Chapter 3

Guilt and heartache flashed across Summer's face. "Nora, you... you didn't lose your memory?"

When I explained that Christian had misread the medical chart and started the amnesia rumor himself, Summer's expression shifted between shock and shame.

She squeezed my hand tight, apologizing profusely.

She confessed she had no choice. Our family business had fallen on hard times, and everyone depended on Christian's goodwill. It wasn't just her; even my parents had been bought off by him.

And yes, Summer had known about Chloe for a long time.

The laughable part was, Summer insisted that Christian's deepest love had always been me.

"Nora, Christian cared so much about you that he spent three whole years desperately hiding it from you. Yes, he cheated, but hasn't he treated you even better than before?

"I yelled at him for you! He swore to me that he would send Chloe away for good. The only reason he's faking a marriage with Chloe is to give her closure and compensation. Afterward, he's shipping her overseas and cutting all ties.

"Your parents and I thought there was still hope for him. And since we thought you had amnesia and wouldn't be hurt mentally, we agreed to play along.

"Christian told us he knows you better than anyone. He said he would court you all over again, marry you again, and spend the rest of his life spoiling you to make up for it..."

So Summer, my parents, everyone knew the truth. I was the only fool kept in the dark.

They genuinely believed Christian had just made "a mistake any man could make." As long as he repented and kept treating me well, keeping me oblivious was supposedly the kindest path.

I couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

"Summer, are you telling me that watching my own husband flirt and sleep with another woman under my nose is for my own good?"

Summer rubbed her reddened eyes. "Nora, if Christian knew you didn't have amnesia, he would never have done that. He only put on that show because he was terrified you'd catch on..."

By the time Christian came to visit, Summer had already left.

He opened a thermos, instinctively intending to spoon-feed me. But then he seemed to remember the cold, transactional relationship he had fabricated, so he blew on the porridge to cool it and set it down for me to eat myself.

The porridge had all my favorite ingredients. But as I chewed, a sudden wave of revulsion hit me. I couldn't swallow a single bite.

"Christian—"

Hearing Summer's words made me slip and call him by the tender pet name I always used.

I knew he had betrayed me. By all logic, I shouldn't be so pathetic as to even contemplate forgiveness.

Yet my heart betrayed me.

For so long, he had been my entire world. Everything in my life revolved around him. We had once loved each other enough to lay down our lives. If he truly repented, if I really was the most important person in his heart, could I truly just discard all those years?

Before I could say another word, his gaze chilled over. "Don't misunderstand. I only came by to check on your condition and make sure this won't delay our divorce in two weeks.

"Chloe and I are already preparing for our wedding."

Right then, there was a knock at the door, and Chloe walked in.

She wore an elegant, tailored wedding dress with delicate blue poppy petals embroidered along the hem. Beaming, she strode up to Christian. "Christian, I couldn't wait for our bridal fitting, so I came straight here in the dress.

"Do you like it? Especially these blue poppies you risked your life to pick for me—I'll preserve them perfectly so they'll be part of our wedding."

Christian's eyes lit up instantly. Right in front of me, he pulled Chloe into his arms. "I love it.

"What other flowers do you want? I'll personally pick them all for you."

In that split second, my head felt like it was going to explode. Agony tore through my entire body!

Looking at the petals on Chloe's hemline, the horrific truth slammed into me. Christian had taken me on that high-altitude mountain trip solely to pick those wild flowers for Chloe.

And while he was picking them, I slipped and fell down the steep slope trying to save him from losing his balance.

Back then, all he needed to do was reach out his hand to catch me. But he hadn't moved an inch. I thought he had been frozen in shock. Now I finally understood—he couldn't bear to let go of those damn blue poppies in his hands.

How could I possibly be the one he loved most?

His heart had long belonged to Chloe!