

He didn’t reply.

I swallowed the small wave of disappointment and kept scrolling through my phone.

There were tons of photos of Damien and me together. My notes app was filled with things about him.

In most of the pictures, I was smiling brightly while he always looked unwilling.

It seemed like he didn’t like me very much.

Then why did he marry me?

My best friend once told me that Damien and I had known each other for ten years.

We went to the same university. He had a lover he couldn’t forget back then.

I fell for him at first sight and chased him stubbornly for four whole years.

Only after graduation did he finally agree to date me.

None of that bothered me now.

I placed a hand over my chest, feeling my heart still racing since the moment I saw him.

I was sure of one thing.

I liked Damien Sterling.

Even without any memories of our past together, I had fallen for him all over again at first sight.